Ash covering grates common issue?

[Alds]

Been a while since my first post, have since abandoned the old dyno glo showing in the profile pic and upgrade to a Pitboss 1150pro. Fired it up, did a burn off and seasoned it and smoking the first time with it tomorrow.

Here’s the question: After the burn off and again after the seasoning it seemed like there was a decent amount of ash/dust on the heat deflector, grates, etc. Is that a common thing with pellets? Can I expect to see that usually or was it because of the higher temp used. If it’s common, any concerns with it getting into your food?

Was running a bit above 400 for around 40 mins or so, with Pitboss brand cherry pellets. Maybe a cm of ash inside the cup to get emptied after each timeAny suggestions or insights appreciate!

 

[Fueling Around]

Nature of the beast. I clean the burn cup usually every time, because most of my use is under 300° for extended time. Never noticed ash on the meat.
I use a plastic putty knife and a whisk broom to knock loose accumulated ash then vacuum out the entire chamber every 3-4 cooks.

 

[Alds]

Sounds good, first time firing it up just to do the initial burn off so from here on it’ll probably be mostly below 300 too. Thanks for the info!

 

[6GRILLZNTN]

Yep. Nature of the beast. I vac out my pellet pooper after every couple of cooks. I still get a little ash on my food. I call it "flavor" and live with it.

 

[chopsaw]

Mine is simple to clean , so I tend to do it after every cook . Some pellets will have more ash than others . I normally use B&B , but recently bought some Pit Boss charcoal pellets . They seem to leave more ash . I like the pellets , and still use them . Not preaching B&B not knocking Pit Boss . I use both , but maybe try some other brands if it's an issue for you .

 

[mr_whipple]

I can't say that I've gotten ash on the grates, but I never run mine that high. Maybe I did on the initial burn in but I don't remember. I empty my pot every cook as it's easy and I shop vac out the rest every other cook or so depending on the length of those cooks. I don't think you have an issue, so get to smoking and lets see some pics!

 

[Winterrider]

Lumberjack pellets, seem to leave about 1/2 the ash as Pit Boss or Traeger IMO

 

[WV_Crusader]

Normal, but Lumber Jack and Bear Mountain pellets leave about half the amount of ash in cup and or around the smoker. They are a tighter press and way less dust in bag overall. I tried Pit Boss pellets when I ran out once and didn’t have time to drive an hour to get my 50 bags of LJ. They was ok but flavor and mess was way more noticeable.