Exploding Grill?

[Javaaman]

Just read a report about a pellet grill (not sure if I should mention the brand here) exploding and bursting into to flames. Seems the problem was started when the owner noticed the grill had gone out. He said he opened he hopper and noticed "....it had burrowed a hole down through the center, so it starved it of fuel". He said "he pushed the pellets back into the hole and turned the grill to smoke mode". This is when he said the grill started to smoke excessively and then "exploded".
He said the manufacturer said this has happened before but offered no explanation why.
The report was courtesy of KEPRtv.com

 

[SmokinAl]

Wow, that is scary!
I've had my gas smoker, kind of flare up when trying to light it.
If it doesn't light on the first couple of tries, then the gas fills up the chamber & when it does ignite it really flames up.
So now if it doesn't light on the first couple of tries, I just wait a minute, before trying again.
Al

 

[gmc2003]

Our pellet heating stove used to funnel out every once in a while. When it did we would shut it down clean out the burn pot and restart. I'm kinda puzzled as how it could explode though. Any more details.

Chris

 

[Javaaman]

Gas I could understand. This, with pellets, I agree is scary! I suppose it's tied into "spontaneous combustion".

 

[Javaaman]

Our pellet heating stove used to funnel out every once in a while. When it did we would shut it down clean out the burn pot and restart. I'm kinda puzzled as how it could explode though. Any more details.

Chris

Just what I provided Chris. I'm puzzled by the manufacturer's lack of response.

 

[gmc2003]

Agree, I would be worried about the manufacturers casual attitude towards this also.

 

[SmokinAl]

I think it would be a good idea to post the brand name, so the guys with those units can be fore warned.
All your doing is repeating what you read. I don't see anything wrong with that. You could also put a link in here to the original article.
Al

 

[Javaaman]

According to the article, Traeger is the manufacturer.
The article can be found at:
KEPRtv.com

 

[Javaaman]

KEPR is a CBS affiliate in Pasco, WA.

 

[SmokinAl]

Thanks, I had a feeling you were going to say Traeger.
Here is the link.
http://keprtv.com/news/local/west-richland-man-warns-others-after-pellet-grill-explodes
Al

 

[gmc2003]

I did a quick Google search and apparently this happens more frequently then expected. Most of the pellet heads think it's caused by a build up of pellets being reignited before the burn pot is cleaned out. Possible I guess. Here's a link to the original article. There's actual film footage.

http://keprtv.com/news/local/west-richland-man-warns-others-after-pellet-grill-explodes

Chris

 

[Javaaman]

Thanks for posting the actual link guys. A "dinosaur" when it comes to "technology" LOL!

 

[SmokinAl]

I did a quick Google search and apparently this happens more frequently then expected. Most of the pellet heads think it's caused by a build up of pellets being reignited before the burn pot is cleaned out. Possible I guess. Here's a link to the original article. There's actual film footage.

http://keprtv.com/news/local/west-richland-man-warns-others-after-pellet-grill-explodes

Chris

Hey Chris,
When you googled it, were all the pellet smokers Traeger, or were other models involved?
Al

 

[gmc2003]

Mostly Traeger's, but not all. I read about a MAK also. They all seem to follow the same pattern - flame goes out for some reason, and the owners trying to restart the smoker without cleaning the pot. Taking shortcuts is going to get someone hurt real bad.

Chris

 

[radio]

Not sure about others, but the Green Mountain Grills have a "Hot start" sequence that should be followed. Makes sense they all operate in a similar manner though. Sounds like he did a normal start while there was still some burning pellets in the burn pot and it fed a bunch of fresh ones on top of those. My GMG has a low pellet alarm which sounds if the auger is running out of pellets as I am sure others do also.
Almost guarantee that Traeger will say it was operator error and do nothing. One should always read the manual and follow the instructions

 

[gmc2003]

Here's a post from 2010 on SMF, very similar.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/too-much-fire-traeger-help-sought.98605/

Chris

 

[chopsaw]

Gas I could understand. This, with pellets, I agree is scary! I suppose it's tied into "spontaneous combustion".

Semi burned pellets create a " rich " environment . When it leans out enough , like you said ,, it all goes at once .
The very reason Masterbuilt says NOT to use pellets in a MES .

 

[daveomak]

What was experienced is called a "flash over"....
A flashover is the near-simultaneous ignition of most of the directly exposed combustible material in an enclosed area. When certain organic materials are heated, they undergo thermal decomposition and release flammable gases. Flashover occurs when the majority of the exposed surfaces in a space are heated to their autoignition temperature and emit flammable gases (see also flash point). Flashover normally occurs at 500 °C (932 °F) or 590 °C (1,100 °F) for ordinary combustibles..

The hot pellets were emitting combustible solvents... When the right conditions were met, those combustibles lit off...

 

[Javaaman]

Am I oversimplifying it or is the solution to always keep the hopper full.

 

[Geebs]

Chris beat me to the research. I was looking this up as well and saw its mostly Treager with a few MAKs in there. Very interesting and certainly would be scary. One guy said his brisket got thrown out onto the deck. I would not be very happy with this.