Under certain circumstances smoke may be released from the hopper (lid or pellet dump). Often this is nothing to worry about, so review the information below to determine what the cause may be and if any action is required.
What to Do?
- Open the flame vent – this can allow the fire to “breathe” better which can help if the burn back is due to a huge fire and pellet accumulation.
- Drop the target temperature down to 140℃ / 284℉ low smoke setting or lower, which will significantly reduce the wood pellet delivery rate and fire size.
- If the smoke from the hopper subsides, then keep cooking at normal.
If the smoke is excessive, or not reducing follow these steps:
- Open the flame vent.
- Open both the grill lid and hopper lids.
- Lift out the lift drip tray so the pellet feed tube and fire grate is visible.
- If pellets are piled up the left fire grate and there is clearly a fire in the outlet of the pellet feed tube, then continue with the following steps:
- Switch the power off on the back of the grill, then switch power back on.
- Power up the grill, then to go MENU > Feed Pellets > Fill Auger Tube. This will push some pellet out of the auger tube and should reduce any smoke from the hopper. Repeat again if required.
- Dump any pellets and ash into the ash bin and safely dispose.
- If pellets are still visible on the left fire grate, remove the heat baffle clean off and the put the fire grate back in place.
- Once clean of pellets and ash, ensure the left fire grate is in the correct position and fire back up as normal.
Fire in the hopper
An actual fire in the hopper is very unlikely, but if it occurs it should be extinguished to avoid damage to the hopper.
- Turn the power OFF on the back of the grill (so no air flow).
- Open the flame vent.
- Open the grill lid and hopper lid.
- Dump out pellets if still lots in there.
- Pour a small amount of water into the hopper (start with just 1 cup). Only add more only if there are still visible flames.
- Use MENU > Feed Pellets > Fill Auger Tube to push pellets out of the feed tube. Repeat several times if required until only clean pellets are being dropped into the fire grate.
- Dump pellets into the ash bin and safely dispose.
- Wait for the grill to cool down, then do a full clean, including remove the hopper fan cover and checking for any damage inside the hopper.
Causes
Low Pellet Level
If there is a very low level of wood pellets in the hopper there is little resistance for air to flow from the grill into the hopper. This can cause some smouldering of the wood dust in the feed tube, causing smoke to be released.
This is most likely to occurring during high temperature cooks where there a big fire.
The simple solution is to fill up the hopper to at least half full with pellets as it will greatly increase the air flow resistant into the hopper and air will flow out the grill walls and vents as it should.
If smoke continues to be released (or during multiple cooks), check that the inner wall and outlet exhaust vents are clean. Click here for exhaust vent cleaning instructions.
Wood Dust
Wood dust that has been poured into the hopper from the bottom of bags of pellets, or accumulated over time as pellets are broken up, can smoulder during high temperature cooks, causing some smoke from the hopper.
Make sure not to pour the wood dust into the hopper. Here are tips on how to prevent wood dust entering the hopper.
Dump out all the wood pellets, feed the remaining pellets out and do a vacuum before adding fresh pellets and firing up again. Click here for cleaning instructions.
Pellets Piling Up
If there are plenty of wood pellets in the hopper (not Low Pellet Level) and the grill is operating at a high temperature the cause for the burn back may be a build up of wood pellets in the fire grate. This can result in the fire creeping up the fire grate to the pellet feed tube. This can happen if wood pellets are not able to burn out and drop down fast enough.
This can be due to:
- Poor air flow to the fire due to blocked air holes in fire grate.
- Poor air flow due to the wall exhaust panels being dirty and blocked. How to clean.
- Excessive ash build up, blocking air flow.
- Oak based pellets are much more likely to accumulate ash than Australia hardwood. If doing very long cooks, consider using a mix of these varieties instead of pure oak based pellets.
- Moist pellets that cannot ignite and burn quickly.
Prevention
- Do not store wood pellets in the hopper. If not going to use the grill for more than a week, dump them out and store in a airtight box or bag.
- Do not dump wood dust into the hopper.
- Dump out ash after each cook.