The pellets in my Jim Bowie GMG are drawing moisture somewhere, and causing the pellets to turn in to sawdust and then basically concrete. This is how I cleanout the Auger assembly.
Had the same issue happen to me this past weekend on new Daniel Boone Prime. Water got in through the pellet dump slider....causing all of the pellets in the auger and bottom of the hopper to become soaked
I've gotten mine unstuck by heating the auger tube with a propane torch until it frees up. Not sure if that would work in this extreme circumstance, though.
Looks like your thermal sensor pulled out of its housing also, that gives false temp readings and another flaw they hopefully addressed in the prime models.
It was covered - when not in use my grill is always covered. The root cause of the problem was an air leak behind the hopper drain door. The hole, allowed "moisture" in the air (not rain, but rather just moisture in the air - the second law of thermodynamics describes this as Entropy.) Basically, when the grill was hot, heat traveled through the auger tube, into the hopper and out of the hole, in the process it drew in moisture from the air and that moisture coming from under the grills hopper was the problem.. The original fix was to apply a High Temp silicone, however I found that caused interference with the pellet drain door, and opening and closing the door ended up unseating the silicone in places. The final fix was to remove the hopper, and weld a small 4" long piece of 1" angle iron to the hopper sealing the hole, and then applying silicone to the weld area making sure it was air tight (Just because I own a welder doesn't make me an expert welder ) I'm happy to report, I have now gone through the Pacific Northwest raining season, and I haven't had any more issues with the pellets getting wet.
If the pellets aren't too degraded and not completely hardened in the auger tube, sometimes you can tap the top of the auger tube with a rubber mallet to loosen the sawdust, then keep running the auger till the sawdust clears the tube. Takes 10-15 minutes.
Good suggestion, Greg. I've just been vacuuming out the "questionable" pellets. It seems whenever I try a less expensive "fix" something breaks, or I've ruined a good piece of meat.
It looks like you might not follow shut down procedure when cutting your fire back to 150 and then down to fan and then to off. This procedure will clear out a lot of pellets still siting in the auger tube. You can't just turn the smoker off and leave the pellets in the burner. They will harden and you will have to go through what you just did. I'm not saying you personally did this but I have never had mine jam up like that. The only other possibility is your pellets are getting moisture from some un-protected gap or seal. It is always best to inspect the pellets you use before you pour them into the box. Some pellets are better to use than others. I never leave my smoker out in the rain even when it is fitted with its own proper cover. It is still exposed to moisture and will cause you problems with your pellets. They will swell up and turn to wood chips and dust. Its always best to CYA when cooking out doors. Murphy's Law!
Actually, I do follow the shutdown procedure religiously. Larry, I think you might be a bit confused about the shutdown process. The shutdown process turns the Firepot Fan on for about 10 - 15 minutes, which makes sure that all of the unburned or partially burned pellets in the firepot are burned, the shutdown does not burn the pellets in the auger tube. If you think it through you will agree there is no way to regulate how far back the tube they burn? And you would have to prime it again the next time you use it. In this case, the pellets got wet. The moisture was caused by condensation, (cold air meets hot air = condensation) which ultimately was caused by a missing weld under the pellet cleanout door.
Yep, they got wet. But they got wet because of a flaw in the new hopper - as was pointed out in the video. studio.th-cam.com/users/videoJ98AkjxABIA/edit?Fcomments
@@johnmasoner4261 John is right. I had high end pellet and it was covered for 45 days = same problem. I live in NorCal and barely get moisture or rain.
Had the same issue happen to me this past weekend on new Daniel Boone Prime. Water got in through the pellet dump slider....causing all of the pellets in the auger and bottom of the hopper to become soaked
I've gotten mine unstuck by heating the auger tube with a propane torch until it frees up. Not sure if that would work in this extreme circumstance, though.
Looks like your thermal sensor pulled out of its housing also, that gives false temp readings and another flaw they hopefully addressed in the prime models.
I have that exact problem. How did you get the auger motor off?
My auger was stack also but it brock from the motor connection part, I am getting whole new GMG smoker
Happens every time winter hits. Pellets swell in the tube and I have to do this
Water saturation of the pellets. It would be good to cover your grill when not in use.
It was covered - when not in use my grill is always covered. The root cause of the problem was an air leak behind the hopper drain door. The hole, allowed "moisture" in the air (not rain, but rather just moisture in the air - the second law of thermodynamics describes this as Entropy.) Basically, when the grill was hot, heat traveled through the auger tube, into the hopper and out of the hole, in the process it drew in moisture from the air and that moisture coming from under the grills hopper was the problem.. The original fix was to apply a High Temp silicone, however I found that caused interference with the pellet drain door, and opening and closing the door ended up unseating the silicone in places. The final fix was to remove the hopper, and weld a small 4" long piece of 1" angle iron to the hopper sealing the hole, and then applying silicone to the weld area making sure it was air tight (Just because I own a welder doesn't make me an expert welder ) I'm happy to report, I have now gone through the Pacific Northwest raining season, and I haven't had any more issues with the pellets getting wet.
If the pellets aren't too degraded and not completely hardened in the auger tube, sometimes you can tap the top of the auger tube with a rubber mallet to loosen the sawdust, then keep running the auger till the sawdust clears the tube. Takes 10-15 minutes.
Good suggestion, Greg. I've just been vacuuming out the "questionable" pellets. It seems whenever I try a less expensive "fix" something breaks, or I've ruined a good piece of meat.
How did you pull the pin out from the motor where it connects to the auger?
Having the same issue. Any help on how to get the cotter pin out would be super helpful
I just got mine out. Brute force. I also drilled a hole in the side. They did not make it easy!
I am also having the same issue trying to get the cotter pin out. I can't get the dang thing to turn to pull it out.
That’s why god created the shop vac🤣
It looks like you might not follow shut down procedure when cutting your fire back to 150 and then down to fan and then to off. This procedure will clear out a lot of pellets still siting in the auger tube. You can't just turn the smoker off and leave the pellets in the burner. They will harden and you will have to go through what you just did. I'm not saying you personally did this but I have never had mine jam up like that. The only other possibility is your pellets are getting moisture from some un-protected gap or seal. It is always best to inspect the pellets you use before you pour them into the box. Some pellets are better to use than others. I never leave my smoker out in the rain even when it is fitted with its own proper cover. It is still exposed to moisture and will cause you problems with your pellets. They will swell up and turn to wood chips and dust. Its always best to CYA when cooking out doors. Murphy's Law!
Actually, I do follow the shutdown procedure religiously. Larry, I think you might be a bit confused about the shutdown process. The shutdown process turns the Firepot Fan on for about 10 - 15 minutes, which makes sure that all of the unburned or partially burned pellets in the firepot are burned, the shutdown does not burn the pellets in the auger tube. If you think it through you will agree there is no way to regulate how far back the tube they burn? And you would have to prime it again the next time you use it.
In this case, the pellets got wet. The moisture was caused by condensation, (cold air meets hot air = condensation) which ultimately was caused by a missing weld under the pellet cleanout door.
Ya Larry.. . . 😅 jk, working on mine currently. Both comments have helped. Thanks fellas
Jesus Murphy! U ever heard of a shop vac? Maybe not take a hose to the smoker?
Leaving it the rain is what’s causing it
Your going to bend the auger. Use a drill but and drill.
If you have this much crap in your auger you're using shitty pellets or you let them get wet.
Yep, they got wet. But they got wet because of a flaw in the new hopper - as was pointed out in the video. studio.th-cam.com/users/videoJ98AkjxABIA/edit?Fcomments
@@johnmasoner4261 John is right. I had high end pellet and it was covered for 45 days = same problem. I live in NorCal and barely get moisture or rain.