Need Suggestions For RT-590 Auger Jam

[nogrillneil]

Hey all, I've had my RT-590 for about a year. I keep it covered for the most part, but went out of town recently and forgot to cover it up, and of course, it rained. The pellets in my grill have expanded and basically seem like cement. Nothing that I've tried so far has made even the smallest impact on moving this thing out.

This happened to me about 6 months ago, but I was able to just use a hammer and a screwdriver from the firepot side to get it unstuck, then cleaned out the tube and reassembled. This time, nothing is working. Here's what I've tried:

1. Boiling water to try to soften up the jam
2. Hammer and screwdriver from the firepot side (for hours)
3. Mallet and claw side of hammer from the firepot side (for hours)
4. Torch
5. Long wire through the hopper side and the firepot side to poke at the blockage (it doesn't budge)

I'm completely demoralized. I wasn't able to cook for Christmas or New Years, and it doesn't seem like the finish line is in sight. Does anybody have suggestions or recommendations for what I should try next? Does RecTeq by chance have technicians or something that could possibly help me out? I'm in Texas, by the way. Thanks in advance and happy new year to all.

 

[SmokeZilla]

You’ve given it quite a run. Do you have a small concrete bit around 6-8” long and tried drilling it out. Be careful of the internals, don’t want to damage anyrthing. If not, can you take a bit with an extension to drill away at it. The hail mary is to use a small soldering iron and burn it out enough to use the hammer method again. You will get a smokey fragrance and may be able to burn a hole deep enough to use other methods.

 

[nogrillneil]

You’ve given it quite a run. Do you have a small concrete bit around 6-8” long and tried drilling it out. Be careful of the internals, don’t want to damage anyrthing. If not, can you take a bit with an extension to drill away at it. The hail mary is to use a small soldering iron and burn it out enough to use the hammer method again. You will get a smokey fragrance and may be able to burn a hole deep enough to use other methods.

I don't have either, unfortunately. I'm not sure how I'd access the auger tube with a drill bit -- you mean from the hopper side?

 

[mikeporter616]

I don't have either, unfortunately. I'm not sure how I'd access the auger tube with a drill bit -- you mean from the hopper side?

This works like a champ!

 

[nogrillneil]

This works like a champ!

That's an interesting approach. After the new year, I'll give that a shot and see what happens.

 

[Cape J/80]

When mine clogged up I took it apart and unscrewed the auger out with a wrench. but still had the cement layer to break. It wouldn’t budge with a rod or other tools. To free the blockage I used my air compressor and put my air gun in a piece of pipe, it blew the cement layer apart and out in seconds like an air spade.

I have yet to test it I think an high flow air nozzle with a flexible wand from the burn pot end would make short work of it. Idk if they have one at harbor freight.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Most elegant is if you have a wood boring bit. Nice long corkscrew attached to your drill. You have to remove the auger motor by taking out the pin behind it that holds it to the auger shaft. Loosen the screws on both sides of the white bushing to free it up. Now use a pair of vice grips. Lock on, spin counter clockwise. Now you have access to the jam. Drill it out with the boring bit.
A hammer and a piece of rebar works too. It takes a LOT of hits, it’s just a metal pipe you’re trying to bash through. Whack away.
Good luck.

 

[nogrillneil]

Most elegant is if you have a wood boring bit. Nice long corkscrew attached to your drill. You have to remove the auger motor by taking out the pin behind it that holds it to the auger shaft. Loosen the screws on both sides of the white bushing to free it up. Now use a pair of vice grips. Lock on, spin counter clockwise. Now you have access to the jam. Drill it out with the boring bit.
A hammer and a piece of rebar works too. It takes a LOT of hits, it’s just a metal pipe you’re trying to bash through. Whack away.
Good luck.

I can't even get the white bushing out. I have no idea what's going on. I've had to do this in the past and it only took a few hours. This has been a multi-day project and I've made zero progress.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I can't even get the white bushing out. I have no idea what's going on. I've had to do this in the past and it only took a few hours. This has been a multi-day project and I've made zero progress.

If you loosen the screws on the sides of it, it will spin out when you back out the auger. Just go with the vice grips and spin the auger counter clockwise. When the auger pushes backwards it will push out the while bushing. Keep going, you'll feel better once you can smoke something.

 

[nogrillneil]

If you loosen the screws on the sides of it, it will spin out when you back out the auger. Just go with the vice grips and spin the auger counter clockwise. When the auger pushes backwards it will push out the while bushing. Keep going, you'll feel better once you can smoke something.

Yep, I've removed the screws on the sides of the bushing. The auger will not budge.

 

[nogrillneil]

So an update on my situation:

I've managed to get the bushing out, which may open up some more opportunities/approaches for getting this auger out. I'm going to take a long drill bit and try to break up some of the pellets. Hopefully I can make some progress.

 

[SmokeZilla]

So an update on my situation:

I've managed to get the bushing out, which may open up some more opportunities/approaches for getting this auger out. I'm going to take a long drill bit and try to break up some of the pellets. Hopefully I can make some progress.

Glad you are making progress. If you have it available, dont be afraid to use a welding rod in your drill to break up the jam. If you can get it 2 inches into the clog, you can put a little bend in the rod and it will be a little more destructive on those pesky pellets. Good luck and keep up posted.

 

[nogrillneil]

I'm now able to get my drill bit all the way through to the firepot side, but the auger still won't budge. I put a little bend in the end of one of my 25" drill bits (luckily I have several) to try to break up more of the clog, but I'm not sure if it's working. I'm wondering if the blockage is isolated somewhere my drill isn't reaching. Not sure what to try next.

 

[SmokeZilla]

My background tells me this is the perfect use for ordinance. But a more practical approach is to use a small diameter hose or your meat injector and try to pump some water into the bored hole. This may soften the pellets enough to allow additional expansion of the hole to accommodate a larger diameter punch or similar device to chip away at the clog.

 

[nogrillneil]

Update:

Whew fellas, it's been a while, but I've got some good news. After trying anything and everything under the sun, the jam refused to budge. It was looking pretty grim. Talked to RecTeq support a bunch throughout this journey, and they decided to just send me a new airbox and auger so I could yank that part out and just be done with it. Dropped the hopper, re-sealed the caulking, put the new airbox and auger in, and replaced the motor and igniter for good measure. I'm back up and running. To me, this is a testament to the relentlessness of RecTeq support. No way I would get that kind of treatment with another company. Happy grillin'!