Pellet flow?


 
Bob Erdman

Bob Erdman

TVWBB All-Star
I was monitoring the hopper to see how pellets would flow into the auger chute when only using about 3 lbs of pellets. At the start, I made a mark with my finger on the long ramp to see if pellets on that side would slide towards the chute. They didn't move before getting a low fuel alert. No big deal, the pellets over the chute opening are going to drop sooner. There is still room for improvement on the long ramp though.

After reading about using UHMW tape on the ramp I bought a roll. I'm going to tape the long ramp and on one side, away from the grill. The side next to the grill gets very warm when cranking up the temps. Probably not going to help the flow when only running a few lbs of pellets.

After my recent flame out, due to a pellet void, (almost full hopper) I'm going to give the tape a go. Seems like a band aid, but worth trying if it works as advertised.

Anyone else using UHMW tape? And find that it made a noticeable difference in pellet flow. Inquiring minds want to know. LOL

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I got my EX6 July 2nd 2020. Having read about Gen 1 pellet flow problems I bought a roll of UHMW tape after ordering my grill. Before I put pellets in it I put the tape on the long ramp. 39 months later I still don’t have a problem. It works for me.
 
Lew Newby said:
I got my EX6 July 2nd 2020. Having read about Gen 1 pellet flow problems I bought a roll of UHMW tape after ordering my grill. Before I put pellets in it I put the tape on the long ramp. 39 months later I still don’t have a problem. It works for me.
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Are you using magic pellets???
Do you expect us to believe pellets slide better in your Smokefire than any other Smokefire???
Do the laws of Physics cease to exist on your patio???
Oh wait, it’s magic grits…
 
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Darian Hofer said:
Are you using magic pellets???
Do you expect us to believe pellets slide better in your Smokefire than any other Smokefire???
Oh wait, it’s magic grits…
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No magic pellets and I don't expect some folks to believe me. Bob asked this question and I answered with my experience.

"Anyone else using UHMW tape? And find that it made a noticeable difference in pellet flow. Inquiring minds want to know. LOL" It's been discussed before and the tape worked on my Gen1 EX6 hopper before Weber came up with the hopper insert.

BTW, I loved Vinney's magic grits scene.
 
Lew Newby said:
No magic pellets and I don't expect some folks to believe me. Bob asked this question and I answered with my experience.

"Anyone else using UHMW tape? And find that it made a noticeable difference in pellet flow. Inquiring minds want to know. LOL" It's been discussed before and the tape worked on my Gen1 EX6 hopper before Weber came up with the hopper insert.

BTW, I loved Vinney's magic grits scene.
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I believe you Lew. But how many chances in life does one have to use the Magic Grits line? I just couldn’t walk away from it.
Always appreciate your experience with all things Smokefire.
 
I finally had the chance to install the UHMW tape yesterday. The hardest part was trying to get the backing off the tape. Its definitely a lot slicker than the metal ramp.
 

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The jury is still out. The butt I cooked yesterday only took about 7 hrs. Started with a completely filled hopper. As you can see, not much moved on the long side ramp. Still promising though, no bridging or flame out during this session. I'll pick up where I left off, not going to add anymore pellets to see what happens.

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Well, it didn't work out like I hoped it would. Pellets were trickling down from from the top of the pile but not fast enough to avoid a low pellet alert. I would not mind sacrificing pellet capacity for a steeper long ramp from Weber.

Nit picking aside, I'm satisfied with how long the SmokeFire runs unattended on occasional overnight cooks. I'm sure the pellets on the long ramp would have continued to feed the auger with or without the tape, but I was preparing to crank the heat up to sear a skirt steak and did not want to risk running out of pellets or causing a flame out. The low fuel sensor is nice in theory but almost useless in this application.

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Bob Erdman said:
Well, it didn't work out like I hoped it would. Pellets were trickling down from from the top of the pile but not fast enough to avoid a low pellet alert. I would not mind sacrificing pellet capacity for a steeper long ramp from Weber.

Nit picking aside, I'm satisfied with how long the SmokeFire runs unattended on occasional overnight cooks. I'm sure the pellets on the long ramp would have continued to feed the auger with or without the tape, but I was preparing to crank the heat up to sear a skirt steak and did not want to risk running out of pellets or causing a flame out. The low fuel sensor is nice in theory but almost useless in this application.

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Appreciate the feedback and photos.
 
Bob Erdman said:
Well, it didn't work out like I hoped it would. Pellets were trickling down from from the top of the pile but not fast enough to avoid a low pellet alert. I would not mind sacrificing pellet capacity for a steeper long ramp from Weber.

Nit picking aside, I'm satisfied with how long the SmokeFire runs unattended on occasional overnight cooks. I'm sure the pellets on the long ramp would have continued to feed the auger with or without the tape, but I was preparing to crank the heat up to sear a skirt steak and did not want to risk running out of pellets or causing a flame out. The low fuel sensor is nice in theory but almost useless in this application.

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Bob Erdman said:
Well, it didn't work out like I hoped it would. Pellets were trickling down from from the top of the pile but not fast enough to avoid a low pellet alert. I would not mind sacrificing pellet capacity for a steeper long ramp from Weber.

Nit picking aside, I'm satisfied with how long the SmokeFire runs unattended on occasional overnight cooks. I'm sure the pellets on the long ramp would have continued to feed the auger with or without the tape, but I was preparing to crank the heat up to sear a skirt steak and did not want to risk running out of pellets or causing a flame out. The low fuel sensor is nice in theory but almost useless in this application.

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Bob, that's the way it works. I got 12 hours at 250 and the last several hours I saw exactly what your picture shows. The object is to avoid pellet bridging and if the low fuel warning is annoying just push a bunch of pellets down to cover the detector. On some of my test burns I taped an index card over the sensor. No low fuel warning with that.
 
Lew, I think the pellet sensor would be more useful on the other side. In it's current location they should call it "Time to level the pellet's reminder". o_O

It's all good though, I always make sure there are enough pellets in the hopper anyway. I've only had my SmokeFire for about 5 months now, did about 60 cooks on it. This is by far my favorite Weber grill that I have owned. I just added the front shelf, thought I would not need it. Now I wish I bought it sooner.

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Looks great with the shelf. Honestly, that is one really puzzling thing by Weber. At the price they ask for these grills they should just include it.
 
Bob Erdman said:
Lew, I think the pellet sensor would be more useful on the other side. In it's current location they should call it "Time to level the pellet's reminder". o_O

It's all good though, I always make sure there are enough pellets in the hopper anyway. I've only had my SmokeFire for about 5 months now, did about 60 cooks on it. This is by far my favorite Weber grill that I have owned. I just added the front shelf, thought I would not need it. Now I wish I bought it sooner.

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I added the front shelf to mine. The quality of the stainless is not great. The right side shelf is a much higher grade. Keep the front shelf clean and use a good cleaner/protecting product on it. I highly recommend something like this…
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Darian, I have been using it for many years. That polish is amazing, it works great on multiple surfaces. Great protection that makes clean ups much easier too.

The shelf was pretty easy to assemble. Interesting how they designed it to attach to the grill. This shelf will keep the front of my grill much cleaner now, I always managed to get drips on the front of the grill when transferring food. Sheila Shine to the rescue!
 
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