I was refilling my hopper in the middle of a cook and I was not paying attention. Ended up with a bunch of pellet dust in the hopper. Is this going to cause issues with the smoker? Cook is almost done. Maybe another hour or two.
by TurboArch
23 Comments
Abarth-ME-262
Looks like it got wet, I’d empty and start with new!
bigm2102
I’d say it will cause issues if you leave it for an extended period of time. You should be good to finish the current cook, though.
RedBambalam
That dust is bad news! Empty the hopper and vacuum out all that sawdust
Opposite_Activity976
I’ve done the exact same thing and it was fine for the cook. I did a few more smaller cooks and it was fine. I tore everything down for a deep clean and while doing that I emptied the hopper and tube and vacuumed them out.
lurker-1969
Vacuum it out and clear the auger.
devilsaint86
Put some screen on the end of a shop vac and suck it up
reddittiswierd
You poured the bottom of the bag in the hopper. Classic mistake but one you need to avoid.
Jonny_Thundergun
Finish out your session then you gotta clear that out. Dust in your burner is not good.
Remove everything in the hopper. Save what good pellets you can.
I have a sifter that I scoop my pellets out with, sift the dust out, then drop in the hopper.
Dietcherrysprite
It could
-jam your auger
-break your auger shear pin
-potentially cause a fire
Also, your safety grate is missing. Careful not to lose a hand.
Hellbent_bluebelt
Looks like you just dumped the whole bag in there. The dust will compact, and if you get moisture in there it will be like a rock.
It’s not a big deal if you’re cooking right now but you need to clean it out after. And in the future, when you fill the hopper you need to sift the pellets.
NElwoodP
How common is it to remove the grid? I bought a bucket top vacuum from Home Depot and it’s dedicated to only vacuuming pellets, which I keep in Homer buckets. I may have to get rid of my grid. It’s a pita, and I’m pretty sure I can keep my fingers away from the auger while it’s running.
CoatStraight8786
Vacuum the top out.
OriginalOk8371
I would empty the hopper and put fresh ones in.
jmpstart66
That’s a crap ton of dust
italianstalion1
Put a piece of screen over a vacuum and suck out the dust
Fabulous-Operation51
Take a few handfuls out of the top until minimal dust is left and chuck em. You should be fine. A tiny little bit of dust won’t hurt, a lot can though.
Historical_Reach_440
See if you can suck most of it up off the top. But yeah, you don’t want that in there.
User5281
Too much dust can clog the auger. I’d scoop as much of that out as you can.
DadFromACK
Not if you’re looking forward to a stuck auger.. dust is GREAT for that!
(Shop vac time, and kitty litter to scoop instead of pouring from the bag – we’ve all been there!)
Even_Address3970
Also, why did you snip the hopper grate? You know it can come out if you just undo the screws?
Dexter79
If you want to be safe you probably want to get the dust out but I’ve been using pellet grills for at least 8 years and I have always just dumped the bags in dust and all and never had any issues with it.
Agingelbow
I even got one of those pellet filter pans, but it’s really not needed until you get to bottom of bag.
Time_Tension4223
Oklahoma joes makes a pellet bucket with a screen insert to separate the dust
23 Comments
Looks like it got wet, I’d empty and start with new!
I’d say it will cause issues if you leave it for an extended period of time. You should be good to finish the current cook, though.
That dust is bad news! Empty the hopper and vacuum out all that sawdust
I’ve done the exact same thing and it was fine for the cook. I did a few more smaller cooks and it was fine. I tore everything down for a deep clean and while doing that I emptied the hopper and tube and vacuumed them out.
Vacuum it out and clear the auger.
Put some screen on the end of a shop vac and suck it up
You poured the bottom of the bag in the hopper. Classic mistake but one you need to avoid.
Finish out your session then you gotta clear that out. Dust in your burner is not good.
Remove everything in the hopper. Save what good pellets you can.
I have a sifter that I scoop my pellets out with, sift the dust out, then drop in the hopper.
It could
-jam your auger
-break your auger shear pin
-potentially cause a fire
Also, your safety grate is missing. Careful not to lose a hand.
Looks like you just dumped the whole bag in there. The dust will compact, and if you get moisture in there it will be like a rock.
It’s not a big deal if you’re cooking right now but you need to clean it out after. And in the future, when you fill the hopper you need to sift the pellets.
How common is it to remove the grid? I bought a bucket top vacuum from Home Depot and it’s dedicated to only vacuuming pellets, which I keep in Homer buckets. I may have to get rid of my grid. It’s a pita, and I’m pretty sure I can keep my fingers away from the auger while it’s running.
Vacuum the top out.
I would empty the hopper and put fresh ones in.
That’s a crap ton of dust
Put a piece of screen over a vacuum and suck out the dust
Take a few handfuls out of the top until minimal dust is left and chuck em. You should be fine. A tiny little bit of dust won’t hurt, a lot can though.
See if you can suck most of it up off the top. But yeah, you don’t want that in there.
Too much dust can clog the auger. I’d scoop as much of that out as you can.
Not if you’re looking forward to a stuck auger.. dust is GREAT for that!
(Shop vac time, and kitty litter to scoop instead of pouring from the bag – we’ve all been there!)
Also, why did you snip the hopper grate? You know it can come out if you just undo the screws?
If you want to be safe you probably want to get the dust out but I’ve been using pellet grills for at least 8 years and I have always just dumped the bags in dust and all and never had any issues with it.
I even got one of those pellet filter pans, but it’s really not needed until you get to bottom of bag.
Oklahoma joes makes a pellet bucket with a screen insert to separate the dust