SmokeFire Won’t Start

[Goneincognito]

Wait... you haven't cleaned it?

 

[OGauge4Me]

I can't. First, you must exhaust all possibilities, and troubleshoot until there is nothing left to do. Only then will I consider the product a failure. Right now it is on me for improper maintenance according to the manual / Weber support. I have not done a thorough cleanup of the smoker and they are saying that accumulated dust in there could affect the way the pellets are distributed. I get that, I haven't had the time to look after that. Last night I wanted to grill some steaks, that's 15 mins. I turn it on, it gets to 450, I put the steaks on and 10 mins later I go to flip them and they're still raw. I never even got the low-temperature warning. The stupid display still showed 450 degrees. I can't wait to see what it looks like now when I remove all the flavorizer bars and clean it.

Give it a decent cleaning including a scrape down on the interior sides and bottom.

 

[SteveSpy]

Wait... you haven't cleaned it?

I have cleaned the inside of the grill, I have removed the burn pot, cleaned all the ashes from there, cleaned the flavorizer bars, etc. cleaned the grills, but Weber support said that I needed to pull the auger to empty the pellets completely from the back of the smoker, and then clean inside the hopper as well as the chute between the hopper and the burn pot as well, they are saying that this needs to be done on a somewhat regular basis, I never have done it in 1.25 years owning this thing. Here is the list from Weber support:

1) Empty/purge the hopper
2) Pull the auger
3) Clean the auger/chute/hopper of excess dust
4) Clean the burnt pot of pellet/debris, and the cookbox of grease/debris
5) Send us a photo of the auger pinhole
6) If the auger pinhole is egging/damaged or if using the old cotter pin setup, a new welded chute will be sent. The new style uses a bo lt/nut instead of cotter pin
7) If the current auger is okay reinstall or install the replacement sent
8) Refill hopper with fresh, dry Weber pellets (you can send a bag at no charge if you want)
9) Try again and report back your findings

The only thing that I have done from the list above is 4). This is why I am saying that I won't give up on this thing until I have exhausted all of these instructions. For example, I have no effin' clue what he's referring to when he says "cotter pin." WTF is a cotter pin??? I guess I'll have to look it up. I also don't know what an "egging / damaged auger pinhole" is. Where the Hell do I find that?

 

[SteveSpy]

Give it a decent cleaning including a scrape down on the interior sides and bottom.

I did that already. See post above for more details on this EX-4 saga...

 

[OGauge4Me]

I have cleaned the inside of the grill, I have removed the burn pot, cleaned all the ashes from there, cleaned the flavorizer bars, etc. cleaned the grills, but Weber support said that I needed to pull the auger to empty the pellets completely from the back of the smoker, and then clean inside the hopper as well as the chute between the hopper and the burn pot as well, they are saying that this needs to be done on a somewhat regular basis, I never have done it in 1.25 years owning this thing. Here is the list from Weber support:

1) Empty/purge the hopper
2) Pull the auger
3) Clean the auger/chute/hopper of excess dust
4) Clean the burnt pot of pellet/debris, and the cookbox of grease/debris
5) Send us a photo of the auger pinhole
6) If the auger pinhole is egging/damaged or if using the old cotter pin setup, a new welded chute will be sent. The new style uses a bo lt/nut instead of cotter pin
7) If the current auger is okay reinstall or install the replacement sent
8) Refill hopper with fresh, dry Weber pellets (you can send a bag at no charge if you want)
9) Try again and report back your findings

The only thing that I have done from the list above is 4). This is why I am saying that I won't give up on this thing until I have exhausted all of these instructions. For example, I have no effin' clue what he's referring to when he says "cotter pin." WTF is a cotter pin??? I guess I'll have to look it up. I also don't know what an "egging / damaged auger pinhole" is. Where the Hell do I find that?

It takes me about an hour to do a deep clean that included the grates. A good stiff wire brush is needed for the flavor Izer bars and other removable shrouds. Make sure the glow plug tip is not touching anything when finished.

 

[SteveSpy]

It takes me about an hour to do a deep clean that included the grates. A good stiff wire brush is needed for the flavor Izer bars and other removable shrouds. Make sure the glow plug tip is not touching anything when finished.

It takes me the same amount of time. It is a lot of work, for sure, but as you can see from up above, the issue here is not the cleanliness of the inside of the smoker itself, nor is it the grates or the flavorizer bars... it's in the back where the hopper is, according to Weber.

 

[OGauge4Me]

It takes me the same amount of time. It is a lot of work, for sure, but as you can see from up above, the issue here is not the cleanliness of the inside of the smoker itself, nor is it the grates or the flavorizer bars... it's in the back where the hopper is, according to Weber.

My problem was the Auger and the Auger chute. Replace them and no problems since. I did put the EX6 on a regimented cleaning schedule and that has helped. Also sifting the pellets before placing them in the pellet box has helped too.

 

[SteveSpy]

My problem was the Auger and the Auger chute. Replace them and no problems since. I did put the EX6 on a regimented cleaning schedule and that has helped. Also sifting the pellets before placing them in the pellet box has helped too.

Interesting. How did you replace the auger, exactly? Was it very involved? I routinely sift the pellets as well.

 

[Goneincognito]

have no effin' clue what he's referring to when he says "cotter pin." WTF is a cotter pin??? I guess I'll have to look it up. I also don't know what an "egging / damaged auger pinhole" is. Where the Hell do I find that?

So it appears they are suspecting you have a build up of pellet dust in the auger.

A "cotter pin" is what they use to attach the auger to the motor shaft (once you take the auger out you will know what I mean).

"egging / damaged auger pinhole" refers to the round hole on the auger that the pin goes through. Stress on the auger can cause the hole to enlarge and become egg shaped.

 

[SteveSpy]

So it appears they are suspecting you have a build up of pellet dust in the auger.

A "cotter pin" is what they use to attach the auger to the motor shaft (once you take the auger out you will know what I mean).

"egging / damaged auger pinhole" refers to the round hole on the auger that the pin goes through. Stress on the auger can cause the hole to enlarge and become egg shaped.

I hate to ask this, but what is the auger? Is it that chute where there is a twisted piece of metal that rotates and dispenses the pellets?

 

[OGauge4Me]

I hate to ask this, but what is the auger? Is it that chute where there is a twisted piece of metal that rotates and dispenses the pellets?

The Auger is the twisted piece of metal. The chute is the housing for the twisted piece of metal.

 

[Goneincognito]

Interesting. How did you replace the auger, exactly? Was it very involved? I routinely sift the pellets as well.

It's 4 screws to take the cover off, another 2 to detach the motor and a cable to unplug. The motor ans attached auger slide right out.
Literally takes 5min and is something I do every couple of weeks.

 

[Goneincognito]

I hate to ask this, but what is the auger? Is it that chute where there is a twisted piece of metal that rotates and dispenses the pellets?

The auger is the twisted metal piece.

 

[SteveSpy]

The Auger is the twisted piece of metal. The chute is the housing for the twisted piece of metal.

That's it! Look at this zoomed-in picture of the end of the auger. Doesn't it seem warped to you?

 

[Goneincognito]

That's it! Look at this zoomed-in picture of the end of the auger. Doesn't it seem warped to you?

Looks OK to me