Pit Boss 700FB Auger Not Turning (5 Simple Steps To Fix It)

Timothy Woods
Published by Timothy Woods
Last Updated On: December 4, 2023

We’ve all been there: accidentally forgetting to cover your pellet grill while it rains outside, or adding wood pellets to your grill when they’re a little too wet. Both of these situations can cause your Pit Boss 700FB Pellet Grill to stop working properly.

You’ll be happy to know your Pit Boss Grill isn’t broken forever; all you need to do is fix your clogged auger.

After searching the internet far and wide, we have managed to come up with a solution.

In this article, we’ll go over all you need to know about unclogging your jammed auger, as well as our top tips to keep it clean and running.

Quick Summary

  • The Pit Boss 700FB auger may stop turning due to wet pellets, causing a jam; it can be fixed by removing and cleaning the clogged auger.
  • The process involves removing the bottom panel, control board, hopper, motor, and auger screw, then cleaning the auger with sandpaper or a chisel.
  • Proper maintenance, such as using only dry pellets and storing the grill in a cool and dry place, can prevent the auger from getting jammed.

What Is an Auger and How Does It Work?

Holding an Auger

A Pit Boss pellet grill or pellet smoker uses wood to create a great smoke flavor profile.

These pellets are fed into the smoker, controlled by an electronic panel that helps maintain a steady grilling temperature.

All this is done with the help of the auger motor, feeding the pellets directly from the hopper and into the firepot.

This allows you to leave your Pit Boss grill to do its job, requiring little babysitting from you.

Why Does It Get Clogged?

One of the main things causing the auger on pellet grills to get jammed is due to wet pellets. If your wood pellets have been left to get wet, or humidity has got to them, they’ll swell up and cause the auger to become jammed [1].

That’s why it’s important to keep your pellet grill or smoker stored in a cool and dry place, away from the rain.

If you’ve had your Pit Boss 700FB for a number of years or you live in an environment that is humid, or there’s a lot of rain, chances are you’ll have a clogged auger every once in a while.

How Do You Unclog the Auger on a Pit Boss Grill?

To fix an auger jam, you’ll need to remove quite a few pieces. This includes the control board, hopper, motor, and then the screws holding the part in place. You may also need to use a pipe wrench to remove the auger.

In theory, this method should work on any Pit Boss or Pellet Smoker (including your 700FB), but the method may have to be modified slightly depending on your model.

Steps to Unclogging the Auger on a Pit Boss 700fb

As always, ensure your pellet grill is unplugged before you decide to do any sort of maintenance on it.

If you struggle to unclog your auger, consider calling a professional to fix the jam in your Pit Boss motor.

If you’re more mechanically inclined, feel free to follow our steps to fix that clog:

What you’ll need:

  • Screwdriver
  • Socket wrench
  • Allen wrench
  • Chisel
  • Vacuum

Step 1: Removing The Bottom Panel

Unscrewing the bottom panel

To start, you’ll want to remove the auger from the Pit Boss. To do so, you’ll want to lay your Pit Boss 700FB on its backside.

This will make it far easier for you to remove the bottom panel of the hopper.

Grab your screwdriver and remove the screws from the hopper. Once you’ve done so, move everything to the side and place the screws for safekeeping.

Step 2: Move The Control Board

Next, you’ll need to remove both of the screws from the control board. You’ll find them on the top and the bottom of the panel. Once the screws have been removed, carefully feed the control board through the hopper.

The control board shouldn’t come all the way out. All you want to do is move the board out of the way enough to get to the motor - do not attempt to remove the wires that are securing it in place.

As long as you can remove the auger, it’s fine to leave the wires dangling at the bottom of the hopper.

Step 3: Move The Hopper

Pit boss hopper

On the hopper, you’ll need to remove both the back and front screws.

Make sure you have a flat and steady surface to place the hopper on before you go ahead and remove it.

Similar to the control board, the hopper is attached to the Pit Boss via the power cord so you won’t be able to remove it completely.

Step 4: Remove The Bolt

Before you’re able to remove the auger from your Pit Boss, you’ll need to remove the Allen head nut. You can use your Allen tool to remove this nut as well as a ratchet wrench. Make sure you have the right size wrench.

Once you’ve removed the nut and bolt you can let the motor hang at the bottom of the Pit Boss.

Step 5: Remove The Auger Screw

Removed auger screw from Pit Boss 700FB

Once the motor has been removed, you’ll notice one screw holding the auger in place. Remove this screw with a pipe wrench.

This will turn the auger counterclockwise so you can then pull it out.

If the auger is all jammed up, it’ll take a bit more working force to get the auger free.

There isn’t an additional step you need to take other than turning the screw until it can break free.

Cleaning The Auger

Once you’ve got the auger removed, you can use sandpaper to break off the pellet. If you have pellets that are a lot easier to remove, you can clean up the tube by using a chisel to break them apart.

As you’re removing the pellet with the chisel, you’ll need to keep vacuuming up the broken pieces.

Paper towels can clean any debris and grime remaining. When it becomes easy for the auger to slide in and out, that means it is nice and clean and ready to be put back together.

The final step is to put everything back and stand the Pit Boss back up.

When it comes to filling the hopper back up, make sure you’re only using dry pellets. You may have to prime your grill top before you begin cooking. If your fire pot begins filling up, that means your grill is ready and set to use.

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References:

  1. https://www.woodpellets.com/blog/2015/02/05/what-happens-to-wet-wood-pellets/
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