My CC SG has the knob you pull and ash dumps out of fire pot into a cup. This thing is tough to pull and then close to fire up smoker. There is no way a woman could ever do this, at least one I would ever consider dating. Are all CC smokers this difficult or do I have a faulty unit? Was thinking of calling CC Monday.

What I and others have done to remedy this is remove the knob and install a thin washer over the rod - this prevents the plate from seating too far and getting stuck.

I had that issue when my Woodwind was new.

I found that if I did not seat it all the way closed with the lock set, but instead closed it up to the lock I could lift up the lock and hit the knob with my hand to break it free.  At this point it is fine and just pulls out super easy.

Just passed one year with this pit and I am still very happy with it.

The Woodwind was never a problem, but I only used it about 20 times.  I would make sure there are no obstructions.  Then maybe get some food grade silicon spray, or put some vegetable oil in a spray bottle and hit it to lube!  Is it bent?  Something is making it stick!

I've cleaned and scraped it clean and it still sticks, I found that a tap with a rubber mallet on the pull out knob will jar it loose and it will pull out with ease.

mine was hard at first, I used to slap it, and then pull.  After about 5 cooks, it got looser, and I have no issues.

Following up on this.  I was cleaning the grill today and decided I had enough of the hard to pull ash dump rod.  I completely removed it and noticed right away it had a fairly pronounced warp to it.  A couple of hits with a hammer and now it's perfectly flat/straight.  It slides like a dream!  I can only assume the heat caused it to warp!?

It's not very hard to remove.  There's a cotter pin on the rod to prevent it from sliding out too far.  You need to remove it first so you can pull the rod all the way out and free the flat part of the trap.  Then unscrew the knob and little stopper.  That should now allow you to completely remove the assembly from the inside, angling it slightly towards the top.

Cc is sending me all new hopper, controller, and burn pot because of temp problems. Will take pics of install and address clean out problems.

BC, will you be changing the igniter as well ?  If so, please take pics of that, I think I will be doing this in the near future, Thanks 

I figured it had to have a bend in it somewhere!

BC, will you be changing the igniter as well ?  If so, please take pics of that, I think I will be doing this in the near future, Thanks

Will do.

If your ash clean out does not pull easy your dump plate is bent or bowed. It was tight from factory and with ash grit I was no longer able to dump. The bad part is you need to take hole hopper unit loose and pull slide into pit to remove. Take hammer and flatten dump gate while holding against solid flat surface if out of warranty. Will slide effortlessly if flat. Good 1.5 hour job.

Check out my description of how I've done it, it's a 10 minutes job at the most, no need to take everything apart.

Sad thing is though, it seems to bend again from the heat a few cooks after being flattened out.

After the dump plate has been straightened out, try stress relieving by heating it red hot and let it cool down on its own. You may have to re straighten after the stress relieving..

            A thicker plate will be less prone to heat distortion. That would require modifying the slider brackets. 

Check out my description of how I've done it, it's a 10 minutes job at the most, no need to take everything apart.

Sad thing is though, it seems to bend again from the heat a few cooks after being flattened out.

That is quicker way of doing it.

Hope this isn't against any rules, and the forum members who own this product don't take offense.  I'm not speaking of a poor purchase.  This is a design flaw, cut and dry.  To use metal that will warp due to heat, on one end of a fire pot is preposterous.  That's about as silly as making a wood-burning oven from fender material. 

If more thought was put into the product, it would be a thicker part.  In retrospect, the vendor might consider replacing all of them free of charge.  It wouldn't be impossible to take a thicker piece of steel, and mill the ends out thinner to fit the existing slot dimensions.

I'm truly not trying to stir the pot here, but if this offends, moderators please accept my apologies and delete this. 

Hope this isn't against any rules, and the forum members who own this product don't take offense.  I'm not speaking of a poor purchase.  This is a design flaw, cut and dry.  To use metal that will warp due to heat, on one end of a fire pot is preposterous.  That's about as silly as making a wood-burning oven from fender material. 

If more thought was put into the product, it would be a thicker part.  In retrospect, the vendor might consider replacing all of them free of charge.  It wouldn't be impossible to take a thicker piece of steel, and mill the ends out thinner to fit the existing slot dimensions.

I'm truly not trying to stir the pot here, but if this offends, moderators please accept my apologies and delete this.

You have a legitimate opinion and post IMO. If many of these pits have this problem then CC should have a recall. Im hoping I was one of the few unfortunate ones. When steel is manufactured it goes through a rolling process and will cause stress to form in steel. Some worse than others and heating will cause that stress to show its ugly face. Also Chinese steel is not known for is quality.