Dirty grills aren’t just gross. They can affect your pellet grill or smoker’s temperature accuracy, fire safety, and overall performance. Your food deserves better. Here’s how to clean and maintain your pellet grill for brag-worthy results.
Your pellet grill needs to be taken care of in order to work at its best. Why’s it so important? Accumulated grease, rust, ash, and debris can interfere with every component like:
Blocking hardwood pellets from getting into the firebox from the hopper
Keeping the fire from properly heating the grill grates
Leaking smoke and heat from the pellet grill that can delay your cook
Trapping debris that can create a fire hazard
Those are just a few potential issues. . Not cool. Take the time to clean and maintain your pellet grill. You’ll thank yourself later.
Regular ash removal keeps your pellet grill or smoker running safely and cleanly.
Inspect your hopper and cooking chamber after every cook. Do yourself a solid and empty it if there’s a heavy ash buildup. If your model has a removable ash tray, empty that too.
Keeping your grill squeaky clean is a cinch with the Pit Boss Pellet Grill 5-Piece Cleaning Kit. It packs a Pit Boss chimney/burn pot scrubber, ash broom with pan and scraper, and a set of thick rubber cleaning gloves. Plus, you can store the brushes on your grill's tool hooks and keep your supplies within reach.
You can also use a wet/dry shop vacuum or dedicated ash vacuum. Avoid using a shop-vac attachment, as your regular vacuum cleaner isn’t designed to pick up fine ash. The plastic hoses and filters can even spark a fire. Better safe than sorry.
Grease and grime can really do a number to your food’s flavor. After all, you don’t want to cook dinner on top of whatever you cooked a month ago. So scrape your grill grates after every cook with our Nylon BBQ Cleaning Brush.
Every 15-20 hours, it’s time for a deeper clean. Fortunately, it’s easy. Simply spray the pellet grill using the Grill & Smoker Foaming Degreaser, then wipe it off using a brush or cloth. That’s it. Make sure to clean everything in the interior, including the grill grates and drip tray. Your pellet grill will look nicer and your food will taste better. Win-win.
A gasket seal keeps smoke and heat where it belongs: in the pellet grill. Some gasket leaks are easy to spot by the escaping smoke, but others are sneaky.
If your grill has a gasket, you can easily check whether or not it has a leak. Dust the edges of the lid or hopper with flour. Heat up the grill to around 250°F. Any leaking smoke will burn off the flour.
Once you have found the leak, it’s time to replace the gasket. Just remove the old seal, clean the surface, and apply the new gasket. Easy as that.
Pro tip: There’s a common misconception that gaskets need to be as tight as possible to seal properly. Not true. Just make sure it’s attached firmly, and you’ll be fine.
Ash management, grease and grime, and gasket care take up the lion’s share of grill maintenance, but don’t forget your temperature probes. To ensure accurate temp readings and avoid cross contamination between different foods, wipe down your probes after every use with a warm soapy paper towel.
While temperature probes don’t have expiration dates, a good rule of thumb is to replace them every 2-3 years. Think your probe might be off? Test it in either boiling water (212°F) or an ice bath (32°F) by placing the probe about halfway into the water. If the temp is off by more than 15°F, it’s time to replace it.
Cleaning is essential, but it doesn’t have to be a chore. Follow this handy cheat sheet to make your cleaning schedule a cinch.
After every cook:
Wipe down probe with water and sanitizer
Scrape grill grates to remove greasy buildup
After 15-20 hours:
Give your pellet grill a good scrub to remove ash, grease, and grime with the Pellet Grill Cleaning Kit. A soapy rag will do, but our kit will have your grill shining as good as new. You can also use a wet/dry shop-vac to remove ash, but never use your regular vacuum.
As needed:
Remove gasket seal and replace if leaking
Replace probe every 2-3 years or if temperature fluctuates 15°F or more
At Pit Boss®, we pride ourselves on hardwood-fired pellet grills that work hard, so you don’t have to. So naturally, we’re here to make cleaning and maintaining your pellet grill easy too. Our grill care products prove it.
Each piece of our 5-Piece Drill Attachment Cleaning Kit easily attaches to your power drill to clean the grill grates, ash box, grease tray, barrel, and chimney. Our Grill & Smoker Cleaner and Degreaser restores your grill’s shine, with a fast-acting formula that delivers a deep clean with just a spray and swipe.
A little bit of cleaning and maintenance goes a long way. Take care of your Pit Boss pellet grill and enjoy the performance, reliability, and flavor we’ve built our name on for years to come.
To properly maintain your pellet grill, you should empty the ash tray, wipe down the temperature probes, and scrape the grill grate after every cook. Every 15-20 cooking hours, do a deep clean of the hopper, cooking chamber, grill grates, and grease tray.
The best pellet grill cleaner for Pit Boss products is our Grill & Smoker Cleaner & Degreaser. With its fast-acting formula, you can skip the painstaking work of heavy-duty scrubbing and remove tough stains, grease, and debris with ease.
Clean out ash every 15-20 hours of cooking time. The Pellet Grill Cleaning Kit is your best pal here, and will get your grill looking shiny and new in no time. You can also use a wet/dry shop-vac or dedicated ash vacuum if you have one.
You should replace your pellet grill’s gasket seal if smoke and heat is escaping. If you can't tell, check by dusting the edges of the lid or hopper with flour and heating up the grill. Any leaking smoke will burn off the flour.
Your temperature probe needs to be cleaned after every use but should be replaced every 2-3 years. If you suspect it may be giving false readings, place it in boiling water (212°F) (212°F) or an ice bath (32°F). If the temperature fluctuates by 15°F or more, replace it.
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PLAN IS AN EXTENSION OF YOUR STANDARD WARRANTY ↗
THIS PLAN COVERS:
Manufacturing defects
Everyday stains and spills
Punctures, cuts, rips and
tears
Burns or heat damage
5th Thing
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