Pellet hopper - RT590

Remove the grate.
Already did. Never have an issue with Smokehouse Pellets, only with the cooking pellets.

Live and learn. It’s one of those “don’t fix what’s not broke” scenario. I’ll stick with Smokehouse since I’ve had zero issues with them.
 
Last edited:
Apparently this is a problem across brands, so much so that Yoder includes the following in their user manual:

Inspect and clean the pellet hopper area. The interior hopper surface can be wiped down using warm water and detergent. To protect the surface, and promote smooth pellet feeding, coat the surface with car wax.

guess it’s time for me to wax my smoker..
 
I suspect there are a number of variables that don't always make themselves obvious. So, just to add some additional experience to this thread here's a pic of my 590 yesterday. I had gotten down to the end of a bin full of Smokehouse Blend (same ones you use Dave) and wanted to reload with the Cookin' Pellets Blend for a rib cook. The Smokehouse dropped in the bin fairly similarly to the experience yesterday in the pic with the CP blend. I don't wax my bin, occasionally wipe out the dust, but that's it. This amount of slump pictured is at the end of a 3.5 hour cook. I'm wondering if it's a function of the wood species rather than a brand.

c p pellets.JPG
 
My Stampede came with no grate in the pellet hopper. It has been flawless using RT and LJ pellets.
 
I did a brisket the other day... a big'un. 17.5 pounds pre-trim. I had some issues with temp moving around a bit more than I would like during first 1.5 hours or so. I adjusted the pellet feed rate from its initial setting down to a 3.

Opened cooker at brisket internal temp of 150 to crutch it... left it till internal of 200. Total cook time was 21 hours. Never had any more issues with temp moving around, it was dead on steady... or pellet issues in the hopper. I'm using the Rec Tec blend pellets that came with my 590. My understanding is that they are the same as Cooking Pellets, just relabeled. I liked them... they came to me nice and dry... I store my pellets in 5 gal white food safe buckets from Lowe's to keep em that way.

Maybe it was the type of wood in the pellet(s) dsandersus? Was it fruit wood? Maybe you had a tiny bit of moisture in your hopper, or slightly damp pellets?
 
So, I've ran two brands of pellets since purchase - Smokehouse (Sam's Club) and Cooking Pellets. All problems with pellets not feeding (falling into the auger) correctly have occurred while using the CP brand. Hickory, Black Cherry and Apple Mash (Black Cherry was the least problematic). The pellets stick to the outer edge of the hopper and not fall into the auger and subsequently run dry / empty, this has happened twice with CPs.

@Knuckler73 Moisture, I suppose that could be a culprit if the pellets were not handled correctly during packaging. From a hopper perspective considering where I reside, I somehow doubt it as it's pretty darn dry here in Nevada this time of year.

I've given the CP rep. that I purchased the pellets from my feedback and his only comment was "Out of 6 pallets sold you're the only one that has reported this issue, but I will follow up with my rep. and let them know". This is in my opinion the nice way of saying "There is nothing wrong with the pellets and you're just complaining". Maybe i'm just too cynical...

Anyhow, once I switch back to using SH all things work as intended, where the pellets sacrifice themselves to the BBQ fire gods and continue to fuel my cooks.
 
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but has this happened again?

I found this thread because I was googling if it was OK to remove that grate in the hopper, as I want to be able to change pellets easier.

I noticed the pellets where not going down as I would like, I've had not flame outs and these are CP's, however they are 2 years old when I had a properly working GMG, but I also stored them in a good plastic bin with a good rubber seal. I just picked up some Lumberjack Char Hickory, and was wanting to scoop out the CP pellets, which led me to this thread. Wondering if this is something I'll need to keep my eye on when I do longer cooks when the weather gets nicer.
 
Turtle wax or armor all the interior wall of the hopper. Or if there is a food grade wax.
It's a slippery slope when those pellets don't feed.
I think one company even made inserts so the walls had a steeper angle.
Good smoking!
 
Turtle wax or armor all the interior wall of the hopper. Or if there is a food grade wax.
It's a slippery slope when those pellets don't feed.
I think one company even made inserts so the walls had a steeper angle.
Good smoking!

Those two products may be a problem for some people with compromised health as some will attach to the pellets, be vaporized, and then the droplets land on the food. Though it may be trace amounts and not harm very healthy people, some might want to avoid the risk. Food grade silicone lubricant is available in aerosol, sausage makers use it on the grinder head for instance.
 
@divisionbell77 the grate was the first thing I removed from the hopper. Understand why it's there but if your not shoving you hand in there while its running you'll be fine. The pellets seem to always stick to the sides but not to the point I freak out about it. I usually check it about every 3 hours or so.

@cutplug I would not recommend using turtle wax in the hopper. While the wax itself may burn off it will give a toxic vapor
 
I found this while googling the same issue - I've had the 590 for a couple of weeks and love it, but constantly notice the pellets not moving from the sides like the pictures posted. I have only used the Rec Tec Ultimate blend pellets, and previously used the same ones (and had no issues) with the RT-340 I also own. It's not the end of the world to check and just move them around, but it doesn't seem right, and this is with Rec Tecs actual pellets.
 
Sorry to bring up an old thread, but has this happened again?

I found this thread because I was googling if it was OK to remove that grate in the hopper, as I want to be able to change pellets easier.

I noticed the pellets where not going down as I would like, I've had not flame outs and these are CP's, however they are 2 years old when I had a properly working GMG, but I also stored them in a good plastic bin with a good rubber seal. I just picked up some Lumberjack Char Hickory, and was wanting to scoop out the CP pellets, which led me to this thread. Wondering if this is something I'll need to keep my eye on when I do longer cooks when the weather gets nicer.

@divisionbell77
So... The only pellets that I've ran into this issue with were cooking pellets, which I think are the same that supply Rec Tec for their branded product. I've been running Pitboss and Smokehouse since and have had zero issue.
 
FWIW, I've used Lumberjack Comp Blend exclusively for 10 months and never had a feeding problem with them. Pellet level even got below the grate on one cook, and the rest of the grill never even noticed. There is usually a small depression where pellets fall into the auger, but the pellets above readily fill it in throughout the cook.
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top