EX6 Heat Died on Me Part Way Through Cooking.

[G2EWS]

Hi all,

I cooked salmon on wood today and 10 minutes before it was cooked, the SF started to smoke and drop in temperature again. I managed to cook some bits on the house cooker and was surprised that even with the dropping temp the salmon did not finish cooking!

Looking at the fire box, it was virtually empty as you can see from the photos. Which leads me to believe that pellets were not making it down the chute.

I am already of the opinion that my SF EX6 does not have the mods done as it was the first one the garden centre I bought it from, who are a major Weber distributor, have sold. Very likely there from day one, which is, I believe, February.

There is another possibility and that is the pellets have, more than likely been at the garden centre all this time as well and may be damp.

I have already sent a message to Weber UK, this morning asking if my SF has been modded or not. So far nothing back. So I will give them a call tomorrow.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Have you removed the wire guard pieces from the hopper?

 

[FredSC]

Great suggestion, in my early cooks I found that a cavity would form over the hopper opening with the wire guard in place. I removed mine and haven't had a problem since.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Great suggestion, in my early cooks I found that a cavity would form over the hopper opening with the wire guard in place. I removed mine and haven't had a problem since.

It’s amazing how just those three little wires would hold the pellets from falling properly into the auger. Hard to believe but that was my experience as well.

 

[G2EWS]

Thanks for the suggestion everyone.

Take it, that it is a simple job? Will look at it when I get back home this afternoon.

Regards


Chris

 

[JpsBBQ]

Thanks for the suggestion everyone.

Take it, that it is a simple job? Will look at it when I get back home this afternoon.

Regards


Chris

Yes, it’s easy. Just remove the screw, being careful not to drop them in the auger, one at a time. Bend the wire out of the way and reinstall the screws. The screws hold the auger chute on , I believe, so you need to reinstall them each as you go. I should say remove the pellets first obviously.

 

[abmet]

I agree removing the wire guard made way more difference in pellet feed than the ramp Weber provided.
Like JPsBBQ said do one screw at a time and replace it before taking out the next one since they also hold the auger chute. You can stuff a rag in the hole to prevent the screws from falling into the auger if you drop one.
I’ve actually been thinking about taking the ramp out. I have an EX4 though so the slope is different than the EX6.

 

[Craig Lares]

Hi all,

I cooked salmon on wood today and 10 minutes before it was cooked, the SF started to smoke and drop in temperature again. I managed to cook some bits on the house cooker and was surprised that even with the dropping temp the salmon did not finish cooking!

Looking at the fire box, it was virtually empty as you can see from the photos. Which leads me to believe that pellets were not making it down the chute.

I am already of the opinion that my SF EX6 does not have the mods done as it was the first one the garden centre I bought it from, who are a major Weber distributor, have sold. Very likely there from day one, which is, I believe, February.

There is another possibility and that is the pellets have, more than likely been at the garden centre all this time as well and may be damp.

I have already sent a message to Weber UK, this morning asking if my SF has been modded or not. So far nothing back. So I will give them a call tomorrow.

I own two EX6 grills. I was having consistent loss of heat problems until I switched from some cheap pellets I had been using on my old Green Mountain grill (without problems) to Weber pellets. Now I am getting pretty consistent temperature maintenance during long cooks. The other issue I had was my grill was exposed to some rain and left some hard deposits of pellet past that dried in the auger area. Once I got that completely cleaned out the grill worked fine holding temperature again.

 

[JpsBBQ]

I have used Weber, Traeger, and Camp Chef pellets. The Weber pellets produce a heavier smoke profile IMO. They are also a smaller gauge and tend to cause cavitation more easily than the others I’ve used. The other two brands are milder smoke profile and have a larger gauge. I have not had any real issues with either. I have not used Lumberjack brand but I believe they are also a smaller gauge pellet. The only issues I experienced with temperature were software related. Once the updates came through a while back I’ve been completely issue free. I will say that your pellet is an ingredient in your cook and needs to be considered as such. Cheap is not always better.

 

[AHoneyman]

I have used Weber, Traeger, and Camp Chef pellets. I have not used Lumberjack brand but I believe they are also a smaller gauge pellet.

That is correct. LJ pellets are the same size as Weber pellets. PB are the only larger pellets that I have found.

 

[G2EWS]

Many thanks for all the comments folks.

Very few pellets available in the UK, but I would only want to use Weber pellets anyway.

Hi Craig Lines,
Worked out from comments before I bought that the pellets needed to be kept dry. Until I get a log cabin sorted in the garden, they live in my garden room, in the dry. EX6 is always covered, even in the heat wave conditions we are currently experiencing in the UK!

Didn't get home until very late yesterday, so will call Weber today and also going to remove wires on chute, before simple BBQ this afternoon/evening.