So how does one blow up a brand new grill?

I wonder how uneven the patio is? I would put a level on the grates and then on the drip pan to see if there is enough pitch to drain.

I would also put something under the wheels on the low side to get the grates level or leaning slightly to the grease bucket.
I took the OP's post to say that, if anything, the patio is uneven to the side that would create more drainage, not less. I don't think this is the issue unless I misread and it's uneven the other direction which could cause decreased drainage. Taking the OP's word at face value, I think we can rule rapid grease ignition out as the cause.
 
Did you check the ignitor position? Did it seem like there was grease in the pellets and is that grease under the drip tray?
Just finished cleaning it all up, not a bit of grease in the pot at all, just ash and some charred pellets a few inches up the auger. Only place there was any pooled grease or gooey black stuff was on the pan itself in the same places roughly where the foil was cooked. When I put the foil on I started on the right side and worked my way left, overlapping the end of each piece about 2". The "front and back" of the pan, the foil was creased into the corner and then I trimmed it off so it didn't stick up higher than the pan. The right side the foil ended right at the pan so the grease should have been able to roll right off into the chute but there was nothing in there at all. How the grease got under the foil is a mystery to me.
Let me start off by saying that I'm glad nobody was hurt. Like, truly. That was a LOT of force and could have ended very badly. It should be noted that I'm not an expert forensic scientist so take the following with a grain of salt. It's meant more for conversation given limited data to this point.

The way that thing exploded is far more than just grease IMHO. It produced quite a bit of smoke for a while and then... BOOM! Grease doesn't tend to smolder like that, generally. I don't think that was the cause.

Out of curiosity, what pellets were you using? It feels like there was quite a bit of airborne particulate available for spontaneous combustion. Often times, when grain silos explode, the danger isn't the grain but what's airborne as it's more readily combustible with the right conditions. Curious if the pellets used aren't one of the brands known to have more fillers/ash that might lend to something like this.
Using the Recteq brand pellets that came with the grill from their Black Friday promotion.
I took the OP's post to say that, if anything, the patio is uneven to the side that would create more drainage, not less. I don't think this is the issue unless I misread and it's uneven the other direction which could cause decreased drainage. Taking the OP's word at face value, I think we can rule rapid grease ignition out as the cause.
The patio right there for some reason slopes towards the house slightly so the left side of the grill is lower than the right but not by much, the drip pan is still pitched towards the right but maybe not enough, I don't have enough experience to tell.

After cleaning excess grease off the pan, shop vaccing all the ash out and putting a few pinches of pellets in the pot I ran it up to 450 for 30 minutes and it worked perfectly. All the undersides of the various parts that look like they took the brunt of an explosion just wiped clean, it was just ash. No crazy smoke, no weird smells. Worked exactly like it should have and didn't send neighbors from a block over to the house again. Not intending to cook on it again until Recteq replies with whatever insight they may have.

And the audio of the pop from my camera doesn't do it justice. That thing went off like a Tannerite bomb and brought the neighbors I don't ever talk to over and had people shouting from their backyards down the street wondering what in the hell that was.
 
I took the OP's post to say that, if anything, the patio is uneven to the side that would create more drainage, not less. I don't think this is the issue unless I misread and it's uneven the other direction which could cause decreased drainage. Taking the OP's word at face value, I think we can rule rapid grease ignition out as the cause.
I may have mis understood.
 
I have been getting into the habit of cleaning my pit before every cook (might be overkill, but ocd sets in sometimes) check/clean/prime firepot, new foil on drip pan, give a quick wipe down if any built up grease, etc, etc.
I do find this type of grill to be a boat load less on the maint than my old 2 burner Weber gasser so I don’t mind doing the extra PM before every cook.
I do the same thing. 👍🏻
 
^^^^^^ this ^^^^^
Make sure drip pan is up on the ledge left hand side. I have a sloped patio and experienced once that the grease did not go to the bucket because of the way I had it sitting to block wind.
@Clm65 post
Is it better to have the grill on a small slant to help the grease flow towards the drain or have it level?
 
Damn, that is quite the video. We are all glad no one was hurt. I don't have much else to add; lots of thoughtful advice from others already. I've been in the insurance business for decades and seen some crazy turkey fryer, grill and oven claims. Your video is something entirely new.
 
So glad that no major damage was done to life or property!

There are a lot of variables here, so I don’t think we’ll ever know exactly what happened.
What I can tell you is that I’m 98% sure you had a grease fire at some point. The lack of grease drainage and charred goo are the evidence.

But for this explosion to happen, you needed something to smolder and produce the correct vapors and particulates to spontaneously ignite. You had that, as evident with the huge smoke plume. I recognize that plume, because I’ve had it a few times, usually with too many pellets added to the fire pot during startup or shut down. Could it have been smoldering grease? Maybe, but I think it’s a lot less likely.

Regarding the source of ignition, was it a grease flare up or the fire/spark from the fire pot that ignited it the plume? That I can’t tell you, but it was one of the two things.

Lastly, any increase in oxygen/air flow could have played a role.

Either way, you had a perfect storm of conditions present here.
 
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Just finished cleaning it all up, not a bit of grease in the pot at all, just ash and some charred pellets a few inches up the auger. Only place there was any pooled grease or gooey black stuff was on the pan itself in the same places roughly where the foil was cooked. When I put the foil on I started on the right side and worked my way left, overlapping the end of each piece about 2". The "front and back" of the pan, the foil was creased into the corner and then I trimmed it off so it didn't stick up higher than the pan. The right side the foil ended right at the pan so the grease should have been able to roll right off into the chute but there was nothing in there at all. How the grease got under the foil is a mystery to me.

Using the Recteq brand pellets that came with the grill from their Black Friday promotion.

The patio right there for some reason slopes towards the house slightly so the left side of the grill is lower than the right but not by much, the drip pan is still pitched towards the right but maybe not enough, I don't have enough experience to tell.

After cleaning excess grease off the pan, shop vaccing all the ash out and putting a few pinches of pellets in the pot I ran it up to 450 for 30 minutes and it worked perfectly. All the undersides of the various parts that look like they took the brunt of an explosion just wiped clean, it was just ash. No crazy smoke, no weird smells. Worked exactly like it should have and didn't send neighbors from a block over to the house again. Not intending to cook on it again until Recteq replies with whatever insight they may have.

And the audio of the pop from my camera doesn't do it justice. That thing went off like a Tannerite bomb and brought the neighbors I don't ever talk to over and had people shouting from their backyards down the street wondering what in the hell that was.

Well since it didn't seem like any grease got to the fire pot and this happened during startup, I still suspect this was a wood smoke explosion like a backdraft. Although I would not say it is common it does happen when the pellets smolder and do not ignite properly and when they finally do get hot enough or the ignitor ignites the combustible smoke with just enough air, this is the result.

What I suggest is checking the ignitor position. It should be flush with the fire pot. I have had this condition before. Since I adjusted mine it has been fine. It may not happen every time as there are variables on how the pellets are fed into the fire pot and how they sit near the ignitor. Just the right conditions need to happen for this result.
 
If we set aside the question of whether it had enough grease smoke/vapor to ignite, and just look at what we can see, it matches up with a smoke flashover per this article.
https://www.firehouse.com/operations-training/article/10500576/extreme-fire-behavior-smoke-explosion

The video shows an extreme amount of smoke. I believe the grill created a flammable mixture of smoke/air by a smoldering start-up and when the pot finally ignited to flame, the smoke mixture had achieved near stoichiometric ratio. That is; the mixture became flammable as the fire pot ignited, then BOOM!

I will say that I've experienced a few super smoky start-ups like the video. But was lucky enough not to have the explosion. But most start-ups are far less smoky.

I think the advice earlier in this thread, to leave the door open on start-up, is wise. Without diagnosing why these super smoky start-ups happen, I think I feel it's a prudent measure to open the door of the smoker for start-up, until you hear the clear sound of a fire in the pot and feel notable heat. IMO, this will prevent a flashover. While I don't regularly experience a super smoky start-up, I'm going to change my ways and make it a practice to start with the door open until I get a fire going in the pot.

As for the grease question, my opinion is that I don't think the pit had enough time to get the residual grease hot enough to create a flammable grease vapor. I believe any burnt grease on the drip pan was a result of the flashover burning it and the previous cooks.

I think the OP can safely go forward with a simple practice of leaving the door open during start-up until full flame in the fire pot is heard. It's very distinct and sounds like a blowtorch. If RecTeq comes back with recommendations, I'd follow them as well, with the provision that the door be open on start-up.
 
It will be interesting to see what Recteq recommends. We all can learn from this one.

Yeah it will.. somehow my gut says Recteq will find a way to point fingers to the user but that's just me thinking out loud LOL.

I had this issue.. was my ignitor adjustment. Never had it since. It is pretty simple to check and rule out.

My Post
 
I am glad no one was injured.
Looking at the pictures, the fire pot seems to have quite a bit of pellets in it, looks to be even with the feed tube. Have you checked to see what the auger feed rate is set at? It looks to me that it was pushing too many pellets into the fire pot.
I know that my 700 does not put that many pellets into the pot at start up.
 
A couple days ago, I cleaned out my ash. While I had the drip pan and the heat deflector out, I decided I'd light it for the cook I was about to do. I wanted to watch the ignition process. Since I had vacuumed out the fire pot, there were no pellets in the pot. So, I added two small handfuls of pellets, and pushed the pile to ensure they were contacting the ignitor. I started the grill with the temperature set to 200F, but I'm not sure it matters on start-up, but possibly. I'll have to give that some more thought and maybe investigate it.

So, as soon as I pressed the start button, the auger fed some pellets and the fan came on. Normal, I'd say. It took about 7-10 minutes to ignite. I was a bit surprised, since I know it seemed faster in most of my other experiences. But I almost never just stand around waiting for it to ignite. But that timing matches up with the OP's video which he says the explosion occurs about 10 minutes after starting the grill.

I think I'll run a few start-up tests. Maybe video it too.

Question for Biggus; Did you find any unburnt pellets laying in the bottom of the drum near the fire pot?
 
Traeger suggested starting the grill with the cover opened, for this exact reason.
Maybe something to think about 🤔
I just read an old blog post this morning from Steven Raichlen where he recommended keeping the lid open on gas grill startup for the same reason. Probably not a bad idea for any cooker with a lid.
 
Hmm. Perhaps instead of the "Stampede", Rec Teq should rename the grill to "The Bomb"? 😬
 
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Hmm. Perhaps instead of the "Stampede", Rec Teq should rename the grill to ,"The Bomb"? 😬
...or "the gadget"
Wellerstein-Trinity2-1200.jpg
 

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