My pit boss just exploded on video!

SmittyJonz said:
Exactly. Smoke On. In a Non-Flammable environment.............
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Good to know that this is a common problem. It can be prevented, but I don't know what the added cost would add to the product price. I used to use a pellet unit for some types of cooks, but have graduated away from it— maybe just in time?.

Incidentally Smitty, are your kids non-flammable?
 
That sucks. I will say I've never had that happen with either of my pellet units, but I do set high and low alarms on my Smoke so I can sleep and not worry.
 
Happy Hapgood said:
I don't have a dog in this hunt as I do not own a pellet grill but I'm a retired HVAC guy and do know combustion principles.


Taking a step back from all the explosions and vids talking about what's happening, I have to question the condition of the fuel used. The OP states his location as On The Shore. My theory is that humidity could be the culprit slowing the combustion of pellets just as it does with charcoal or wood. Not wet but here in Louisiana once I open a bag of KBB, I keep it indoors. This coupled with the ignition process PG's use could keep them from igniting until flashpoint is reached.


Just my .02 and be safe.
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The pellets were bought from Dicks in early May. I stored them in my shop which is dry. I loaded the hopper with the pellets about three weeks ago.
The pellets that I drained from the hopper after the explosion look good as new.

I researched this a lot over the last few days and mid cook explosions for no apparent reason are not unheard of. Trager seems to be the biggest culprit, but they probably sold the most as well.

My wife is afraid of the thing now, so it is not going back on the deck.

Chris
 
I will say I had my Copperhead flame out once. I had it running for a couple hours at different temps, started high and brought it down, each time letting it run for a while at each temp. I finally put it on smoke mode and let it sit there for at least an hour, it had pretty big temp swings, I forget how big but anyway after about an hour it flamed out. I was standing there when it happened, gave it a little bit of time then shut it down so no big deal.
 
I can’t find the video but when I was doing my pellet pondering last year I found a video of a guy upgrading the controller on a camp chef or pit boss and he explains how flameouts and other issues are more likely on a timed pellet feed versus PID or temperature sensing pellet feed and why........

I don’t think there’s any way to Totally fail proof a smoker running on Electronics, burning wood and that creates flammable dust..........Even if it shuts down the pellets and or dust is already smoldering and once it reaches flashpoint is going to flash or explode. Some have found their Hoppers smoldering hours after shutdown cuz it back burned thru auger tube. You would have to add an extinguisher safety feature - like over commercial ovens and stoves that put out a grease fire -or tries to......... or a flame proof shutoff at end of auger tube that closes on shutdown to prevent back burn or feeding pellets.........

Another video I watched last year says even just a quick split second power loss/glitch /surge/ the lights flickering can screw up the controller causing it to restart or act goofy n dump more pellets and other things that cause these problems....... so you would have to add a UPS/battery backup system to it also..........
 
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SmittyJonz said:
I Never bought a Pellet Pooper - Pondered my way away from them. If I had One I'd run it on my concrete driveway, away from the House, away from kids............same place my other Smokers Run/Sit.

https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=262241
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Yep basic common sense. Keep it away from flammable objects. It’s not as safe as a natural fire contained in a stable steel vessel. Hiccups happen with anything with moving mechanical parts. Risk vs reward. I personally trust my pooper but I realize there is risk with leaving it unattended. It’s still my favorite cooker ive owned though between my kamado, kettle, wsm, drum, gasser, electric smoker, my pellet trailer, stickburner, etc lol.
 
Maybe I am missing something. Aren't pellet poopers supposed to be set it and forget it? From what I have been reading, my WSM sounds like less work.
 
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ChrisBarb said:
Maybe I am missing something. Aren't pellet poopers supposed to be set it and forget it? From I have been reading, my WSM sounds like less work.
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It’s the same amount of work. I used to own a wsm 22 and a now own a kettle 26 and Mak 1 star. Both are equally easy to fire up. Which one I cook on depends on what flavor profile I’m going for.
 
(sorry, didn’t mean to derail with a little logic, I’ll get it back on track)


WOW!!!! That was farkin SCARY!!! Soooo glad nobody was killed, or even worse!!!

I just texted Mrs. 4ever3 and told her under NO circumstances are her or the kids to even go NEAR the PG!!! I mean, I know it’s unplugged right now, but what if, WHAT IF it plugged it’s self in?!?!? See whatimsayin? Things could go very very wrong!

Luckily enough I jumped on the World Wide Web (aww crap, do computers ever burst into flames) just now and found some protective gear, with any luck at all it will be here by the weekend so I can cook a pork butt!




There, all better now :becky:
 
4ever3 said:
(sorry, didn’t mean to derail with a little logic, I’ll get it back on track)


WOW!!!! That was farkin SCARY!!! Soooo glad nobody was killed, or even worse!!!

I just texted Mrs. 4ever3 and told her under NO circumstances are her or the kids to even go NEAR the PG!!! I mean, I know it’s unplugged right now, but what if, WHAT IF it plugged it’s self in?!?!? See whatimsayin? Things could go very very wrong!

Luckily enough I jumped on the World Wide Web (aww crap, do computers ever burst into flames) just now and found some protective gear, with any luck at all it will be here by the weekend so I can cook a pork butt!




There, all better now :becky:
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AWW CRAP! :shock::shock::flame::flame::boom::boom::boom:

That's it...I am getting rid of the pellet cookers. I am just going stack up some cinder blocks on my deck and smoke something the safer way...:twitch::twitch:
 
As a former firefighter I like to see cookers on a wood deck. It makes a fire that is easy to put out (usually) and the department gets to look like heroes.

Occasionally it does go bad, though, and can result in a lot of damage.

As a former combustion engineer, it is apparent that the cooker does not have a working flame supervision system. It went out and kept producing smoke which includes stuff that can burn and then found a source of ignition that resulted in the explosion. Once it went out, it should not attempt to relight as this situation is predictable and dangerous. Proper procedure is (with human intervention) to open the cooker and clear the smoke before trying to relight.

NB: I did not read the entire thread so perhaps these points have already been mentioned.
 
No Sense making Light of it. It’s a potential hazard on ANY Pellet Grill/Smoker for a variety of reasons that could have serious repercussions. More likely on cheaper brands with less quality electronics but you can find incidents reported, videos of High End Brands. It’s Something to be aware of on Pellet cookers and possibly take some precautions - like: running it on concrete or gravel or pavers away from the house, Not running it while sleeping, Not keeping pellets in the Hopper/auger tube for long periods of time or in Humid environments, keeping it clean, keeping the temp sensor rod thing clean, inspecting auger regularly, etc, etc...... just have to decide what -if any - precautions you want to do. Or you may decide the Risk - even if slight - is Not worth it to you to own a pellet cooker.........

I decided Not to buy One because I decided against the Cheap Ones and couldn’t afford the Better Ones - But Better Ones still pose the same risks although maybe to a lesser degree.

IMHO an insulated cabinet charcoal smoker is as Easy ( maybe Easier since it doesn’t rely on electricity) and Safer than a Pellet Grill.
 
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