I've had a Mak 2-star for a bit over 2 years. I thought I was doing a good job maintaining it in pulling out the drip tray (mine is the tray which is 1/2 flame zone holes and 1/2 blank panel) and scrubbing it every couple months, as well as keeping the pot clear of pellet residue and the inside free of ash with a portable vac.
But.
One evening, some time ago, I was cranking the heat up to blast a couple New York strip steaks. I had the flame zone cover off to heat the grate, and the Mak was going full throttle, with a hopper full of oak pellets and thermostat set on High.
I come outside when my 25-min timer goes off to check on the temp and pop the steaks on, but I see black smoke pouring out of the smoker box and from under the grill. Hmm...that's odd. I raise the lid to see what's up and whoosh! Flames erupt from under the drip tray, and it's like the entire inside of the grill is on fire, and the heat was *intense*. I cut the power, used my tongs to get the lid slammed shut, went and got the hose and doused the flames (I know water + grease fire is a no-no, but I wasn't going to spray the inside of my Mak with a dry chemical fire extinguisher).
From what I can tell looking at it since then, the drip tray that came with my Mak (400 series serial #) allows grease to drip down on the sides if you are doing racks of ribs or other stuff that hangs over the drip tray or chicken thighs that spatter grease. I didn't realize grease had built up on the inside to such a dangerous extent - after the flame-out, I scraped the hell out of the thing and found it some areas with 1/4" or more of crud. It was hard, kind of packed down, and I wouldn't have known there was so much if I hadn't gone scraping around down there. I am sure I didn't ever replace the drip tray incorrectly, as I was always careful about doing that - I think this was buildup from spatters and drips as I cooked on the grill 2-3 times a week for the better part of two years.
Anyway, all that said, I'm curious if the new Quick Change Grease Pan Kit for the Mak 2-star remedies the issue of grease leaking down there. My drip tray is now a bit warped - I assume from the heat - so I should replace it anyway, and although the new rig is spendy, if it fixes the problem, then it's worth it.
Second thing - some of the black paint on the back and sides of the unit is cracked and peeling from the heat. Do you figure it's good enough if I take a sander to get off what I can, then just lay on a couple good coats of high temp paint? After spending $300 on a new grease tray, I'd rather not cart it into a paint shop, so trying to do the minimum viable job that still protects the non-304 parts.
Anyone see this before or done a recovery op on a Mak have anything to share?
But.
One evening, some time ago, I was cranking the heat up to blast a couple New York strip steaks. I had the flame zone cover off to heat the grate, and the Mak was going full throttle, with a hopper full of oak pellets and thermostat set on High.
I come outside when my 25-min timer goes off to check on the temp and pop the steaks on, but I see black smoke pouring out of the smoker box and from under the grill. Hmm...that's odd. I raise the lid to see what's up and whoosh! Flames erupt from under the drip tray, and it's like the entire inside of the grill is on fire, and the heat was *intense*. I cut the power, used my tongs to get the lid slammed shut, went and got the hose and doused the flames (I know water + grease fire is a no-no, but I wasn't going to spray the inside of my Mak with a dry chemical fire extinguisher).
From what I can tell looking at it since then, the drip tray that came with my Mak (400 series serial #) allows grease to drip down on the sides if you are doing racks of ribs or other stuff that hangs over the drip tray or chicken thighs that spatter grease. I didn't realize grease had built up on the inside to such a dangerous extent - after the flame-out, I scraped the hell out of the thing and found it some areas with 1/4" or more of crud. It was hard, kind of packed down, and I wouldn't have known there was so much if I hadn't gone scraping around down there. I am sure I didn't ever replace the drip tray incorrectly, as I was always careful about doing that - I think this was buildup from spatters and drips as I cooked on the grill 2-3 times a week for the better part of two years.
Anyway, all that said, I'm curious if the new Quick Change Grease Pan Kit for the Mak 2-star remedies the issue of grease leaking down there. My drip tray is now a bit warped - I assume from the heat - so I should replace it anyway, and although the new rig is spendy, if it fixes the problem, then it's worth it.
Second thing - some of the black paint on the back and sides of the unit is cracked and peeling from the heat. Do you figure it's good enough if I take a sander to get off what I can, then just lay on a couple good coats of high temp paint? After spending $300 on a new grease tray, I'd rather not cart it into a paint shop, so trying to do the minimum viable job that still protects the non-304 parts.
Anyone see this before or done a recovery op on a Mak have anything to share?
