Find out if your AC grill has a P-Setting feature and how to use it to help manage your grill's temperature in different weather conditions.
What Is a P-Setting?
The P-Setting, short for Pause Setting, is used on some older grills to help monitor the grill's temperature when being used in extreme cold or hot temperatures (newer grills monitor this automatically). The P-Setting does this by controlling the length of pause between the auger cycles, which feed pellets to the firepot.
Which Grills Have P-Settings?
While most grills that have P-Settings have been discontinued, one grill is still being manufactured with this feature, such as the Scout and formerly the Junior 20. However, note that the P-setting controller for the Junior 20 has been discontinued, and the Junior 20 now comes with an ARC controller instead (JUNIOR 20 (ARC)).
You can find out if your grill has a P-setting by simply looking at your controller. If it has a plain black sticker, a sticker that says "call service," or a small hole next to the digital display, they have a p-setting like the controller pictured below.
How P-Settings Work
Check out this instructional video if you'd like to learn more
Once a grill reaches its set temperature, it enters a pause cycle. This pause cycle, which turns the auger on and off, regulates the pellets flowing into the firepot.
Grills have 5 P-Settings: P-1 to P-5, the default setting being P-2. The lower the P-Setting, the shorter the pause; the higher the P-Setting, the longer the pause. A lower P-Setting is ideal for low outside temperatures because it will feed pellets faster, preventing the flame from going out. A higher P-Setting is good for high outside temperatures to prevent the grill from getting too hot.
| SETTING | AUGER RUNNING TIME | AUGER PAUSE TIME |
|---|---|---|
|
P-0 |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 45 seconds (auger off) |
|
P-1 |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 55 seconds |
|
P-2 (factory default |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 65 seconds |
|
P-3 |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 75 seconds |
|
P-4 |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 85 seconds |
|
P-5 |
15 seconds auger on |
Pause 95 seconds |
| Grills with early digital elite controllers can go up to P-9. Factory P-Setting on Scouts is P-4 |
||
When to Adjust Your P-Setting
So when should you adjust your P-Setting?
- You should adjust your P-setting if your grill is running above or below the set temperature.
- You may also want to adjust your P-Setting when the ambient temperatures are particularly cold or hot, causing the grill to struggle to get up to temperature or causing the grill to run too hot.
- If you have your grill on SMOKE, but the temperature won't go below 225 degrees, you may try increasing the P-Setting as the typical SMOKE temperature is between 160 and 200 degrees.
Because increasing the P-Setting increases the pause before feeding more pellets, we recommend not going above P-4 to prevent the fire from going out.
How to Adjust Your P-Setting
To change the P-Setting, use a paperclip or something similar to press the button inside the hole on the front face of the grill’s controller. Sometimes it’s behind a plain small black sticker or a sticker saying, "Call Service" on it.