Clean your pellet cooker


 
LMichaels

LMichaels

TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
OK I admit it. I got lax and forgot to vacuum out the Members Mark. Decided to to make a Porterhouse on it last night. A little while on 220, just to get it above "raw" and then blasted with 480 temp. Perfect. Kept grill going at 480 so wife could do her "Old Testament" finish (burn her oxen for a pleasing aroma to God) :D She shut it down (yes she know how) and shut down went normally. I went out to see if it was cool enough to put away. Found smoke emitting from hopper lid. oh oh.
Two things for those of us with more "conventional" units. One, shutting it down from very high temps likely not the best thing to do. Since the shutdown cycle is by time not temp. IOW keeps draft fan running 10-15 min. Likely better to run the t//stat down to temps more likely to be used i.e. 350 or less then shut down
Two, had a lot of ash build up in the burn pot. Which allowed more embers up close to the auger tube. Not a good practice (especially if you just did what I noted in number one).
Luckily I caught it. Was able to dump the pellets and clean out the auger a bit right at the hopper. Started it back up and let it run until the auger was empty. Then shut it down. Will be doing some spring cleaning on it this AM
 
Glad you caught that one in time, Larry! I think all of us who have been used to gas grills and now are using pellet grills more have to remind ourselves that they have their own unique requirements to operate safely.
 
Yep. And it's not like it's time consuming or hard to do. Really the "hardest" part is finding and plugging in your shop vac every couple cooks. The cleaning takes all of 5 min. But I'll admit it. I got lazy and did not feel like puling out my little vac and plugging it in. And totally forgot about doing it. IDK how many cooks I had on it. Also I find the Smokehouse pellets do tend to be a little more "ashy" then Kirkland pellets but, the SH tends to give a little more "smoke". So there are tradeoffs here.
Bottom line on a pellet grill is just because the maint is EZPZ does NOT mean it's not important (critical even). Especially if you're really "pushing" the grill as I did last night at running continuously close to 500 deg and then doing a shut down from that temp. There is too much "heat soak" in there for only a 10 min fan cycle.
Had I been out there doing it (instead of the boss), I likely would have run a "cool down" to 250 BEFORE doing a full shut down. But, that's just me.
Bottom line don't take them for granted
 
Shop vac part of cleaning can be a pita. I'm looking into getting a battery operated unit. Everything is contained on the vac, hose, attachments etc and very portable.
 
Bob speaks truth; when I decided to buy a battery shop vac and dedicate it to the cookers it made matters much simpler for me to clean them regularly. I keep it in the same area as where I store grill brushes and related utensils.
 
And brush the inside of the lid and cooking chamber down.
I used my smokefire yesterday and noticed alot of flaking black carbonized deposits. Hit that with a nylon brush and used the cordless leaf blower to blow it away.
 
Most grills probably have those instructions, maybe hidden a little, in the operating manual. Below from my Pitts and Spitts.

“After running on “HIGH” or any set temperature over 300°F, run the grill at 200°F for 15 minutes
with the lid open before running the “SHUTDOWN CYCLE” to avoid any burn back.”

Really glad you caught yours before a possible fire in your hopper.
 
I ended up buying a small ash vacuum. I went corded. It was cheap and my grill already sits next to a power cord so plugging in is not a big deal. It’s not super powerful but plenty for ash. Walmart free shipping.
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I have a small dedicated plug-in indoor/outdoor vacuum I use for cleaning the pellet grill. It sits under a small table under the covered patio for protection and tidiness.
 
Darian Hofer said:
Most grills probably have those instructions, maybe hidden a little, in the operating manual. Below from my Pitts and Spitts.

“After running on “HIGH” or any set temperature over 300°F, run the grill at 200°F for 15 minutes
with the lid open before running the “SHUTDOWN CYCLE” to avoid any burn back.”

Really glad you caught yours before a possible fire in your hopper.
Click to expand...
Honestly have never seen an instruction like that on either one. But, from now on, that will be etched into my brain
 
I bought this one a few years ago for cleanup after drilling wood, drywall and the back of my wife's car after she does a plant or garden run.
Got it from the Ryobi outlet. I think I paid $50 and it came with a battery allegedly refurbished or open box from the Ryobi outlet. Works great on the pellet grill.
greens-ryobi-wet-dry-vacuums-pcl734k-64_600.jpg
 
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I had a "puff explosion" on my Recteq. Blew the lid up and blew the door off the smoke box breaking the hinge weld. Recteq sent me a replacement smoke box. Was quite loud!

Recteq had me adjust the igniter.

Since then, I vacuum clean the unit prior to each cook. I have a cheap Harbor Freight vac that I only use for this grill.

On shut down, I will lower it to 225F and run for a while if I had it higher prior.
 
I had a "puff explosion" on my Recteq. Blew the lid up and blew the door off the smoke box breaking the hinge weld. Recteq sent me a replacement smoke box. Was quite loud!

Wow! I hope I never experience that. I don't vac that frequently, maybe after 4/5 cooks. I would like to vac out the fire pot more frequently though. Battery powered vac would make that very convenient.
 
Was just watching this yesterday. My only issue is the fine ash in a pellet grill will clog those filters these use in nothing flat. On my little plug in Rigid, I use one of those dust bags and it helps a lot, but sadly they cut suction a bit
 
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I see most of the vacs come with washable pleated hepa filters. They are made of paper, don't know how that will hold up with frequent washing. I like cloth bags that go over the filter, just shake out to clean.
 
Bob Erdman said:
I see most of the vacs come with washable pleated hepa filters. They are made of paper, don't know how that will hold up with frequent washing. I like cloth bags that go over the filter, just shake out to clean.
Click to expand...
Are those cloth (or perhaps paper bags) fairly "universal"? Asking because since I am heavily "vetted" in Bosch and DeWalt power tools I am considering (IF) I go to this cordless vac that I go with one of those 2 brands if I can find one cheaply enough. Just so I don't have to stock yet another type/brand of battery
 
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