• Before beginning, make sure your Pit Boss is off, unplugged, and cool before attempting to empty the pellets.

Step 1: Empty Pellets from the Hopper

• On the back of the Pit Boss, locate the screw that holds the trap door in place. Unscrew the screw and remove it.
  
• Pull the trap door out to allow pellets to fall down into the chute. Keep the hopper stopper in place at this time.
  
• Open the pellet hopper lid. Using a wooden paint stick, brush the pellets down into the chute.
  
• Have a pellet storage bucket ready. Place the bucket underneath the stopper on the back of the Pit Boss.
  
• Remove the stopper and allow the pellets to fall into the bucket.
  
• Use the wooden paint stick to push more pellets from the hopper into the chute so they continue to fall into the bucket. You can use the paint stick to flip pellets out of the auger to maximize the amount of pellets you save. Any pellets left in the hopper and auger will be burned up in the next step.
  
• Replace the stopper.
  
• Slide the trap door back into the hopper. Replace and tighten the screw.
  

Step 2: Burn through Pellets in the Auger

• Plug in the Pit Boss and turn it on. Set the dial to "Smoke" and hold down the "prime" button to get the auger to start turning. Make sure the "AUGER" light is illuminated. Leave the lid open during this process.
  
• Wait a little bit, then hold down the "Prime" button again to get the auger to turn more. Repeat this step as needed to encourage the pellets to churn through the auger faster.
  
• On Pit Boss models with direct heat, you can open the flame broiler and make sure the fire is going in the firepot. This indicates that the pellets are being burned up.
  
• Keep an eye on the fire. When the Pit Boss is out of pellets, the fire will go out and the control panel will flash the error code "ErL" to indicate that it is out of pellets.
  
• Check to make sure the auger at the bottom of the hopper is empty of pellets. This whole process will take about 20-25 minutes depending on how many pellets were in the auger.
  
• On the control panel, press the "power" button to shut down the Pit Boss. The fan will run for about 10 minutes as the Pit Boss runs through the shutdown cycle.
  

Step 3: Empty the Ashes from the Firepot

• Once the Pit Boss has shutdown completely and cooled a bit, put on a pair of heat resistant gloves. The Pit Boss will likely still be hot to the touch.
• Locate the firepot release handle and latch on the bottom of the Pit Boss, if your model of Pit Boss has one.
  
• Undo the latch. Using the handle, slide the handle to the right and then pull down to remove it from the Pit Boss.
  
• Dump the ashes into a metal bucket if they are still warm. If they are cool, you can dump them into a bag for disposal.
  
• Use a paper towel to wipe out the firepot of the remaining ash.
  
• Replace the firepot by holding it by the handle, firepot pointed up and latch on the left side. Push it straight up into the Pit Boss, then slide it to the left to secure. Replace the latch.