Pellet Fan
Accessories & Essentials => Pellets -- comments & questions => Topic started by: Quadman750 on October 16, 2017, 08:05:36 AM
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I cleaned my burn pot and filled my hopper full of lumberjack hickory pellets and did two fairly long cooks. When I went to clean my burn pot again it was overflowing with Ash which is very unusual for this amount of cooking, I found a fairly large chunk of what seem to almost be metal in my burnpot. I did some research and these are called clinkers.
Here is what I found on the Internet
What Causes Clinkers in a Pellet Stove?
Clean ash from your pellet stove regularly to prevent the accumulation of clinkers.
Wood, being a natural product, may contain impurities. When wood is pelletized for use in pellet-burning stoves, those impurities can result in "clinkers." A clinker is a particle that isn't burned during the normal combustion process. It looks like a chunk of ash, but when exposed to air, such as when you open the stove to clean out the ash, the clinker can re-ignite. Clinkers can also form when minerals in the ash fuse together or when dirt is introduced into the combustion chamber.
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I cleaned my burn pot and filled my hopper full of lumberjack hickory pellets and did two fairly long cooks. When I went to clean my burn pot again it was overflowing with Ash which is very unusual for this amount of cooking, I found a fairly large chunk of what seem to almost be metal in my burnpot. I did some research and these are called clinkers.
Here is what I found on the Internet
What Causes Clinkers in a Pellet Stove?
Clean ash from your pellet stove regularly to prevent the accumulation of clinkers.
Wood, being a natural product, may contain impurities. When wood is pelletized for use in pellet-burning stoves, those impurities can result in "clinkers." A clinker is a particle that isn't burned during the normal combustion process. It looks like a chunk of ash, but when exposed to air, such as when you open the stove to clean out the ash, the clinker can re-ignite. Clinkers can also form when minerals in the ash fuse together or when dirt is introduced into the combustion chamber.
I've seen those in my GMG and wondered what it was. Kinda looks like a piece of rust. Never thought about it re-igniting. That could be a bad thing inside the shop vac.
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I find that Lumberjack also leaves more ash than some of the other locally sourced pellets available her in the PNW. Glad to hear it's not just me. And I've found clinkers in mine also.
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I was wondering why it was smoking like a freight train at the end, it wasn’t getting much oxygen to burn properly. I have burnt all kinds of pellets & this is the first time I have ever come across this with my Memphis. I will burn the hundred pounds I have left & switch back to my other brands I use.
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Just a thought...
I first noticed this phenomenon while burning wood in the 70's and 80's, especially while burning seasoned cherry or apple wood in the heating stove. Since then - I have noticed this occasionally in the pellet smokers - especially using any fruit wood based pellets or blends with fruitwoods.. aka competition blend..
I 'personally' surmised(educated guess) it was the burning of the natural 'sugars' in the fruit wood causing this 'caking' effect in the ashes. I was always able to break up the clumps with my hands, but found it fascinating it was happening again in the pellet burners.. Especially with the 'fruit wood' base pellets.
Just continuing thoughts...
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Just a thought...
I first noticed this phenomenon while burning wood in the 70's and 80's, especially while burning seasoned cherry or apple wood in the heating stove. Since then - I have noticed this occasionally in the pellet smokers - especially using any fruit wood based pellets or blends with fruitwoods.. aka competition blend..
I 'personally' surmised(educated guess) it was the burning of the natural 'sugars' in the fruit wood causing this 'caking' effect in the ashes. I was always able to break up the clumps with my hands, but found it fascinating it was happening again in the pellet burners.. Especially with the 'fruit wood' base pellets.
Just continuing thoughts...
After reading this I had an AHAA!! moment. Seems like I only have seen the clinkers when I was using the BBQ Island pellets that came with my GMG when I bought it brand new second hand. The fella had 4 bags of them and threw them in the deal. They are all a blend so there must be fruit wood in them. I have gone back to B&B pellets and need to vacuum out both pits, so I'll see if there is any difference later today.
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For all it is worth..Talking to Greg @ Memphis about my new Pro I was advised. "if you do nothing else clean out the firepot either after every cook or prior to the next. It doesn't have perfect. I use my hand"..That was months ago and no issues to date. The pit is used almost every day. I have found clinker type material at times..