Ash removal

I’m in the market for a new Pellet Grill. I’ve been using a Green Mountain Grills, Davy Crockett for the past 5 years. I purchased this for the portability in our RV, and its given me a good understanding of pellet cooking, it suits me perfectly.

In doing some initial research, I had come to the conclusion that MAK was one of the best suits sold. Although it’s doesn’t seem to be in the same league, the Camp Chef, with the ash removal feature really hits home for me. I’ve learned my Davy Crockett needs very frequent ash removal, in fact I‘ve gotten into the habit of emptying it for every cook, to get best performance. I’m guessing Camp Chef has a patent on that feature, it seems like such a convince that others would offer if they could?

My question is about ash removal on MAK, Yoder, RecTec (my 3 main contenders) in terms of ease and frequency? Perhaps, a larger unit my not need the frequent cleaning that the little Davy Crockett has required?

Great forum!
Dale

It will come down to what pellets are used (some create significantly more ash than others) and how long each smoke takes when it comes to a fire pot starting to fill up, which can cause a unit to flame out. Bottom line cleaning out the fire pot is always a good practice regardless of which smoker or pellets one uses. Nobody wants to deal with an issue in the middle of a 10-16 hour smoke where you would have to remove meat and handle hot pieces of equipment to resolve the problem. I can easily run a few (3-4) shorter smokes on my MAK 2 Star using BBQ'rs Delight pellets without clearing the pot but, before I start a long smoke I always make sure the fire pot is cleared out. Personally, I use an Ash-Vac. The entire process takes maybe 2-3 minutes max.

Thanks, I too use BBQers Delight pellets. So, of the brands I considering, they all require taking out all the grates, diffuser, etc to access and empty the ash? None are easier or less time consuming?

Sanjosedaale said:

Thanks, I too use BBQers Delight pellets. So, of the brands I considering, they all require taking out all the grates, diffuser, etc to access and empty the ash? None are easier or less time consuming?

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I can disassemble my MAK 2-star for ash clean-out in less than 15 seconds, so not a big deal. You also might keep in mind that MAK's Flash Fire igniter blows away any igniter used by other manufacturers.

Agree with Salmonsmoker, it's very easy and fast to get at the firepot. Shove the vac hose tip in and 5 seconds later it's cleared out.

I owned a Camp Chef DLX before selling it and getting my MAK 2 Star. I really loved the ash dump feature of the CC - no disassembly of anything, just pull the slide to dump the ash into the cup beneath the firepot/cooker body, then dump the cup into the trash. Easy Peasy. Blazn also has a quick ash dump feature.

The MAK does require removing the main grate(s) and at least the Flamezone cover and diffuser plate to get at the firepot. Then it is very quick to lift the whole firepot out, dump the ash and replace it. For more thorough cleaning of the area around the firepot that definitely gets ash buildup over time, you need to also remove the inner Flamezone body. This exposes the entire inner cooking chamber which allows you to either vacuum out the body, or use the very convenient hole that is over the grease tray to brush any loose ash or material into the grease tray. Doing this takes a few minutes. I'm a bit OCD about cleaning my cookers, so I do this after every cook, but it really does not need it that often.

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys. I’m a bit OCD about cleaning as well, which is why I clean my GMG every time. I’m now fairly confident I will get the MAK. I just need to decide between the 1 or 2 Star. I really won’t be using the pellet for grilling, I have many other grills in my yard for that, so only smoking. Don’t mind spending the extra money for features I’ll use, but?? I guess it just comes down to SS Vs painted, and the cold smoker/warmer box.

That’s very good info, thanks Bob. I have decided MAK is the way to go, I’ve already been smoking on a much less expensive Green Mountain Grills, probably comparable to the Camp Chef. Looking now for a much higher quality and larger smoker, so MAK it is. The only other consideration was the Yoder, but I read so much negative stuff about rusting problems and we get a lot of rain here in the winter.

Great choice. & welcome to MAK!! You’ll love it. It puts out consistently great food!