Masterbuilt Gravity Feed

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Frankly, all I use my vertical for is hanging sausage, but to tell you the truth I'm probably just going to start doing that on my gravity. It's that good of a machine.

There’s at least one mod out there that puts a sausage hanger where the top shelf goes.
 
Anyone know why lately my hopper keeps catching fire, causing my charcoal consumption to go up dramatically? There's an actual flame in the hopper that reaches the top of my coals, causing everything to burn at once, rather than burning from the bottom without a flame, like it normally should.

Any help anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.
 
Anyone know why lately my hopper keeps catching fire, causing my charcoal consumption to go up dramatically? There's an actual flame in the hopper that reaches the top of my coals, causing everything to burn at once, rather than burning from the bottom without a flame, like it normally should.

Any help anyone can provide will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

That is definitely not normal operation, and aside from the charcoal consumption could be very unsafe. How high is the flame reaching?

Is your hopper lid sealed completely? Do you have a wood split in the hopper vertically that is causing the fire to bridge above the firebox?

Also - it is normal to see a flame shooting out of the firebox and into the manifold, especially at higher temps. That means your airflow is going the right way. If the flame is shooting up the firebox into the hopper -- that is abnormal.
 
That is definitely not normal operation, and aside from the charcoal consumption could be very unsafe. How high is the flame reaching?

Is your hopper lid sealed completely? Do you have a wood split in the hopper vertically that is causing the fire to bridge above the firebox?
This issue recently started, and I'm not sur why. Originally I thought it was an issue with the lump charcoal I was using (used it for the first time ever), but I used briquettes last night and the same thing happened. The flame is reaching the top of the charcoal, which luckily wasn't very high since it was only an hour and a half cook, but it's happened on longer cooks where the hopper was more filled.

The hopper is sealed, even with aluminum foil at the top lid, and the door is completely closed for the ash bin. I only had one wood chunk in it, and have never used a split in my previous cooks.
 
Is it at the startup or during the cook?
Are you opening the hopper lead to check on it? How else would you notice that the flame is that high?
 
This issue recently started, and I'm not sur why. Originally I thought it was an issue with the lump charcoal I was using (used it for the first time ever), but I used briquettes last night and the same thing happened. The flame is reaching the top of the charcoal, which luckily wasn't very high since it was only an hour and a half cook, but it's happened on longer cooks where the hopper was more filled.

The hopper is sealed, even with aluminum foil at the top lid, and the door is completely closed for the ash bin. I only had one wood chunk in it, and have never used a split in my previous cooks.
I think you should contact Masterbuilt. It sounds like you are doing everything right. Air is getting into there or out of there somehow, and it sounds like it isn't your fault. Could be some sort of manufacturing issue or defect.
 
I check after having to refill and waiting a little while because I notice that the charcoal consumption seemed way too quick the first fill
I believe this is causing your issue in my opinion. You're creating a draft when you open the Hopper lid and causing more combustion. Are your set Temps staying consistent?
Fuel consumption is high with these units but it always turns out great results! Well worth it Imo
 
One other thought - how much charcoal is in there when the flame is at the top? If you only have a little bit in there you'll see the flame. If the hopper is half full or more you shouldn't see anything.
 
I believe this is causing your issue in my opinion. You're creating a draft when you open the Hopper lid and causing more combustion. Are your set Temps staying consistent?
Fuel consumption is high with these units but it always turns out great results! Well worth it Imo

Yesterday they were not staying consistent, but it was also very cold and a bit windy. It was a short cook, though, so I'll keep an eye out on my next longer cook to see if it happens again.
 
One other thought - how much charcoal is in there when the flame is at the top? If you only have a little bit in there you'll see the flame. If the hopper is half full or more you shouldn't see anything.
I didn't fill it up much, since it was a short cook, but I'll keep an eye out next time when I have a longer cook going. Thanks for the info!
 
I'd try filling your hopper up more. If you're running low on fuel you can definitely see the fire, because you're looking down through the firebox. And anytime you open the hopper lid the flame will rise towards that opening (since the fan stops, the convective path changes when the air flows directly up). I'd go at least to half full during your next cook, at that point you shouldn't see anything.
 
I'd try filling your hopper up more. If you're running low on fuel you can definitely see the fire, because you're looking down through the firebox. And anytime you open the hopper lid the flame will rise towards that opening (since the fan stops, the convective path changes when the air flows directly up). I'd go at least to half full during your next cook, at that point you shouldn't see anything.
This is excellent advice, and I agree completely. One thing I have also noticed is that the size of the "lumps" in lump charcoal make a significant difference in fuel consumption. I bought a bag of lump from Academy Sports, and the lumps were huge. Even up to small branch/log size. Luckily I loaded the hopper before the fire was lit so I saw the huge voids that were left when the large lumps got cross-wise. Now, I have switched to a brand with much smaller lumps. I also use a one gallon pitcher to filly my hopper and I sprinkle in equal amounts of kingsford charcoal and lump. I like the results, but your mileage may vary.

Also worth while mentioning, I have done about 20-25 cooks on my gravity now. I removed the factory switches on the hopper fill and ash door with toggle. The only factory switch was the cook chamber lid, and it failed on my last cook. I will be removing it and just bypassing it all together. I thought it was worth it to mention as I usually clean my grill by running it at 650 for 10 mins after greasy cooks, and when the switch broke, it limited the temp to 500...
 
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So I put the grill on to smoke some meatloaf and the hopper is half way full and still the charcoal and wood are in flames. Going to contact Masterbuilt and see what they say
 

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So I put the grill on to smoke some meatloaf and the hopper is half way full and still the charcoal and wood are in flames. Going to contact Masterbuilt and see what they say

Just passing through… From the looks of the picture posted, your charcoal hopper doesn’t have enough charcoal in it, so what little bit that’s inside the charcoal hopper will definitely be on fire. I would top off the rest of the charcoal hopper with fresh, unburnt charcoal briquettes and then secure the hopper lid. Set the smokers temp to 250* degrees and let it run for about 45 mins. After 45 mins. has passed, open the hopper and see if everything is on fire. It shouldn’t be. It’s always best to run your GF smoker with a full charcoal hopper and leave the hopper lid closed until after your bbq cook is finished. .02. Give Masterbuilt CS a call and see what there response is as well. Good luck

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So I put the grill on to smoke some meatloaf and the hopper is half way full and still the charcoal and wood are in flames. Going to contact Masterbuilt and see what they say
Looking at your picture, a couple things are popping out at me:

1. Your hopper looks a lot less than half full. The wood and briquettes appear to be below the seam where the burn able plates line the inside of the hopper, and that's only the bottom 4 inches or so of the hopper (or at least that's how my 800 is).

2. In your picture, the briquettes and wood on the top are not on fire. The flames you see appear to be coming from the briquettes on the bottom of the hopper. That happens when you open the hopper lid, and would be especially pronounced if the fan stays on when the lid is open.

Your picture makes it look like that, in fact, only bottom few inches of briquettes were burning, which is normal operation when the lid is closed.
 
Exactly as RCAlan and Bird have said. Not enough charcoal in the hopper. I've had mine for a yr and use it 3-5 times a week. I have never opened the hopper during the cook.....except to refill on overnight cooks. I just don't feel the need.

Keith
 
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