Smoke in pellet hopper

[Lonesomejoe1950]

Hi fellow smokers. New to this "sport" with a Lowes PB150PPS tabletop smoker. Its perfect for me and seems to perform as advertised. Only used twice since purchase(after burn off).

My concern is the only smoke entering the unit is from the pellet hopper!!?? And it seems to be a lot!! And its thick smoke, not the clean smoke expected. Using Pit Boss apple wood and hickory pellets. Have vacuumed fire box after each use(3), highest cook temp has been 350.

My concern is is this normal for this unit? Is this a fire hazard? Does the smoke make the pellets in the hopper useless?

While I didn't spend a ton on this unit, its perfect for a single person with friends. I don't want to be afraid of my smoker!

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Lonesomejoe1950]

Indicates it is. Can also hear it. Have seen others complain of same issue but no one seems to know the cause or remedy.

Will call customer service if needed.

Thanks for helping a novice!

 

[Talo]

Hi fellow smokers. New to this "sport" with a Lowes PB150PPS tabletop smoker. Its perfect for me and seems to perform as advertised. Only used twice since purchase(after burn off).

My concern is the only smoke entering the unit is from the pellet hopper!!?? And it seems to be a lot!! And its thick smoke, not the clean smoke expected. Using Pit Boss apple wood and hickory pellets. Have vacuumed fire box after each use(3), highest cook temp has been 350.

My concern is is this normal for this unit? Is this a fire hazard? Does the smoke make the pellets in the hopper useless?

While I didn't spend a ton on this unit, its perfect for a single person with friends. I don't want to be afraid of my smoker!

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Just bought the tabletop myself and noted the same concern; lots of smoke from the hopper. Max cook temp was 350. Was concerned pellets were burning in the auger tube. Put it in the Off position and cleared excess pellets from the hopper. Smoking stopped after 5 mins. Seems a little odd.

 

[HuntJ08]

I have the Lockhart. my habit is to crank heat to 400 after I finish cooking to help liquify some of the grease towards the bucket.
When I start the power off cycle, I have noticed the smoke coming from the pellet box.
I just start it back up, and force more pellets out of the auger tube (into the fire pot), and let them burn for @ 5 mins.
Then, start the power off cycle again and it seems to clear out the burning pellets in the tube.

 

[Lonesomejoe1950]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your info. Ultimately I gave up on the table top for home use, Lowe’s did too as they no longer carry it or stock this model. Don’t know why but I suspect this pellet box smoke problem contributed to that decision. My portable smoker is now in the garage, stored for tailgating.

With all that said, I have not given up on Pit Boss. I purchased a PB600 Pro from Lowe’s and I absolutely love it!!! No smoking pellet box, holds perfect temperature, and it has P control for smoke amounts. It’s also round so larger foods can be prepared. Cooked ribs, chicken and a chuck roast with amazing results.

I think the portable smoker is a great idea. The company that makes it also make a similar model available on Amazon. Don’t know if it has same pellet box smoke problem. Suspect the issue is caused by the hopper is inside the smoker itself and auger is much shorter. However I don’t trust it not to catch fire. Seems to be a real issue just waiting to happen! All the solutions you guys provided may work, but all that extra effort is not why I purchased a smoker. Low and slow doesn’t mean constantly having to stand by the unit with a fire extinguisher!!

So fellow smokers if you’re shopping for a portable unit, I hope this information helps in your decision. As for a larger smoker, Pit Boss is awesome!!!