Smoking through pellet box during shutdown on KC Combo

[jwhite2827]

Hello!

Just picked up the KC Combo earlier this month and been cooking on it every weekend

First few cooks went well. Then one time I noticed smoke coming out of my pellet box during shutdown process when the fan runs high. It's done this on several other occasions since.

I've cleaned out the burn pot where the pellets drop in (the brush underneath doesn't do anything), so I've vacuumed the dust up with a shop vac. Then this can happen with as little as an hour and half cook for some burgers.

This won't happen when I'm actually cooking, only during the shutdown process. I've tried leaving my lid open and closed during shutdown, it still starts smoking through the auger to the pellet box.

I've had to resort to pulling the plug while the shutdown is still occurring, which I assume isn't good either.

I'm just using the PItBoss brand competition pellets

Any assistance or insight on what I'm doing wrong or should look at would be appreciated.

 

[DaveXDm9]

Hopefully someone will help you because your not the only one that had this problem. Can you see if the pellets are burned in your auger tube.

Personally I do not think PB fully tested there Platinum series grills.

 

[jwhite2827]

Thanks for the response, though disappointing to hear.

Yes, the first couple of pellets that come out during the next cook are already burned/blackened.

I saw the post a few days ago about a pellet box entirely catching fire, thankfully I haven't had that happen, and this hasn't happened during an actual cook, only during shutdown. But now I'm concerned about that too and doing all day cooks or starting a brisket in the middle of the night.

Is there any hope of fixing this or do i just need to watch every shutdown and be ready to pull the plug if it happens again.

I can't return it to the store now, and I'm only on day 33 with this.

 

[Sean.Higgins2]

I am having the same issue. This is now the fourth time it has happened to me. My grill was a little over 1 month old with the pellet side completely failed. Support from PitBoss during the “Coronacation” has been less than ideal. Took five days to get a call back, and almost a month for them to ship a new controll board, fan and thermostat. Second smoke after full replacement of the three parts and I am getting smoke blow back and burnt pellets in the auger.
My control board actually has a fried diod and the fan was shot. Every time this happens I completely clean out the hopper. Burn all pellets still in the auger and shut down. Thankfully I still have ole faithful my 10 year old master forge smoker otherwise I was unable to produce brisket and pulled pork on the Fourth of July.
pitboss did not think it was funny when I emailed them Picts if ole faithful in action with a lame KC Combo in the background.

 

[forty3grill]

Just started seeing this as well. Fan sounds like it is blowing well, but zero smoke in the smoker, full smoke in the hopper.

I would sacrifice a few pellets if I could run the auger without the element to clear out any smoldering remnants.. but I can't even use the thermometer on the grill side without the whole system turned on.

 

[Tarmac]

In the manual there is no shutdown procedure for the pellet side, only the propane side, can someone state what the shutdown procedure for the pellet side is?

 

[Tarmac]

This was my first cook, I pressed and held the power button, but the fan kept running, and smoke was in my hopper

 

[MikeInFla]

So it would not power off at all? You should just push the button and it will turn off. I don't have your model so I'm not sure but I'd give PB a call and leave a call back number.

 

[Sparky]

The fan will run for abut 20 minutes when you turn it off.

 

[frasdan]

Had the same problem and had it soot up end of tube and lock the auger up.
Did a cleaning on feeder tube and burner box. Since then i make sure burner box is clean upon
startup and upon shut down I drop the temp 50 degrees at a time let it cycle and reduce again.
since doing that haven't had any issues

 

[panzon3]

I’m wondering if sifting the pellets before you cook would keep the pellet box from smoking. I’ve heard this from other people that they sift there pellets so the crumbs wont catch fire. I personally have not done this and have only seen smoke one time in my box when I turned it up to 300. And then after I was done I noticed pellet crumbs were slightly clogging the outlet of the auger

 

[MikeInFla]

I do it sometimes but only if I have an old bag of pellets that has a ton of sawdust in it.

 

[Tarmac]

I am having the same issue. This is now the fourth time it has happened to me. My grill was a little over 1 month old with the pellet side completely failed. Support from PitBoss during the “Coronacation” has been less than ideal. Took five days to get a call back, and almost a month for them to ship a new controll board, fan and thermostat. Second smoke after full replacement of the three parts and I am getting smoke blow back and burnt pellets in the auger.
My control board actually has a fried diod and the fan was shot. Every time this happens I completely clean out the hopper. Burn all pellets still in the auger and shut down. Thankfully I still have ole faithful my 10 year old master forge smoker otherwise I was unable to produce brisket and pulled pork on the Fourth of July.
pitboss did not think it was funny when I emailed them Picts if ole faithful in action with a lame KC Combo in the background.

Fuk, this is m Fourth cook and I am unplugging ev time also, WTF

 

[Darren4944]

My KC combo is a month old and doing the same thing. Very disappointing!!