# My New PID Controller - 1st Cook



## G-Rod

I just installed a new Pellet Pro PID controller on my Pit Boss 700fb pellet grill. I posted pics and notes regarding my install experience here.

Anyway, the install was pretty uneventful and my initial but small test afterwards seemed to run ok but I wanted to get a 5 or 6 hour cook on it to check for any potential issues. Glad to report that the controller works great. Had a couple temps swings in the 8-10 degree range which is not an issue at all but most of the time it kept within 3-5 degrees. Also, runs much more efficient as it uses less wood pellets. As I had read that smoke production would diminish a bit, I bought a wood pellet tube for around $9 on amazon and used that with this 1st cook.

Picked up a couple spare ribs to smoke. Last time I bought spare ribs I cut them into the St. Louis style (in the cooking sheet) and then seasoned up the other parts to throw on as well (on the cutting board):






Note: this was from a previous cook, not the whole spare ribs I just did.

But THIS time, after watching Malcolm Reed smoke some whole spare ribs "old school" like, I was anxious to try that out.

My go to method for doing ribs is usually the 3-2-1 method in which I've had very good results. But I thought I would try his non-wrapped method. I apologize in advance for my lack of pictures on this particular cook as I woke up later than I wanted and in a haste, left my phone upstairs. I was also hyper focused on the temp swings and never made it back upstairs until after we were eating. :)

So all I did prep-wise on these spareribs was removed the flap on the underside, as well as the small section of silver skin. Then I used a dry rub that I put together and use for pork:

2 TBL Salt
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1 TBL Black Pepper
4 TBL Onion Powder
3 TBLS Garlic Powder
3 TBLS Chili Powder
3 TBLS Paprika

I generally make a batch and keep it in an old shaker for convenience.

Also, normally I would put a little mustard on them so the dry rub would have an easier time sticking to the ribs but in his video Malcolm didn't and so I decided to give that a try as well. Honestly, I didn't really notice a difference and had no problem with the dry rub sticking on the ribs.

Using hickory pellets, I fired up my pellet smoker at 225 and let it go for about 20 minutes or so. Didn't need to go that long but again, was looking to see what the temp was going to do with this new controller. No real issues. Initially it climbed up past the set temp but I think that was due to the fact that I keep my lid open when first starting it up as when I don't, it seems to condensate inside and drip a little off the front lid for a couple minutes before drying out. I think the fact that I had the lid open and the PID probe was actually getting a cooler reading, it kept feeding to get up to the temp. After I closed the lid however, it settled in and started holding its temp well.

I initially put one rack of ribs on the main grill rack and the other on the upper rack but after about 30 minutes, could see that the one on the top rack was cooking at a much slower rate, so I moved it to the bottom grate as well.

The cook only took about 4 - 4 1/2 hours for the first rack (the one that started on the bottom grate) and 5 hours for the 2nd rack. I tested them by bending and they broke. I brought them in, cut them and sprinkled a little more dry rub on them and served them with sauce on the side.

While not as moist as the 3-2-1- method, they definitely weren't dry and were absolutely delicious. There is a thinner half of each spare rib. When I do this again, I will likely cut the spare ribs in half so I can easily pull off the thinner ones early and let the thicker half continue a little longer.

I'm sure I'll also go back and do the 3-2-1 method again as well but it sure was nice not having to mess with the crutch, then pull them off and drain, then back on. And there is something definitely "old school" about them which I liked.

No issues with the new controller and the smoke tube provided a nice constant flow of smoke during the whole cook. Finally, it was fun trying ribs another way that came out great. Next time, I promise to take pics!

Cheers!


----------



## Smoke23

Glad the PID appears to be working for you. Pics are always good but your post was a great read! Looking forward to your future posts.


----------



## tallbm

Hi there and welcome!

Great write up.  I also don't wrap my ribs.  I get them at Costco and always pick meaty ones.  They get a good "bark" and are juicy and get great smoke flavor.  All wins in my book!


----------



## G-Rod

Smoke23 said:


> Glad the PID appears to be working for you. Pics are always good but your post was a great read! Looking forward to your future posts.



Thank you! I appreciate the feedback and look forward to contributing more as well as reading and continuing to learn from you all!


----------



## G-Rod

tallbm said:


> Hi there and welcome!
> 
> Great write up.  I also don't wrap my ribs.  I get them at Costco and always pick meaty ones.  They get a good "bark" and are juicy and get great smoke flavor.  All wins in my book!



Thank you! I have a membership at Sam's Club and have seen some good looking and meaty ribs there as well. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I do ribs like this. Happy to be here and appreciate the feedback!


----------



## tallbm

G-Rod said:


> Thank you! I have a membership at Sam's Club and have seen some good looking and meaty ribs there as well. I'll have to keep that in mind for the next time I do ribs like this. Happy to be here and appreciate the feedback!



SmokinAl did a great write up on cooking pork ribs to temp rather than by time or 3-2-1, etc. methods.
There are 20 pages worth of replies of how people have successfully replicated his approach.
I like to take my ribs a little higher in Internal Temperature (IT) than what he and some of the others do because I like to get to the area where I am just about to enter fall of the bone texture.  
Give his approach a try and then tweak to whatever best suites you and I'm sure you will have great success!
https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/perfect-ribs-every-time-this-really-works.240916/


----------



## SmokinAl

Your ribs look pretty darn good from here.
I embeded the video in your post, since we don't allow YouTube links on here.
Al


----------



## G-Rod

SmokinAl said:


> Your ribs look pretty darn good from here.
> I embeded the video in your post, since we don't allow YouTube links on here.
> Al



Thank you and sorry about the YouTube post. I'm a little new to forums but I'll look to see how to do that correctly next time as I would like to do some videos of my own to post on YT and then embed here. Appreciate the comment!


----------



## Bill W.

Hey G-Rod, thanks for starting this thread. I have a question on the PID upgrade.
I have a 700FB also and I'm wondering how it works.
My Pit Boss has a heck of a time keeping temperature. Does the upgrade help with that?
Was there any problem with the installation?
I know that they say it works best with a 2rpm auger motor but I haven't tested the speed of the 700fb.
Anyway, thanks again.


----------



## G-Rod

Hey Bill, my pleasure!

I did a post on the PID installation here. It went pretty smooth and was an easy install. I had the same problem with temp swings at lower smoking temps. The controller DOES do much better at maintaining set temp. In the few cooks I've had after the fact, I'd say it keeps it withing 5 to 10 degrees which is actually pretty good. That said, at the bottom of the a fore mentioned post, there is a gentleman named Phil that when with the Savannah Stoker PID controller.

In chatting with him on a few threads, it seems to have many more functions and a calibrating feature. If I had to do it again, I would probably go that route instead. During my last cook, I saw that my grate temp was about 30 degrees hotter than my set temp and so I adjusted down by that on the set temp to try and stay close to my desired 225 degree cook temp. It is when I did that, that I noticed a burnback issue. Had to turn it off and then press the feed to clear it out and get the fire going again. Was a bit of a pain. Going to raise the meat a little off the grate next cook so I don't have to bring the temp down that low and hopefully avoid that issue again.

Hope this helps and let us know what you end up doing.
Cheers!
Greg


----------



## SonnyE

Hey G-Rod, if you give us your phone number, we could phone and text at all hours to remind you to keep your phone on you..... :p


----------



## Bill W.

Thanks G-Rod. After researching this issue I think I'm going to go with the Savannah Stoker also.
It's unfortunate that we should have to upgrade a new grill ... but even so, I think the PitBoss is a bargain.
I'll let you know how it goes when I install it.
Maybe I'll try a vid .... or at least some pics.
Thanks again.


----------



## G-Rod

Np Bill. And at first I kind of felt the same way but like you said, pricewise it is a good pellet grill as compared to the much more expensive options. I like that Pit Boss has made an otherwise quality product but think they are missing out on easy money not offering their own PID controller for those of us looking to tighten down temp swings on low, slow and long cooks. :) Good luck to you man!


----------

