Just an update like I said before they sent me out a thermostat with no instructions on how to install it but thanks to KZfaq I figured it out. After installing the thermostat I have cooked one beef brisket and one pork butt roast everything work fine. I still have a problem with paying close to $500 for a grill / smoker and in three months have to repair it myself. But just to be fair to them after I made the repairs my last two cooking events the smoker worked great.

This smoker has been an absolute nightmare for me. I have the same error code problem after its working fine for about 20-30 minutes. Very frustrating when time is of the essence. I did my homework on this thing too, and now I’m dealing with this crap. On top of that- temp fluctuations are a major issue with the unit as you were saying, and one second the thing is billowing smoke- and then the next nothing. Super frustrating when you are getting zero smoke during the first hour of the cook which is during the most crucial time for the meat to absorb smoke. I finally gave Pit Boss a call and they want me to access the wiring and and start crossing wires to troubleshoot the blower. I wish I would have never purchased this thing. As soon as I get it working it’s going on Craigslist. I’ve also decided I hate pellet smokers- too messy (they run everywhere) and pellets just don’t provide the smoke flavor you get with actual wood. It’s a real pain emptying the pellet hopper on this thing as well since the chute plugs up and you have to shake the unit left to right to get more pellets to fall out, and you never can get all of them out so I find myself shoving a broom handle in there to get all the pellets. Meanwhile a bunch of pellets end up on the ground and if you leave some there and it rains then the pellets expand and look like animal turds.

Props to YOU for putting in the leg work and posting it here. I haven't t even taken delivery of my 7 series and this has me nervous. But good lookin' out.

Ha! Thanks for the shout out man! :) Sorry to hear you are still having issues man. That ErH code got me scratching my head on what to have you try next...

Robert Lantiegne 4 minutes ago THINK TWICE BEFORE BUYING ANY PIT BOSS SMOKER! Excellent video. Your videos are so incredibly well done. I bought my Pit Boss Pro August 2022. I used it first time in the end of September. On my third use in October, I had the error message ER1. After unplugging the smoker for 30 minutes there was no error display and the smoker was operational and was able to complete the smoke. After reading PIT BOSS manual Trouble Shooting section, I check for fat residue on the heat probe mounted inside cabinet on back wall. Probe was clean without any deposits. Just before Christmas, I started an overnight smoke with 80 lbs of pork shoulder. The next morning I checked smoker and it had done an automatic shut down, displaying error code ER1 and the pork inside was102 degrees. The pork was completely raw and due to spoilage concerns I threw away the pork that cost $82.47 at Costco. I called Pit Boss Customer Service and requested a Warantee return and replacement. They refused and sent me a replacement probe. I installed it which takes a couple hours. I did one trial smoke with smoker empty and got same error message. Pit Boss advised that they would not repair or replace smoker and sent me a new control panel. The smoker works, for now. KZfaq is full of dozens of videos showing Pit Boss Pro owners instructing how to replace the probes and control panels. I will NEVER BUY A PIT BOSS smoker again. The rate of failure of the control panel is too high for me to gamble on. To replace either probe or control panel requires removing door, racks, rack brackets, entire chimney assembly and and hopper door stop mounter on top of smoker, then turning smoker upside down resting on smoker top. These smokers are $600.00 and Pit Boss does not honor their stated repair or replace FIVE year Warantee. Sending replacement parts and requiring owners to repair their smoker just does not cut it. Thank you for posting this video. It will save me time by not doing the same chimney and water pan placement changes. The problem is the smoker and the failure of the company to honor the Warantee which leaves us all out in the cold trying to repair these poorly designed worthless smokers. I am in the process of writing old fashioned letters to the state and federal consumer protection agencies.

I've had this same issue come up repeatedly after only 5 cooks. On the last cook that lasted ~8 hours I probably had the ErH code come up 20 times. I kept having to unplug and restart the unit, really frustrating. I called customer support today and they tell me that it is definitely the temperature probe and they are sending me a new one. Based on these comments I am not confident this will fix the issue, but we will see. This could be a great smoker if it were just more reliable.

After about 30 cooks I am now having this problem. It has been rock solid since January, great at holding temps and now its all over the place with temp spikes to 375 on a 225 setting. I contacted PB and after waiting 2 weeks for an answer they told me to do the exact same thing, and clean the temp probe. Nothing worked, I have been watching it and it seems like it stops feeding pellets so I have been hitting prime to get through my last cook. Finally PB is sending me a new board and temp prob, fingers crossed it will fix the issue. Honestly not sure I would buy another PB.

I was just do some last minute checking before going down to Bunnings (Australian Home Depot style store) to buy one of these, glad I watched this first!

I have a Series 3 Copperhead due to be delivered in two days. This isn't the first video about error codes I've seen since I ordered mine. I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens with mine. Thanks to videos like yours and Grill Sergeant's at least I have some ideas about what to expect and how to try to navigate through them.

What a pain now I'm getting second thoughts on buying that Pit Boss smoker. Thanks for sharing .

I had issues with the heat spiking on me. Pit boss sent me a new probe and control panel. I changed them out and so far after 10+ cooks, everything works greats. I also raised my cap and water pan just for gp. I absolutely love this smoker. One note is that when pit boss sent me the new probe, I noticed that the wire is longer then the one that was on it. So I’m not sure if it was just a bad batch of probes or not. Anyways I love your channel and just want to say keep up the great work.

Bro James and I had issues with a different model pt boss last fall. I know my faith in their products has been SHOOK... I hope they make it right bro.

Thank you for sharing! Got this smoker the beginning of June and nothing but problems!!! I can’t smoke anything without ERH code so disappointed.

Sorry bro you’re having issues. I bought the pro series and the legs collapsed on me. I called the warranty with Lowe’s. They send me a gift card to buy another one. I just put this one together myself so far it’s working good the only code that popped up was I believe like ER1 pellet was stuck .I just unplugged it, plugged it right back in it’s been working great. I’ve been smoking since 6 AM it’s about 2 o’clock already and so far so good

Ouch Ric... sorry about the PB. I hope they get it worked out for you. Take care.

Sorry to hear the problems your all having, but thanks for making this video I was going to buy one of these, think I'll look elsewhere.

That sucks Ric, hope ya figure this crap out, I would be heated...good luck on it👍

Bummer, that’s weird. Hopefully the new control board and gauges help out. Despite not having this one, I’m interested to see the outcome. Keep on grillin Ric and let us know!

I did not read all the comments, but I had this very same issue. I tried all the same things as you in this video with no luck. I did not get anywhere at first with Customer Support. I bought a new temp probe off Amazon and it solved everything. The stock temp sensor is garbage. If you have not tried replacing this yet. I would give it a try. I worked for me. Also I did hear back from pit boss and they did send me a new control unit. I am keeping it as a spare cause mine is working fine now. I hope this helps you brother. Best of luck and keep up the tasty meats. -AL

I'm on my 2and Temperature Control, had same code as yours,they also have sent me 2 wiring harnesses or Control boards, it took 2 mos to get parts,mine will be out of 2yr warranty on Christmas. They have been good in sending me parts,except this last one,said because of Covid, Took actually over 2 mos to get parts,but I kept E-mailing every Week asking where my parts are at. Just got them last Saturday. Going to try temperature Control 1st by it's self. I like the moving up the water pan,I'll try that right away. It's just me and my Wife, so usally one thing cooking at a time. Thanks for the tip, Hope it Works !!

i purchased a copper head Pit Boss yesterday. I took the damn thing home started it and got an ERL CODE. My meat went bad, next day I got a replacement from Lowes. I used it last night and it is working perfectly. I am just a little concerned for the future of this gril-- with all the codes the commenters are telling me about. It is a handsome grill, but they screwed up with the electronics.

I had the same issue! For some reason mine shoots up to 380F (then very slowly declines to temp, then back up again) when it's set at 250F, but when i set it at 225F it maintained 225F +-5F. I took the entire thing apart, and i believe the issue lies in the temp probe in the unit. I don't think that temp probe's wiring is insulated correctly. When I smoke stuff, the drippings can fall on top of the probe's "protective housing" if the meat's too far back. There is also a mating surface at the bottom back part where, I am almost certain, drippings seep in and short the probe causing the control system to continuously increase in temp, causing the unit to overheat and generate the first error code that sets off. I also found that if every rack is full of meat, the heat is very inconsistent throughout the smoker. The 4th tray back gets a ton of heat, and the 3rd tray forward gets a ton of heat, and the rest of the unit lags +-15F. When I cook a pork butt, I've also found that rotating the meat 180 degrees every 2 hours or so provides the most even cook. One time, I left it there until the back part of the probe was at 200F, and the forward part 190F. With all that said, letting the unit cool down, shop vacuuming out ashes, cleaning the temp probe, and unit's the best way I've found to keep this thing going. But, I never had this issue with my Oklahoma Joe, or WSM...

Hey sir saw your video and I’m sorry that sucks! So I’m on a forum with a group of PitBoss Smokers. It seems that there is an updated smoker. Old verticals didn’t have this part that is now on the back wall of the smokers.

First sorry for your hassle. I have the same grill and raised the water pan and kept it full. Mine has been working better. I cleaned the ignitor first. I hope they make it right.

Hey Ric thankfully you have the other Smoker to pull you out my brother. You and the family stay safe.

I just bought a pit boss series 4 vertical smoker yesterday and hopefully I don't have the same problem. I did want to mention that the owners manual says if cooking at low temperature, keep the cap more open. If smoking for an extended period of time, move water pan up higher to allow water to last longer. I bought the pit boss series 4 from Lowe's and maybe the manual is different from the one you have.

Sorry about the trouble your having with this! Love all your videos tho! Need this ribs bro!

I had same problem with different brand. The probe was defective. It was reading and sending random temps to controller. I replaced the probe and it fixed the problem.

I got mine last weekend. First cook it did same thing to me about 6 times. Emailed them and haven't heard back. Like you said I get it times are tough but no excuse for lack of customer service. Everyone has a email address or laptop to work from home. I'm bringing mine back today unfortunately.

Mine is a new series 7 I’ve used it like 5 times and now I’m getting the ER H code. Temp is all over the place just like you described. I don’t see an update video so I guess it’s still broken?

Same problem here too! I run at 225 and same thing about 2 to 2 1/2 hours into my cook and that dreaded ErH code 😡 I hope you find a solution, I want to love this pit but she is pissing me off.

I’m currently experiencing the same problem. I clean it all up water is where it should be also remove all pellets and still having an ERL code . Calling supports .

Man I know that is frustrating. I hope it get fixed for ya soon sir. 👍🏻

That's a huge bummer. Hopefully they get you straightened out.

I got the same code on my first burn. Grill Sergeant to the rescue!! Second burn was fine. My water pan is two holes up from the bottom but I could be moving it now. From reading the comments temp seems to he a systemic problem. I'll be watching to see what they tell you.

Ric's thanks for the Video i was going to buy this smoker but with that occurring problems i will be looking to buy other brand smoker, i can't deal with that kind of a problem after spending that kind of money.

Just got one about a week but have had a different model for about 4 years now make sure all your wiring for the temp sensor is good and not crimped or loose that will cause that code pretty quick and make sure it's clean. Also dumb question is your flame deflector installed the right way facing the side and not front to back they say it can effect the controller/ probe hope this helps looking forward to an update!

I just had this problem with mine, 3rd smoke. Started it about 4:30am as I'm smoking a brisket. Came out at 8 am and my temp sensor said 385° but is set at 225°. I opened the door to let heat out but noticed it was no where near that hot. Then it threw Eth code. I removed water pan and the diverter on top of the fire pot and noticed my pellets had built up and ignited the pellets in the anger tube. I unplugged the unit, plugged nack in, turned on and primed to remove the hot pellets in the tube and used a metal utensil to spread out the pellets in the fire pot. Problem fixed for now. Using Pitt Boss Competition pellets.

Bummer Ric! Hoping the new controller fixed the issue!

PitBoss promised me parts but never delivered. Mine has been down since I bought it for the same problem. I have contacted them several times and they have promised parts; waited for almost a year now.

I have one and have had pitboss send board and prob. Still problems shutting down. Put a fan on back of control board under unit runs great. Bad design board gets too hot on backside

Same issue with ours. Unfortunately no answer or call back from out boss I will try and raise the water pan and open up the smoke tube and hope it works got three pork butts to cook Saturday.

Ric, by chance do you only have the Pit Boss only on the electrical circuit ? I know with other pellet smokers too many items on the circuit result in fluctuating temps. Hope they get you fixed up right brother!

I am having problems with mine. Customer service is horrible. I am taking mine back tomorrow!

Had same issues, changed thermostat... No issues since, lurched thermostat on Amazon for $12

RIC I believe it's the control board that's the issue hopefully the replacement will be there soon . Deffently a electronic issue it seems .

Did you ever get this figured out? I have the vertical series 7. The first handful of times I used it, it was flawless. The last 3-4 times however have ended with the ERH code. These cooks have ranged in temps between 250-350. To have made sure the cap was fully open and water in the pan. I however did not raise it like you did but that didn't appear to help you.

I have the same smoker and have had nothing but problems, sometimes it won't even warm up before throwing the erh code. The first and second one I exchanged at the store because it was within 90 days, now I'm stuck waiting on pitboss to send me parts for the same issue on the 3rd smoker. The last 6 months with this have been a nightmare and I wish I never bought it.

I have the same smoker and have had nothing but trouble since October last year. I have tried several times to try and get it to work but no good. I just emptied all the pellets and am trying it again. I have contacted pit boss March 16 and haven’t heard anything yet. I wouldn’t buy another

I had my pit boss for about a year I love it, Cook ribs, tri tip, chicken your name it I cook it. The Knob broke off I swear I don’t know how it broke off but called the company and they sent me a new display only 1 1/2 weeks to get here and I’m in central California, I love it. I hook it up with the new part going to cool food tomorrow

Sounds like the controller... Watching with interest, good luck.

I’ve had nothing but trouble with this vertical smoker as well! Horribly engineered... it was gifted to us ny my father in law... Mine started smoking in the back inside the pellet reservoir!

I've got the same vertical Pit Boss pro and this thing has been a pain since day one. Error codes, temp control, temp probe and now it's not igniting. I jumped on here to see if there was a quick fix. Guess I'll fire up the grill instead. If anyone reads this and thinking about buying a Pit Boss....Don't. It's a waste of money and good luck with customer service.

6 months in and I just started getting erh codes. Unplug restart and it’s good for 10 minutes. Now when I plug it back in the temp will go from 250 to 490 back to 300 to 225 to 450 within seconds until it says erl. These things suck, I should have just gotten a traeger

Is this something pit boss will fix? I have this unit, it sucks! Seen other companies are making heat deflector mods for some models, but couldn't find anything for the vertical units, tia

I only have my cap half open. Oh shit, it just dawned on me, I noticed it a couple weeks ago. The water pan, you pop foil on in it and you had the vents covered. I never did my foil in the pan, I did a drip pan above it in many of my 1st cooks. Look at my pan in my last few cooks to see how I foil my water pan. Hope that helps

Thanks Ric I have the same problem @#$%@# ready to chunk the cooker

It took 3 months for them to send me a new probe, I'm waiting on a warranty complete 850 pro its been 3 weeks so far I called they told me the order has been sent to the warehouse I will get a email with tracking # when its shipped. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️

So far my vertical has been running within 5 degrees of my set temperature. I have the water pan above the temp probe and have the cap all the way open. Done a few overnight cooks and my meater and inkbird thermometers show it holds steady all night. I have the pro series 4 vertical that Lowes sells, but its similar to the copperhead.

I replaced the temperature probe in my pit boss and no more error message.

I've been having issues with my 5 series. Very frustrating. When I first got it it ran great, after about 6 months it started acting up, sometimes it runs mint and sometimes it doesn't.

Sorry you having trouble with the Pit Boss, if you would like I will this video as an end screen to whichever video I have thats doing the best right now. Just let me know.👊

I had trouble with two different PitBoss units, ended up taking g both back to Atwoods who refunded my money....PitBoss took 3 weeks to get me parts on the first 9ne, it worked twice and quite again, so at that time, Atwoods swapped the unit out, second unit never came on, period. I will probably never try Pit Bosd again.

Wow, i havent experienced this issue yet.....makes me nervous. And I was thinking about getting their new smoker, the Lockhart......mmmm🤔

What type of pellet smoker do you recommend using. I have noticed that do to the poor location of the control board which is located at the bottom of the smokerdoor it's very easy to spill liquids on to it as you're pulling food in and out of the unit . Thank you for all the help.

Ok I have had this issue I think I know the solution. Mine would give Erh and would have wild temp swings and sometimes go out. So far I have smoked twice with with this solution. You have to vacuum out the pot after every use I think this is why the pro series has the clean out You have to

Time for some Tanerite & an AR 💥

Sorry bro about your pit boss. Stickburners don’t break down and at least you have options and the talent to use the stick burner.

I have the Pitt Boss Copperhead this is my 5th or 6th attempt at smoking, about a month ago I put a Pork Butt and a Brisket in to smoke and previously done a clean job that look almost new, about 4 hrs in as I had ran to the Beer store the wife calls and says the smoker is on fire and the was a loud bang , WTH I told her I'm almost home it will be ok got home got the dern fire out and back to smoking I went cpl hrs later here came the codes ERH and I think it was ERH1 looked in the manual and let it cool down then cranked it back on few min later another freakin fire then the codes finally ever thing kinda leveled out and after a 12 hr cook it all tasted nasty, tuff but hey the dogs ate very well for the next week. Trying it one last time if not Pitt Boss will be hearing from me or Walmart as it seems I did by the extended warranty. Thanks Ric and hope you get your parts interesting on how things will turn out after you do.

Same problem with my pit boss tailgater. Been 3 weeks and still no call back from pit boss. Going to buy a stick burner and scrap the pit boss.

Iv'e done well over 50 cooks with a Pro Series Copperhead, Iv'e never had a code and count myself lucky. Iv'e seen many videos about the problems and have no idea how it's never happend to mine. I have the water pan all the way at the bottom, and the chimmney fairly low, you can just barely see the top of the pipe. I think they have issues with the controllers. I'm going to switch over to a Rec Tech wireless eventually.

Man ! That’s too much $ not to work ! Sorry your having problems with the new toy !

The fan for my series 4 melted after using it once

That sucks big time. Sure hope they figure it out for you. Stay safe & take care of you all. Thanks for sharing eh :))

I am going through the same thing I tried every thing pit boss told me I would have my control panel and temperature probe in 7 to 10 days I got an email saying that the parts had shipped when I got the package 5 days later the only part I got was the temperature probe no control panel I called them 3 times and was told I would have the control panel in 7 day it has been almost 2 months and no control panel this thing has been a nightmare since day one

did you ever get the parts to fix the vertical smoker ,Did that take care of the problems ?

Any answer or fix yet? Was really considering getting me a Pit Boss smoker.

Ric... I got the copper head for father's day 2020 ran it 2 times no problem then it hits the same thing .... I cleaned it out hot so I could see what's going on ... my problem was just like you too hot cap and water to low and also the pellets were starting to ignite in the augers tube and going more and more up the tube.... i am going to clean out the hopper and watch it ... did you figure it out ?

They need a new and better controller the units ain’t bad for the price but I’m willing to pay a little more if they put a better controller like all the others out there. And thinking that they used to own Traeger They would know that.

Has anyone tried moving the control panel to the top of the smoker to avoid the extra heat and drippings?

At this point, I wouldn't order from Pit Boss.

Shouldn't it be plugged into the wall not an extension cord

Dag that sucks

Did you do a follow-up video? I don't see it. Thanks!

I just got a slightly used series 3 electric Pit Boss today and set it at 275 it was reading 160 on the actual temp, but probe said 260 and then 10 mins later had an erH code and now every time I turn it on it goes straight to the erH code and won't fire up.

Mine has dots that flash on the bottom after every number on the temperature readout, is this normal???

Grill sergeant does not have the same cooker...... yours came from Walmart, his cooker came for Lowes.....

Had the same problem. Folded some aluminum foil and put it in front of the unit thermocouple to keep it out of direct heat from the firebox and used meat probe to read temp at the rack lol. Works for me but I’ll have to try this method out!

Have you cleaned your Temperature Probe? I have done that to clear errors

These things are straight trasg. Never ever again

Hijole homes! No gastes en chingaderas brother!

That happened to me and it was a faulty temp probe.

Hey Ric I'm gonna make a really short video for ya just to see if your fire pot cover is in right. Stay tuned.

Same shit I'm going through. I changed the control panel still shuts down erh

That sucks RIC 🥺

I'm having the same problem erl codes. This was a waste of money. They sent me out a thermostat but no instructions on how to install it. I do not recommend this unit to anyone save your money.

This is the worst smoker on the market. I bought the pro series 3 and I have had nothing but problems with that smoker. Pit boss has sent me three control heads and I don’t really feel like even messing with this thing anymore. Strongly recommend you go to a different brand. Pit boss needs to do something about the unreliability of their unit. These things cost $400 at Lowe’s and they don’t last for more than three cooks. What a waste of money!

I have the same problem with the whiskey still wood pellet. Does it run ok now? I just emailed pitboss....

same problem, sucks. just got this thing.

i was having same issue i got so pissed i returned my smoker to store got next gen no issues yet now im fat and happy