My name is JTJones and I am a pellet smoker

jtjones

New member
I bought a Louisiana CS450 last fall and have smoked brisket, salmon, pork butt, pork ribs, and grilled a few steaks on. My other grill that I have had for years is a Brinkman Professional and I can turn out a mean rack of smoked ribs with it and some hickory and mesquite.

Having grilled, smoked, and everything else on a charcoal grill for most of my life, adjusting to a pellet grill definitely takes some time and family that are willing to eat some rather "interesting" creations.

I do have one question about pellet smoking. When I smoke brisket (18-20 lbs, yes they are monsters) I usually leave the smoker going for at least 20 hours and when I do I have to worry about the ashes building up so high in the fire pot that it will cause burn back into the auger and into the pellet hopper. I have had this happen twice on me when dealing with volvo sized pieces of meat. Is this normal, is there something I should be doing to keep this from happening, or is there something messed up in the design of the smoker? My solution has been to remove the food, grates, drip tray, and empty the fire box every 6-8 hours, then put everything back together while it's all still hot.
 

Big Poppa

Administrator
Welcome...I am not familiar with this problem I had a 570 i think and it was fine but I didnt cook for 20 hours Andy has a lot of experience with CS so maybe he will chime in WElcome again1
 

CarterQ

Moderator
Welcome aboard! Great place to learn how to master the art of pellet cooking, there are some very knowledgeable and friendly folks here, hopefully you can get your ash problem figured out.
 
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