One thing I started doing that I picked up in the pit boss forums was to use the water pan that comes with the verticals as a heat shield. I place the water pan about an inch above the heat shield over the burn pot and line it with foil. Then the next rack, about 2 to 3 inches higher, i put a disposable tin foil pan that I fill with water. This has been a game changer for me. I made my profile picture my set up so you can see it easier.

one of the reasons you might be having an issue is your flame tamer, the openings are supposed to be facing the sidewalls, not the front door.

Love your honesty!!! 💯💯💯✅✅✅✅

LT, sorry I missed your premier. Ribs looked like they turned out great. Nice seeing the pups in there too ! Great review and nice shout out to Chris !

I have the same smoker. I bought after seeing your first review. I love it! You know you can still put the foil in the water pan before adding water. Make clean up easy! Thanks Louis!

Hey Louis I received the new package...thanks so much bud! This was an interesting cook. The differences between temps from the smoker and the IGrill are surprising. This shows that you have to learn and know your cooker because no two are the same in my opinion. The ribs looked fantastic!! BTW...I am ready to jump in your pool buddy!!! Take care out there!

The dogs sure knew when the ribs were ready! Looks good... thinking about this smoker now.

Great video bud!!! 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

It’s all in the learning curve

Nice one Louis don't know how I missed this one. Ribs looked perfect and the copper head did it's job. Glad to see no codes this time. I love Malcom's rub too and nice spritzer lol! See you soon for our cookoff!

Thanks very much Louis! 😂

Interesting Video Lois. You have very nice set up pool garage mountainous backdrop. I find the video interesting because it seems as though pellet smokers are getting quite popular, so I watch the video, I understand smoke is not quite as intense. The other channel tested this smoker against Weber kettle no additional wood charcoal pellets and the blind taste test this smoker came out as best taste, the tester said he noticed more smoke taste on kettle. They couldn't put finger on it but they preferred the pit boss. I have never tasted anything except the kettle. After seeing your response made me think pit boss and possibly pellet smokers are on to something. Ps I would just foil water pan, at end of cook when things are cool just roll it up and say that sure was easy, I do that with my drip n griddle pan with the slow and sear, I was impressed at ease of clean up.

Good stuff!

Louis looks good Lowe's has series 6 You can control auger Speed so to speak 5 degrees increments Low heat is 130 degrees Cost 899.00 Do you still recommend Pit boss vertical smoker For ribs , brisket only?

Got mine at Lowes for 389 bucks. First use was smoking ribs. Wife says best ribs she has ever had. Its going to get dirty but the best BBQ restaurant's you can find smell like the inside of this unit. Next use will be smoking salmon fillets. Love it!

Ribs looked great! The iGrill seemed to consistently be 25* warmer. I’m sure the neighbors won’t mind grease dripping, lol.

That's the most badass spritzer ever.

Your heat deflector is suppose to be with the slot vents to the sides not the front towards the controls. That mat be what's causing your problem too.

Looks like some cross contamination may occur with more than one meat or vegetables. Beef drippings mixed with chicken and pork. I don’t know. Thank you for the information.

Do you think instead of using water as a heat sink we could use sand or firebrick? I hate getting up every 2 hrs during an overnight cook to fill the waterpan

I wrap the pan and and then fill it with water. Stays clean and still functions as it should 👍

Louis sorry, I missed your comment. Thanks for the shout out, have a great weekend!

You and I have discussed ad nauseaum about the use of foil in the water pan.

Great video Thanks. Did you put 2 extra door latches on? I don't remember seeing 3 in your first video. If so , where did you get them? How hard was it to add them?

What series pit boss is that? I have the 5 and hadn't seen the triple lock/handles before. You may be getting error code because your unit was sitting in direct sun? I've seen that issue before, I always use mine in shaded area

Just subscribed. Thank you for posting Louis! I have a WoodWind Camp Chef pellet grill. I'm just not impressed with the lack of smoke it pours to the meet at any setting. I've heard good things about this particular Pit Boss Vertical smoker. What brand of pellets do you use with this Pit Boss? Thanks again Cheers, DJ GUNZ, Key West, FL

Quick Question. Do you find that the water restricts how hot you can get? I have a cheap vertical electric. Without water, I can get to 350, with water in the pan it struggles to get over 225. I'm worried because it seem that the PItboss needs the water, but I still might want to get my temps higher than 250. Thx

Hey Louis, great review, I have the pro series 4 and plan on doing ribs as my second smoker experience, I wrapped my water pan on my first use but forgot to leave the vents uncovered, it still worked perfect, my wife says I have a new love 😂 but she doesn’t mind

Can you load them up with different types of meat at the same time? Different family members like different type of meat. Thinking about getting one.

How long do you leave the door open for during the startup

love that spritzer. where did you get it?

is this smoker big enough for a 12# brisket?

You put the fire block part in wrong. Says slots must go to the sides.

You just happen to like the flavor of a Clean Burn wood fire. There are more elements produced from complete combustion of than just the "Smoky" taste that most people recognize to be good Que. Most people think BBQ has to taste like a house fire to be good..........You know the difference!

No smoke. I never see smoke coming out of these pellet smokers. Why?

Hi Louis, it’s the fat old man from SoDak. I really liked this review. I did hang ribs last weekend in my Copperhead. They weren’t as pretty as you’d. I just smoked them for 4 hours, no wrap. I’ve done whole chicken, pork shoulder roasts, 2 inch pork steaks and chop, and now ribs. I lined my water pan with foil like a tray keeping the vents open. I haven’t experienced the issues you have. I have experienced wild temp fluctuations. Set at 250 it has dropped to 195 and gone up to 305. I clean the smoker every time I cook including taking a 3M greenie pad to the cabinet temp probe. I wonder if it’s the foil in the pan causing the temp fluctuations? Ideas? I see you get packages from France. If I were to send you a little package from my part of the country as a way of saying thanks for all the heat advice and help how would I do so? Great video thanks. By the way I used Pit Boss fruitwood pellets on the ribs.

Just give the dog the meaty water or reduce it and pour over their kibble