Pellets not falling down

Bullporky

Well-known member
Messages
98
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
Anyone having issues with pellets not falling down in to the hopper?

I fill the hopper on my 590 halfway, more than enough for my cooking time of an hour, but I've found that the pellets aren't falling into the hopper and are getting hung up on the sides... Four times now this has happened. I noticed it when the internal temp falls drastically during a cook.

I've read, and removed the internal guard, but it happened again tonight. Any tips or advice?
 
If your humidity is running high and your home is air conditioned it might pay to keep the bag(s) in the house where the air will be drier. It may be the pellets are absorbing too much moisture and it makes them bridge easier.
 
Humidity is high right now in my area for sure, but the pellets are brand new and stored in 5 gallon screw top buckets in the internal storage room...

Using LBJ and Kingsford (both "fresh") and it's happened.

I opted for the buckets anticipating the humidity based on what folks have mentioned here. This is also why I'm only filling 50% and scooping pellets out nightly after use.

Do I need to do something different with the buckets or crack them so they vent?
 
I had the same problem with my RT590. I actually called Rec Tec to find out what they thought about this. I had 20 pounds of pellets in the hopper and they weren't falling into the auger. Just hanging around the sides. What fixed this problem for me was to remove the grate inside of the hopper. It's easy to do. And return the screws back into the holes when you are done. I have not had this problem since. And changing pellets is a breeze now.
 
@Bullporky that's too bad. I read on a Facebook group where someone took a fan and removed one of the blades so it was off-kilter and connected it to the hopper so that it shook the hopper and forced the pellets down towards the auger. Kind of crazy but I guess it works.
 
I've heard about this before, some refer to it as "funneling". In an extreme case, the firepot may run out of pellets even though there are some in the hopper. That hasn't happened to me, but I've noticed a void starting when checking the hopper during a cook.

Apparently it's not uncommon, and can happen across brands and models - also in pellet stoves for home heating. I've heard theories about polishing or waxing the hopper walls, sifting dust off the pellets, humidity, and more. I also recall a post elsewhere that offered an explanation based on physics.

I make a point of checking the hopper and moving pellets around to avoid having it happen. Adding something to vibrate periodically seems like it could help, too.
 
I would guess humidity may be a big factor. It doesn't take long for the pellets to absorb moisture even if just recently dumped into hopper. Have not experienced this "yet". Our humidity is very high this fall, will keep an eye on.
 
We have pretty high humidity here as well. I've not had the pellet hang ups you mention but I do tend to open the hopper a few times during a cook, if the center has a cavity I just mound it up while I have it open. I only put in roughly what I think I'll use, hence the need to check it once in a while.
 
I occasionally have this issue in my pellet heating stove insert, I let the hopper get as low as possible and then use a piece of wax paper and wipe the inside of the hopper with it, seems to help with the pellet feed issues.
 

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