I think there’s something wrong with the pellets in my auger tube. My grill can’t get above 150 and errors out. I want to empty the grill and put fresh pellets in to see if that fixes it.

My plan is to empty the pellets and push the prime button until nothing comes out. Does that sound reasonable?

Without pulling the auger out I assume?

exactly. I’d rather not change anything mechanically.

What I've done a couple of times, and it's worked.   Empty the hopper until you can see the auger.   Take a wooden shaft (hammer handle), turn on the pit and gently tap on the auger with the wooden shaft with a hammer.   So far it's worked every time.

Nothing is stuck.  You just want to clean out all of the existing pellets.

Sure.  Your idea to empty the hopper (vacuum) and then run the auger with the prime button until nothing drops seems like a perfect plan.

If you just want to empty the pellets that are in the auger shaft, clear everything out of the hopper and turn the grill on as high as it will go.  Every pellet in the shaft should flow through to the burn pot pretty quickly. [Step 1]

If you think you have an auger jam, that is a different story.  You should probably do Step 1 and let the unit cool.  Then you need to figure out how to get to the auger so that you can remove it from the shaft.  I have had to do this in my MAK and Traeger and will have to do the same in my Pit Boss vertical.  It differs depending on the unit. Often requires disconnecting the auger and fan from the controller.  May require hitting the auger with a mallet or some sort of shank on the auger with a mallet.   May also require some sort of pry bar to get the auger to move.

Best of luck to you.  Not a fun project which is why I have put it off on my Pit Boss for what will probably be close to a year until I get to it.  Some grills are easier than others to get to the auger.

  As a final touch, once the hopper and auger have been emptied, use a leaf blower, compressed air or a vacuum cleaner w/ the hose reversed, to blow out the hopper and auger tube from the hopper end...You

 should find mucho dust and nasties are expelled using this method.

I’m trying to follow. Is it a pellet feed problem or temp not rising problem? First check if your getting pellets into pot. That should be easy to check, empty the pot and start the grill then check if pellets are making it into the pot. If no pellets are making it into the pot it’s either a blockage in auger tube or auger motor failure. If the auger is turning I would doubt its a auger problem. If you are getting pellets into the pot but temp is not rising its whole different issue, likely linked to a faulty fan. I had this same problem, mine ended up being a faulty fan.

Interesting! I’ll see if the fan is running. I assume I just have to look underneath where the controller is and see if it’s spinning?

 A mirror and if needed, a light will save you from lying down and looking up @ the fan.

With mine the fan was still turning but not at enough RPM’s to feed the pot. After it was replaced the sound was very noticeable from a distance.