Burn Out

Pacman

Well-known member
Lifetime Premium!
Premium Member
Messages
879
Grill(s) owned
  1. RT-1250
1664332888867.png


Part 1:

I tried to find a picture of what I always knew as a burn out. I thought it would be fun and nostalgic. Google "burn out" and you're presented with a bunch of silly people holding their heads because...work is apparently really hard.

Part 2 (the real post):
After a year of cooking, I thought it might be nice to burn through the last of the pellets in the hopper and do a little cleaning/vacuuming even though my dust level isn't that bad. I'm near the end of what's left in the hopper. I haven't ever "run dry" before. Anything I need to be concerned about? I still have time to shut things down.
 
I can’t think of any potential issues; when there is no more fuel, the fire should go out. Instead of letting the fire burn until the pellet supply is exhausted, I just vacuum out the last of the pellets and any accumulated dust. Six to one, half-dozen to the other I guess.

Car Crash Sport GIF by NASCAR
 
I do it a couple times a year, so far no issues.

I scoop out what I can then burn off the rest.
 
How hot are you going to crank it? I noticed after my pizza marathon @500*, the self-cleaning oven effect worked out really nice. I can see over 90 percent stainless throughout the grill, everything just flaked right off and vacuumed right up.. The rails and the grease trough are the hardest to keep clean.
Running out of pellets just floats you down under your set point until it reads whatever the ambient temp is, I've never done it on purpose but I've done it. No ill effects afterwards.
 
I ended up running at 350 until the temp drifted down to below 200 and then shut things off. I'll take a look later today on my success. Thanks all.
 
View attachment 17608

Part 1:

I tried to find a picture of what I always knew as a burn out. I thought it would be fun and nostalgic. Google "burn out" and you're presented with a bunch of silly people holding their heads because...work is apparently really hard.

Part 2 (the real post):
After a year of cooking, I thought it might be nice to burn through the last of the pellets in the hopper and do a little cleaning/vacuuming even though my dust level isn't that bad. I'm near the end of what's left in the hopper. I haven't ever "run dry" before. Anything I need to be concerned about? I still have time to shut things down.
The bucket head vacuum is available from most hardware stores (https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-...ible-with-5-Gal-Homer-Bucket-BH0100/202017218) and is very effective at cleaning out the hopper. I use an ash vaccum (I have a pellet stove) to clean out the inside of the grill. That said, I seldom pull out the pellets unless I'm have an issue. The grill that gets cleaned the most is my Bullseye, because it has no drip pan. Good luck...
 
I ended up running at 350 until the temp drifted down to below 200 and then shut things off. I'll take a look later today on my success. Thanks all.
I also use my air compressor to blow out the auger tube when the pellets are all out. It gets out the all the pellet dust which can cause problems if it builds up enough. After using the smoker for a couple of years I started hearing popping sounds when the auger was turning. It was pellet dust that had built up and had gotten hard, maybe from humidity? I could not believe the chunks that blew out into the firepot when I did this. I do it every year now.
 
Yes @3jh I also have two Bucketheads. One gross, one clean. I've changed out pellets before, but until last night I never let things run nearly dry. My day got in the way of what I would've preferred to do today, but I can look in the hopper and see an auger. A little vacuuming and a blast with the air compressor and I should be pristine for another year or so.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top