Auger bushing

[Oldbaldy70]

I’m new to this forum but not new to smoking meat or using a Pit Boss. I’ve had had two auger back burns into the pellet hopper on my PB150PPG and this time it melted the drive gear in the auger motor gearbox. I was wondering if anyone has made a bushing out of brass to replace the factory nylon one that I have melted twice, it might stop the fire from getting into the hopper and toasting the auger motor. Thanks for any advice on my thoughts. This happened both times when I was smoking at 200 degrees.

 

[Cowboy1955]

Welcome from Texas to the group!
Sift your pellets through a colander before putting them in the hopper. That’ll stop it from burning in the auger
Store the remaining pellets in a airtight container
Give PitBoss a call and have them send you a new gear
Hopefully this helps you

 

[Oldbaldy70]

Thanks for your advise, I picked up the sifting the pellets on this forum after my second fire and I do store the pellets in a sealed bucket. I’ve used a PB350 for many years and never had a problem, I guess I should consider myself lucky. It’s also too bad there is no door to empty the pellet hopper on the PB150 PPG it’s just too compact and there is no room for a drain. I contacted PitBoss and my unit is still under warranty and they will by sending me new parts. Thanks again.

 

[Cowboy1955]

You’re more than welcome

 

[Sparky]

Welcome to the club from Texas

 

[Mike From R.I.]

Welcome from Rhode Island.

 

[sparkyv]

A brass bushing is a good thing to try, if the issues continue.

I was wondering if anyone has made a bushing out of brass to replace the factory nylon one that I have melted twice, it might stop the fire from getting into the hopper and toasting the auger motor.

 

[Freedbyjc]

I’m new to this forum but not new to smoking meat or using a Pit Boss. I’ve had had two auger back burns into the pellet hopper on my PB150PPG and this time it melted the drive gear in the auger motor gearbox. I was wondering if anyone has made a bushing out of brass to replace the factory nylon one that I have melted twice, it might stop the fire from getting into the hopper and toasting the auger motor. Thanks for any advice on my thoughts. This happened both times when I was smoking at 200 degrees.

Auger Fires? Fix that and you’ll not have to worry about that bushing.

Sounds like several possibilities… the smoker is not level or your fire pot is full of holes or excessive ash and the pellets are not dropping in like they should but are being held at the auger edge due to excessive ash buildup or an unlevel surface underneath the smoker. It causes the pellets in the auger tube to burn back because they can’t push forward anymore. Always the smoker should be at least level if not canted so the firepot is below the auger.

Even if clean beforehand, pellet choice, ambient temperatures and humidity and dial set temperature could fill it up with ash faster.

Additionally, a full hopper provides sufficient back pressure to keep most of the smoke flowing towards the barrel. Keeping your hopper full and its lid closed and that will prevent the smoke blowback.

Also…. If your hopper is smoking after shutdown, you’ll want to ramp down your dial temperature to 200° for a few minutes before turning it off. If this wasn’t in your manual then it should be.

At higher temperatures you need to ramp down your dial temperature before shutting down. It allows the fire to cool and burn off all the pellets in the firepot and not catch those in the auger.

What to do to fix this?

Whenever it happens, use the prime button to push the burning pellets out of the auger.

If you don’t have a prime button, open the lid so the barrel temperature will drop and that’ll activate the auger to push the burning pellets out of the auger.

Burned out Holes in the firepot? Call Cs for a replacement firepot.