What's new
THE BBQ BRETHREN FORUMS

Welcome to The BBQ Brethren Community. Register a free account today to become a member and see all our content. Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

Pellet vs Propane - Fire Safety

Y

Yiplong

Is lookin for wood to cook with.
Joined
Mar 19, 2019
Location
NJ
Name or Nickame
Larry
Which fuel type do you feel is safer? I will be in a townhouse complex. They ban charcoal but plenty of people use propane. I assume pellet would be fine as well, since IMO it's safer than propane. I wouldn't want to use anything that's unsafe near a building anyway. I see a lot of people using their propane grill under the balcony, which I think is crazy! Apparently, that's okay!:-o:crazy:

Pellet won't suffer from leakage and potentially explode like propane. The fire is also better controlled. The grill will maintain a certain pre-set temperature, whereas with propane, if you set it to preheat and forget about it, the fire will burn until the propane runs out or the grill melts. Pellets also runs at lower temperature and most cooks indirect, hence less chance of grease catching fire or flare-ups. What do you think?
 
 
Looked like a "wood gas" explosion (flashover) to me. They used wood gas as a fuel for engines in some places during WWII as traditional fuel was scarce. It's produced from burning/heating wood under certain conditions. Not very efficient, but it can be made to burn and run an engine.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_gas
 
Yiplong said:
Oh wow, these are neat videos, thanks for sharing.
Now, how can this happen? Is it due to people not cleaning out the ash diligently? or maybe the grill accidentally feeding the firepot with too much pellet?
Click to expand...

Both, either or, controller resets, damp pellets, dirty burn pot, bad temp probe, various reasons.......
 
What about cases where smoke comes out of the hopper or worse, pellets in the hopping catching fire? How does that happen? Guess I don't want something like that on the balcony if this is a reasonably probable event.
 
Last edited:
SmittyJonz said:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUapxxyfLR0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeyW_7R5TRY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFlmmZJQBoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAAJbwWH474

Not Sure.......they call it Burn Back. Extra Fun I Guess......
Click to expand...

Perhaps the auger tube gets so hot from use that it causes the pellets in the tube to start smoldering.

Also some grills allow grilling over dirext flame, I think Yoder grills can do this. Wouldn't grease get into the firepot? This sounds pretty unsafe.
 
Never had any grease get into firepot Yet ,don't think the grease makes it much past the grate before its burnt,coarse a hamburger patty with 30% may raise the flame level some, but the advice to ck before buying is a must. On startup before the fire is established it creates a huge cloud of smoke and the lid must be left open so it can vent, when the fire lights the smoke will vanish and the lid can be put down.
 
I've had the fire somehow backup through the manifold on my Weber and melt the knobs off so weird stuff can happen on either. I think both options are reasonably safe though and think that a grease fire is the most likely thing to cause a problem. I think I could cause a bigger fire in my rectec because of what I cook in it but the biggest flames I've caused to date have been grilling a large volume of high fat burgers.
 
Grills may be allowed due to normally a short term cook. Roll smoke off a pellet cooker 4-6-8 hours and longer may be another consideration in a close living environment. Apartment rules, fire health and safety codes neighbors things to consider. Apt location prevailing winds etc. perhaps electric is a more viable route? Check your lease restrictions and applicable regulations


http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLACK-DEC...aster-Oven-Stainless-Steel-TO4314SSD/33314892

https://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker-p/smkmdl1-gen3.htm
 
Last edited:
Multi-family dwellings are under a different fire code usually so I would check with complex and local ordinances. I received a letter for having Weber gas grill on my patio that stated I was in violation and had x number of days to remove it. I’m glad I was only there temporary because my obsession with grilling/smoking has skyrocketed :grin:
 
16Adams said:
Grills may be allowed due to normally a short term cook. Roll smoke off a pellet cooker 4-6-8 hours and longer may be another consideration in a close living environment. Apartment rules, fire health and safety codes neighbors things to consider. Apt location prevailing winds etc. perhaps electric is a more viable route? Check your lease restrictions and applicable regulations


http://www.walmart.com/ip/BLACK-DEC...aster-Oven-Stainless-Steel-TO4314SSD/33314892

https://www.smokin-it.com/Smoker-p/smkmdl1-gen3.htm
Click to expand...

The terms only prohibit charcoal. I see lots of gas grills, maybe 1/3 of the units have one. I've checked with management but they don't know what pellet grills are. Apparently, they aren't popular here. Local law about grilling is not applicable to us because we are in a townhouse condo complex. The law exempts townhouses, but for other multi-family dwellings (apt buildings etc), grilling of any kind is prohibited, including electric (which I think is ridiculous, glad this nonsense doesn't apply to me).

I'm looking at two options:

(1) get a pellet grill that can do both direct and indirect cooking, something like Yoder YS480 or Camp Chef Woodwind. As some folks mentioned, they produce lots of smoke at start up. It's something to take into consideration. I want to be a good neighbor and don't want people to get annoyed or freaked out. Maybe I can try manually lighting the fire instead of letting it smolder.

(2) get a Weber Spirit or something similar + an electric smoker. Maybe this is the more sensible solution. Sometimes we have to be realistic and see the silver lining. With kids, a job and a long commute, maybe this is the best overall option after all.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

2
Temperature issues pellet conversion kit
Replies
19
Views
2K
2002sheds
2
O
Fire, animal, almost chit my pants
2
Replies
21
Views
1K
4ever3
4ever3
J
Long Post of Disappointing Rants and Dreaming of a LSG Pellet Grill
Replies
4
Views
1K
jrTheSmoker
J
rwalters
Offset kettle smoking vs Pellet smoking
Replies
6
Views
855
gtsum
G
rwalters
Pellet Cookers 101 - Part Two
Replies
0
Views
405
rwalters
rwalters
Back
Top