I read somewhere that in mild wind you should face your smoker/
hopper to the wind or away from the wind?
hopper to the wind or away from the wind?
That sounds reasonable...let us know what you find out.
Red, I was reading that if a unit gets starved for oxygen it could seek it thru the hopper causing back fire. I am trying to find the article.
I found this:
: Always face the front of the grill into the wind. If you face the fan side of the grill into a strong wind, the wind can speed up the fan causing an erratic fire. If you face the back (vent side) of the grill into a strong wind, the wind could slow down the air flow again causing an erratic fire.
Roger, you don't just unplug your pellet machine when you're done do you? You want to hear the fan running after you shut down. That keeps the fire burning UP from your crucible and not following the fuel path INto your auger shaft. After a while the fire is fully burned out--all pellets in the crucible are gone (your auger should have quit turning/feeding as soon as you turned off) and a bit later is the design point to turn off the fans too. Then you can safely unplug.I've had a couple episodes of back fire into the auger after the unit is turned off. Too hot or wind direction?
roger