470 Max Temp

[SillyRabbit]

Twice in the last week, the grill won't get hotter than 470. Any thoughts? I don't have the finger guard in. I completely cleaned the grill, hopper, remove the auger and used fresh pellets. I checked for pellet bridging\voids. The temps are in the 40s, wind is mild. Both times I was trying to raise temp from smoke temps to 600 to reverse sear some steaks. The temps climbs much slower than normal, about 20 mins to raise 200 deg. It gets to 470, then bounces around between 460-470. Today I set it to 600 from the get go and over 30 mins later it stuck at 465. I also replaced the controller with a brand new unit before trying this today. I contacted Weber, just waiting on a response. Thought someone here may have had this issue and know of a solution. Pellets are Rural King brand Southwest blend. I've been using this brand a long time without this problem. I keep the pellets in containers and keep the containers indoors.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Weber suggested the hole in the auger was distorted and asked for a picture. It was not. I sent the pic. Since the hopper was empty, I refilled with Lumbar Jack pellets in place of the Rural King ones. I was able to get up to 600 but it took 35 minutes. It has held at 600 for 10 mins. Possibly that bag of rural king pellets has the issue? 35 mins is still a long time. I recall start up to 600 usually takes 15-20 mins.

 

[Goneincognito]

Bad or off spec pellets can have that issue.

 

[SillyRabbit]

I figured I just got a bad bag of pellets, but I had the same issue again last night with Lumber Jack pellets. I just bought that bag 2 weeks ago and was able to get up to 600 with them last week. It did take a long time though (35min). I wonder if there is an air flow issue or if the fan is having issues. I don't have issues with lower temps, just searing. I will pick up a brand new bag of pellets, clean the grill out again, check for any blockage around the fire pot and see if that helps. Seems kinda odd that I would have 3 bad bags of pellets that are not even the same brand. I think Ace is the only place locally that carries Weber pellets anymore. I don't see why I would need brand specific, but customer support is recommended it.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Could be the weather adding humidity to the pellets already in the grill? it doesn’t have to be noticeable to the eye to be impactful. Just spitballing.

 

[Goneincognito]

I figured I just got a bad bag of pellets, but I had the same issue again last night with Lumber Jack pellets. I just bought that bag 2 weeks ago and was able to get up to 600 with them last week. It did take a long time though (35min). I wonder if there is an air flow issue or if the fan is having issues. I don't have issues with lower temps, just searing. I will pick up a brand new bag of pellets, clean the grill out again, check for any blockage around the fire pot and see if that helps. Seems kinda odd that I would have 3 bad bags of pellets that are not even the same brand. I think Ace is the only place locally that carries Weber pellets anymore. I don't see why I would need brand specific, but customer support is recommended it.

Weber are telling you to use their pellets because that is what the SF is designed to use.
Lumberjack and Cabela's pellets are exactly the same as Weber pellets (just a rebranded version) so you could use those also.

Make sure you remove the auger to make sure there is no damage or blockages.
Also make sure there is not excessive dust in the pellets.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Weber are telling you to use their pellets because that is what the SF is designed to use.
Lumberjack and Cabela's pellets are exactly the same as Weber pellets (just a rebranded version) so you could use those also.

Make sure you remove the auger to make sure there is no damage or blockages.
Also make sure there is not excessive dust in the pellets.

Agreed. Weber support said brand doesn't matter as long as they are good pellet that snap when broken. They think the pellet sensor may be off. They claim it tracks the flow of pellets along with the ambient temp probe to regulate pellet flow. In typical Weber fashion, they are sending a new pellet level sensor and 2 bags of pellets free of charge.
I'm still on the fence and think it is most likely I bought bad pellets. I bought all of the 2 weeks ago at Rural King. Maybe they stored them in a bad area??? I keep my pellets in plastic containers and keep them indoors to keep moist out. I remove the auger frequenty to clean it all out and I even dropped the bottom catch pan and blew everything out with compressed air this week. I replaced the fire pot grate and installed a fresh glow plug. After all that, the grill stalled at 420.
I'm not posting to down the grill or complain. Just posting my issues, maybe it will help someone else later. I will follow up how the Weber pellets work before and after the sensor replacement.

 

[Goneincognito]

You mean the sensor in the hopper?
The one and only function of that is to tell you when you are out of pellets.
It has no impact of the grills operation.

I would honestly not install the new part and just try the new pellets.
If there is no issue then you have your answer (which I'm pretty sure you already have).

 

[JpsBBQ]

Does the screen read the correct actual temperature (w/in reason)?

 

[Bruno]

Clean the auger, I had a massive build up in mine, wet winter and years of use. It is llike a new machine.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Just to follow up - New pellets fixed the issue. I've tested from ambient to 600 and 225 to 600 without issue. I didn't replace the pellet sensor or the cover, just new pellets. A couple reverse sear cooks went off without a problem.

 

[Onizuka]

Just to follow up - New pellets fixed the issue. I've tested from ambient to 600 and 225 to 600 without issue. I didn't replace the pellet sensor or the cover, just new pellets. A couple reverse sear cooks went off without a problem.

Awesome! What pellet did you use this time? I was suspecting my new pellets for the same issue you were having. I have not done many searing techniques and cranking up the heat to 600 was not an issue before but I have had this problem since the last two searing.

I used to use Lumberjack and GMG brand only but recently switched to Kirkland brand that was very good bang for the buck and the quality was pretty good for low temp cooking, I had no problem doing pork/beef ribs and briskets with these pellets and they came out good.

It takes forever to reach above 400 and it lingers around 450 and just won't go beyond 500... I contacted Weber about it and they pretty much want me to disassemble the unit and take a picture of the auger which I feel like a nuisance and I am not super handy.. so I was thinking bout changing the pellet to see if that would make the difference.. and your result seems promising.

I clean and vacuum my smoker very often so I don't think there is an issue with anything being clogged in the auger but I will try a blower to see if I find anything in there.

I don't think it could have been the weather since I live in SoCal..

 

[SillyRabbit]

I was having the issue with Rural King and Lumber Jack pellets. I purchased both at Rural King (local farm and fleet type store). I have used both previously many times without issue. I don't think it was a brand of pellets. I think those specific pellets were just bad. I'm guessing the store didn't store them properly since it was 2 brands that I bought from the same store at the same time.

If you haven't pulled the auger, I would follow Weber's advise. You can't vacuum\blow out the auger tube without removing the auger. It really is a 5-10 minute job. The motor cover is held on with 4 screws. Remove the cover and then unclip the 1 wire harness to the motor. Remove the 2 screws that hold the auger\motor in place and pull it out. It helps to rotate it while pulling back. Make sure to empty the hopper first and have a bucket underneath to catch the pellets. You will find a bunch of dust and pellets. Once the auger is out, you can blow out the hopper and auger tube. While you have the auger out, clean out all the compacted dust and inspect the condition of the cotter pen or bolt that holds it to the motor.

 

[Onizuka]

I was having the issue with Rural King and Lumber Jack pellets. I purchased both at Rural King (local farm and fleet type store). I have used both previously many times without issue. I don't think it was a brand of pellets. I think those specific pellets were just bad. I'm guessing the store didn't store them properly since it was 2 brands that I bought from the same store at the same time.

If you haven't pulled the auger, I would follow Weber's advise. You can't vacuum\blow out the auger tube without removing the auger. It really is a 5-10 minute job. The motor cover is held on with 4 screws. Remove the cover and then unclip the 1 wire harness to the motor. Remove the 2 screws that hold the auger\motor in place and pull it out. It helps to rotate it while pulling back. Make sure to empty the hopper first and have a bucket underneath to catch the pellets. You will find a bunch of dust and pellets. Once the auger is out, you can blow out the hopper and auger tube. While you have the auger out, clean out all the compacted dust and inspect the condition of the cotter pen or bolt that holds it to the motor.

Followed through their instructions and the auger seems to be upto date because they wanted to check if it's older version so that does not seem to be the problem. I cleaned out everything and tested to see if the problem persists and it does still, for 30mins running the smoker the max temp reached was 450 and it fluctuated from there

 

[Goneincognito]

Awesome! What pellet did you use this time? I was suspecting my new pellets for the same issue you were having. I have not done many searing techniques and cranking up the heat to 600 was not an issue before but I have had this problem since the last two searing.

I used to use Lumberjack and GMG brand only but recently switched to Kirkland brand that was very good bang for the buck and the quality was pretty good for low temp cooking, I had no problem doing pork/beef ribs and briskets with these pellets and they came out good.

It takes forever to reach above 400 and it lingers around 450 and just won't go beyond 500... I contacted Weber about it and they pretty much want me to disassemble the unit and take a picture of the auger which I feel like a nuisance and I am not super handy.. so I was thinking bout changing the pellet to see if that would make the difference.. and your result seems promising.

I clean and vacuum my smoker very often so I don't think there is an issue with anything being clogged in the auger but I will try a blower to see if I find anything in there.

I don't think it could have been the weather since I live in SoCal..

His post said he was using Weber pellets.

If you are having this issue and aren't using Weber, Lumberjack or Cabela's pellets, swapping to one of those is the first thing you should be doing after checking for burn pot damage.