Fire in hopper
- Thread starter darienne_louise
- Start date
jaybirdvol
New member
I got a Brunswick in January and have had the same problem. Three hopper fires in a 6 week old smoker.(using PB pellets that were sifted). PB customer service is the only reason I kept it this long. I have had to replaced the both temp probe and ignitor already. PB was great about sending replacement parts and easy to follow instructions on installing them. At the end of day though this smoker is incredibly dangerous because the fire box is completely enclosed. If the fan stops working, The hopper is the only source of air flow for the fire. In the event it errors out or trips a breaker, you will have a fire in the hopper in a matter of minutes. Luckily I had seen reviews and knew the risk, so I always kept it away from my house and never filled the hopper very full. After battling for weeks and having yet another hopper fire yesterday, I officially gave up and returned it to Wal Mart today. Feel incredibly frustrated and defeated honestly. It was a beast when it worked, but if I am going to have to be on guard for fire fighting anway, I'll just use my wood offset.
darienne_louise
New member
I don’t know what happened it started after I tried to turn it off. I havent had the courage to do any overnight ones after that
jaybirdvol
New member
I returned the smoker for this very reason. If I have to check on it throughout the night anyway,. I am going to use my wood offset. Completely defeats the point of going to pellets
jerryjj
Member
I had the same thing in my Brunswick when I turn it off....I unplug it and it when out....
Barefootdog
Member
I had my first auger channel/hopper fire last week. Purchased my Brunswick last fall from Walmart when they were closing them out at the end of the season. Used it a few times and then left for Florida. Came back and cooked some ribs. Used Knotty Wood Plum pellets. Pellets formed clinkers in the bottom of the fire pot (yes it was cleaned prior to starting the cook). I thought the clinkers filled the fire pot and caused the fire to back up into the auger channel. Here in always damp Oregon I only add enough pellets to finish the cook. The fire backed up into the pellet hopper......I was happy the hopper was near empty. I thought it was the pellets and clinkers.....Is Pit Boss acknowledging a problem with the Brunswick? Is this a pervasive problem with the Brunswick?
Darn shame if this a smoker defect. I like the smoker a lot.
For grilling and high temperature stuff I use a Pit Boss Memphis Ultimate unit. Only problem with that has been igniter failure....and it took 7.5 or 8 hours to put together....but it seems like a real nice unit.
Would be great if Pit Boss would join in threads like this and provide some information.
EDIT....Used the Knotty Wood Plum pellets again today mixed 50/50 with Bear Mt Hickory. The cook went fine. No problems. Greatly reduced clinkers in fire pot after the cook. I'll keep working with it. I do like the smoker and the smell/taste of these pellets.
EDIT#2....Keep getting fires in the auger tube and into the pellet hopper......sucks!
Still getting a positive effort from Pit Boss but the thing is wearing me out and taking the fun out of it.
Darn shame if this a smoker defect. I like the smoker a lot.
For grilling and high temperature stuff I use a Pit Boss Memphis Ultimate unit. Only problem with that has been igniter failure....and it took 7.5 or 8 hours to put together....but it seems like a real nice unit.
Would be great if Pit Boss would join in threads like this and provide some information.
EDIT....Used the Knotty Wood Plum pellets again today mixed 50/50 with Bear Mt Hickory. The cook went fine. No problems. Greatly reduced clinkers in fire pot after the cook. I'll keep working with it. I do like the smoker and the smell/taste of these pellets.
EDIT#2....Keep getting fires in the auger tube and into the pellet hopper......sucks!
Still getting a positive effort from Pit Boss but the thing is wearing me out and taking the fun out of it.
Last edited:
jerryjj
Member
I had Close to the same problem both fans quit working…. Smoke coming out where you poured the pettiest in……un plug it and fire died…….. I've had nothing but problems with the Brunswick since I bought it…….. Junk
MDuncan
New member
I purchased my new Brunswick this past Saturday morning. Brought it home, assembled and did the burn off Saturday afternoon. No issues. Decided to make my first cook a simple one Sunday afternoon. Chicken wings and legs. The cook went great. 2 hours at 250 and then bumped it up to 320 for 20 minutes to crisp. Pulled the chicken out and started the shut down cycle then went inside to eat. The chicken was awesome. Apparently I have been doing chicken wrong my whole life. Finished eating and then went outside to check on the Brunswick. There was so much smoke coming from the hopper that I could barely see the smoker. Obviously I have a fire in the hopper. Quickly grabbed a bucket and dumped all the remaining pellets that I could, until I started pulling out hot pellets, turned the smoker back on, hoping to burn off any hot pellets in the auger. Hit the prime button to speed things up. It took about 1/2 an hour but it did finally go out.
I was on the phone with PB customer service while this was happening. He thought that maybe the fan might have shut down early during the shut down cycle. Since I didn't watch it shut down, I didn't know. So this time when I shut down, I watched and timed it. Fan ran for 20 minutes before it turned off. So that's not the problem. I don't know what I did but I hope we can figure it out. I really like this cooker.
I was on the phone with PB customer service while this was happening. He thought that maybe the fan might have shut down early during the shut down cycle. Since I didn't watch it shut down, I didn't know. So this time when I shut down, I watched and timed it. Fan ran for 20 minutes before it turned off. So that's not the problem. I don't know what I did but I hope we can figure it out. I really like this cooker.
jerryjj
Member
Same thing happened to me fan shut down and started a fire luckily I found it soon before I had to pour a water down where the pellets are… call Pitt Boss and they said you need to probably change the fan… another tech told me to lubricate it nothing problems since I bought it
jerryjj
Member
jerryjj
Member
I would think twice about it….
Purchased Mar. 27, 2022. Used about 8 times making jerky. Temp at 190. Did first 16 hour smoke brisket and ribs 250deg.. All went well until shutdown. Turned it off, checked on it later, smoke still pouring out of smoker. Fan still running, it didn't turn off. It has been over an hour plus. Un plugged smoker. Seemed to be dying. Hopper bin very warm. Emptied pellets into steel pan. Some pellets definetly hot. Hopper half full. I think the fan running kept feeding air. With no auger spinning, fire kept moving towards the fuel.
How long should the fan run during shutdown cycle ?
How long should the fan run during shutdown cycle ?
Steve In Pa
Well-known member
Not an hour. I never timed mine during shutdown but it completes its process in maybe 10-15 minutes
Latest Discussions
-
Routing a meat probe for Pro Series II 4-Series Wood Pellet Vertical Smoker
- Latest: MindlessCorpse
-
-
-
-
