# GMG temp hot way too hot



## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

I have a new GMG, only used it three times. Did a brisket, had the temp set at 275°, but when I went out to check, the display said 533°... The brisket is burnt. What happened?


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Sep 26, 2015)

This is the first time ya had this issue ?  It didn't happen on the first couple of smokes ?


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## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

never happened before. Two variables: used traeger pellets for the first time instead of the GMG. Also, it ran out of pellets mid-cook.temp was down around 100. I added more pellets but wasn't sure what to do. I shut it down and restarted it. Went back to check and that's when it was 500+


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Sep 26, 2015)

I've never used Traeger pellets in my GMG !  The fire pot in the bottom wasn't possibly overflowing, causing a fire in the bottom & causing the temp to rise ?  Just trying to rule out some easy stuff.... In my DB on the top of the drip pan on the left side is a small hole for the temp sensor, I've accidentally covered it with foil once & my temps went crazy.  I stuck my finger thru the foil and pushed it aside & the temps went back to normal !  Check under your controller, there's a little white fan that if it gets impeded, your temps will vary as well !  Worse case senerio is your controller is bad... Doesn't happen often but it's possible !


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## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

20150926_183526.jpg



__ nursewizzle
__ Sep 26, 2015






This is what I found when I took it apart to clean


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Sep 26, 2015)

Looks like a bunch of pellets may have spilled out & not burned in the pot.  Honestly not sure if that amount could make your temp jump like that though.  Have ya tried firing it up again to see what happens ?  I'd vacuum out the bottom, not the pot & Fire it up again to see what happens !


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## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

Not yet. Need to get some scratch pads to clean the shield. Going to get some thermometers to put in the grates too to measure the temperature gradient. 

Could that have been caused by it running out, then me restarting it


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## WaterinHoleBrew (Sep 26, 2015)

It can, the GMG is set up to blow out the remaining remnants after a smoke... Then the pot is recharged on the next smoke, so if you shut it down without it blowing the remnants out, it could have been the reason it overflowed, cause the auger would have recharged the pot !  But not sure it'd be enough for that big of a temp swing, but I guess anything is possible !  I'd be curious to know when ya fire it back up if it's working right or ya still have the temp issue !


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## bregent (Sep 26, 2015)

Pretty common story. The fire went out so the grill kept trying to feed pellets to get the temp up, but since there was no fire, the pot overflowed. You restarted it, and because it was overfilled with pellets, the temp spiked. Anytime you have an unexpected flame out, you need to check the burn pot and barrel and make sure it's not loaded with pellets before starting.


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## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

One thing I didn't really think of until right now... Not long after I restarted it, I just happened to glance out the window and saw a big POOF and a ton of smoke.


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## nursewizzle (Sep 26, 2015)

20150926_221341.jpg



__ nursewizzle
__ Sep 26, 2015






I just did a dry run out of curiosity. First I ran it at 250° and left to right the temps were 250-260-240. I checked 9 spots on the grill and they were all close enough for me.

Next, ran it at 375°. Just did 3 spots at this temp. 350-400-400.

Doesn't really make sense to me.


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## bregent (Sep 26, 2015)

NurseWizzle said:


> One thing I didn't really think of until right now... Not long after I restarted it, I just happened to glance out the window and saw a big POOF and a ton of smoke.


Right. That's what happens when you do a restart and the pot is overflowed with pellets. It can produce a lot of smoke and gasses and when the temp gets hot enough, the gases will ignite and cause a small explosion. That's why you must always check the pot when the flame goes out. Probably not a bad idea to check it each time before you fire it up.


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## bregent (Sep 26, 2015)

NurseWizzle said:


> 20150926_221341.jpg
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> 
> ...


What doesn't make sense?


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## nursewizzle (Sep 27, 2015)

Why was the temp closest to the unit temp probe right on at 250°, but cooler when set at 375°?


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## phrett (Oct 10, 2015)

The grate temp to set temp will vary depending on what temp the controller is set at, at least on my 6 yr old DB.  I'm not sure if you have the new  heat shield as well as the newer grate and how that would affect things.  The drip pan slopes to the reight so the gap allowing heat to come up from below gets bigger from left top right.  Also, the stack venting the hot air is on the right .  You will better and more even grate temps if you take a piece of aluminum dryer vent pipe and insert it into the opening for the stack so hot air must travel top the left to exit.














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__ phrett
__ Oct 10, 2015




















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__ phrett
__ Oct 10, 2015


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