Wow. Sorry to hear about all of the trouble keeping the
AMNPS lit. I, too, initially had problems keeping mine lit. The elevation here is 5300' more or less. I figure, part of the issue is the lower air density at higher elevations. You're in SLC, I gather, so your elevation should actually be somewhat lower than here, but still, it's worth thinking about.
I got advice from Todd, as well, and got mine to work very well. But I am running an earlier model, so the air flow is not going to be the same as your newer generation unit.
However, I do think this boils down to air flow over the pellets, for the most part. For whatever reason, you're not getting enough.
I did find that:
I cannot use a water pan. The moisture gets absorbed by the pellets and puts them out.
I do need to microwave the pellets to get them dry to start out. However, I also found that with a high power microwave oven, going for too long, you CAN SET THEM ON FIRE WITH THE MICROWAVE OVEN!!! And yes, months later, I still get a nice, pleasant aroma of "pitmaster's choice" whenever we use the microwave oven!
I also put the loaded
AMNPS into the smoker while I'm preheating the smoker. That cooks them for another half hour or so, making sure they're hot and dry. It also means that the smoker is up to temperature before I light the pellets, and the air obviously draws through the smoker only when it's hot. So if you're trying to light the pellets before the smoker is up to temperature, that could be an issue.
I use a propane torch and burn on the end of the "Z" for quite some time, making sure I've got a LOT of the pellets really glowing.
I take the chip loader all of the way out of the smoker if necessary.
I pull the chip tray open an inch or two to let air flow past it easily.
I open the vent on top all of the way.
I put the
AMNPS UP on the wire rack holder thingies that run over to the left side of my smoker. That exposes the bottom of the
AMNPS to virtually unlimited airflow up from the bottom. Having the AMNPS sitting directly on a flat surface probably chokes off the airflow somewhat. The drip pan you have the AMNPS sitting in also appears to have a lip around it, and that also probably restricts the airflow. You really need to have the AMNPS up on a rack so it can get good airflow from below.
BUT! You've got a newer generation of smoker than mine. So things will be a bit different regardless.
I think someone talked above about taking the water pan out and putting the AMNPS on the rack that held the water pan. I think that's equivalent to what I'm doing.
I put a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom rack such that this acts as a shield to keep drippings from being able to fall down onto the AMNPS. It also forces the smoke to go over to the right to start out, which I think gives me more uniform smoking. But this DOES prevent me from using that bottom rack for actual cooking. But the 40 is large enough that I haven't run out of space yet.
I also think the suggestion to improve the "draft" through your new-style unit is spot on. With the vent in the side, supposedly the new units give better uniformity of smoke throughout the smoker, but it also doesn't draw as well. Putting a steel vent pipe elbow into the existing vent opening, and then adding a tall extension of vent pipe to that will create a taller "stack" which should improve the draw of air through the unit.
For me, the pellets going out seems to have been caused by two things:
Moisture and lack of airflow. Get and keep the pellets dry, and make sure you've got enough airflow to keep the pellets stoked, and hopefully, it'll work.
Let us know how things go.