Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[litzerski]

First off, I apologize if this is in the wrong board.  I wasn't sure where to post since this isn't necessarily a brand specific question.

Anyways, my Grid Iron is my first pellet cooker and I've been using it very regularly since I took delivery in August.  I was wondering if there's any regular or annual preventative maintenance that should be performed on pellet cookers?  I haven't disassembled the unit myself yet and looked for lubrication points, but thought I'd ask here first.  Also, does the auger ever need to be pulled to clean out any accumulated debris?  I figured most would naturally be cleared from the auger tube as pellets are pushed through. 

I plan on a deeper clean (than just vacuuming out ash) once or twice a year, but was wondering if there's any mechanical maintenance that generally needs to be done.

[LowSlowJoe]

I'm down right neglectful of maintenance on my pellet grills,  so far. it hasn't really lead to any real problems for me.   

  My auger did stop working on my GMG Davy Crockett recently, I don't know exactly the cause yet, because it's been too cold , and I have other pellet grills I can use.  I do need to look into this, because I really love the Davy Crockett for small cooks, like a single rib roast, or tri-tip...   It's actually darn near my favorite pellet grill... basically if it fits , I will use the Davy Crockett. How much I use it, might have something to do with the failed auger situation.

  Without knowing for sure what went wrong with my Davy Crockett... I can tell you that I've never had a auger tube jam in any of the other 5 pellet grills I own.  I've seen posts and such from others, who report having pellets get damp, which then expand, and then can potentially fully lock up a pellet grill's auger tube.  Presumably the man way to avoid this, is to make sure you don't get moisture in your pellet hopper and/or the auger tube.   

  I scrape my drip trays off as needed...   I try to keep the grease bucket from overflowing...    I do occasionally run my pellet hopper down to empty, and clear out any 'dust' that might be down near the bottom... ( running it out is sometimes done accidentally though. ).   

  Anyway, i don't have any major pearls of wisdom on maintenance , but would love to hear some. ( but I'll probably just ignore them and go back to being more or less neglectful of maintenance )

[Clonesmoker]

Have had my DB for 3 years now. I leave the thermal cover on all year. Just put the GMG cover over it when finished and it sits outside year round.  Just last week I did a vacuuming and got the putty knife out an scraped grease off the sides and cleaned the drip tray. Other than that not much else. I did notice a spot of grease on the concrete under the fire box/fan unit, so I may need to get a knew gasket for it. I will go around with the vacuum and clean spider webs, etc from underneath also. I've only run the auger empty 2-3 times, so I have never really touched it. I will normally just vacuum ash out after around 5 cooks or so. Other than that not much else.

[ICIdaho]

The regular maintenance of the grease tray and vacuuming out the ash I perform every 5 cooks probably, depending on how long of cooks were done prior.  My yearly maintenance just consists of spraying silicone spray so the fans continue to operate smoothly.

[okie smokie]

I have the grand slam so I remove the fire pot and dump it after every cook and cool down.  I scrape the hardened ash off the sides and bottom of the fire pot every now and then. About every couple months, I take the grids, drip tray and the deflector out and vacuum, (especially remove firepot assembly and vacuum any debris.  Once a year I empty the pellets, and using a very strong vacuum, I suction both ends of the auger tube which takes care of the powder build up even tho some pellets remain in the tube. Never had a problem in over 3 years now.  The rest of the surfaces just get a wet rub down every now and then (hate to do it).  See no need for getting all the soot off, as it is a losing battle.

[Trooper]

I don't do any special maintenance to my Memphis Advantage.

However, as a few know, I do a rather mega cleanup following each smoking session.
After cool down or the following morning, I do a wire brushing and steel wool cleaning of crud that was baked on the cooking grates. I then brush the dust from the interior of that beauty and thoroughly vac out the fire pit. I replace the aluminum foil on the drip tray. Finally, I replace the disposable grease pans

I try to discipline myself to do this following each cook. Thus, my pit is always ready to go. Just remove the cover and hit the ON switch.


I also periodically wire brush the drip pan with a rotary wire attachment on my electric drill. And not after every session, but quite often, I paper towel down the exterior following a application of Kaboom Foam-Tastic cleaner.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I don't do any special maintenance to my Memphis Advantage.

However, as a few know, I do a rather mega cleanup following each smoking session.
After cool down or the following morning, I do a wire brushing and steel wool cleaning of crud that was baked on the cooking grates. I then brush the dust from the interior of that beauty and thoroughly vac out the fire pit. I replace the aluminum foil on the drip tray. Finally, I replace the disposable grease pans

I try to discipline myself to do this following each cook. Thus, my pit is always ready to go. Just remove the cover and hit the ON switch.


I also periodically wire brush the drip pan with a rotary wire attachment on my electric drill. And not after every session, but quite often, I paper towel down the exterior following a application of Kaboom Foam-Tastic cleaner.

You replace the foil and aluminum grease pans after each cook?

[Trooper]

Yes I usually replace the aluminum foil as I have the drip tray out anyway.
I don't always replace the disposable grease collection pans. Just clean them out.

Yes, I thought the cleaning routine would get some responses.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Yes I usually replace the aluminum foil as I have the drip tray out anyway.
I don't always replace the disposable grease collection pans. Just clean them out.

Yes, I thought the cleaning routine would get some responses.

OK.  I thought it was a bit much to get rid of the grease collection pans each time.

[Canadian John]

 I find that the ash that falls into the pans absorbs most of the grease making it easy to clean them by simply using a putty knife (w/ slightly rounded corners so as not cut into the pan), to lift out the mess.

[glitchy]

 I find that the ash that falls into the pans absorbs most of the grease making it easy to clean them by simply using a putty knife (w/ slightly rounded corners so as not cut into the pan), to lift out the mess.

I just bought some regular pans to use instead of the disposable ones. Seems like the trays need cleaned more often than you'd expect to avoid fires, so rather than cut through or use so many expensive foil pans, I'm going to try the normal baking pans for a while and scrape and wipe them every cook or two.

litzerski, I know you don't have a Memphis, but you might want to find their annual cleaning video on their web site. Biggest thing I do for regular maintenance is do a high temp burn off for 30-60 mins (once it reaches high temp), then vacuum and lightly wipe it out the next day.

[cjs180]

I just scrape mine with a putty knife after every five or six cooks. Then I take the leaf blower and blow out all the ash.