Bullseye A love hate relationship

[RLB1078]

I've had a love hate relationship with this grill since purchasing it last year. Sometimes it runs perfect, and sometimes it refuses to hold a temp. We're trying to cook some burgers tonight and I set it to riot mode to burn off the fat and grease from the last cook. It got up to temp and ran at for a while and then I set the temp to 400. After the temp was down to 400 I put the burgers on. After the first check about 7 or 8 mins later the temp was down to 380. Second check about 7 .ins later the temp was down to 260 with a lot of smoke coming from the hopper. Grill surface felt pretty cool. A quick Google search made me think I had a fire in the auger. So I unplugged it. I'm waiting now to see if that fire will go out. What am I doing wrong? Did I get a lemon? Every other cook it's some issue. I'm using rec TEC pellets,

 

[Lager1829]

Clear ash out of the fire pot? Clean soot from the vents and rim of lid and barrel? The latter seems more likely the issue.

 

[Jim6820]

Try some different pellets. I’ve found that RecTec Ultimate pellets can vary widely in length, with some running up to 2” long. Overly long pellets can bridge at the mouth of the auger tube and allow burn-back..

 

[RLB1078]

Clear ash out of the fire pot? Clean soot from the vents and rim of lid and barrel? The latter seems more likely the issue.

I just cleaned the fire pit three or four cooks ago. I haven't checked the vents, or the lid though.

 

[RLB1078]

I took the burgers off, removed the grate, and deflector and ran the auger on test mode to clear out all the burning pellets. There was no smoke coming from the auger when I restarted it, but five minutes later the fire was back in the auger. I threw the burgers away. I checked the vents and they are probably 98% blocked. I guess I'll clean them before the next cook and see what happens. It's just crazy to me that the last time I cooked on it it ran perfect, and the food tasted great.

 

[Buckeye1]

The bullseye is definitely more fickle. Fire pot, vents and also more sensitive to old pellets doing exactly as you described.

 

[Hogman3]

I've had a love hate relationship with this grill since purchasing it last year. Sometimes it runs perfect, and sometimes it refuses to hold a temp. We're trying to cook some burgers tonight and I set it to riot mode to burn off the fat and grease from the last cook. It got up to temp and ran at for a while and then I set the temp to 400. After the temp was down to 400 I put the burgers on. After the first check about 7 or 8 mins later the temp was down to 380. Second check about 7 .ins later the temp was down to 260 with a lot of smoke coming from the hopper. Grill surface felt pretty cool. A quick Google search made me think I had a fire in the auger. So I unplugged it. I'm waiting now to see if that fire will go out. What am I doing wrong? Did I get a lemon? Every other cook it's some issue. I'm using rec TEC pellets,

I’ve had my Bullseye for about 8 months now. Initially, I questioned whether I had made the right decision because I wasn’t too impressed with its performance. Helpful tips from members on this forum got me back on the straight and narrow. Yes, it requires a little more attention than my Weber kettle did, but it’s all a part of that routine called BBQing that makes it satisfying when the stars are in alignment and everything goes according to plan. Sorry for the lengthy reply.

 

[kstone113]

I wonder if the controller on the new B380-X is better/more responsive. I have noticed this behavior before also when changing temps. Compared to my Bull, it isn't very good but I've been able to learn the grill fairly well. I will say though once a temp locks in, it is good.

 

[Gilmore]

I've had my Bullseye for over a year. Once I noticed smoke coming out of the pellet storage bin. My cook was almost finished so I finished and shut down. The next day, I checked the vents, and they all were closed or close to being closed. I carefully open them with a small screwdriver and cleaned them with a grill cleaner
No more problems to date, but I do keep an eye on the vents.
In your case, I think the enclosed bullseye probably generated enough pressure to force the fire back into the auger. Just my guess.

 

[Whalercat]

I wonder if the controller on the new B380-X is better/more responsive. I have noticed this behavior before also when changing temps. Compared to my Bull, it isn't very good but I've been able to learn the grill fairly well. I will say though once a temp locks in, it is good.

New bullseye is great, but not near as accurate in temp as my bull. However it has same issue as old if I don't clean fire pot. At least it's just a lever that dumps ash into a waste bucket. I do this every cook now. 50 cooks since new I haven't needed to remove drip tray or clean the pot.

 

[bbqjoe]

I've had a love hate relationship with this grill since purchasing it last year. Sometimes it runs perfect, and sometimes it refuses to hold a temp. We're trying to cook some burgers tonight and I set it to riot mode to burn off the fat and grease from the last cook. It got up to temp and ran at for a while and then I set the temp to 400. After the temp was down to 400 I put the burgers on. After the first check about 7 or 8 mins later the temp was down to 380. Second check about 7 .ins later the temp was down to 260 with a lot of smoke coming from the hopper. Grill surface felt pretty cool. A quick Google search made me think I had a fire in the auger. So I unplugged it. I'm waiting now to see if that fire will go out. What am I doing wrong? Did I get a lemon? Every other cook it's some issue. I'm using rec TEC pellets,

I’m in with the fire pot version. I’ve had swings before, only cuz I was too lazy to vacuum out the pot. Clean it out and you should be off and running.

 

[kstone113]

New bullseye is great, but not near as accurate in temp as my bull. However it has same issue as old if I don't clean fire pot. At least it's just a lever that dumps ash into a waste bucket. I do this every cook now. 50 cooks since new I haven't needed to remove drip tray or clean the pot.

What about like temp stabliziation time? It looks like it is a new controller on the new bullseye, just wondering but sounds like it maybe the same as the old PID Bullseye.

I always clean my firepot before each use. I got an aftermarket heat diffuser with the removable hole in the middle to make it quicker.

 

[Whalercat]

New controller and yes, sometimes it overshoots a bit, but so do stick burners. IMO people worry more than needed about maintaining an exact temperature. The Bull is great at that, but it's sitting around watching bullseye get all the work recently due to ease of use.