Cody Hamilton – A member of the Facebook group Pit Boss Grill Owners asked the question: What’s the best way to clean the boss inside and outside? Soon he received answers from other members:
Best Shop Vac for Cleaning Pit Boss Grill
How to clean the Pit-Boss Grill?
Mike Puza said: Shop vac, for the burn pot. I use vinegar and water mix on the inside for the soot.
- Cody Hamilton replied Mike Puza: for the inside of the door too
- Mike Puza replied: The door is tricky…. I’ve found that if you use a circular plastic tube, the attachment for a vacuum cleaner, you can scrape all of the crap off of it and then used the rinse to make it clean
David Harkey said: No need to clean. That is all seasoning. Keep on smoking
- Chris Pitchford replied: This is bad advice. After doin this for about 2 decades at one point I realized that the accumulation of old grease, bits of old meat etc burn during every cook, often times causing the formation of funky sooty smoke that coats your food. That’s why burn offs are so important…
- Nicholas Bradley replied: Creosote says you’re wrong.
Ralph Akers said: Just scape the big stuff off why would you need to clean the inside
- Cody Hamilton replied Ralph Akers: I to take care of my stuff
- Ralph Akers replied: Cody Hamilton that’s not taking care of it! If you clean it it will rust and not have the flavor ! Keep the outside clean and the fire pot swept out! A good pit master’s smoker will glisten inside!
- Cody Hamilton replied: oh ok thanks
- Ralph Akers replied Cody Hamilton:man I have learned from many of the pros in here! Enjoy and smoke on!
Willie Rhodes said: I say turn it up let it burn off .
- Mike Puza replied Willie Rhodes: I’ve done that too lol
Jay Dubayu said: Vacuum out the burn pot and the ash inside
Scrape the drip guards with a putty knife
Joey Mur said: I just vacuum it out and take a rag and wipe up the excess grease and large chunks.
Matt Mena said: I just vacuum the burn pot and keep the smoky flavor on the inside
David Harkey said: IF you must get it squeaky clean. The easiest way to accomplish that is a pressure washer. IT will look brand new again.
- Steve Kaluf replied: No way would I use a pressure washer. Too many electronics, and areas that should not get wet.
Darrin Vaughan said: I’ve only used my shop vac. The rest is flavor gold.
Chris Pitchford said: Vacuum and wipe up excess grease and burn off after every cook. It’s too easy just to shut her down… you ever notice that nasty smoke that forms when you crank up the heat? That’s all burning grease that’s who knows how old…. CLEAN grilling is essential…
- David Harkey replied:
- David Harkey replied:
- Chris Pitchford replied David Harkey: holly shit that is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen….wtf is that? An old septic tank?
- David Harkey replied: It is a bbq restaurant in Austin Texas. “The best barbecue in America: Ruby’s B.B.Q. in Austin. All-natural beef brisket smoked overnight, and mustard potato salad so good it’ll make Mom feel bad.
- Chris Pitchford replied: Never heard of it…. and I live in Texas
Thank your for the warning, Ill be sure to steer clear. - David Harkey replied Chris Pitchford:LOL All pits in BBQ restaurants look that way.
- Larry Thorne replied: Chris Pitchford:I clean all mine after every smoke! I don’t want to be eating chicken skin when I’m eating ribs! Or vice-versa!
- Chris Pitchford replied David Harkey:dude maybe where you live… that shit is TERRIBLE….
- Chris Pitchford replied Larry Thorne: yea man… dirty smokers and grills cause terrible stomach issues…
- David Harkey replied: LOL Those images are pits in Texas BBQ restaurants.
- Chris Pitchford replied: gift1
- David Harkey replied: LOL Which of those places have you had some BBQ?
- Ryan McClurg replied David Harkey: Ruby’s is closed FYI. https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/food/2018-01-31/rubys-bbq-set-to-close/
- David Harkey replied Ryan McClurg: Yes I saw it closed last year. And that someone has bought the pits and place to disassemble and put them back together in a restaurant. All BBQ restaurants that have pits like that, they scrub them clean. Usually the fire never goes out, so they don’t have time to clean.
- Ryan McClurg replied David Harkey: oh I don’t care about the pit being greasy. I was just saying it’s closed now.
- David Harkey replied Ryan McClurg: OK LOL
Rodney Brown said: That is the nice thing about the PitBoss Copperhead Series7 as it is a vertical smoker it has a catch pan that you fill with water makes for a easy cleanup take the catch pan out dispose of the water then vaccum out the burn pot and the ashes on the floor of the smoker and its ready for your next use
Nathan Pyburn said: My clean up is simple, idk if it the right way but it’s my way.
👉Every 40lb bag of pellets I take the guts (boiler plate, grates, etc.) out of my grill
I use my sear slider to knock off the chunky stuff. And I use a putty knife to clean the v-groves on the broiler plate as well as the v-grove at the end by the grease bucket.
Then I vacuum the inside of the barrel and the burn pot, and even the hopper.(That is my standard maintenance)
👉2 or 3 times a year I do a burn off.. I follow the same steps as above, except once I put my grill back together I do I high heat burn. That consists of my firing up the Boss and bringing it to 300° I let it run on each setting for 15 minutes, until I get to high. Once I hit high I run for 5 minutes.. then power down and let the grill cool. Take it apart again and vacuum out Everything that happened during the burn off.
- Justin Parham replied Nathan Pyburn: This sounds an excellent way to keep one clean.
David L Thompson said: Simple green
RF Frontiero said: I looked in my manual and it gives timetables according to usage on how and when you should clean. Every 3-4 uses, I Shop Vac the pot and barrel then I scrape the excess grease off the broiler plate with a putty knife. On the outside, just a rag with warm soapy water. The rest I just burn off each use.
Jay Kimball said: Take it to a self serve car wash and use high pressure water. NO SOAPbox any kind!!!
Josh Stoneburner said: Vinegar and water mix with a shop vac if need be. Really no need to clean anything but the glass. Dont us any cleaners in the smoker unless you the taste and smell of it lol
- Rodney Brown replied Josh Stoneburner: I will have to wait till things warm up more here minus 19c rightnow a bit to cold to clean the glass and I wont put it in my tub its white and it might get stained
- Josh Stoneburner replied: Lol I hear ya there
Daniel Schroeder said: Sand blaster
Steven Vickers said: Shop vac, plastic scraper, and some paper towels.
Johnnie Kirk said: Con a neighborhood kid into doing it.
Todd Litton said: 1.5″ puddy knife and a shop vac. Don’t take long at all.
Jeff DeTinne tagged Rod Monk
Robb Peterson said: A large chunk of C4? JK. Seriously how do you get your pit boss to heat up at -10F
Joe Crews said: Don’t forget to always wipe off the temp probe. I see that problem a lot on this site
Andrew Helmuth said: Shop-vac is the only way to go. Just scrape it with a grill brush and vacuum everything out.
Mike Helderman said: Shop vac…and a metal scraper
Jimmy Newton said: I remove and scrape the heat shield with a putty knife, vacuum everything out, and wipe out any grease or oil that is starting to build up.
Great Shop-Vac for Cleaning Pellet Grill
We hope that this guide will help you decide What’s the best way to clean the pit boss inside and outside for you. Good luck!
Last Updated on August 11, 2020 by Judith Fertig
New Pit Moma says
Thanks Everyone for the simple advice: I needed it