Mega Jam in my RT-590

Patmandu

Member
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22
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
As you all know, I have a massive jam in my 590.

Worked this weekend trying to free up the jam using Recteq video on the Tube.

Was using a claw hammer to try and coax the auger out and the shaft snapped on the motor.

This thing is jammed like no other I've seen. The white bushing will not budge at all.

I sent an email to Recteq this morning to see what they say/suggest.

I've heard they don't respond well to emails so I may have to give them a call in the morning.

Wish me luck!
 
no advice for you bud. good luck! just curious so others don’t have the problem. what do you think caused it? not cleaning the dust out occasionally or water got in it? sorry to hear parts broke
 
It gets steam room humid here in Charleston SC.

That along with some heavy rains a couple of months ago, somehow, something got wet.

I've always had it covered with the factory cover and always do the cool down mode.

If I'm able to get it fixed, I will not be leaving any pellets inside the grill any longer.

It's a real bummer. I loved the smoker when it worked...:confused:
 
When you get the new part put it all back together, it'll be messy but try pouring water in the auger to soften things up and then try to run the auger. If you get it turning then you can probably get the auger out. Once the auger's out then fashion a metal tool to push all the goo into the firebox and suck it out with a shop vac.
 
maybe flood it with water for as long as it takes to turn it to mush. then empty out and spray with a lubricate help ease parts apart. if you use too much force something might get damaged.
 
maybe flood it with water for as long as it takes to turn it to mush. then empty out and spray with a lubricate help ease parts apart. if you use too much force something might get damaged.
I'm now curious if pellets that got wet, then became like dried cement, then were wet again, would they soften enough to loosen the auger?
If no one answers, I may try with a handful of pellets as an experiment. It would be good to know if works, just in case I get an auger jam one day.
 
I also have a 590 and just fixed the same problem. It had been sitting idle on my back patio for a couple weeks. I live in Texas so the humidity can be high. I fired it up last friday and checked on it after 15-20 minutes and there was an error code and the grill was cold. All the pellets in the auger tube had turned to cement and the auger couldn't turn. I tried a few different things to try and get the auger extracted. First i tapped the small poll at the end of the white bushing. I screwed in a 3/8 bolt to use a breaker bar to break it lose. This ended up pulling the auger into the hopper. Finally i baught a irwin screw extractor size 4, hammered it into the end of the pipe and used a breaker bar to turn it counterclockwise to remove the auger. Then i hooked it up to a drill to clear the auger tube. Problem solved, now i just need a new auger. PITA.
 

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I also have a 590 and just fixed the same problem. It had been sitting idle on my back patio for a couple weeks. I live in Texas so the humidity can be high. I fired it up last friday and checked on it after 15-20 minutes and there was an error code and the grill was cold. All the pellets in the auger tube had turned to cement and the auger couldn't turn. I tried a few different things to try and get the auger extracted. First i tapped the small poll at the end of the white bushing. I screwed in a 3/8 bolt to use a breaker bar to break it lose. This ended up pulling the auger into the hopper. Finally i baught a irwin screw extractor size 4, hammered it into the end of the pipe and used a breaker bar to turn it counterclockwise to remove the auger. Then i hooked it up to a drill to clear the auger tube. Problem solved, now i just need a new auger. PITA.
Now, that's what I'm talking about. Thanks for the info.

Spoke with CS guys at RecTeq. Gonna do their suggestion and take something and whack the auger end in the firepot a couple of times to see if it will loosen it up. I have a cats paw I can use. Should work....I hope! They are next day airing me a motor and all the ancillary parts.

If not, I'll be going this route. (y)
 
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I still think if you soak enough water in that mess the auger will slide out fairly easy. Those pellets are held together with water soluble glue so it should redissolve.
 
I sure don't want that happening to my 590. I live in the desert, so rain and humidity are not an issue but nevertheless, I'm going to remove leftover pellets. Could I use compressed air from the Firebox side to blow pellets back into the hopper?
 
i caused a lot of clogs on my old 680.
Because I didn't cover during bad weather ( heavy snow, rains etc)
i actually challenged my old 680 to fail me in the 7 years i owned it.

i have only had 4 major clogs with the 680. the last one was the worst , because i left it filled with pellets uncovered for 5 months all of the clogs where my fault.

for the 680 and the 700 clogs are easier to fix then the 590 because the auger is shorter on the 680/700.

the last clog i had it took me 2 hours to clean up.

the most important thing with a major clog is to remove the bushing at the back of the auger this takes some time. once the bushing is removed you can get a pair of channel locks on the end of the auger to wiggle pull an push, at the same time using a wet/dry vac sucking up the debris in the hopper and behind the auger. you will also have to bend something thin and meatal to try to chip away the clog (very difficult )
its a frustrating process.

the reason i didnt purchase a 590 was because the auger is longer then the 700 and the thought of trying to unclog a 590 seemed unrealistic.
 
I sure don't want that happening to my 590. I live in the desert, so rain and humidity are not an issue but nevertheless, I'm going to remove leftover pellets. Could I use compressed air from the Firebox side to blow pellets back into the hopper?
If you're going to empty all the pellets out, why not vacuum them out of the hopper, then run the auger test mode to bring the rest to the firepot and vacuum them out. That should be easier then trying to blow them out backwards with a air compressor.
BTW, I doubt you'll have any clogs in your dry climate though.
 
Update:

The 590 is back in action!

I got the auger out by hitting the fire pot end of it with a cats paw a few times to loosen it up.
After that, I used a pair of needle nose vise grips to back the auger out counter clockwise. Then, I used the old auger on the end of a drill to clean out the concretion of pellets in the tube. (this was the worst part of the job, btw.) That took about 20-30 minutes. All in all the job was a couple of hours, 40 curse words and three beers.

They sent me a new auger motor, auger, bushing and cotter pin.

The guys and gal I spoke with at Recteq were more than helpful with my situation.
 

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