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[MadFoodScientist]

Picture at the end of my cook showing grease problem with ash draw.

[MadFoodScientist]

   I just spoke to Cookshack customer support.  They said they would not be concerned with the pellets that are missing the fire pot.  They said they have seen pellets on fire outside the firebox when grilling at hot temperature and that is not a concern.  They said they recommend putting some water in the ash/grease draw to prevent any flare up in case the lit pellets land there if you are doing direct grilling at high temperatures. 
  The customer service did say I should not be seeing the grease coming out on the direct side of the grill as in the picture above.  I sent a picture to them so they could see.  One other thing I have not mentioned in this thread is that my grease/ash draw wobbles a bit.  I am going to take a video of that and send it to Cookshack as well to see if they think that is out of the ordinary.

[triplebq]

I add water to the pan in my Charbroiler to prevent fires. Never had a problem when I had my PG500 but if you are doing high temp cooking it can't hurt.

[Bentley]

You will have to forgive my ignorance, it has been a long time since I did the Performance Test on the 500.  Am I correct in assuming you think the leak is coming from this drawer?

If so, I would pull it out and fill it with water and see if you find any leaks.  If so, that could be sealed.  And yes, somewhat disappointing, but fixed is fixed.  The pellets, I also felt not an issue, unless it is an excessive amount.  I remember just one incident on PH, someone chute was off and Cookshack did a fix for them.

And I have not felt you were crying wolf, I think you are trying to solve a problem.  And this is OK.

Picture at the end of my cook showing grease problem with ash draw.

[MadFoodScientist]

After talking to Cookshack, I agree that I do not have any issues except for the grease leak.  I think pellets catching on fire in the auger is somewhat concerning but seems to be normal operation according to Cookshack so I am not going to let it bother me (and will be careful to place my grill according to the wind when I cook at high temperatures). 
   I am not sure if the grease leak is coming from the draw or below the draw (I think more likely).  When I cleaned out the draw after the cook, there was grease in the draw (not overflowing but enough that it did not seem to be leaking).  I do like your idea for a test Bently and will see if I can use that idea to confirm where the leak is coming from.  I am also hoping I will hear back from Cookshack today.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Will a foil pan fit in that grease drawer like it does on the Memphis grills?  I buy WM cake pans.  That fit perfect in my Memphis.

[MadFoodScientist]

So that this topic does not seem entirely negative- this is a pic of the T-bone I cooked on the grill.  The wife and kids loved the steak!  Any doubts my wife had on the purchase went out the window when she tried the steak!

[MadFoodScientist]

Also a picture of the grill in all her glory in action!

[pmillen]

Fine looking steak.  On the direct side, I assume. 

Reverse sear or just straight-on grill?

Do you have a feel for the temperature setting and time per side?

[MadFoodScientist]

Thanks Paul!  It was direct side for the beginning and then finished on the indirect.  I was going to do a reverse sear but then did not have enough time and had to get dinner done to get the kids to bed.  I plan to do a reverse sear sometime this week!    I have been using the 20% rule to estimate my temperatures and it seems to work pretty good.  I did a "big" cook where I used the direct side to grill hamburgers and finished on the indirect side.  I cooked corn on the cob on zone 2. I used zone 3 to cook vegetables.  I also used zone 1 to do some stuffed mushrooms.  I will eventually get a review written up and show some pictures- I just wanted to see if I could get these issues worked out first so that I can have a fair review. 
   I ordered a Fire Board wifi thermometer this week and it is arriving tomorrow!  I am very excited for that.  It allows you to monitor up to 6 probes over wifi or bluetooth!  I am starting with 1 grill probe and 3 food probes.  I may add additional grill probes in the future to see the different zone temperatures. 

[MadFoodScientist]

Update- Using Bentley's test idea (Thanks Bentley!) I was able to confirm a lot of leaking in my grease/ash tray.  It looks like i have bad seams on mine.  I sent the pictures to Cookshack and we will see what they say.  Thanks again for everyone's help!  I really appreciate it and I am confident I can get this issue ironed out and have a fantastic pit!

[MadFoodScientist]

After speaking to Cookshack and sending them photos/videos of my PG500, they determined that the pellet slide was installed in too steep of an incline.  This misalignment has resulted in the pellets missing the fire pot.  They are replacing my PG500 with a new unit.  Cookshack costumer service has been great to work with so far.  I will post an update once I have had a chance to use the replacement unit.

[pmillen]

They are replacing my PG500 with a new unit.

Wow!  That's a great deal for you. 

It might be troublesome to ready the original one for shipping back, but CookShack's making a sincere effort at meeting your needs.

[Joel14]

Ive had numerous bin fires. My smoker in on my deck and is subject to quite a bit of wind. I got tired of playing the wind and moving the smoker. Im sure the engineers that designed the smoker are cringing. But I designed this plate to reduce the amount of space that sparks could fly up into the auger. Ive had 5-6 smokes since the modification in very windy conditions, and had had no more problem. I used 1/8" steel and closed the gap from Approximately 2" to about 1". I havevent seen any pellets larger than that. Good luck

[pmillen]

Numerous bin fires!!!  No pit should do that!  No Customer Service spokesperson should treat that as normal and acceptable.

To do so is admitting that they manufacture a faulty device.  There would be a class action lawsuit if someone's house burned down.

It isn't a faulty design.  You may be correct that sparks ignite the auger pellets.  There's a lot of dust or ash in your photograph to indicate that stuff is blowing around in there.  That's uncommon.  It's usually the result of rough handling making fine sawdust that ignites and blows up.  My advice—clean your pellets.  There's at least one thread about it here.  Stop eating pellet dust and ash.