What is the prime button on Pit Boss?

Last Updated on: 23rd October 2022, 06:10 pm

Pit boss grills are one of the most effective pieces of equipment that you can find in the BBQ space.

They are in style nowadays due to being budget-friendly and providing the flavour of charcoal grills with the least effort.

But their effectiveness is dependent on the several components which help them perform better.

One of these things, which is really important for the enhancement of flavour in the grill, is the prime button.

In this article, we are going to discuss what a prime button is and why we use it.

The prime button is a medium-sized button present on the front side of the pit boss grills near the power button.

Its main function is to speed up the movement of the auger to push more pellets into the burn pot in less time .

It is useful because if the pellets don’t reach the burn pot quickly enough, then the ignitor will time out .

If you are an old-school pitmaster like me, then priming may sound like a technical process to you .

But actually, it is a really simple process that doesn’t require much effort.

But it can help in getting the best smoke and flavour from the grill.

What is the prime button on Pit Boss?

The prime button is simply a button that is located on the right bottom side of the power button.

It basically controls the speed at which the auger is turning.

So, virtually, it has control over the temperature and smoke of the grill.

An auger is an important component of a pit boss grill which is used to deliver the pellets from the pellet hopper to the burn pot.

It is a rod-shaped component that keeps rotating around its own axis to push the pellets slowly into the burn pot.

A pit boss grill is used for the priming of a pit boss grill.

As is obvious by the name , priming is simply a process to initiate the delivery of pellets to the burn pot and then produce smoke, heat, and smoke by burning those pellets.

When you are using your pit boss grill for the first time or your hopper has run out of the pellets during the grilling process, then you will need to prime the pit boss grill first before grilling.

If the grill is not primed, then the ignitor will time out before the arrival of the pellets.

To prime your pit boss grill, you have to fill the pellet hopper with pellets and then hold the prime button to speed up the auger.

You should keep in mind that you don’t have to click the prime button, rather you need to hold it for 20-30 seconds to start priming the grill.

The purpose of the prime button

You need to press the prime button and hold it until you hear the clicking sound of pellets dropping into the burn pot.

You can also hold your hand over the burning pot to check if the air is getting hotter.

If hot air is coming out of the burn pot, then it means the ignitor is working.

But you also need to keep in mind that the pit boss grill igniter has a specific time range until it works.

If the pellets don’t arrive in the pit boss until then, it will time out.

Most of the pit boss’s grills have a timer that goes off after 4 minutes.

But on the flip side , the priming can usually take 7 minutes, excluding the preparation time.

As you can observe, there is a huge difference between the priming time and the ignitor time out.

That’s where the prime button comes into play.

The prime button speeds up the auger to push more pellets into the fire pot to keep the ignitor on .

You should preferably hold the prime button until the burn pot is filled with the pellets.

It will help the fire go, but you also need to make sure that it doesn’t produce thick white smoke.

So you should not overfill it.

The benefits of priming

Priming is an important process before starting grilling.

It helps us make sure that the components of the grill are working correctly before putting your meat on the grill.

priming can also be beneficial if your pit boss grill has been rained on.

So, if there is a malfunction in any component, it will be detected beforehand.

In addition to this , priming also helps in making the grill clean of any dirt , debris, or chemicals.

Some pitmasters prefer to prime the grill at temperatures ranging from 300 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

which is high enough to burn off any dirt or grease that might be building up on the grill.

During the manufacturing of the pit boss grills, they often come into contact with several chemicals.

On top of that , there is no guarantee that these chemicals are food grade.

So, by priming your grill before use, you can minimise the risk of any health issues.

How do you prime your Pit Boss grill?

Priming your grill is not as complicated as it sounds.

Rather, it is a simple process and very much like the usual grilling process.

To make sure you are doing it right, you should consider following our step-by-step guide to priming.

1. First of all , you should connect your Pit Boss grill to electricity. As you might know, the Pit Boss grill is a type of electric grill.
2. To begin using them, you must first ensure that they are connected to a constant voltage power supply.
3. After that, you should consider cleaning your pit boss grill. You should consider removing the cooking racks and other removable materials.
   But if you are using it for the first time, then let the cooking racks inside it burn off any chemicals.
4. Now that the grill has a power supply, turn on your grill by pressing the power button present at the top left of the smoker.
5. When the grill turns on , you will hear a heavy sound coming out of the grill. It will be similar to a jet engine.
6. Now fill your hopper with pellets. These hopper pellets can be of any type. But make sure to not overfill the hopper with pellets.
   You should consider leaving a 12-inch space between your pellets and the hopper access panel.
7. Now that the pellets are added, consider increasing the temperature of your grill. Some people prefer to use the smoke function, while others prefer to manually adjust the temperature.
8. If you are a beginner, then I would advise you to just set it to smoke function.
9. After that, press and hold the prime button. You need to hold the prime button until you hear pellets Start dropping into the burn pot.
10. When the pellets start burning, then you will hear a heavy sound coming out of the burn pot.
11. Lastly, you should consider turning off the grill after 10-15 minutes.

Congratulations!

Your grill has been primed now.

The fan of the grill will keep running for some time to burn off the remaining fuel in the burn pot.

So you should not disconnect the grill from the power supply.

Conclusion

The prime button is one of the most important components of the pit boss grills.

It helps by priming the pit boss grills more easily.

It increases the speed of the auger, which helps in avoiding the time out of the ignitor. if you enjoyed this article , then checkout your guide on pit boss grill troubleshooting