Alot of ash build up, is that normal?

[bigvic7804]

Just got a 1150 last week and did my first cook today, food came out ok but I noticed a lot of ash on the grates and just inside the Barrell in general, never had a pellet grill before was just curious if that is normal? Cleaned out the fire box after and barely had any in there but alot on the bottom plate, was about a 5 hour smoke

 

[MikeInFla]

Yeah, it's normal. At least mine. I have 2, they both do it. Just vacuum them with a shop vac after they have cooled down.

 

[bigvic7804]

Yeah, it's normal. At least mine. I have 2, they both do it. Just vacuum them with a shop vac after they have cooled down.

Appreciate the reply, just wasn't sure

 

[Elfcane]

Ash is a new part of your life...

 

[Gkr7007]

Just got a 1150 last week and did my first cook today, food came out ok but I noticed a lot of ash on the grates and just inside the Barrell in general, never had a pellet grill before was just curious if that is normal? Cleaned out the fire box after and barely had any in there but alot on the bottom plate, was about a 5 hour smoke

The 1150 has that gap on the left side where the rounded heat deflector sits on the flat support. Lots of ash comes up through there and also blows heat directly onto the temp sensor. If you have a ton of ash on the grates you have it on your food. If you are using Pit Boss pellets (and a few others) they produce a lot of ash. If you want to keep most of that ash off of the upper part of the cooker check out the mod from Smoke Like a Boss. It helps even out temps also.

 

[frasdan]

Went to shifting my pellets to get rid of sawdust and broken up pellets from shipping. Helps a bunch to reducing ash buildup.

 

[pawpawjts]

The 1150 has that gap on the left side where the rounded heat deflector sits on the flat support. Lots of ash comes up through there and also blows heat directly onto the temp sensor. If you have a ton of ash on the grates you have it on your food. If you are using Pit Boss pellets (and a few others) they produce a lot of ash. If you want to keep most of that ash off of the upper part of the cooker check out the mod from Smoke Like a Boss. It helps even out temps also.

I played a brick on each side of where the pellets burn because that heat shield is so thin it kept warping up and wouldn't lay flat. By that laying flat now I don't think my dust is as bad
.I vacuum mine every 2 cooks anyway
If I cook barbecue I do right after because I cook my barbecue for 12 to 14 hours on very low heat which makes a lot of ash

 

[jr7290]

I’m new to this also but I’ve found that Pit Boss pellets tend to create more ash. I’ve tried several other brands and noticed less ash.

 

[Odian]

In Pit-Boss-ese....Ash=Flavor.

hahaha. just kidding.

As mentioned above....the Smoke Like a Boss mod will eliminate 75% of your ash issues. Keeping the sear plate closed will eliminate 20% more. But....there is always going to be some.

I clean my grates after each cook. I clean the heat shield after every 4 or 5 cooks, unless it gets nasty looking. Usually by scraping. While I have it out, I vacuum the bottom out and the ash pot. There is never a lot of ash in the pot as this thing is super efficient. But I do get ash on the silver heat pan under the heat shield especially since I got the Smoke like a boss, mod.

 

[Mywheelspin63]

Appreciate the reply, just wasn't sure

I noticed hickory pellets will leave lot more ash than other flavored pellets

 

[Ike01]

I cut a curved piece from an old very sturdy baking pan to fill the gap on the left side. Fastened it with screws to the straight piece. Fits under the curved pan, works great!

 

[Odian]

I cut a curved piece from an old very sturdy baking pan to fill the gap on the left side. Fastened it with screws to the straight piece. Fits under the curved pan, works great!

That is awesome!

I know my limitations. heh. I just bought the mod.

 

[Ike01]

That is awesome!

I know my limitations. heh. I just bought the mod.

, some things I can do and some I can't! Actually I made 2, one for my son's Austin XL and one for my 1100 combo...

 

[malligood]

, some things I can do and some I can't! Actually I made 2, one for my son's Austin XL and one for my 1100 combo...

any idea what diameter pan, assuming you cut out the bottom and mod from there?

 

[Ike01]

any idea what diameter pan, assuming you cut out the bottom and mod from there?

I'll get the measurements and post today. I basically used the rounded support tab for the flame broiler on the right side and made a card board template. I used that to cut out the piece from a square heavy duty baking sheet.