This has been a great thread so far.

Okie, maybe it's best to stick with the devil you know in your Blazn.  Seems like you really understand how it works for you and made some nice modifications to it.

True about the Blaz'n. Will think on it. 

Made a couple of 16 ounce ribeyes tonight. Kissed them with low heat at 225* until internal was 115*, then cranked it up to 650* and opened up the slats for direct heat. Flipped them often, and maybe no longer than 3 1/2 minutes total over direct heat,

Afterwards, I checked the burn pot and inspected the ash...it disintegrated on touch. And no trail of burnt pellets leading to the slide this time.

I then checked the pellet slide to see if pellets were stuck, and all was clear. However, it was pretty dusty and I will make it part of my routine maintenance to sweep that with a toothbrush. I ordered wire brushes today just for this.

Also, I took a pic to see if any burnt pellets were in the auger. No burnt pellets in the auger that I can see.

That steak looks great!  Is the picture after the steak the ash that was left in the fire pot after this cook?

That steak looks great!  Is the picture after the steak the ash that was left in the fire pot after this cook?

Yes, I let the shutdown process finish and then inspected the ash content and the pellet slide.


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Great cook! Also, have you made the fan adjustments before this cook?  The auger pipe now looks to be in good position at the top of the slide, did you do any adjustment on that? 

Great cook! Also, have you made the fan adjustments before this cook?  The auger pipe now looks to be in good position at the top of the slide, did you do any adjustment on that?

The manufacturer sent me the instructions on how to modify the fan speed settings but I had already started the steaks, so no I didn’t make any adjustments yet.

The speed adjustments are all done via the controller and I will do that this week, maybe Friday morning.

Manufacturer informed me that since this fan is so large, they had to tune it down for this burn system. The adjustments he advised me to make should be strong enough to ensure more ash moves out of the burn pot. He advised that visibly I’ll see less smoke but should not impact flavor or smoke ring (which I don’t really care for any way).


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Great cook! Also, have you made the fan adjustments before this cook?  The auger pipe now looks to be in good position at the top of the slide, did you do any adjustment on that?

The manufacturer sent me the instructions on how to modify the fan speed settings but I had already started the steaks, so no I didn’t make any adjustments yet.

The speed adjustments are all done via the controller and I will do that this week, maybe Friday morning.

Manufacturer informed me that since this fan is so large, they had to tune it down for this burn system. The adjustments he advised me to make should be strong enough to ensure more ash moves out of the burn pot. He advised that visibly I’ll see less smoke but should not impact flavor or smoke ring (which I don’t really care for any way).


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Could you send me those instructions as well?

That steak looks great!  Is the picture after the steak the ash that was left in the fire pot after this cook?

Yes, I let the shutdown process finish and then inspected the ash content and the pellet slide.


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That is a lot of ash in that fire pot for such a small cook.  It is no wonder a long cook had the fire.  Most other grill designs would have had a flameout.  Hopefully, increasing the fan speed will improve this issue for you.  I could cook for weeks in the Memphis and never have that much ash in its similar style fire pot.  I have never had to vacuum that much ash out of its fire pot.

That steak looks great!  Is the picture after the steak the ash that was left in the fire pot after this cook?

Yes, I let the shutdown process finish and then inspected the ash content and the pellet slide.


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That is a lot of ash in that fire pot for such a small cook.  It is no wonder a long cook had the fire.  Most other grill designs would have had a flameout.  Hopefully, increasing the fan speed will improve this issue for you.  I could cook for weeks in the Memphis and never have that much ash in its similar style fire pot.  I have never had to vacuum that much ash out of its fire pot.

I agree, it does seem like a lot of ash (although it wasn’t mushy and everything was fully burned). It was a 2 hour cook, first at lower temp and then at 650*. I hope the new settings solve this. It could also be a consequence of the design which I’ll have to get used to, if that’s the case.

I’ve also read that pellets that are 100% Pecan leave more ash? I was going to start using the blends after this bag of Pecan is done. But I’ll let you all know if the fan speed changes affect the ash volume left  in the burn pot with the pellets I have in there now.


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I suspect the higher fan speed will make a visible difference on low-slow cooks.  Gator, your fan may be different or set different--might be a good idea to call Dan and ask.  He is very anxious to please.
Meanwhile, that was a great cook, ==Short cooks and high heat cooks are now no problem.
Also, I am proud of the contribution, PF members are making to this brand.  It will be your feedback that will help make this brand successful. Too bad the maker had not hooked up with PF sooner!

I suspect the higher fan speed will make a visible difference.  Gator, your fan may be different or set different--might be a good idea to call Dan and ask.  He is very anxious to please.

I contacted them through their website.  If I don't hear back this afternoon I'm going to call.

I suspect the higher fan speed will make a visible difference.  Gator, your fan may be different or set different--might be a good idea to call Dan and ask.  He is very anxious to please.

I contacted them through their website.  If I don't hear back this afternoon I'm going to call.

GatorDave, I PM’d you Dan’s direct email address.


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Ranroc, give cookinpellets a try.  They do not use bark in their pellets like Lumberjack does.  Some believe LJ produces more smoke because of the bark.  That smoke may be created because the pellets are not burning as clean as other brand pellets thus leaving more ash.  I think it would be worth buying one bag of cookinpellets to see if you get less ash if you are concerned about the excess ash during cooks, particularly long cooks.  I know I would be, but you need to make that call.  LJ pellets work great for others and other smokers.  They may not be the best for how this grill performs.  I would try LJ again with your fan speed change to see if the ash levels decrease.  Then give CP pellets a try to see how it differs.  Your pics should able to be used as reference points if you do similar cooks at similar time and temp.  Good luck!  Let us know what you discover.

Ranroc, give cookinpellets a try.  They do not use bark in their pellets like Lumberjack does.  Some believe LJ produces more smoke because of the bark.  That smoke may be created because the pellets are not burning as clean as other brand pellets thus leaving more ash.  I think it would be worth buying one bag of cookinpellets to see if you get less ash if you are concerned about the excess ash during cooks, particularly long cooks.  I know I would be, but you need to make that call.  LJ pellets work great for others and other smokers.  They may not be the best for how this grill performs.  I would try LJ again with your fan speed change to see if the ash levels decrease.  Then give CP pellets a try to see how it differs.  Your pics should able to be used as reference points if you do similar cooks at similar time and temp.  Good luck!  Let us know what you discover.

Ditto!

Ranroc, give cookinpellets a try.  They do not use bark in their pellets like Lumberjack does.  Some believe LJ produces more smoke because of the bark.  That smoke may be created because the pellets are not burning as clean as other brand pellets thus leaving more ash.  I think it would be worth buying one bag of cookinpellets to see if you get less ash if you are concerned about the excess ash during cooks, particularly long cooks.  I know I would be, but you need to make that call.  LJ pellets work great for others and other smokers.  They may not be the best for how this grill performs.  I would try LJ again with your fan speed change to see if the ash levels decrease.  Then give CP pellets a try to see how it differs.  Your pics should able to be used as reference points if you do similar cooks at similar time and temp.  Good luck!  Let us know what you discover.

Thanks for the tip. I will give them a try (recently bought a couple of bags of LJ 100% Oak and 2 bags of their Competition Blend, so I will also try those as well, even though same manufacturer).