What Is the P Setting on a Pellet Grill?

What the P setting actually does

The P setting controls how long the auger pauses between feed cycles on a non-PID Pit Boss controller. A higher number means a longer pause, so fewer pellets, a smaller fire and more smoke at lower temperatures. It does not set the temperature — the temperature dial does that.

P stands for pause. It only appears on controllers that feed pellets on a timed cycle rather than a closed loop — which is why Pit Boss’s LCD and LED boards have it and a true PID controller does not need one.

The P0-P7 table

Exact pause durations differ between Pit Boss controller generations and Pit Boss does not publish them as times. The direction of the effect is consistent and well established; the precise seconds are not something we are going to invent. Check your model’s own manual if you need the figures.

Should you change it?

Usually no. P3 is the factory default on most models and it is the right setting for most conditions. Two situations genuinely justify changing it:

Cold weather, struggling for temperature

Drop to P2 or P1. A shorter pause means more pellets and a bigger fire, which compensates for heat lost to cold air. This is the most legitimate reason to touch the setting.

Hot weather, wanting more smoke at a low set point

Go to P4 or P5. A longer pause means a smaller, cooler fire that smolders more, which produces more smoke. It also makes it harder to reach higher temperatures.

The flame-out risk at high P settings

At P6 and P7 the pause is long enough that the fire can go out between feeds, particularly in cold or windy conditions or with damp pellets. When that happens, the auger keeps feeding pellets into a dead pot — and then the next ignition, or a stray ember, lights the whole accumulated pile at once.

That is a real flare-up risk and it is why we would not recommend P6 or P7 to anyone who is not watching the grill. If you want more smoke, a smoke tube achieves it with no flame-out risk at all, for a few dollars.

Grills that do not have a P setting

Any true PID controller. A PID board measures the actual temperature continuously and adjusts the feed to hold the set point — there is no fixed pause to configure, because the pause is calculated moment to moment.

That means:

• Z Grills PID 3.0 models — no P setting, and none needed.
• Pit Boss Advantage 850SL — touchscreen PID, so no P setting.
• Traeger — their boards manage feed internally; no user-facing P equivalent.

If you find the P setting fiddly, that is a genuine argument for buying a PID-controlled grill next time. See best pellet grills for the money.

What P setting should I use?

P3 in normal conditions. P1 or P2 in genuinely cold weather. P4 if you want slightly more smoke in warm weather. Nothing above P5 unless you are standing there watching it.