Thread: GMG smoking black?

Originally Posted by Big Poppa

Ok I just corresponded with Jason who is one of the owners of GMG. It is 5:48 in the morning and he is working. He will be signing on later to give a full explanation.

The black smoke issue was a first generation on the Davy Crockett only. I has been addressed and fixed.

There are so many great things about public forums but one of the negatives that I know from my guitar business is the customers going first to a forum and sometimes never to the companies customer service...then urban legends get started and what is usually a simple problem turns into something very bad and hard to fix. We have had two members complain about black soot and so now it is out there as a problem with the entire product line and brand. We have even suggested that there pellets may be the culprit.

It is very hard to bring a product to the market...especially one sourced continents away. The best laid r and d and product testing just is never the same as getting them out there in the field. The measure of a good company is if they address the issue, fix it and take care of the customer. I believe that GMG has done the first two and will do the third provided they are contacted.

The risk and reward is that there is a really nifty little portable pellet cooker out there that runs on three power sources and gets hot and has wifi,

I'm not sure where you got it that we are suddenly tagging the entire GMG line as having sooting issues. I for one would've never said such a thing as I have owned models that worked perfectly. However, it is a fact that can't be denied that there has been a few that had sooting problems and there is no sense in pretending otherwise. Also, Jason is incorrect in saying it is only first generation Davey Crockett models. My experience predates the Davey Crockett model. I am a former dealer of GMG and I can tell you that most everyone was happy with their products, and this one and an old early model Daniel Boone that I owned personally are the only two I ever saw that had this issue. Both are from the startup days when we were dealing directly with David Baker, the owner of the company, and he was always great to deal with. I never did deal with Jason in those days but my buddy, who is the one referred to in the OP of this thread, had a good experience with Jason. They eventually ended up replacing the entire system front to back, including auger motor and control panel, and the soot issue is 100% resolved. I'm not sure if they replaced the fan motors or not but I don't think so.

The fan circuit modification didn't work. It ran clean at medium and high temps but at lower temps it would blow itself out.

Originally Posted by Pellet Griller 1

Hi all,

I misunderstood which model we were discussing. The first generation DC had a redesign on this issue in the first month of production. Anything made in 2014 has been resolved on that DC issue. As for the DB, black smoke is a incomplete combustion issue. We find that one of three things is happening. #1- The seal/gasket between the combustion fan assembly has worn and air is escaping. RTV around this area will solve this issue. If the chimney is lowered too much, this can also create incomplete combustion. Raising the chimney or even cleaning the chimney can solve this issue. In addition, both fans are wired together (hopper and combustion fan). If one is not spinning at the same RPM, this can cause incomplete combustion. One of the fans could be on its last leg. The fans are variable speed. Finally, if any of these solutions do not fix the issue, the computer could have a relay not working properly. We would replace the control board through tech support within the warranty period. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

Best
Jason

Extremely good info!

Thanks, Jason, for clearing this up.

Hmmm all you want, it's a fact, but I sold all my inventory of both Traeger and GMG in 2011 so I am not a dealer any longer. David Baker knows me by my first name and can verify directly if we need to get down to brass tacks via PM. Not that it matters, his stand-up company made things right and I'd encourage anyone who was considering purchasing their products to do so without reservation.

Originally Posted by Big Poppa

great. what pellet cooker are you smokin on thats the most important thing!

In all honesty, I own my first original Traeger that I first got for demos when I became a dealer. I sold my GMG because I had no need of two pellet grills anymore and the GMG I was using was one that I had sold that had caught fire (due to user error which they wouldn't admit) and David sent me a brand new one to replace it with and told me to keep the burned one and he would give me the parts to fix it. I did and all it needed was a control panel and the rest was smoke damage that just wiped off so when it came time to get rid of one I sold the GMG because it was in a lot nicer shape (read "worth more") than my Traeger, so I sold it to a friend who still uses it. However I have switched 100% to charcoal so my wife is the only one that uses it. I'm actually a regular customer of yours, I make UDS' to sell and I like your vents.