Just How Tolerant?


 
LMichaels

LMichaels

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
So I am curious: Just how tolerant are pellet grills to humidity? I was watching a review of a Cuisinart version. The guy noted that he'd left it outside (he claimed covered) with pellets in it. Yet when he went to try and run it again, the shear pin on the drive motor snapped, necessitating he pulled the feed system and auger, where he found pellet "mush" that had become like cement. Obviously where I live temp and humidity levels are all over the map. To date I have not placed the grill on my deck. Mainly because of this "fear" of everything becoming pellet "cement" or mush. I know those of you in sunny dry climes don't deal with this "fear" but here is a different story. I'm concerned enough to consider sticking my Q320 out on the deck and keeping the pellet popper in the garage. Just curious on other's experiences in bad climates
 
I don't have humidity like other areas, and I only emptied mine to change the flavor of the pellets.

I think, If it is used often enough, and covered well enough it should be fine. By covered well enough I mean covered so there is no way for rain to get into the hopper or near the smoker box so the hopper and inside stays dry. I used a XL yard waste bag over my hopper and electronics, under a typical cover when it started raining.

Maybe try an experiment, just put some pellets in a spray paint cap under a table out back and see how long it takes them to turn to mush. I think ambient humidity is only an issue if you leave the pellets in for a while, or you are in 100% humidity often like fog at the coast.

Does yours have a chute to empty the pellets? If you empty the pellets and do a post cook burn off, then the auger tube will be empty. Downside is each time you'll need to re-prime the tube. Upside is you can store pellets inside and picking your pellet and priming will become a habit.
 
I live in 4 season Idaho. My Memphis pellet grill sits year-round, uncovered (no grill cover) on my back patio, under the covered patio overhang. I have never had pellet mush or and any pellet issues as long as I vacuum the firebox before the next cook. (Then it’s a ignition issue due to the burned ash pile-up). Our humidity is very low, so that’s a worry I don’t have. I moved the grill the the Seattle area, right on Puget Sound, and had the grill covered only by a waterproof canvas topped pergola, and didn’t have any issues there, either.
 
I live on the coast in Texas. Humidity is always high. I do keep all my grills in the garage but the humidity is still 45-70% in the garage. I've never had a problem even after letting the grill sit not used for a month. I think especially if you're using it often you won't have a problem(like weekly). I also don't fill my hopper all the way and have gotten pretty good with estimating how much I'll use for a cook so the pellet level stays fairly low when I'm done. As long as it's covered you'll probably be fine. My father in law had a pit boss that jammed up but it was outside in the sf bay area for at least six months unused. And rather than pull the auger and clean it, he junked it. Lame.
 
High humidity here in Maryland, and I leave the pellets in all year 'round. Of course, I'm using them regularly, so they are getting rotated. I use mine multiple times a week. So I guess I really wasn't all that much help after all. 😕
 
I know many of the pellet brands are made by the same larger company. But there must be some brands that are more resistant to moisture and swelling depending on their composition and pressure during molding.
 
Well I made an executive decision yesterday. I was all set to put the pellet grill on the deck but I could not safely lift it by myself (and by myself was my only choice at the time) over the garage step to roll it into the house and out to the deck. (We have an exposed basement at rear of the house so deck is about 5' off the ground and easiest way to put something on it is through the garage, house and out to deck). So, I took the tank, lid, side tables and grease pan out of the Q320, and out it went :D Since once all that is out (including the grates), I don't think it weighs more than 15lbs or so. Besides, I have a nice cover I can use on it. So it can be the quicky grill for a quick burger, steak what have you and the pellet grill (for now at least) will be the garage queen.
 
A promotion for your MM pellet grill already! Looks to me like it deserves that favored treatment. :cool:

That Q is pretty much impervious to winter, anyway - especially since you upgraded yours with that stainless grate.
 
Having spent my early years in the Chicago area and understanding how humid it can get I think you made the right decision. Here in the mountains of AZ our humidity is pretty low except when we have the monsoon season then it's very much like the muggy Midwest.
But even when we are in the monsoon season, I haven't experienced any issues with the Camp Chef. This season I had a three week period where it wasn't used and full of pellets and it fired up just fine. It's exposed to the elements, but it's always covered.
 
I think some pellets are mishandled before you ever buy them - and maybe not made as good - and therefore might be more susceptible to this problem. I keep my pellet grills in the garage right now, but if I know it will be a long time before I use one, I have taken the time to remove the pellets and put them back in one of the 5-gallon buckets I store them in.
 
Here's another data point for you. I posted this 2 years ago on the Smokefire Facebook group. I was getting ready to do a big cook and had kept my Camp Chef with a RecTec wifi controller as a backup. "I've been conducting an unscientific study of pellets and their ability to deal with being exposed to the air to include time in the pellet hopper. I think I know just enough to be dangerous and I'll end with this data point. Last week I fired up my Camp Chef just to make sure I had a back up cooker. It's stored in my garage here in central Florida. The cheap Pit Boss pellets had been in the hopper for over 70 days. When I broke one in half it was a mushy break and not a snap like fresh pellets give. Startup was fast and I set the Rec Tec controller to 500°. With fresh pellets that would take 30 to 40 minutes. After an hour the temp was 455 and wouldn't go higher. I shut down after 1 hr. and 20 min.. My take is that the pellets had absorbed enough moisture to reduce the BTU output. I would feel safe using them up on a low and slow cook but would expect higher pellet consumption. I wouldn't even try a hot cook. OK folks. It may not help anyone but I hope I haven't bored you to tears. Roll smoke." :)
 
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Well, now that the decision was made to make the pellet grill the garage queen I am hoping it will not be an issue. I bought 3 40lb bags of Smokehouse Brand pellets in their "competition blend". So far I'm happy. Now I am doing a lot of "exploring" and a little "modding" on the grill. Sadly Sam's did not include any instructions on how to disassemble it for a full auger clean out and such though the owner's manual talks about the possible need of doing so. So I have been inside it, so far finding all the internal screws that might be necessary to remove, Pulling them and adding AntiSeize to all the threads. Another thing I am thinking about is approaching Dave Santana about making me a new SS heat plate. Overkill? Yeah. But, right now just kind of pre-planning. I tried wrapping the plate in foil. Not happy with the results. Seems to cut performance a bit
 
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