Ray
Active member
I have seen on other brands of pellet grills that have a little trap door for the unused pellets to drain from the hopper had all ways thought that was a good way to clean out the pellets. What are all of your thoughts?
How do you clean out your pellet hopper?
- Thread starter Ray
- Start date
A small shopvac makes short work of emptying the hopper if needed.
cookingjnj
Well-known member
I am the lazy one I guess. I just burn through the pellets already in the hopper and then add new pellets. There is usually a few left in the hopper and of course in the auger tube, but I have never tasted any ill effects of having a small amount of mixed pellet types.
Ray
Active member
Has anyone thought about a mod to make a clean out. If so how did you do it and do you have picks?
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wildblue
Well-known member
- Messages
- 117
Rec-Tec has said themselves that they can't find a way to put in a clean-out that doesn't let moisture in or cause other problems. Source https://www.rectecgrills.com/blog/face-the-facts/
Bucket Head https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Wet-Dry-Vacuums-Wet-Dry-Vacuums/Bucket-Head/N-5yc1vZc2f8Z4oz
Clips onto a 5 gallon bucket. Vacuum pellets out, put lid on bucket.
Bucket Head https://www.homedepot.com/b/Tools-Wet-Dry-Vacuums-Wet-Dry-Vacuums/Bucket-Head/N-5yc1vZc2f8Z4oz
Clips onto a 5 gallon bucket. Vacuum pellets out, put lid on bucket.
Ray
Active member
Thanks for sharing those links wildblue
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- Grill(s) owned
- Bull
Honestly I typically would let pellets just sit in the hopper most of the season. This becomes a problem in the fall/winter when moisture tends to find its way in. Then pellets get soggy, dry out, and form a big block.
I had never thought of cleaning out the pellets each go round.....is that what you guys are doing?
I do like the bucket head idea posted here. That seems pretty damn handy.
I had never thought of cleaning out the pellets each go round.....is that what you guys are doing?
I do like the bucket head idea posted here. That seems pretty damn handy.
I do not. Then again I don't typically fill my hopper up 100%. I tend to fill it about half way.
- Messages
- 37
- Grill(s) owned
- Bull
Ok, good, that seems like it would become a pain.
Ray
Active member
I try to clean it out every once in a while because I have had it jam the auger to where it wouldn’t turn at all. It was a real pain to get it all cleaned out. So has anyone else had that problem and if so how did you clean it out?
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- Grill(s) owned
- Bull
My Bull actually arrives today, so I can't speak to RecTec on how I've fixed this, but I had to do it with my prior smoker plenty of times.
I would first empty the hopper. Then take a this screw driver and dig out any large chunks or blocks that had formed. Basically chisel at it....then take a shop vac and suck out the pieces....repeat....repeat....repeat. Until I thought it was nice and clear of obstruction. Turn it on and the auger starts spinning.
I live in the wonderfuly hot and humid state of Florida. Ft lauderdale to be exact. We breath humidity here. Will I have a problem leaving pellets in the bin if it is kept with its cover on and partially under an overhang? I will be using the grill 1-2 times a week.
You might want to look at getting some of the containers mentioned in the Pellet Storage Containers thread.
I would think you'll be going through the pellets quick enough where you won't have an issue.
I hadn't given this much thought until last week when I got a different brand of pellets and wanted to try them out to see if there were any significant differences. I had maybe 3 cups of pellets in the bottom of the bin plus whatever was down the auger tube. I used my handy dandy cut off milk bottle that got most of the bin stuff, finished with a couple hand scoops. The stuff in the auger I figured would be burned up either all, or nearly all, during the warm up. That's the way it seemed to work out as I wasn't very far into the cook before I got the different aroma from the new pellets and the fan running slightly differently. My supposition on the fan thing is the new pellets were burning just a bit hotter which caused the fan to cycle more. Within this scenario I suspect the trap door arrangement is one of those ideas that sounds good, but in practical operation for the majority of users has little necessity.
I am deffinitely looking into a storage solution. When people buy 400 lbs of pellets where do they store them if they have no garage....I was originally thinking about one of those patio storage containers but those are not moisture proof and im sure that would not be good for them.
@Uncle Bob I could see where like in my situation where living in a humid climate that you would want a pellet dump to empty the pellet bin because you might go a couple of weeks without using the grill and dont want the pellets to go "bad" and not just to change flavors alot. I am looking to find the one flavor/brand that works best for me and that would be all I used.
My brother and I are considering ordering a 1000 lbs of the RT Ultimate and splitting it between us (only $0.60 a lb, vs. $0.99 a lb if I only bought 200lbs). I keep them bagged and in my cool/dry basement.
Basement....lucky you!!! Here basement means ...Indoor swimming pool!!
Dig 12" anywhere in florida and you hit water....go outside and take a breath of fresh ....water. Hell you wouldnt even need to drink here if it wasnt for the fact that is 95 deg outside and your sweating constant...you guessed it....WATER!!!
This is the only part that has kept me for ordering a new grill. We have had constant rain here litterally all day for the last week to week and a half. And it never occured to me about storing the pellets untill I was looking at the rec tec packages with my wife and she saw it comes with 200 lbs of pellets and she said where do you keep that and I said....UHHHHHHH
Yeah, I'd prefer living in Alaska over Florida, but I think I'm in the minority in that camp...
200lbs of pellets is only 5 bags, and they stack well, so it'll only take up about 16" x 25" of your indoor real estate. I'm sure you can find that in your living room somewhere. ?
200lbs of pellets is only 5 bags, and they stack well, so it'll only take up about 16" x 25" of your indoor real estate. I'm sure you can find that in your living room somewhere. ?
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