Pellets - How to stop them from flaming up??

Mark_B_Good

Guys, I have a Napoleon Prestige Pro 665 that I do some of the quicker cooks on.
A good addition to the BGE.

It comes with a removable wood chip sleeve, so you can replenish without having to open the lid (see photo below).
It's a great feature. At the start, I used wood chips soaked in water, and that was fine, but with the odd shape
of the wood chips it was hard to get a lot packed into the sleeve. So, a few months ago I moved to pellets ... easy to replenish
and you can fill up that sleeve nicely.  My only issue now is instead of smoking ... the pellets are catching fire.  Yes, obviously
it's getting too hot, but I've turned down that burner to the lowest setting, and the dry pellets are still catching fire.

Question is ... I assume I cannot soak pellets, I'm concerned they'll just expand and turn into dust??
Do you guys have any suggestions on how to stop them from flaring up??

fishlessman

the old school way on grills was a foil canoe filled with chips or pellets, dont know how that works in that cooker

Money_Hillbilly

Pellets have a moisture rate much lower than 10%. I doubt they would add much smoke flavor. I agree with @fishlessman that a foil pack is your best bet

Mark_B_Good

Well the whole point of that sleeve is to be able to replace chips without having to open the lid ... it works marvelously if it doesn't catch on fire (because then you just burn through the wood fast). I might be able to put a foil "lid" on it to stop it from burning up as much.

Am I right in saying you can't soak pellets in water?

fishlessman

Mark_B_Good said:

Well the whole point of that sleeve is to be able to replace chips without having to open the lid ... it works marvelously if it doesn't catch on fire (because then you just burn through the wood fast). I might be able to put a foil "lid" on it to stop it from burning up as much.

Am I right in saying you can't soak pellets in water?

only takes a minute to put the pellets in water and a six pack to wait it out if its that hot, the pellet will steam off quickly so i dont think i would bother

sumoconnell

I’ve seen lids/covers on these trays that are full of small holes to limit airflow and prevent the flare ups. Is that an option? Maybe a perforated foil lid to test it?

I don’t think soaking pellets will work, I think you’re right that they will crumble. I’d think (hope) their binding agents are water soluble. 

Nice grill btw. It’s good to have options for a quick cook. 

Mark_B_Good

Yeah, I might just see if I can get a thin plate of steel and cut it to side, then drill some small holes in it to place loosely in the sleeve ... I give that a try.

PigBeanUs

If the system isn’t air tight, you will get flames

it’s why the BGE doesn’t really flare up (food or smoke wood) unless you open the lid. 

Mark_B_Good

Well let's see if this helps. Framed it from an aluminum tray.

onedbguru

hmmm... don't use pellets????

nolaegghead

pellets are made of wood. 

oxygen and heat make them burn.  cut back on one or the other and they  will smolder and give you the lovely creosotes you desire.