PitBoss Vertical

[doug in san die]

Does having a pan full of water limit how hight the temperature can get? My cheap bullet smoker will get to 350 without water, but with a pan full of water, it will only get to 225.

I worry about this , because I saw a video where the guy was getting error codes as a result of not having water in his Pit Boss

Any thoughts?

I really want to buy one, but I have a few concerns.

 

[bill1]

doug...the pellet smokers automatically add fuel, and can do this near continuously if the controller demands it and you keep the hopper full of pellets/fuel. A bullet smoker is pretty much limited to the fuel you started with. (If you have a door down low, you can maybe feed in a few extra coals, but it's limited.) The controller on a pellet machine may limit your high temp to 400F or so, but I think they're just trying to preserve the temp probes and ensure the paint doesn't bubble! So you'll have no trouble maintaining any temp in its range (typically at least 180-350F) water pan or not. (Heck you can practically leave the door/lid open!)

I'm becoming a real fan of water pans in a pellet grill (at least for my vertical cooker). I keep a big one down low close to the fire and fill it at least once per hour. Keeps everything moister and gets you through the stall quicker. But all that steam I'm making from tap water isn't free...I'm probably using 5% more pellets. But pellet grills aren't efficient--most of the heat goes out the stack. The fans in them move quite a bit of air...much more than natural draft like in most smokers. But pellets are relatively cheap...only a couple bucks per cook...I suspect most folks spend more on charcoal.