Some advice please!!!!!

Bbqallday80

Well-known member
Messages
115
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
Few minutes ago I finally got my 590 back out to cook some ribs. About 3 weeks ago I cleaned all the pellets and stuff out to put away. I filled the hopper up and started it at 240 and waited about 20 minutes for the pellets to get to the firepot. I saw light smoke coming out and it went away. About 5 minutes after a lot of smoke came billowing out. A lot. I always keep my door open till it starts to rise in temp but this got me nervous real fast so I shut it off and waited till some of the smoke died down. I took everything out and the firepot was full to the top with pellets. I dumped most of them out and saw a few that were burning. I started it back up and it it started burning normal. What would make the firepot fill like that and have not started up. I truly feel it would have been bad if I hadn’t stopped it and dumped the pellets. Someone can give me some understanding of this so I can calm down. This is why I always trusted my Weber kettle, didn’t have to worry about blowing the backyard up. Thanks to anyone who can help me understand what I did wrong.
 
I always vacuum out the firepot after every cook. It only takes about 5 minutes to start smoking when I turn it on. I suspect that it was dumping pellets into the fire pot for the 20 minutes you were waiting to see smoke. I wonder if your ignitor is not positioned correctly, maybe recessed too far back? You could check it out by starting it up again with the drip tray and the deflector plate removed and see what is happening.
 
Last edited:
Are you supposed to add a handful of pellets to the firepot before starting it up? Cause I had all pellets removed from auger and hopper. Firepot was fully clean as well. Only thing I didn’t do was add the pellets to the firepot
 
Are you supposed to add a handful of pellets to the firepot before starting it up? Cause I had all pellets removed from auger and hopper. Firepot was fully clean as well. Only thing I didn’t do was add the pellets to the firepot
I never add pellets to the firepot before starting. I always start out with a vacuumed-out firepot and like I said above it only takes about 5 minutes to start smoking. Since you had the auger pipe empty you might add an additional 3-5 minutes to the startup time.
 
I think RT recommends putting a handful of pellets in the firepot. If the firepot was empty and the auger was empty, it could have kept dumping pellets in the firepot. I am glad all is well. I would call RT tomorrow and they will help you out.
Honestly, I think on these grills less is more. I only clean out the firepot every few cooks, when I do I put a few back in firepot. But otherwise mine has been bullet proof.
 
I think RT recommends putting a handful of pellets in the firepot. If the firepot was empty and the auger was empty, it could have kept dumping pellets in the firepot. I am glad all is well. I would call RT tomorrow and they will help you out.
Honestly, I think on these grills less is more. I only clean out the firepot every few cooks, when I do I put a few back in firepot. But otherwise mine has been bullet proof.
Normally the igniter stays on for about 5 minutes and is not on after that. The control then shuts off the igniter. The auger stays on because of the temp you set and the needed pellet flow for that temp. Not sure how long it will stay off if there is no rising temp noted. If there were no pellets in the pot, and none in auger tube, then there is no rising temp noted so the igniter is turned on again. I suspect your igniter was in the off mode when the pellets finally started dropping in the pot and did not recycle until pot was overfilled. Thus you had a full pot with a few beginning to light at the bottom.
My advice: Two ways.
Easiest: After clean out, place a good handful of pellets in the pot. When you turn it on to cook, there will be enough fire to last until the auger tube is full and pellets are dropping.

Hardest: After the clean out. Plug in your grill, DO NOT START, and enter test mode, and select "AUG". (How to is in the manual Test pages). Let it run (no fan or igniter is on) until the tube is full and some pellets have fallen around the starter. Turn off test mode, and pull the plug. You are ready to go next cook!
 
Glad to read you decided to keep the 590 and give it a go again. How did the ribs turn out?
After sitting with the Weber kettle I decided that the pellet smoker was a little easier in lots of ways. I’m glad you asked about the ribs cause lately I’ve been cooking whole spares and todays I cooked at 240 for about 2 1/2 hours then wrapped about 2 hours, I bumped temp up to 275 cause it seemed like they were never gonna get done. I took them out of foil and glazed them and left them for about 30 mins and just decided to remove. What is a good temp to cook ribs on a pellet smoker and when do you wrap. I personally like fall off the bone tenderness but the ones today came out a little tough. Thanks so much.
 
Normally the igniter stays on for about 5 minutes and is not on after that. The control then shuts off the igniter. The auger stays on because of the temp you set and the needed pellet flow for that temp. Not sure how long it will stay off if there is no rising temp noted. If there were no pellets in the pot, and none in auger tube, then there is no rising temp noted so the igniter is turned on again. I suspect your igniter was in the off mode when the pellets finally started dropping in the pot and did not recycle until pot was overfilled. Thus you had a full pot with a few beginning to light at the bottom.
My advice: Two ways.
Easiest: After clean out, place a good handful of pellets in the pot. When you turn it on to cook, there will be enough fire to last until the auger tube is full and pellets are dropping.

Hardest: After the clean out. Plug in your grill, DO NOT START, and enter test mode, and select "AUG". (How to is in the manual Test pages). Let it run (no fan or igniter is on) until the tube is full and some pellets have fallen around the starter. Turn off test mode, and pull the plug. You are ready to go next cook!
Thank you for the information. I never new that about the igniter. I’m new to pellet cooking and this is definitely the place to learn. Thanks so much.
 
Thank you for the information. I never new that about the igniter. I’m new to pellet cooking and this is definitely the place to learn. Thanks so much.
I think that is some good advice provided. Glad you caught the problem and managed to prevent a potential bad situation. The handful of pellets should help at start up. I've had my 700 for close to two years. I follow the routine of regular fire pot cleaning with some pellets at start up. I have never had a problem.
 
After sitting with the Weber kettle I decided that the pellet smoker was a little easier in lots of ways. I’m glad you asked about the ribs cause lately I’ve been cooking whole spares and todays I cooked at 240 for about 2 1/2 hours then wrapped about 2 hours, I bumped temp up to 275 cause it seemed like they were never gonna get done. I took them out of foil and glazed them and left them for about 30 mins and just decided to remove. What is a good temp to cook ribs on a pellet smoker and when do you wrap. I personally like fall off the bone tenderness but the ones today came out a little tough. Thanks so much.
@Bbqallday80 if you like fall of the bone try the 3-2-1 method at 250. You won’t get a ton of smoke but they will almost definitely be fall of the bone. You don’t have to do the full last hour if they are falling apart after the wrap. You can back off the wrap time and/or the temperature from there on your next cook(s) until you get the doneness you are looking for.

I usually cook ribs at 225 for 3 hours, wrap for about an hour at 250 then just tighten them back up on the grill for 15-30 minutes until they are just how we like them. I prefer a little bite on ribs.
 
The firepot thing is a known issue. And I think RT released a new firmware that addresses some of these issues. I would still call tech support, just so it's noted on their end.
 
Normally the igniter stays on for about 5 minutes and is not on after that. The control then shuts off the igniter. The auger stays on because of the temp you set and the needed pellet flow for that temp. Not sure how long it will stay off if there is no rising temp noted. If there were no pellets in the pot, and none in auger tube, then there is no rising temp noted so the igniter is turned on again. I suspect your igniter was in the off mode when the pellets finally started dropping in the pot and did not recycle until pot was overfilled. Thus you had a full pot with a few beginning to light at the bottom.
My advice: Two ways.
Easiest: After clean out, place a good handful of pellets in the pot. When you turn it on to cook, there will be enough fire to last until the auger tube is full and pellets are dropping.

Hardest: After the clean out. Plug in your grill, DO NOT START, and enter test mode, and select "AUG". (How to is in the manual Test pages). Let it run (no fan or igniter is on) until the tube is full and some pellets have fallen around the starter. Turn off test mode, and pull the plug. You are ready to go next cook!
I think Okie described the best practice above.

I always put a handful in the pot after vacuuming. I have never used the test mode to fill the auger after cleaning out the auger tube thoroughly. It works and is why RT recommends it. I go further and make sure there is contact of pellets on the ignitor face. My start up ignition times have really shortened up with this practice.

The advice to check the position of the ignitor is important.
 
3/1/1 is my favorite means at 240 for the first 3 hours unwrapped and then hour wrapped, I finish unwrapped for the last hour at 260 with the meat side down.......yummy. I also clean out the firepot more than most and also had a small handfull of pellets, all is good and works well.
 
3/1/1 is my favorite means at 240 for the first 3 hours unwrapped and then hour wrapped, I finish unwrapped for the last hour at 260 with the meat side down.......yummy. I also clean out the firepot more than most and also had a small handfull of pellets, all is good and works well.
For spares untrimmed or St Louis, I do 3,2,1 at 225*. They will fall off the bone, but sometime I take them off half an hour early if they pass the bend test. No need to sprits if you are going to wrap them..
For Baby Backs I do either 2,2,1 at 225*, or 3hrs at 275* (be sure and sprits, every 45 min or so or they will get tough and dry. Some folks don't and report no problem)
 
For spares untrimmed or St Louis, I do 3,2,1 at 225*. They will fall off the bone, but sometime I take them off half an hour early if they pass the bend test. No need to sprits if you are going to wrap them..
For Baby Backs I do either 2,2,1 at 225*, or 3hrs at 275* (be sure and sprits, every 45 min or so or they will get tough and dry. Some folks don't and report no problem)
When you wrap them do you add anything in the foil like butter or apple juice. May try this. Could you pull them 30 mins quicker so the glaze or sauce don’t burn and still have a good bite through rib. I asked my family how do y’all like your ribs. They all said we like a little bite but real tender. Got to make them to make sure the wife is happy.
 
When you wrap them do you add anything in the foil like butter or apple juice. May try this. Could you pull them 30 mins quicker so the glaze or sauce don’t burn and still have a good bite through rib. I asked my family how do y’all like your ribs. They all said we like a little bite but real tender. Got to make them to make sure the wife is happy.
Yes I add about 2 tbsp of butter 1 tbsp at each end. Then brown sugar and honey then put ribs upside down (bone up) so that the meat side is touching the butter. Then wrap tight (use 2 sheets of foil in case bones puncture the first layer) then 250 for an hr. Take out and add your favorite bbq sauce and place back on grill for 10-15 min to set the sauce. Pull and let rest for a few min, cut, serve, and enjoy.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Latest posts

Back
Top