Grinding up pelets

[Craig]

At times I have issues getting SF to light and push out pellets from the auger. I know what the issue is. If you clean out hopper the bottom of the hopper is full of ground up pellets, this is caused from auger running in reverse at shut down. I have worked with controllers in ag equipment and you could go into the controller addresses and change the parameters and make changes. Any one know how to do this on a SF.
I'm tempted to put a separate switch on the auger motor but there may be consequences of having a auger fire if not done properly

 

[sweazlemon]

I had the same issue. I thought it was due to the design of the auger pushing and pulling the pellets basically uphill. Other manufacturers seem to have much less of an angle so the forces on the pellets are not as radical. I had to constantly remove my auger and clean out the pellet dust. I do not know how to hack the software, would love to hear if you find a work around.

 

[AHoneyman]

You should be able to suck the dust out the top of the auger tube with a good shop vac after shut down and cooling.

 

[Cambridge Brian]

I had issues like this when I first received my Smoke Fire. This seems to be resolved. Weber has sent me since February 2 augers, 2 chutes and a new auger motor. Also the hopper ramp which in my opinion was a waste of time. I have also found Weber pellets make a difference on my Smoke fire so for now I will stick to them. I am also pretty sure some of the updates have helped. I am also lazy so the only time I have vacuumed out the hopper was to change parts. So my advice would be make sure you have all of the updates and replacement parts and keep bugging Weber until you are happy. I will not say I use my smoke Fire more than anyone but I would be up there. I have done a lot of long cooks and been issue free for a long time. I might regret saying that.

 

[AHoneyman]

Weber pellets are not the magic factor. It is the diameter of the pellet, which changes the manner in which they flow. I have posted several pellet sizes in another thread.