What am I doing wrong with this pellet grill? - help if you can please - pics enclosed

[wanna-be-smoker]

with mine I have cooked at all different temps with the drip pan covered/not covered/cleaned/not cleaned and never had any issues with any excessive smoking or burnt smell or flavors. If/when you fold make sure the foil is as flat as possible with no wrinkles or the drippings will have a hard time running off into the bucket.

 

[zerowin]

 
with mine I have cooked at all different temps with the drip pan covered/not covered/cleaned/not cleaned and never had any issues with any excessive smoking or burnt smell or flavors. If/when you fold make sure the foil is as flat as possible with no wrinkles or the drippings will have a hard time running off into the bucket.

I'd say I have the same experience.  I've had a drip tray foiled with lots of burned on stuff and ran mine hot this weekend and didn't have any off taste in the food, but I don't doubt JJ's wisdom on burn temps at all.

My only question is do you leave the pellets in the hopper or auger all the time, or do you clean them out completely after each cook?  My first small pork shoulder had a burned off taste to it which I believe was from humidity in the pellets.  They didn't burn clean completely, and I think there was excess in the burn pot just smoldering until clean pellets ran through and lit properly.  Since then, I always put a bowl under it and feed the remaining auger pellets out with a few feed cycles.

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

for me i fill the hopper and never empty it and just use whats in there until such time its close to being gone and I add the next flavor of pellet to try out. My cooker sits on the front porch in all (summer and will prob put in the garage in the winter) weather with no issues that have been noticeable.

Im still relatively new to my pellet cooker and still trying to figure out whats best pellet and what not. But so far i have tried hickory/mesquite and apple and they all are a bit stronger than what my family likes. The pit boss competition blend has been spot on for them in all sizes and cuts of meat.

 

[bregent]

The ash is normal and the difference in temp between the controller and a third party thermometer is well within the norm. Also, most pellet grill temps will swing at least +/- 10F, and my DLX was much worse. I've never measured the temp of the drip pan, but it doesn't seem unusual. I'd expect it to be quite a bit higher than the air temp that the controller is measuring. 

Getting back to your original problem, did you have a lot of sugar in your rub?

 

[haeffnkr]

 
The ash is normal and the difference in temp between the controller and a third party thermometer is well within the norm. Also, most pellet grill temps will swing at least +/- 10F, and my DLX was much worse. I've never measured the temp of the drip pan, but it doesn't seem unusual. I'd expect it to be quite a bit higher than the air temp that the controller is measuring. 

Getting back to your original problem, did you have a lot of sugar in your rub?

Yes I had some sugar - it was this recipe - http://www.slapyodaddybbq.com/2012/02/syd-all-purpose-rub/.  

While I understand sugar will burn sooner than fat, etc... if anything drips on a 400 or more degree metal plate it will burn.

I never had a problem with the pellets and wet, unit is stored in the garage between uses.

Cust Service said the ash level blowing around in the pit is expected.

They are testing a grill today to see what the temps are.

They are saying I am the first to bring this to their attention, which seems odd to me because of how this oven is designed. She was explaining to me how this oven works... which I get... it needs to be hotter closer to the fire box and the fans will blow the heat around the grease pan .... but if the grease pan is 75 to 150 degrees over your set temp things will burn as I see it.  Any metal plate that is close to 400 or hotter will burn things.

If your pizza has some cheese and toppings fall to the bottom of the oven in your house, especially a gas oven, it will burn and stink. Same principal... lots of direct heat under smoking hot metal and heat rolling around the edges onto your food. 

I will test again tonight with my set temp lower and see what the grease pan and lower grate measure.

Seems like I will have to insulate with foil or metal pans between the grease pan and lower grate to keep the burning to a minimum as I see it.

thanks haeffnkr

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

The ash is normal and the difference in temp between the controller and a third party thermometer is well within the norm. Also, most pellet grill temps will swing at least +/- 10F, and my DLX was much worse. I've never measured the temp of the drip pan, but it doesn't seem unusual. I'd expect it to be quite a bit higher than the air temp that the controller is measuring. 





Getting back to your original problem, did you have a lot of sugar in your rub?

Did you get rid of your DLX ?? and if so what was the biggest reason and what did you replace it with

 

[bregent]

 

 
The ash is normal and the difference in temp between the controller and a third party thermometer is well within the norm. Also, most pellet grill temps will swing at least +/- 10F, and my DLX was much worse. I've never measured the temp of the drip pan, but it doesn't seem unusual. I'd expect it to be quite a bit higher than the air temp that the controller is measuring. 
  
Getting back to your original problem, did you have a lot of sugar in your rub?

Did you get rid of your DLX ?? and if so what was the biggest reason and what did you replace it with

I ended up returning the DLX to CC after 5 or 6 months when it developed severe temperature swings and flame outs that CC could not resolve. We replaced just about every component but the problem persisted. Never was able to trace the root cause of the issue. 

I ended up getting a Memphis Elite that had only been used once. 

 

[haeffnkr]

Hello,
Cust Service response - 

Hello 

Thank you for your email. It does not look like your receipt was attached to the email I received. However, we will still get the parts shipped out as quickly as possible. 

Our engineers got back with me from their testing today with the following info. They have tested out a couple grills and found that all of them do have a high temperature on the drip pan and grill grate. They said this is normal and was pre designed. I do apologize, they were not able to find a way to insulate, to decrease the heat without causing temperature swings to accrue. The reason they get hot is heat transfer, when the air convents up and around the drip tray into the main body of the grill. This is what causes the temperature in increase in the drip tray and cooking grate. They explained that it is similar to an oven, when you move food down closer to the element, it will increase in temperature the closer you get no matter what the temperature you set it too.

I do apologize for this confusion on this situation. As I said before, this has not been brought to our attention before. However, now this has been tested, and we know this is normal. We have sold thousands of these with great reviews. I know as a consumer myself, I can understand the confusion and frustration, but now we know that these temps are normal.

Best Regards,
Camp Chef
Warranty Dept.

I also spoke with one of their engineers about the grill and how he uses it, he has one that he has used frequently for 4 years.
Basically he uses it at low smoke ( 225 ) for long cooks and ramps it up if foiled to finish. He never has run this smoker and 275 for hours. He has run it 325 for chicken. 
He basically said when they tested it is working as designed, just like the oven in my house.... hotter on the bottom plate then the air temp on the racks. 
I was the first person to bring this to their attention. 

To Note - 
Everyone I have talked to has been more than nice to me at Camp Chef.

Next steps - 
I will check the temps at 225 ( low smoke ) and see what the grate temps and drip pan temps and adjust my process from their. 
I will also test with foil and or another pan under the grate and try to block some of the heat coming off drip pan. 

thanks haeffnkr

 

[wanna-be-smoker]

so far in my experience camp chef has been great in their customer service. I called them yesterday on a couple meat probes that went wacky and with no questions asked they sent me out totally free two new replacement probes.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The Rub used is 25% Sugar. Give a good coat of rub then start washing it off with sugary Apple Juice and you might as well be pouring Pancake Syrup on the 400°F+ Drip Shield...It's going to Burn and give the meat a bitter flavor. Anyone that cooks a steak on a Gas Grill has seen a lot of the smoke flavor comes from vaporizing fat and meat juices burning an giving flavor. Burning fat and meat juices taste good but burning sugar, not so much...JJ

 

[jtrainor56]

I run my Yoder at 250* to 275* for everything I smoke and never have seen that problem. I do not foil my deflector plate, never foil ribs and may foil a whole brisket or boston butts is the stall is taking long or just want to get done. Someone did a test on all of the common pellets on the market and found that BBQ Delight produced the least amount of ash and Lumberjack the most. In over three years I have only used BBQ Delight, never empty the hopper and my smoker sits out on an uncovered deck 24/7 365 days a year. It's covered when not used and never had a problem with pellets. Living in SE PA the summers are humid.

I think that with the burn pot in the middle the deflector plate is going to run hotter, the Yoder has the fire grate on the left side with the hopper and there is an adjustable damper on the right that lets me control the temps under the deflector. I think you may want to drop the temps down to 230* and see how your next smoke goes. I am of the belief that the meat will be done when it is done and never plan on a specific time, If I have to start early I can always keep the food warm but using the FTC method.