Auger failure

[Mabpath]

Tried to fire up my EX4 2 last night. Seemed fine but after a few minutes realized pellets weren’t dropping. Waited 10 minutes and no pellets ran shutdown which worked fine. Never got an error message. Took out grates and inspected fire pit. Totally empty. Removed what pellets from the auger I could reach. Reassembled and tried again. No luck. Will try removing auger when it stops raining here. Why no error message and do you think it’s an auger jam or something else.
thanks

 

[abmet]

Could you hear the auger trying to turn? Did you power it down completely between tries? I’d take the back cover off and check to make sure wires connected and pull the auger to make sure not jammed. 4 screws for back cover and 2 for auger so pretty quick and easy.

 

[Mabpath]

Auger wasn’t turning. But never got the the E1 error message. Will try to remove auger tomorrow. Pouring rain today

 

[Goneincognito]

Could be a jam, could be the pin/bolt holding the auger failed, could be the motor.
Until you take it out, we won't know much of anything.

What pellets are you using?

 

[rexster314]

If you didn't get an error message, I would think the pin or bolt broke on the auger shaft. The controller can't know that has occurred

 

[JpsBBQ]

If you didn't get an error message, I would think the pin or bolt broke on the auger shaft. The controller can't know that has occurred

I think this is likely correct. Which probably is a result of wet or poor pellets. After enough time he should have gotten an alert for not firing. I assume he noticed before the allotted time expired?

 

[Mabpath]

Problem fixed. It was a broken pin. Easy replacement but I was a little messy.

 

[Mabpath]

Any thoughts on why a pin would fail. Grill is less then six moths old.

 

[Goneincognito]

Any thoughts on why a pin would fail. Grill is less then six moths old.

What pellets do you use?
Do you ever clean out the auger?

 

[JpsBBQ]

Any thoughts on why a pin would fail. Grill is less then six moths old.

Yes, bad pellets. If they are old or poorly made or get wet they can become close to cement. The stress on the auger can be quite significant. All pellet cookers will have some issues with auger jams. It is however not nearly as common an issue as say 10 years ago. Always could be just a bad pin. There’s always an attrition rate with any part. You might just be unlucky. This is probably the first problem like this I’ve heard of since they’ve changed the auger assembly during gen 1 production.

Where do you store the pellets?
What brand of pellets?
What has been the weather?
Do you have a cover?

Just a few questions that could help narrow the issue.

 

[Goneincognito]

This is probably the first problem like this I’ve heard of since they’ve changed the auger assembly during gen 1 production.

Nah... I have seen plenty of pins break (sometimes they don't break and shred the auger).
I have even seen the bolt they put in instead of the pin break or come undone.

All the auger assembly redesign did was make the chute one piece.

 

[Mabpath]

What pellets do you use?
Do you ever clean out the auger?

Weber Competition Blend. Properly stored in my garage. None are more then a few weeks old. Never knew cleaning the auger was part of routine maintenance

 

[JpsBBQ]

Weber Competition Blend. Properly stored in my garage. None are more then a few weeks old. Never knew cleaning the auger was part of routine maintenance

It should not be at all. I have never done that nor do I know anyone personally who does. I have quite a few buddies who cook on Smokefire grills but obviously not thousands. I will say that these sorta things do happen with pellet grills. You might not have another problem like that for years if ever. There’s a lot of moving parts and electronics. The very things that make them so easy and popular can from time to time fail and cause some frustration. My solution? Buy a second one for more space and always have a backup. I kid, sort of.

 

[Goneincognito]

Weber Competition Blend. Properly stored in my garage. None are more then a few weeks old. Never knew cleaning the auger was part of routine maintenance

Since you are using Weber pellets, all I can advise to check the auger once in a while (how often depends on usage).
I remove my auger to clear any dust that may have compacted and check for damage at least once a month.
It literally takes no more than 5-10min to do (more like 5 once you get the hang of it).
We probably shouldn't need to do this but I cook on the grill I have, not the one I want.
At least I know I won't loose an auger because of a concrete hard block of dust at one end and that makes it time well spent.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Since you are using Weber pellets, all I can advise to check the auger once in a while (how often depends on usage).
I remove my auger to clear any dust that may have compacted and check for damage at least once a month.
It literally takes no more than 5-10min to do (more like 5 once you get the hang of it).
We probably shouldn't need to do this but I cook on the grill I have, not the one I want.
At least I know I won't loose an auger because of a concrete hard block of dust at one end and that makes it time well spent.

I agree, it won’t hurt. There are a multitude of people out there far more attentive than I. Some people do thorough clean out after every cook. To each their own. I’m quite sure they think I’m as crazy as I think they are. I think it just boils down to your particular personality type and your situation with alternative devices.

I won’t be doing this sorta thing though. I’ve never had an issue in hundreds of cooks living in the Midwest through 4 seasons. Absolutely not saying I won’t in the future but it’s extremely rare. I have multiple backup cookers and will simply put those hours per year in my pocket and deal with the auger issue if it comes. I’ve had auger issues on other brands but only one in about 10-12 years. Literally hundreds if not a thousand + cooks. I’ve seen a few others first hand. If the pellets bind up, well that’s that.