Firebox Problem!

[Rickyjk619]

Bottom line they have to be cleaned out on the regular. Like any other pellet grill their not perfect. I have owned all types of smokers including pellet and this is the best one so far. Once you learn the tricks of the trade there is none better. I have smoked pounds of meat in this SF and I am pleased every time. Takes patience and practice.

 

[OILBOY1162]

Think I’ll remove my wire guard when I get home from Florida vacation.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Just to follow up, I pulled the wire safety device, fired up, reached 400 degrees, and in then in 10-15 minutes a "sink hole" from lack of pellet flow was already developing. I kept checking every 15 minutes & the "sink hole" was always underway. I pushed the pellets over each time and the grill held 400 degrees for 2 hours. This in itself was encouraging as I have more faith the grill will hold temperature for a longer, lower temp cook, once pellet flow is resolved.

I did call at exactly 8:00 am central time, and my hopper insert shipped shipped today (Tues 7/28).

A sink hole is common and a characteristic of pellets flowing into the auger. Problems arise when there appears to be no sink hole because the pellets are bridging and creating a cavity below the surface which is undetectable. All pellet smoker create a sink hole. With the wire guard removed, there is no reason there should be any issues. Also, 400 for two hours is not a normal or realistic cooking environment. Every pellet grill requires a bit more attention to the pellets when cooking at high temps because the burn rate is much greater. IMO, the insert is also a total red herring and not needed. However, it’s not gonna hurt you either, so if it makes you garner some peace of mind, go ahead. It does reduce hopper capacity but you will still have to agitate the pellets occasionally either way.

 

[MikeM]

This has been an issue for the past 3-4 cooks. Today, I started up at 200 degrees to smoke chickens. The glow plug fired up and the pellets began feeding, and feeding, and feeding, and feeding. So many pellets that the fire snuffed out! I pulled out over 2 cups of pellets, and in desperation was able to start by babysitting the damn thing.

I contacted Weber, and they are sending me a replacement hopper pellet slide and welded chute assembly. I don't know how that is going to solve my problem. At startup, the brain apparently keeps calling for pellets and overfills the pot. I will replace what they send me, but I am $1200 pissed. Has anybody else had this happen?

Yes this happen to me the day after they updated. I set for 200 then hit smoke boost. This happened again a few days later. The next time I turned it on it told me to replace my igniter soon. Yet it restarted and worked fine. So I call them they had me use the reinstall igniter button. I did that and it cleared the problem. I also told them about the failure tho keep running. She said she would report it.

 

[Dassman5]

Just to follow up, I pulled the wire safety device, fired up, reached 400 degrees, and in then in 10-15 minutes a "sink hole" from lack of pellet flow was already developing. I kept checking every 15 minutes & the "sink hole" was always underway. I pushed the pellets over each time and the grill held 400 degrees for 2 hours. This in itself was encouraging as I have more faith the grill will hold temperature for a longer, lower temp cook, once pellet flow is resolved.

I did call at exactly 8:00 am central time, and my hopper insert shipped shipped today (Tues 7/28).

Just finished a 21 1/2 hour smoke of a very large brisket with no issues other than a low pellet warning after I forgot to refill the hopper after checking at 3am. I did notice a small “sink-hole” or depression on several occasions, but it never became an issue, even with the wire guard in place. However I will probably remove it as added “protection”.

 

[RanchKettle Greg]

A sink hole is common and a characteristic of pellets flowing into the auger. Problems arise when there appears to be no sink hole because the pellets are bridging and creating a cavity below the surface which is undetectable. All pellet smoker create a sink hole. With the wire guard removed, there is no reason there should be any issues. Also, 400 for two hours is not a normal or realistic cooking environment. Every pellet grill requires a bit more attention to the pellets when cooking at high temps because the burn rate is much greater. IMO, the insert is also a total red herring and not needed. However, it’s not gonna hurt you either, so if it makes you garner some peace of mind, go ahead. It does reduce hopper capacity but you will still have to agitate the pellets occasionally either way.

Thanks for the additional info! The feedback is great and the background really helps as I'm just getting into pellet grilling. I'm grilling this afternoon and will keep close watch, but won't push pellets over as often.

I agree 400 for two hours was over the top!

 

[KevinD]

I never installed the pellet insert. I removed the finger guard. I have all the updates but I shop vac after every 5+ hour cook. Every month I empty the hopper and vac out the auger making sure that there is no plug at the bottom. I believe maintenance is a key aspect of the SF.