Pellet hopper grill removal?

[S 854]

Just wondering if there's a reason NOT to remove the grill in the pellet hopper... I'm new to this but it looks as though it was an "attorney" who decided the grill would be a good idea... (can't have any fingers getting sucked into the burn pit... eh?

I've had a couple occasions where the pellets "backed up" on top of the grill rather than funnel down to the auger. If I keep the hopper full there's no problem, however, if the pellet volume drops and the grill gets more than maybe half exposed I need to either add more pellets or "redistribute" the remaining pellets to make sure things keep operating as they should...

I didn't think to take a picture of the issue when it was occurring... this is the grill I'm talking about...

 

[BandCollector]

Normally I wouldn't give this advice but:

If you are the only one using your Camp Chef and aware of the problem, then remove the grill. Far too many restrictions on the items we buy these days because some idiot misused an item or didn't read the instructions.

Our government feels that it needs to protect us from ourselves.

Just my two cents,

John

 

[WaterRat]

It's just a saftey screen so your fingers don't get crushed. Shouldn't affect operation at all.

 

[TNJAKE]

I removed mine. It has no purpose other than keeping simple minded folk from sticking their hand in the auger

 

[PoppinSmoke]

Removing the one on my PitBoss was about the third thing I did

 

[S 854]

Thanks guys... I didn't foresee any issues with removing it... but sometimes I don't always think things completely through...

 

[mike243]

I removed mine but put the screws back in to keep moisture out

 

[S 854]

I replaced mine as well... didn’t think of possible water ingestion (thanks!)... I just wasn’t sure there wasn’t something on the other side which might have been held in place...