Auger behavior during ignition

kdbrink

New member
Is it normal for the auger to stop turning during ignition?

The past couple of cooks I've done with my MAK Two, I've had difficulty getting it lit. Tonight I tried to fire it up on high to cook a steak. The auger stopped before I detected any smell of lit pellets. When I checked the firepot it was full of pellets and the ignitor was trying to fire. Is there some kind of sensor that controls the pellet feed?

I've never noticed this behavior before. What am I doing wrong?
 

CarterQ

Moderator
It is normal for the auger to feed pellets into the fire pot, stop feeding, and then ignite. When was the last time you cleaned the firepot? If you have a buildup of ash around the igniter it could be hampering proper ignition.
 

jimsbarbecue

Moderator
If the fire pot was cleaned and then this happens. You need to get in touch with MAK Daddy (Bob) at MAK grills. With a clean firepot it should ignite everytime.
 

Chili Head

New member
How often should the pot be cleaned? Can you go by how many pounds have been burned?


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Big Poppa

Administrator
after a long cook every time about every other time...it is just good practice and makes sure you are at peak performance
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
We recommend every 20lbs (1 hopper) but the reality is it depends on your cooking habits, and brand/type of pellets you are burning.
Apple for instance has a higher ash content than oak, burning on high produces less ash in the pot due to the increased fan speeds and temperature vs. low temperatures.
 

CarterQ

Moderator
With the removable fire pot, I've made it a habit to clean mine out before every cook, its quick and easy and like BP mentioned you always know you are running at peak performance.
 

MAK DADDY

Moderator
Is it normal for the auger to stop turning during ignition?
The auger stopped before I detected any smell of lit pellets. When I checked the firepot it was full of pellets and the ignitor was trying to fire. Is there some kind of sensor that controls the pellet feed?

This is for you technical folks, most will never think about this stuff :)
There is an ignition time sequence in the programming to start the grill.
Regardless of set point temperature the grill will follow this ignition sequence when the power is cycled on and the temperature is detected to be below 160 degrees.

Auger turns for 2 minutes and stops (this dumps an ample amount of pellets into the pot to light).
Igniter is powered on for 4 minutes (this is enough time to get to full temperature to light the pellets).
Fan speed is High (this gives the correct amount of oxygen to the fire to start burning).
The grill will repeat this sequence (up to 3 times) until it reaches 160 degrees (fire is lit), then it will react to the set point temperature and adjust accordingly. If the grill does reach 160 degrees (didn't light) after the 3rd ignition cycle it will alarm out and display check fire pot / check hopper. This is your sign that either the hopper is empty or ash has covered the igniter causing it to not light.

If the hopper has ran dry, simply fill it up and cycle the power to start over, it will take a couple cycles to get the pellets to the pot and then light :)
 
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