RT-1070 1070 Pellet Hopper Lid warp and discolor?

[okie]

When I say "lid" I was talking about hopper lid. David, did you mean hopper lid or barrel lid?

 

[Freedom Forged]

I wasn't specific, sorry, I was speaking of the Hopper Lid.

 

[okie]

I don't think the heat came from your hopper. The soot stain implies that it came from the lower middle barrel lid. That heat concentrated there could get hot enough to warp the hopper lid. Is the barrel lid not closed well in the middle? During startup you would get lots of smoke from that point if it was not fitting well. Could be the source of your problem?

 

[okie]

My lid is snug in that area, but leaks some at the lateral edges and top a little during startup (smokes).

 

[Marshall]

I'm not sure of the stainless steel type for the lid but will it take a magnet? If so then attach a couple of these to the underside of the lid for re-enforcement.
https://www.harborfreight.com/18-in-magnetic-tool-holder-60433.html

 

[kennethk]

okie - You have a very keen grasp of the obvious.
I put a seal on the hopper lid and it did not make any impact - plus its harder to open and close.

I cleaned the hopper lid today and ran the temperature up to 500 with no food in it. You can see the light gray stain starting to appear. When I was taking pictures I noticed the dark smoke stains on the top of the lid were exactly opposite the bottom.
Based on this I assume this is the 'hot spot' on the grill. The tempature on the hopper lid ranged from ~100 F at the front to ~350 at the back where the stain is. When you check the temp left-right-down from the stain the temperature drops.
Maybe tomorrow i'll set it on full and see what it does.