Yesterday afternoon I decided to clean out the pellet pit. I am guilty as all get out of not cleaning out the ash pot after every cook and I knew it had between 20-30 hours between cleanings. I know - BAD hijack!
So I stripped off all of the old foil and replaced it, vac'd out the pot and bottom (and yes - it was badly overdue) and figured while it had fresh foil and a clean pot - I'd put on a medium sized chuck for a couple of hours then finish it in the oven. Without any thought, I plugged it in and turned it on - and walked into the house to salt and pepper tonight's burnt offering.
I salt and pepper it and head back out to close the lid. Except... there is no smoke. There is no fan running either, but the auger is turning away. To be honest, I didn't notice the fan wasn't running. I thought it was going to be an igniter problem so I reach down and unplug it and start removing racks etc.... I had been in the house a good while. Long enough to get a pan out, get the roast out, trim the roast and rub it (and I think I even loaded the dishwasher and started it)
Yep - firepot overflowing with pellets BUT I can smell a little smolder and it's hot to the touch. Well - maybe it just choked out due to it being overfull. I scoop out about half of the pellets, and the overflowed ones, reach down and plug it back in. Turn it on, looking at it with my eager eyes hoping all is well. NOW I notice that the fan isn't running. Yay..... So I unplug it again.
Get the bottom plate off and a big ol' red wasp comes buzzing out. SOaB - I hate wasps. It didn't get me and for that I am thankful. Look up into the guts of the machine and sure enough - there is a small nest begun. It's hanging from one of the fan blades and is also attached to the metal of the fan hole. Strong enough to prevent the fan from turning. I remove it (the nest) and plug it back in. No dice. Must have burned up the motor :(
I decide to let it cool down (motor was pretty warm) before I disconnect everything.
Mama wasp is still in the area..... I hate her by now....
After 10 minutes or so I give the motor a little love tap with the screwdriver and plug it back up JUST in case. I also checked all of the connections while waiting for cooldown. Hit the power button and I am rewarded with the fan running!
Moral of the story - keep an eye on your pits. Now that it has happened to me, I'll never not notice the fan not running again. There was a HUGE pile of pellets on the outsides of the pot, probably no harm no foul had the fan broken free on it's own and ignited that huge pile, but it would have been a heck of a blaze with plenty of potential for back feed up the auger tube. I had become lazy with the pellet machine and forgotten the first rule of smoking.
Fire is dangerous and must be managed.
So I stripped off all of the old foil and replaced it, vac'd out the pot and bottom (and yes - it was badly overdue) and figured while it had fresh foil and a clean pot - I'd put on a medium sized chuck for a couple of hours then finish it in the oven. Without any thought, I plugged it in and turned it on - and walked into the house to salt and pepper tonight's burnt offering.
I salt and pepper it and head back out to close the lid. Except... there is no smoke. There is no fan running either, but the auger is turning away. To be honest, I didn't notice the fan wasn't running. I thought it was going to be an igniter problem so I reach down and unplug it and start removing racks etc.... I had been in the house a good while. Long enough to get a pan out, get the roast out, trim the roast and rub it (and I think I even loaded the dishwasher and started it)
Yep - firepot overflowing with pellets BUT I can smell a little smolder and it's hot to the touch. Well - maybe it just choked out due to it being overfull. I scoop out about half of the pellets, and the overflowed ones, reach down and plug it back in. Turn it on, looking at it with my eager eyes hoping all is well. NOW I notice that the fan isn't running. Yay..... So I unplug it again.
Get the bottom plate off and a big ol' red wasp comes buzzing out. SOaB - I hate wasps. It didn't get me and for that I am thankful. Look up into the guts of the machine and sure enough - there is a small nest begun. It's hanging from one of the fan blades and is also attached to the metal of the fan hole. Strong enough to prevent the fan from turning. I remove it (the nest) and plug it back in. No dice. Must have burned up the motor :(
I decide to let it cool down (motor was pretty warm) before I disconnect everything.
Mama wasp is still in the area..... I hate her by now....
After 10 minutes or so I give the motor a little love tap with the screwdriver and plug it back up JUST in case. I also checked all of the connections while waiting for cooldown. Hit the power button and I am rewarded with the fan running!
Moral of the story - keep an eye on your pits. Now that it has happened to me, I'll never not notice the fan not running again. There was a HUGE pile of pellets on the outsides of the pot, probably no harm no foul had the fan broken free on it's own and ignited that huge pile, but it would have been a heck of a blaze with plenty of potential for back feed up the auger tube. I had become lazy with the pellet machine and forgotten the first rule of smoking.
Fire is dangerous and must be managed.
