Smoke billowing out of the pellet hopper....

[indaswamp]

Ok guys, I'm @ the firehouse and one of the guys is doing mac n cheese, sauteed onion and bacon stuffed burgers. We lit up the pellet smoker and it is pushing smoke out of the pellet hopper instead of feeding the smoke into the cooking chamber. What is the fix for this? I'm not familiar enough with pellet smokers to know what the problem is, I only use it when I cook for the guys at the firehouse.

 

[InThePittBBQ]

Not sure what brand that is but some grills like GMG's have a dedicated fan that pressurizes the hopper separate from the fire pot fan and that is what you'd expect to see if it failed.

 

[indaswamp]

Cabela's brand pellet smoker. Has an auger screw that pushes the pellets into the burn tray.

 

[fivetricks]

Hmm. Looks like it's inside. If you don't have proper draft around the unit then it can and will do things like that. Try opening a door, see if that straightens it out.

 

[BKING!]

I have a Mak so this may not apply but if that happens to me it’s an airflow issue where it can’t draft properly typically caused by a dirty grill or an over filled grill.

 

[indaswamp]

Hmm. Looks like it's inside. If you don't have proper draft around the unit then it can and will do things like that. Try opening a door, see if that straightens it out.

There was a 2ft. gap at the bottom of the bay door. The next bay door over to the left was opened for draft.

 

[retfr8flyr]

When was the last time the grill and the firebox was cleaned. It looks like the fire box is dirty and the pellets can't get enough airflow from the fan to fully light off.

 

[indaswamp]

When was the last time the grill and the firebox was cleaned. It looks like the fire box is dirty and the pellets can't get enough airflow from the fan to fully light off.

No idea last time it was cleaned. It belongs to the firehouse and is community property for all the shifts. It more than likely is very dirty.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The pic is blurry an I can't tell what brand the grill is. If it's a Camp Chef, which it kind of looks like, it has a remote firepot clean out on the outside bottom of the grill, make sure that's clean and then pull the grates and the drip pan out. Take a shop vac and clean out the inside of the grill and the firepot, if it's not a CC. See what that does to your smoke.

 

[indaswamp]

Cabela's brand pellet smoker...

 

[MJB05615]

Cabela's brand pellet smoker...

I have the exact same problem with my Pitboss 700fb. It was from the auger tube being clogged with grease and unburned pellets.

First I took off the grates and used a shop vac to completely clean the inside and the hopper.
Then I took off the hopper basket, tilted the cooking barrel and tapped the outer auger tube with a hammer
until the lumps of grease/unburned pellets started coming out. Eventually it all came out. It worked perfectly the next time. From now on when I am done with a cook, I let it burn off for 30-40 minutes at high temo, then set to smoke for 20 minutes. That should keep it cleaner.

Last thing I no longer store pellets in the hopper, it is emptied out after each use.

 

[indaswamp]

I have the exact same problem with my Pitboss 700fb. It was from the auger tube being clogged with grease and unburned pellets.

First I took off the grates and used a shop vac to completely clean the inside and the hopper.
Then I took off the hopper basket, tilted the cooking barrel and tapped the outer auger tube with a hammer
until the lumps of grease/unburned pellets started coming out. Eventually it all came out. It worked perfectly the next time. From now on when I am done with a cook, I let it burn off for 30-40 minutes at high temo, then set to smoke for 20 minutes. That should keep it cleaner.

Last thing I no longer store pellets in the hopper, it is emptied out after each use.

Yep. After the guys finished grilling the burgers, they let the smoker cool and took it apart; this was the problem. Seems with all the humidity in the air from all the rain lately, the pellets left in the hopper swelled up and turned to sawdust. Also probably have condensation occurring on the metal which is wetting the pellets. I will recommend to them not to keep the hopper full, only put in what they need to cook with each time.

 

[indaswamp]

Thanks for all the replies. Glad to have it figured out now....