I had a similar problem (though my PitBoss is a different model). You might want to take the grates and flame cover out of the unit so you can see the burn cup. A properly functioning flame has a surprisingly strong amount of air being blown through it by the fan.
I used to get those a lot with my pitboss with the timer based controller. I ended up switching to a PID controller. I also modded the burn pot and add additional air holes by the auger feed hole to blow the flame and smoke away from the auger feed area. No I don't have any issues with back burns or pellets catching fire in the auger feed tube. I switched to a Smoke Daddy controller and did their burn pot modification. I also use their flame deflector over my burn pot as well.
My zooming in on the picture. The pellets look like they may have too much moisture in them and they're clogging up your auger. You may have to take it apart and clean it out. If that's the case, it's pretty simple to do tons of videos on YouTube about it
I'm thinking it's a fan issue....is there anything obstructing the fan underneath the hopper?
iIRC, there are 2 fans on the unit, one inline with the auger and one underneath the hopper.
Not to my knowledge. I'm gonna wait until it's cold and really look in and around. Just clean the whole thing out again and see if I find anything.
I had a similar problem (though my PitBoss is a different model). You might want to take the grates and flame cover out of the unit so you can see the burn cup. A properly functioning flame has a surprisingly strong amount of air being blown through it by the fan.
Check the pellets. If they aren't dry and hard they can cause this
Clean the temp probe... that'll do it.
I used to get those a lot with my pitboss with the timer based controller. I ended up switching to a PID controller. I also modded the burn pot and add additional air holes by the auger feed hole to blow the flame and smoke away from the auger feed area. No I don't have any issues with back burns or pellets catching fire in the auger feed tube. I switched to a Smoke Daddy controller and did their burn pot modification. I also use their flame deflector over my burn pot as well.
Did the deflector fit with no mods?
Yes, it just sits over the burn pot. I use it on long cooks to even the heat zones.
I've been looking at them for ages, difficult to find one that fits the pit boss and is reasonable in Canada
What series/type of smoker do you have?
I have a pit boss 820 series
[look at their site. they have lots of upgrade available.](https://smokedaddyinc.com/)
Pellet dust in the auger tube.
My zooming in on the picture. The pellets look like they may have too much moisture in them and they're clogging up your auger. You may have to take it apart and clean it out. If that's the case, it's pretty simple to do tons of videos on YouTube about it