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21 Costly Pellet Grill Mistakes You Don’t Realize You’re Making

205K views · Mar 28, 2026 · People & Blogs

Comments · 141

  • @357roblaidback · 6 months ago

    Have owned a pellet grill for 9 years now. My biggest mistake, that I only realized a few weeks ago, was not cleaning the exhaust stack. Was actually about to get rid of the grill due to poor performance. Sure I cleaned the grill maybe every 3 or 4 cooks but checking the stack? Never. Well while doing my normal spring cleaning on my reverse flow stick burner I noticed a buildup in the smoke stack. Man the chunks that came out of that thing! Got me thinking, could the pellet grill stack be choked as well? Took the cap off of it and was utterly ashamed to have overlooked cleaning it out. Hell not even checking it for 9 years. Chunk after chunk plopped out while cleaning it. Fired the grill up for a test run and it ran like new. And just think, I was about to kick it to the curb. Next day I threw on a couple racks of ribs and she ran like a champ. New grill purchase avoided.

    86

  • @BigWormHD · 5 months ago

    <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF5Nlkeyink&amp;t=413">6:53</a> - &quot;Out of Sight, Out of Mind!&quot;

    46

  • @Bilbo3663 · 3 months ago (edited)

    Not a mistake but a tip…I keep a plastic dollar store colander in my pellet pail. I use it for scooping pellets to add to the hopper. All pellets with no pellet dust.

    26

  • @ThePanther122 · 5 months ago

    A good way to test the hot spots on the grill is the bread test. Take a loaf of bread and it on the grill turn it on 225 for 10-15 minutes. You will easily be able to find the hot spots by the toast &nbsp;on the bread. Burnt = hot spot.

    17

  • @darrenlyddieth5770 · 6 months ago

    When you start up your Pellet grill, make sure nothing is in there that shouldn&apos;t. Cleaning out a melted plastic spatula handle is not fun.

    12

  • @lif3l3ssgaming · 5 months ago

    Out of Sight out of mind is the phrase you were looking for.

    9

  • @victorbenner539 · 6 months ago

    Great video Ricer. I have a couple of suggestions. First suggestion is for those guys who have trouble tossing questionable pellets. If they have a cat toss the bad pellets into the litter box. They actually do a great job there. Second and this is advice I&apos;ve been giving folks who are new to bbq regardless of what type of cooker they have use a stop watch. Everytime they open the smoker start the stop watch. When done and close the smoker stop the stop watch. Do that every time through the entire cook. At the end write down the entire time it was open. Learn to keep it closed as much as possible. They are amazed at how much time it&apos;s open the first time and begin to get better. I also tell them every time they open it it lengthens the cook another 15 to 30 minutes. They learn quickly. Have a great day 🌤.

    11

  • @lvc394 · 5 months ago

    My biggest problem is that my Traeger Jr. will not die so I have an excuse to buy a newer bigger unit. I have had it for over 15 years and the darn thing will never die. (I am hoping to jink it by making this post but i doubt it cares) . Will it out live me, I began to wonder!!!

    13

  • @chrismaidens6676 · 6 months ago

    Every hour or so, churn your pellets in the hopper. Sometimes the pellets interlock and a cavity can form under the surface and your auger runs dry and interrupts the cook.

    19

  • @sparkchaser1298 · 5 months ago

    <b>*Outta sight, outta mind*</b> - hidden grease trap

    6

  • @koopaslayer7598 · 4 months ago

    Just got my first pellet grill thanks for the tips.

    3

  • @rocketfamilykml2528 · 4 months ago

    My pellets go into a plastic bucket with a sealing lid and I scoop them into the smoker, not pour so no dust issues

    4

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