Trouble reaching temp

[WiLLc]

My EX6 is taking forever to reach 600 recently. 25 minutes at best and sometimes can't get over 475 before I give up. It seems to be burning through a ton of pellets while trying to reach temp also. Before installing the new welded auger assembly and pellet hopper slide I was getting to 600 in 15 minutes easy. I had switched pellets to B&B Championship Blend and thought that might causing trouble so emptied them all out and cleaned the SF thoroughly. I removed the auger and motor and cleaned out any pellet dust I could find. I've made two attempts with weber smokefire pellets now to reach 600 and still can't get over 480. Still on Firmware 4035. Not sure what else try. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Dassman5]

My EX6 is taking forever to reach 600 recently. 25 minutes at best and sometimes can't get over 475 before I give up. It seems to be burning through a ton of pellets while trying to reach temp also. Before installing the new welded auger assembly and pellet hopper slide I was getting to 600 in 15 minutes easy. I had switched pellets to B&B Championship Blend and thought that might causing trouble so emptied them all out and cleaned the SF thoroughly. I removed the auger and motor and cleaned out any pellet dust I could find. I've made two attempts with weber smokefire pellets now to reach 600 and still can't get over 480. Still on Firmware 4035. Not sure what else try. Anyone have any suggestions?

Assuming that the fire pot is clean, ash is not plugging bottom fire pot slots, the permaent probe in the back is clean, and blower is switching to high...You might try uninstalling and reinstalling the firmware to eliminate that Potential problem.
Also, if you have a spare ambient grill temp probe, install that in one of the grill probe ports to verify that the temp being displayed matches with the other probe.

I only had that problem once and solved it by first setting grill to 400, then 500, then 600 incremental every 5 minutes. Never had it again.

Barring that, you might have a bad controller or bad temp probe.

 

[WiLLc]

Assuming that the fire pot is clean, ash is not plugging bottom fire pot slots, the permaent probe in the back is clean, and blower is switching to high...You might try uninstalling and reinstalling the firmware to eliminate that Potential problem.
Also, if you have a spare ambient grill temp probe, install that in one of the grill probe ports to verify that the temp being displayed matches with the other probe.

I only had that problem once and solved it by first setting grill to 400, then 500, then 600 incremental every 5 minutes. Never had it again.

Barring that, you might have a bad controller or bad temp probe.

So I did a factory reset and checked the firmware version and apparently I'm on 4042 now. It never prompted me to update and I thought I was still on 4035. I wonder if my issues started when 4042 silently installed itself? Latest temp test I got to 600 after 30 minutes. I'll try testing with extra probes now to see if the grill one is off. It sucks burning up all these pellets testing but at least Weber just sent me a free bag!

 

[WiLLc]

Tested again with my maverick redicheck probe inside the grill positioned next to the internal one. The maverick was reading around 20-30 degrees higher until we hit 500 and then the weber controller took the lead and finished 10 degrees higher than the maverick. I didn't change anything else and this time it took 17 minutes to hit 600. Not sure how to explain the inconsistent results other than to blame it on firmware 4042. I'll see how things go over the next few cooks.

 

[Dassman5]

Tested again with my maverick redicheck probe inside the grill positioned next to the internal one. The maverick was reading around 20-30 degrees higher until we hit 500 and then the weber controller took the lead and finished 10 degrees higher than the maverick. I didn't change anything else and this time it took 17 minutes to hit 600. Not sure how to explain the inconsistent results other than to blame it on firmware 4042. I'll see how things go over the next few cooks.

As I posted elsewhere, as of last week Weber had not officially released firmware version 4042. But it is now on their site as being available as of 9/21. As such, it is a new control algorithm for their PID logic, and may take some time to “adjust and adapt”.

One thing to think about...industrial PID controllers are designed to reach and maintain a set-point temperature with only small variations. In a way they kind of “learn” this through iterative cycles based on the fuel source, the combustion source, the rate of increase or decrease, etc.

With liquid fuels, as in a car, this is easy as one has the same octane ( energy) available cycle after and cycle, and once you enter a set point, it only needs to open or close the carbureator (fuel injectors) based on the feedback from the wheel sensors to maintain speed.

Working with solid fuels, like pellets is a bit more complicated, however, as there is a delay between feeding the pellets and the combustion driven by the blower. Different manufacturers often have different BTU values per # of pellets, plus pellets can pick up moisture ( humidity) which alters that.

Not yet sure how Weber handles this in their PID logic, but switching between manufacturers of pellets, with different wood mixes and compression, let alone any fillers, can change the ability of a PID controller to achieve the desired results consistently. One of the reasons why I stick to one manufacturer, Weber.

 

[JpsBBQ]

As I posted elsewhere, as of last week Weber had not officially released firmware version 4042. But it is now on their site as being available as of 9/21. As such, it is a new control algorithm for their PID logic, and may take some time to “adjust and adapt”.

One thing to think about...industrial PID controllers are designed to reach and maintain a set-point temperature with only small variations. In a way they kind of “learn” this through iterative cycles based on the fuel source, the combustion source, the rate of increase or decrease, etc.

With liquid fuels, as in a car, this is easy as one has the same octane ( energy) available cycle after and cycle, and once you enter a set point, it only needs to open or close the carbureator (fuel injectors) based on the feedback from the wheel sensors to maintain speed.

Working with solid fuels, like pellets is a bit more complicated, however, as there is a delay between feeding the pellets and the combustion driven by the blower. Different manufacturers often have different BTU values per # of pellets, plus pellets can pick up moisture ( humidity) which alters that.

Not yet sure how Weber handles this in their PID logic, but switching between manufacturers of pellets, with different wood mixes and compression, let alone any fillers, can change the ability of a PID controller to achieve the desired results consistently. One of the reasons why I stick to one manufacturer, Weber.

Great info! Thanks

 

[WiLLc]

I’ve got a spatchcock chicken on right now. Set the grill to 325 and it took 16 minutes to reach temp. I’ve noticed this before that it takes the same amount of time to reach lower temps as it does 600.

If I can’t effectively use other brands of pellets I’ll be a bit disappointed by that. The B&B pellets produce very little ash, have a great flavor and are super cheap.

The thing I love about this cooker is it still produces beautiful thin blue smoke even at higher temps. I’ve done mostly grilling cooks since I got the EX6 and flavor is great. When using it as a grill I just want to to reach temp quickly and recover quickly.

 

[AHoneyman]

I’ve got a spatchcock chicken on right now. Set the grill to 325 and it took 16 minutes to reach temp. I’ve noticed this before that it takes the same amount of time to reach lower temps as it does 600.

If I can’t effectively use other brands of pellets I’ll be a bit disappointed by that. The B&B pellets produce very little ash, have a great flavor and are super cheap.

The thing I love about this cooker is it still produces beautiful thin blue smoke even at higher temps. I’ve done mostly grilling cooks since I got the EX6 and flavor is great. When using it as a grill I just want to to reach temp quickly and recover quickly.

With firmware version 4042, you will need to watch time and temp carefully because you will probably be well below what the controller indicates.