How to clean out pellets from auger area.

[Yoda]

I am new to Pellet smokers. Wondering if and how you clean out pellet hopper as I have heard that moisture in pellets can be a problem. I use the chute door to clean out left over pellets and put them in moisture free bag. However there is still pellets in the hole leading to the auger and in the auger, Do you remove all those pellets too? If so how do you get them out, I was thinking a shop vac would clean them out, I use the shop vac to clean up the ash around the burner area.

Thanks for any tips.

 

[Goneincognito]

I empty the hopper after each cook into a plastic bucket that has an air tight lid.
Depending on your climate and how often you use the grill, you may not need to do this or clear the auger every time.
It is good practice though to clear it out from time to time to get rid of any build up. You can definitely use a shop vac for this.
I simply remove the auger all together though.
The whole process takes less than 5 min.

 

[Yoda]

I wasn't sure how complicated it would be to remove the augers, If < 5 minutes I will definitely do that.

 

[Goneincognito]

I wasn't sure how complicated it would be to remove the augers, If < 5 minutes I will definitely do that.

4 screws for the back cover, unplug one wire on the motor and then 2 more screws that hold it all in place.
The motor and attached auger then slide right out.
It might take a bit longer at first but once you have done it a couple of times it will be very easy.

 

[bbqking]

I use a shop vac. I leave pellets in all the time, but I live in Phoenix so it’s hot n dry almost all the time. During monsoon, I put the cover on a lot, just in case. I do recommend clearing out auger. When I changed it to the 2nd gen auger the old one was PACKED with pellet dust