Bull Need help getting auger out after leaving pellets in the hopper and they got wet

[Cincojoe]

Ok I screwed up. Thought I had ran my pellets out last year like I always do before storing it for winter. Took her out to fire up and discovered I had about 1/3 full still and it appears water got in. I have vacuumed all the pellets out and when I got down to the auger it was rock hard saw dust. I chipped most of it away and vacuumed but there is still more where I can’t reach.

I decided pull the auger out but I can’t get it to budge. I have tried prying it like Recteq shows on YouTube but it won’t come out. Yes I removed the set screws.

Any suggestions on getting that hardened say dust to loosen up? Maybe hot water?

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Just add more water. Just give it time to soften. Then you can probably pull out the auger.

 

[C. Keeper]

Try not to get igniter wet.

 

[Jim6820]

Have you tried high-pressure air? That would avoid getting the igniter wet and is sometimes enough to loosen things up. I’d use 50-60 PSI with an air gun…and, wear eye protection. Just a thought.

UPDATE: Something like this, perhaps?

https://www.amazon.com/Senzeal-Stai...44715045&sprefix=long+air+gun,aps,128&sr=8-10

 

[Cincojoe]

Thanks for the help guys. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow. Keeping fingers crossed.

 

[Jim6820]

Thanks for the help guys. I’ll give it a shot tomorrow. Keeping fingers crossed.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed too! Good luck.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Try not to get igniter wet.

Take the igniter out first.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Any success?

 

[Sleuth]

Ok I screwed up. Thought I had ran my pellets out last year like I always do before storing it for winter. Took her out to fire up and discovered I had about 1/3 full still and it appears water got in. I have vacuumed all the pellets out and when I got down to the auger it was rock hard saw dust. I chipped most of it away and vacuumed but there is still more where I can’t reach.

I decided pull the auger out but I can’t get it to budge. I have tried prying it like Recteq shows on YouTube but it won’t come out. Yes I removed the set screws.

Any suggestions on getting that hardened say dust to loosen up? Maybe hot water?

I had to do this a couple of times on my old Traeger. I used a sturdy monkey wrench to grasp the end of the auger and then twisted. The wrench seemed to provide enough torque to pull the auger through the obstruction. Good luck.

 

[ghuns]

Like this...

https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/stuck-auger-removal.5073/

 

[Henrymiller1]

Ok I screwed up. Thought I had ran my pellets out last year like I always do before storing it for winter. Took her out to fire up and discovered I had about 1/3 full still and it appears water got in. I have vacuumed all the pellets out and when I got down to the auger it was rock hard saw dust. I chipped most of it away and vacuumed but there is still more where I can’t reach.

I decided pull the auger out but I can’t get it to budge. I have tried prying it like Recteq shows on YouTube but it won’t come out. Yes I removed the set screws.

Any suggestions on getting that hardened say dust to loosen up? Maybe hot water?

I had stuck auger. Using an EZ out or screw extractor was the ONLY way. What a freaking pain.