Auger Fire Worries

[RhettJones36]

Hi all, just got my first ever pellet grill and I’m doing my burn off as I type this up right now. One thing I noticed was the flames get pretty high almost shooting into the auger. Is this something that I’m causing or is this a normal thing to happen and not a concern? I’m just worried about a fire spreading into the auger. I turned my p setting up a little bit to reduce the amount of pellets going into the pot since it is a little warmer as well. Any thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Cowboy1955]

Welcome from Texas to the group!!
The best way I found at first to stop this is to sift the pellets through a colander
Hopefully this helps you

 

[Sparky]

Welcome to the group from Mesquite,Texas

 

[sparkyv]

Howdy from Deepinnaheartta, Texas.

 

[Mike From R.I.]

Welcome from Rhode Island.

 

[bobissmokin]

Welcome!

 

[Upinmygrill]

I got a PB850DX in January and used it off and on for about 6 months without clearing the auger and hopper however I kept the fire pot and around it clean. It took 6 months for enough powder to build up in the auger tube to have smoke start coming from the hopper with the lid closed.

I was paying close attention to this and was ready for it cause I wanted to see how long it would take to become a problem, of course the weather can accelerate the breakdown of the pellets which causes the dust build up that can cause this.

After I saw the smoke, powered down the grill and put the fire out with a little water the next day the auger was jammed. At first I thought it was because of the water but when I took it apart it was clear it was mainly due to a huge pile of dust built up in the middle of the tube. After taking it apart I had to manually unscrew the auger carefully using an Allen wrench cause it was so tight. It took about 45 minutes to get it apart, unscrewed, cleared and assembled.

Now after cooking I empty the hopper and let it run the auger empty every time.

 

[sparkyv]

...or this:

Welcome from Texas to the group!!
The best way I found at first to stop this is to sift the pellets through a colander
Hopefully this helps you