How to Clean a Pit Boss Pellet Grill (And Fix the Annoying ErH Code)

Nobody buys a wood pellet smoker because they love scraping greasy metal plates on a Sunday afternoon.

We buy them because we want to throw a seasoned brisket on the grates, grab a cold drink, and let the auger do the work.

But here is the harsh reality: Pit Boss grills love heat, and if you let grease and ash pile up inside the barrel, you are asking for trouble.

At best, thick ash smothers the firepot and gives you bitter, stale-tasting meat. At worst, caked-on pork fat ignites into a 700°F grease fire, the computer screams with an “ErH” (Overheating) error, and your paint starts bubbling off the barrel.

Here is the exact, step-by-step cleaning routine our crew uses to keep our Pit Boss Austin XL and PB440FB1 running like clockwork.

How Often Do You Really Need to Clean It?

5 Tools That Make Cleaning Bearable

Don’t use harsh oven cleaners (Easy-Off) inside a smoker—the chemical fumes will absorb into your meat for the next five cooks. Stick to these:

1. A dedicated Shop Vac (buy a cheap 2-gallon wet/dry vac just for ash).
2. A stiff plastic putty knife (metal scrapers scratch the protective porcelain finish).
3. Heavy-duty Reynolds aluminum foil (the wide 18-inch roll).
4. Food-safe citrus grill degreaser (or simple warm water with Dawn dish soap).
5. Microfiber rag or steel wool pad.

The 15-Minute Deep Cleaning Routine

Step 1: Let the Metal Cool Down

Never vacuum warm ash. Pellet ash can hold glowing hot embers for hours after the fan shuts off. You will melt your vacuum hose and start a fire in your vacuum filter. Wait until the grill is stone cold.

Step 2: Pull the Grates & Soak

Lift out the heavy porcelain cast-iron grates. If they have sticky barbecue sauce burnt on, spray them with citrus degreaser or soak them in a tub with warm soapy water while you clean the rest of the barrel.

Step 3: Scrape the Slide-Plate Flame Broiler

1. Lift out the curved flame broiler heat shield.
2. Take your plastic putty knife and scrape the thick layer of baked-on grease into a trash bag.
3. Pitmaster Tip: Line this shield with heavy-duty aluminum foil before putting it back. When it gets dirty, you simply peel off the foil and slap on a fresh layer. Done in 30 seconds.

Step 4: Vacuum the Burn Pot

Look down into the circular steel firepot.

• Insert your shop-vac nozzle directly into the pot and suck out every ounce of fine gray ash and unburnt pellet crumbles.
• Vacuum around the auger tube inlet and the bottom belly of the barrel. Clean airflow through the firepot holes is the secret to clean blue smoke.

Step 5: Wipe the RTD Temperature Probe (Fixing the ErH Code!)

Look on the left inner wall of the cook chamber for the pencil-sized metal peg. That is the RTD temperature sensor.

• If that probe is coated in black shiny creosote, it can’t read ambient heat accurately. The computer thinks the grill is cold, keeps feeding pellets, and suddenly causes an explosive temperature spike.
• Take a damp rag with a dab of degreaser (or fine 0000 steel wool) and gently buff the probe until you see clean, shiny silver metal.

Troubleshooting: What Does the “ErH” Code Mean?

On Pit Boss digital controllers, ErH stands for Error High. It triggers when the internal temp sensor detects heat exceeding 615°F.

Why Did Your Grill Overheat?

1. A Grease Fire: You were cooking fatty burgers or chicken thighs with the flame broiler slide open, and grease dripped down into the bottom barrel and caught fire.
2. Dirty RTD Probe: As explained above, a soot-insulated probe sends delayed readings to the control board.
3. Leaving the Lid Open on “High”: If you crank the grill to 450°F and leave the lid open for 10 minutes, fresh oxygen feeds the firepot like a blacksmith’s forge, driving internal firepot temps past 700°F.

How to Safely Clear ErH:

1. Turn the dial to OFF and unplug the smoker.
2. Keep the lid closed. Starve the fire of fresh air.
3. Wait 45 minutes until the metal is cool.
4. Clean the ash out of the firepot, wipe the RTD probe shiny clean, and ensure there is no pool of grease in the barrel before you restart.

If you also own a Traeger or experience flameout shutoffs, check our companion guide on how to fix the Traeger LEr low temperature code.