Meet Major General McNapper

[glitchy]

Ok, now that church and dinner are done, I can elaborate more. Yes, I could have fired up the WSCG instead of the oven, but did not have time, the idea was to throw the bird on the MAK right before church started. So, into a cold oven it went.

Late this morning, I took everything out of the MAK, dumped the fire pot, swept all the ash into the grease drawer, and swapped out the pellets like I previously mentioned. I fired McNappy up right around noon and set it to 225. I let it run all afternoon just to see if there would be any more jams. I didn't want to run a long time on Smoke and unfairly increase the odds of a flameout, nor run it at 350 all day and burn a bunch of money. Around 4:15 or so, I bumped it to 350 to cook the bird and went inside to prep it. After I'm done seasoning the bird I look out the window to see smoke billowing everywhere. I go out and look and the grill is down to 180. So, I very slowly and standing as far to the side as I can open the lid and let the smoke clear. After a minute or so I can actually hear the fire going so I look around to make sure it's not anything out of control and shut the lid and just stand there and watch. It just keeps climbing and climbing until the FIRE alarm (on the MAK controller) starts going. At this point I just yanked the plug, and unhooked the Fireboard so I could use it inside and threw the bird in the oven.

EDIT: Important to note here, this was later determined to likely be user error, there's more details a few posts down.

After dinner I went out and tore it apart again and can't see anything surprising, there's no signs the pellets overflowed the fire pot or anything. No unburnt pellets out of the pot, no discoloration that looks like any were on fire out there, etc. Studying the Fireboard session, it made it to from 225 to 300 before whatever happened, so it was burning strong.

So, this it the third evening in four days that a malfunction has kept me from cooking dinner on it. If I were forced to make a decision tonight as to how the journey goes, the MAK would be for sale for whatever I can get for it and I'd be done with pellet grills forever. Hopefully that changes with time, but I really don't want to waste days and tons of dollars worth of pellets just testing to see what its limitations are and building up trust in the thing. I know crap happens and if this were spread out over a year it would just be stuff you shrugged off, but I've gotten in one 10 minute cook. I've just had way too much stupid crap happen this week.

[STEbbq]

Yeah, something doesn’t seem quite right, but I am sure MAK can make it right.

[glitchy]

I will probably put an email together for support tomorrow for the probe issue and the mishap today, They already know about the jams. I’m sure they’ll figure it out, I just had a ton of food ready to cook on it and want it to work. I’m always in a hurry to go nowhere and will have years to enjoy it when it does start working in a reliable fashion. Part of me is wondering after pondering on it if something is up with the auger motor. It should have chopped those pellets up.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

It's possible, also possible the auger motor isn't mounted right. There are 2 screws each side of the hopper, gently turn them clockwise, if any of those 4 move theres a chance the auger motor wasn't seated properly. Though I've only seen that happen to people who have previously removed the auger themselves due to wet pellets...

[kenrobin]

A true labor of love & anticipation. Congratulations on getting your new baby put together & rolling smoke! Now the fun really begins.

[kenrobin]

Sorry, just read about the problems with your first cooks & see that you have a call with MAK support on Monday. My early vote is that your problems are being caused by the pellets. Looking forward to hearing what MAK says.

[glitchy]

The jams definitely could be due to the pellets. The issue yesterday I don’t know, It would be hard hard to believe CookinPellets would burn fine for 5 hours then be a problem simply because I changed the temp.

[kenrobin]

Good point. I wonder if the pellets are getting stuck in the auger. At one point I had an issue where my 1 Star wouldn't reach temperature & MAK support had me disassemble the auger to clear out the pellets. It was a hassle but I haven't experienced that problem since then. However, that would be surprising considering that your 2 Star is brand new.

[fzxdoc]

Oh no! So sorry to hear about yesterday's Chicken Interruptus. You've certainly had a bad week with life tossing one obstacle after another into your path.

Sounds like a phone call to MAK is in order in addition to the documenting email you're planning on sending.

Best of luck sorting this all out,

Kathryn

[glitchy]

There are a lot worse things that could have happened to me over the past week, so I still consider myself blessed. It’s just when you buy something expensive you hope for it be flawless from the start. I want a pellet grill because I don’t want to do a bunch of extra work all the time :-)

[glitchy]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs Are the two stainless screws and the matching pair on the back the ones you are talking about? If so, both of the front screws were at least a full turn out. When I looked closely at them I could see threads.I very gently snugged them, but will that seat it or will I likely need to pull the auger, clean it all out and reassemble to reseat it properly?

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Very odd those were loose, but that would explain the excessive noise and auger not being able to snap a pellet. There should be nothing to clean out, but if it made you feel better point a leaf blower at the auger from the hopper side. You shouldn't have to pull the auger out, what I would do is unplug the hopper lid sensor, chuck a handfull of pellets in and (without putting your hand in) observe how the auger goes, or just run a cup of the suspected bad pellets through to see what happens?

[GolfGeezer]

If those screws were loose, and with the issues you have had, I would do the "full Monty" on the auger install. I believe there is a video on MAK's website under Support that shows how to remove/reseat the auger after an auger jam. That way, you will know for sure that the auger is securely installed, and that should tell you whether you still have an auger motor issue or not.
Link to their PDF on auger jams: https://makgrills.com/wp-content/upl...structions.pdf

[glitchy]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs GolfGeezer I did try to reseat the auger this afternoon. Apparently, there have been a couple design or part supplier changes over past couple years. in examining it, I don’t think the loose screws on the front could have caused much problem they were only a tiny bit loose, but had little play.

I started taking it apart, but got cold in a hurry with 30MPH winds blowing, so didn’t get the motor or auger all the way out of the grill, mostly because of this design change. The bolts to hold the motor to the bracket are now on the far or grill side of the bracket. So, if you have a serious jam and cannot budge the auger at all, you have just a few inches to reach around the motor and try to unscrew them. It does not seem very user friendly. The video and the link I saw from GolfGeezer both show these bolts on the front or access panel side of the motor. I had a hard time getting to them even after sliding the whole assembly back a few inches to where the bracket was blocked from going any further. I did find one of these two bolts quite loose. So, I tightened it and slid the assembly back and forth a couple times to make sure it seemed free in the auger tube and reassembled things.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

That's weird, MAK has bragged how the fan and the auger haven't changed since day one. They are bad about posting up to date videos, but as far as removing the auger goes until now (maybe) that information was still applicable. It's been a while since I had to pull the auger out but I remember it being fairly straight forward removing the motor from the mount... getting a clogged auger out on the other hand was unpleasant

[rwalters]

Oh man, just catching up on your recent adventure. Sorry to see you struggling buddy. I can tell you with certainty that this is not a normal MAK experience. Having owned and cooked extensively on several MAK’s myself and having spent lots of time chatting with many MAK owners, this just ain’t the norm. There’s really not to many possibilities.

1) Pellets
2) Lose connection(s) to the back of the controller making weird things happen
3) Something funky or "unfinished" somewhere in the auger assembly (rare)
4) Faulty auger motor (rare). I have seen it happen a couple of times though.
5) Faulty thermocouple

You have tried pellets. I would suggest you make certain all connections are snug on the back of the controller. If they are, I would remove motor/auger (it’s pretty easy) and make sure that things appear smooth and finished. If that checks out I would chat with MAK about trying a replacement motor. Doesn’t really sound like a Thermocouple issue, but perhaps I am wrong.

There really isn’t much else I can think of expect for the controller itself. Like the auger motor, the controllers rarely go bonkers from my experience.

I have every reason to believe you’ll get to the bottom of this with MAK’s help. Like the vast majority of MAK owners, I wanna see you love this incredible cooker, just like I know you want as well.

MAK’s just tend to work and perform very reliably

[glitchy]

I'm still waiting for MAK to review all of the information that I sent them and see if they have any better ideas, but since it was a little warmer late this afternoon I took about and hour and combined all of the suggestions from rwalters ItsAllGoneToTheDogs and GolfGeezer. I pulled the entire auger out, cleaned out the already clean tube, and reseated all the connections on the Pellet Boss. I checked that there weren't any burrs on the auger itself.

I refilled with CookinPellets hickory and have been running over 4 hours again at various temps, going up and down. I also got my new grill mat and I'm hoping with the MAK to get it set in one place and not have to move it often which should also protect it from the wind most days here. Now, I'm just trying to figure out what the right distance from the house really is, so I keep temping the wall and window behind the grill with my IR gun. Any suggestions there? I keep seeing some people tuck them right up to the house, I really don't want to melt a vinyl window, so I'm around 16" at the moment.

The auger jams really seem to have been due to the bag of Bear Mountain pellets. I still haven't heard a single odd noise or any groans from the auger motor straining since I drained those from the grill. So I'm really just trying to figure out what would have caused the flame out that I'm sure would have happened had I not seen it starting and opened the lid. It seems pretty low odds, but I wonder if I also have some bad CookinPellets Perfect Mix too? I've burnt a lot of CookinPellets and never had a problem with them ever, but these Perfect Mix could very likely be from the same batch as the pellets the SmokeFire didn't like since it was the same bulk order. They obviously look fine and seem to burn perfectly fine at 225-250, but the SmokeFire had problems trying to run at mid/high temps with them too. It would fit my usual luck to fulfill those low odds.

For the probe issues, I'll have to wait for suggestions from MAK. Before the MAK got here, I thought a couple times about buying a Fireboard Pro so I could run all K-Type probes and then selling my FB2 Drive, but I didn't so I don't have any other probes to try on the MAK or another device to try the MAK probes on to see if they read correctly elsewhere.

I also have to say, the amount of smoke you can still see and smell on this thing at 350 and 450 is pretty impressive.

[GolfGeezer]

glitchy On the gap between the MAK and your house, I think the 16" is a sufficient air gap to protect the house. Most high heat gassers that are designed to vent heat out the rear call for 12" minimum to protect combustibles. However, on the issue of creosote/smoke stains, I am not certain what would be appropriate.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

if you have the option, I'd set the MAK so the hopper is facing the house. Otherwise I don't know if it says what the spacing should be in the manual or not, but my deck railing has perfectly matching smoke stains where the rear vents are. Nothing that bleach doesn't take care of, but not something I would risk with vinyl.

[glitchy]

The fear of smoke stains on the house was the reason I never used any of my others like that, I guess I'll just keep rolling it out to the center of the patio each time I use it, which makes it a pain to try to keep a mat underneath. So, it's stained concrete or stained house I guess.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

Another option would be to build a plywood backing, paint to match the house or something and keep it behind the MAK at a foot or so from the rear louvers? Could actually be a handy place to install hooks for magnetic thermometers or lights that won't stick to the SS parts of the grill, or ever a place to hang extra MAK racks when they are in the way?

[T-bone]

Turn the mat 90 degrees and maybe you'll have enough room to roll it out without having to move the mat.

[glitchy]

I'm seeing a very consistent 15-20 degree discrepancy from left to right in the pit. I didn't pay too much attention to it last night as there was a 10-15 MPH wind blowing into the right side of the cooker. However, I fired it up again today with a 2 MPH wind and I'm still seeing the same thing. Have other MAK owners seen the same?

Edit: Just to note, all the big changes are me playing with temps up and down, I was just looking at the consistent gap between the two lines. The gap seems to be tightening up as the grill gets more seasoned.

[GolfGeezer]

glitchy No, I have not seen this from left to right, or front to back, at least, not that large a range. I do see a significant difference between the main grate level and my upper grate (I have the older 2 grate only design). That is why I really love the roaming TC.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

So two things, 1st you need to season the MAK... with a pork butt or bacon or something greasy... I did have some concerns when I first got mine, but the more I used it, the more it evened out. 2nd, where are your probes? If they are too close to the edge you will get some extra heat. You also have the option of moving your roaming thermocouple to wherever your protein is, I don't have that option but I just trust the MAK to do it's thing... for obvious reasons you don't trust it yet.

[glitchy]

ItsAllGoneToTheDogs That's actually the first thing I thought when GolfGeezer said he didn't see that. I haven't been able to lay down any seasoning in it yet which will probably balance it out.

[glitchy]

Abridged version: I was finally able to connect with MAK this afternoon. Talking through the flameout/fire alarm, it was very likely USER error. I interrupted the power without running a full shutdown cycle which almost certainly led to the issue.

Glitchy detailed version: I had been running the grill all afternoon, watching, listening, etc. Then I wanted to test the probes so I could use them for my dinner cook. The grill was looking all good to go, but I got distracted by the probe readings and lost track of time trying to figure out what I could be doing wrong with an ice bath and boiling water. I really wanted to disconnect the hopper door sensor before I cooked again in case there was any further auger jams or questions. When I checked the time, I didn't have an hour plus that the grill would likely need to do a full shutdown and start up cycle and still be able to cook.

Unfortunately, I don't know if this was 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes before I tried to raise the temp as I've been testing so many different things and I wasn't taking notes of times, but what I did was take all of the screws off the access panel but one. Then shut off the grill and pulled the plug. I took off the last screw and the panel, then quickly unplugged the sensor, put the panel back on with a single screw and powered the grill back on, so the pellets already in the pot never even burned out nor did the temp sway more than 10 degrees. The FB was right in front of my face so, I just watched temps as I put the rest of the screws back in the access door and cleaned up the stuff from testing probes.

Temps never swayed and it kept chugging along, so I didn't think anything of it, but I threw it an unfair curveball. Now at least I know if you must bypass startup, you need to put on the welding gloves and empty the firepot first OR just give it enough time to shutdown as designed.

[RickyBobby]

Glad to hear that at least that issue is probably not an issue at all and you are aware of it now. Glad to hear you’re that much closer to being back on the path to great MAK adventures!

[70monte]

Wow, kind of a rocky start. Issues like this is why I have not joined the pellet world. I just don't want to deal with jammed augers and have to take things apart when I'm in the middle of a cook or dealing with possible flameouts.

I know MAK is having a group buy over on the bbq-Brethren site and I contemplated about maybe getting one but when I read stuff like this, my interest level drops down to 0.

Hopefully you got yours lined out and you have no more problems.

[glitchy]

If you're not cursed like I am, you'd likely never see any of these issues. Auger jams are pretty rare if you keep your pellets dry.

[70monte]

I have my fair share of bad luck so my experience would probably be like yours.

[kenrobin]

70monte I love my MAK 1 Star but it will probably be the last pellet grill that I will ever buy for exactly those reasons. A few years ago I had to unjam my auger (a serious pain in the butt) and I've also replaced the controller. The initial setup of the wifi add-on also required tech support. I've been running trouble-free for the past couple of years (knock on wood) but I've come to the conclusion that owning grills that don't have moving parts and a dependence on electricity is the best way to go.

[70monte]

I have always preferred grills and smokers that don't run on electricity or have a lot of moving parts or electronics that can fail at the worst possible time. I know a lot of people like pellet grills and I know a lot of people who own them so sometimes I feel like I'm behind the times. LOL

[rickgregory]

Yep. I have a kettle with SNS. It's fine. I don't care about perfectly flat temps or all that and it smokes nicely.

NOW... I understand Glitchy's use case. He (and others) don't just use it for occasional smoking but for more day to day cooking too. If I did that, a pellet would be attractive but that's not the way I use a grill. I'm personally more likely to get a gasser for burgers and t he like in the summer but even that is only maybe.

This, of course, is why there's such a wide variety of cookers. We all have different pain points, needs and obsessions.

[Huskee]

Congrats on such a nice cooker! Don't fret about those little discrepancies...only the human notices and cares about that, the meat doesn't. Remember that.

[glitchy]

Thanks! On the left to right temps, I wasn’t fretting. I’ve had many grills worse than that. It’s just learn the cooker phase and wanting to see if it’s normal or if it might tighten up over time.

[Huskee]

glitchy, Word. I know as a human, especially if we work in fields where we need precision, it's easy to think our cookers *must* be precise. Using a stickburner for many years has taught me that a graph of temps that looks like an EKG still makes wonderful BBQ. I have learned to not fret about steady temps. But I also get that when you buy a high end piece of equipment you expect a certain standard of dependability.

[CaptainMike]

Huskee that's funny, I've thought that the graph from a pellet pooper looks like V Fib.