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[RanrocSmoker]

Tonite's cooking session: buffalo chicken wings.

Tried CookinPellets Perfect Mix. There was a little LJ 100% Pecan still left at the very bottom of the hopper, so I ran the grill at 375* for an hour to ensure most of it was spent before adding the chicken.

Chicken stayed over an hour in the grill at 375* setting. What was interesting was that I that my wife (who has no interest in grills, bbq or smoked foods, etc.) mentioned that she could definitely taste that it was smoked even though I wasn't trying to smoke it at all. She asked if I changed pellets. But she was right, there was a distinct smoked profile to the food that was more pronounced than the lumberjack pecan. She also commented on the "pink" coloring of the meat...not pink in an uncooked way, but pink from the smoke.

Afterwards, I messed with seeing what happens when I press the manual feed button while the grill was already on and at temp...it pushed pellets in the auger, but not continuously...like one revolution of the auger's worth of pellets even though I had the button depressed for several seconds.

The ash volume was similar to that produced in previous session. However, it's hard to tell how much of the ash seen was from the LJ Pecan and what was from the CookinPellets PM.

Tomorrow, I will try a long smoke...a smallish pork butt (will probably do 225*). Should have a better picture of what a longer cook will be in terms of ash with just the CookinPellets.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Yeah, I think the issue is in the fan on that grill and maybe how it goes into the pans underneath.  In the Memphis, whatever doesn't disintegrate drops through the holes into the ash pan.  Again, I have rarely after many cooks had near that much as still in the fire pot on the Memphis.  And, it doesn't even look like ash so much as it looks like pellets that didn't burn near the end of the cook.

Does your controller go into a shutdown mode?  If not, maybe that is the issue.  The Memphis goes into a shutdown mode that I believe burns the pellets still left in the pot.

[okie smokie]

Actually, considering that you ran the pit at moderate heat for an hour before the cook, and then another hour and then primed it a little, you do not have near as much ash as you have before.  Also, perhaps on a long low slow cook, you might end up with no more ash if the fan is working better now. BBL I have also wondered about the appearance of the ash in the pot.  They may be completely burned but the fan should have disturbed them more. IMO. I can not imagine why they would not all be burned fully.  However, If it ain't broke, etc. Will tune in tomorrow.

[RanrocSmoker]

Yeah, I think the issue is in the fan on that grill and maybe how it goes into the pans underneath.  In the Memphis, whatever doesn't disintegrate drops through the holes into the ash pan.  Again, I have rarely after many cooks had near that much as still in the fire pot on the Memphis.  And, it doesn't even look like ash so much as it looks like pellets that didn't burn near the end of the cook.

Does your controller go into a shutdown mode?  If not, maybe that is the issue.  The Memphis goes into a shutdown mode that I believe burns the pellets still left in the pot.

Yeah, I'm not sure if this is good or bad for the grill at this point. The ash you see in the burn pot was all ash...nothing was unburned as I touched it and it all just disintegrated before I dumped it out. It just held its shape as it went through shutdown...yes, this unit has a shutdown mode where the fan just runs for several minutes until the controller detects temp drop below 144* I believe (I may be off by a few degrees, going by memory from reading the manual).

I think between the adjustment I made (and can further make) to the fan speeds, plus a cleaner burning pellet might make a difference.

I'll update on the cook tomorrow!

[RanrocSmoker]

Actually, considering that you ran the pit at moderate heat for an hour before the cook, and then another hour and then primed it a little, you do not have near as much ash as you have before.  Also, perhaps on a long low slow cook, you might end up with no more ash if the fan is working better now. BBL I have also wondered about the appearance of the ash in the pot.  They may be completely burned but the fan should have disturbed them more. IMO. I can not imagine why they would not all be burned fully.  However, If it ain't broke, etc. Will tune in tomorrow.

I wonder if there is a separate fan speed and setting for shutdown mode. I'll ask Dan at SnH.
The pellet ash in the latest pic is all ash, but some remained formed...it all disintegrated upon touch.

[Bar-B-Lew]

At the end of the day, if you do not get a flame out during a long cook and you are OK with vacuuming out the ash before each cook, I wouldn't worry about it if the grill is performing to your expectations for the rest of your wants/needs from a pellet grill.  Keep us updated.  I am amazed that a "no name" grill has produced this much insight for the members of this forum.  I think that is great and thank you for your continued contribution.  You are going to help others learn about pellet grills if they read this thread from beginning to end.

[RanrocSmoker]

At the end of the day, if you do not get a flame out during a long cook and you are OK with vacuuming out the ash before each cook, I wouldn't worry about it if the grill is performing to your expectations for the rest of your wants/needs from a pellet grill.  Keep us updated.  I am amazed that a "no name" grill has produced this much insight for the members of this forum.  I think that is great and thank you for your continued contribution.  You are going to help others learn about pellet grills if they read this thread from beginning to end.

Agreed. I think that’s the big question with any pellet grill. Does it perform as desired without the problems that could ruin the experience like flameouts.

As far as the food that’s been produced, I’m loving it.

The suggestions from you all here have made this a worthwhile experience. I look forward to learning more from the great folks here.


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[RanrocSmoker]

My plans for a slow and low cook became more of a slowish-and-lowish cook. You may recall that my wife is not a huge fan of smoked foods, so she asked that I make a cuban mojo-type of pork dish instead.

Total hours grill was on: about 7 hrs

Started at 350* for about an hour while I prepped the food, then tuned it down to 230*. Once I felt it stabilized, the meat went on. It was a small 4 pound pork butt, boneless.

230* for about 4 hours, then wrapped in foil and bumped the heat to 325* for about another 2 hrs until the meat hit 195* internal, according to the grill's meat probe.

Flavor was delicious! Those CookinPellets PM blend smell SOOOO good during the cook. There was detectable smokiness to the flavor (covered by the spices) and smoke smell (plus the pretty smoke ring, if you're into that).

I let the grill go into shutdown mode (a few clinkers fell in right before I pressed the button to power down and go into shutdown mode).

Ash volume for this length of time and temps were similar to the previous night's shorter session. Again, although some pellets kept their shape after turning to ash, everything disintegrated on touch (except the couple of clinkers).

No pellets left on the ramp at the end of the cook, and no sign of burnt pellets in the auger.

I'm more confident that the combination of fan speed adjustments I made, plus the different pellets make a difference in more complete pellet burn and the ash volume left in burn pot. The better indicator was NO FLAMES shooting out of the auger housing!!!

[Bar-B-Lew]

Pork looks great.

[okie smokie]

Great job! Looks like you are go for longer cooks.   

[RanrocSmoker]

Pork looks great.

Thanks. I think your suggestion to try CookinPellets really added to the great flavor of the meat. I’ve been a Pecan only user for so long (on the weber kettle) that when I made the move to pellet, I didn’t really even consider anything else...much less a blend like this Perfect Mix.


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[RanrocSmoker]

Great job! Looks like you are go for longer cooks.   

Agreed, but definitely with caution. I’ll just have to be mindful of what COULD go wrong and try to be prepared for that.

At some point I will do the biscuit test.


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[Bar-B-Lew]

Pork looks great.

Thanks. I think your suggestion to try CookinPellets really added to the great flavor of the meat. I’ve been a Pecan only user for so long (on the weber kettle) that when I made the move to pellet, I didn’t really even consider anything else...much less a blend like this Perfect Mix.


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If you plan to use a lot of pellets, it is probably best to buy a pallet from cookinpellets direct so you get a much better price than buying through Amazon one bag at a time.  Same could be said for LJ pellets too.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Great job! Looks like you are go for longer cooks.   

Agreed, but definitely with caution. I’ll just have to be mindful of what COULD go wrong and try to be prepared for that.

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I agree to proceed on a long cook with caution.  I would try to start early in the morning and make sure you are available to be near the grill all day while cooking.

[RanrocSmoker]

Yesterday, I looked in the hopper and there was only 2-4 pounds (guesstimating) of pellets left, so I let them burn at 350* for a couple of hours.

When it was almost emptied, I saw several expanded pellets which led me to believe moisture was getting in at the bottom (never saw any expanded pellets toward the top of the hopper and I regularly ran my hand or a cooking tool to check for bridging).

Lots of sawdust too. I took a clean paint brush and swept down the sides and seams, as I was planning on using the red RTV caulk as a precaution (per okie smokie's suggestion).

Good thing I did this, as I looked on the outside of the joints where the auger tube and hopper meet and saw piles of sawdust on either side. This must have been where moisture, and probably some rain, got in and wet the pellets from earlier cooks.

I went ahead and sealed the seams (see pic).

On the bright side, the fan adjustments made a significant impact on ash volume in burn pot...there was very little compared to prior to the adjustments. Between this and having dry pellets, it should be smooth sailing. Of course, I'll update here if anything doesn't go as expected.

BTW, I reached out to the manufacturer and reported what I observed and how I caulked the hopper seams. He told me that the last run of their Kansas City Grills all had the red RTV caulk applied to the hopper. The Eco did not as they were manufactured prior to the changes they made withe Kansas City line. At least they are aware of this problem, and I hope this becomes standard on future productions of this grill.