Bull Condensation under pellet hopper lid

[Sdyork]

Condensation under pellet hopper lid is forming while I cook on my new RT-700.
Is this normal? Should I be concerned?
Anyone else having this going on?
Will it screw up my pellets?
I used Rec Tec competition blend.
Please advice...

 

[Infantryman]

I get that too, it's never given me any problems. It's really humid here in my area, whenever I see the condensation on the hopper lid I just leave it open to breath and dry out for a little while and close it again. Never had any problems with that effecting my pellets and or grill operation in my experience,

 

[Gotbbq]

I get that too, it's never given me any problems. It's really humid here in my area, whenever I see the condensation on the hopper lid I just leave it open to breath and dry out for a little while and close it again. Never had any problems with that effecting my pellets and or grill operation in my experience,

Someone posted that sealing the hopper can increase condensation. Is your hopper sealed? Mine is sealed but haven't noticed any condensation. ??

 

[Greg Jones]

Mine is sealed also, and I have never seen any condensation.

 

[Gotbbq]

Mine is sealed also, and I have never seen any condensation.

Maybe he put in pellets that were already moist??? I guess all pellets have some moisture in them but the heat of the smoker must drive off the moisture. ??

 

[Greg Jones]

Maybe he put in pellets that were already moist??? I guess all pellets have some moisture in them but the heat of the smoker must drive off the moisture. ??

That could be a possibility. Pellets do retain some moisture, which is why there Is a popular opinion that it is not necessary to add a water pan when smoking on a pellet smoker. But it is also possible to have too much of a good thing (moisture) as all wood absorbs moisture in high humidity conditions. I store my bags of pellets up off of the concrete floor and seal opened bags of pellets in sealed buckets to reduce the possibility of the pellets taking on additional moisture.

 

[Gotbbq]

That could be a possibility. Pellets do retain some moisture, which is why there Is a popular opinion that it is not necessary to add a water pan when smoking on a pellet smoker. But it is also possible to have too much of a good thing (moisture) as all wood absorbs moisture in high humidity conditions. I store my bags of pellets up off of the concrete floor and seal opened bags of pellets in sealed buckets to reduce the possibility of the pellets taking on additional moisture.

That should keep them dry. I try to use a whole bag at a time. I have used those threaded buckets (lid) for leftover storage. No problems. ??

 

[Sdyork]

Condensation under pellet hopper lid is forming while I cook on my new RT-700.
Is this normal? Should I be concerned?
Anyone else having this going on?
Will it screw up my pellets?
I used Rec Tec competition blend.
Please advice...

I have not sealed the pellet hopper and the pellets came with the grill. maybe I need to seal it??
What have you sealed it with?

 

[Gotbbq]

There are many brands. One popular one is Lavalock 12 grey high performance, yada yada. It's on amazon. Big Green Egg also makes one. You may already know people seal the door to the bull to keep the top of the barrel clean. There is enough gasket material in one order to do both lid and door. Happy smoking- ??

 

[Greg Jones]

This Is what I used. There was enough material to seal the lid, the pellet hopper, the smoke box, and I even put two small squares on the lid stops so that it wasn’t metal on metal. Opening and closing the doors now sounds like a bank vault!

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DMFP1TO/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Gotbbq]

I like the lid stop idea, Going to get my left over roll now. ??

 

[Buckeye smoker]

When I sealed my grill lid I sealed my hopper lid with the leftovers.... To be honest, besides this thread I've never heard of condensation under the hopper lid.

 

[Mastertech59]

When I sealed my grill lid I sealed my hopper lid with the leftovers.... To be honest, besides this thread I've never heard of condensation under the hopper lid.

My self either but generally things that are vented properly don't have condensation issues, sealed up is different, especial with temperature and humidity changes. Now I'm going to have to go out pull the cover off that I've never used, still in the box and check the hopper lid for condensation, anybody know if I can I do this from the Rec Tec app, the pup is sound asleep on my lap right now.

 

[Infantryman]

Someone posted that sealing the hopper can increase condensation. Is your hopper sealed? Mine is sealed but haven't noticed any condensation. ??

No, my hopper isn't sealed. I'm of the opinion that the hopper lid doesn't need sealing, as always......to each their own of course!

I don't see how rain, snow, etc. could possibly get into the hopper with the lid closed. Sealed or not Those pellets already have moisture in them normally like all wood does, that combined with what the pellets absorb from the ambient humid surroundings like where I live here needs to have a way to dissipate naturally by drying out over time when the humidity drops. With the hopper lid sealed creating a more or less airtight situation, I don't see how that moisture could dissipate.

Also, as far sealing in general and the lid goes I like the way the patina looks on my grill around the lid's sealing edges, gives it a nice well used appearance. Whether those smoke stains, etc. end up permanently staining the S/S matters not to me. Neither does the minimal amount of smoke lost going around the lid. I like the way it runs now, so if it ain't broke why fix it? In my humble opinion anyway.

 

[Mastertech59]

Ok ok I guess I need to go look in the hopper and see if there's any condensation, being in the NE the weather and humidity changes from minute to minute. Found no condensation and it's not sealed, but holy pollen on the outside of the grill, you still won't beable to talk me into putting a cover on it.

 

[Gotbbq]

Ok ok I guess I need to go look in the hopper and see if there's any condensation, being in the NE the weather and humidity changes from minute to minute. Found no condensation and it's not sealed, but holy pollen on the outside of the grill, you still won't beable to talk me into putting a cover on it.

Just put my cover away in the garage. Like the Bull free and exposed. ??

 

[Mastertech59]

Just put my cover away in the garage. Like the Bull free and exposed. ??

#NakedBull's

 

[Mastertech59]

The cover that came with the package I got is still in its original box sitting in the basement on a shelf. With a smokebox on the Bull the cover has to be almost the size of a car cover.

 

[Greg Jones]

With a smokebox on the Bull the cover has to be almost the size of a car cover.

Yup! ?

 

[Mike]

My lid isn't sealed and I'd have to say I've never seen condensation on or under my hopper lid.