I just bought a used Camp Chef DLX 24 and I can see that it has been used a few times. This is my first time using a pellet smoker, but the smell of the smoke is offputting and doesn't smell like wood burning.
I took everything out of the insides to make sure there was no built up ash and grease (it was clean).
There were a handful of pellets left so I emptied them and burnt off the remainder – no old pellets were left.
Then I filled the hopper with hickory Bear Mountain pellets and got it to temp. But, I am smelling just a LITTLE hickory smoke but the main, upfront smell smells chemical/burnt plastic.
I emptied the hopper to make sure there wasn't a jam or a fire within the auger, but it was clear.
I looked underneath the smoker and none of the wires from the hopper/control panel are touching the hot portion.
Because this is my first pellet smoker, is it supposed to smell only like the hickory? Or, is the a certain smell that comes with pellet grills?
Or, is something wrong with it?
Thank you all for your help and apologies if these are dumb questions!
by Known_Yesterday_1408
6 Comments
Maybe previous owner used chemicals to clean inside ?
Did you double check the manual to make sure you’re starting it correctly? Is there any bubbles or burnt paint on it? You could try a different flavor of pellets as well just to rule that out. I would expect hickory pellets to smell like hickory smoke. Maybe try burning a small pile of the pellets outside of your smoker as a way to see if it’s just a bad batch of pellets?
Add cotton balls to your nostrils. But seriously, impossible to know without looking at it.
An auger fire smells like that for a while after the event. May need to run a whole bag through it to clear the throat.
I would start with a 45min to an hour power burn at 450 degrees if you haven’t already. One thing I have seen in the past is back burns have started to affect equipment beneath the hopper on the left hand side. You might not see it right away on your panel, but melted wiring covers could be an issue.
That’s a great start by fully cleaning it out and burning the pellets. Sometimes new smokers need a thorough burn-in too, so giving it a full heating cycle with a high-quality pellet could help until it seasons properly.