Cleaning Out Auger After Each Cook?

[The Squid]

I recently purchased a Pro 575 and already performed the initial burn-off. I know you're supposed to empty the hopper after each cook, but are you also supposed to purge the auger of pellets? I only emptied the hopper and did not empty the auger. The pellets have been sitting in there since last Saturday. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[CMTiger]

I have a Pro575 and I’ve never ever cleared the auger. I’ve only emptied the hopper I think twice.

 

[traeger860]

I never empty my hopper or clear my auger after cooking. I guess it makes sense if you're not going to use the Traeger again for a while. That way the pellets don't get ruined by excess humidity or whatever else. But if you use it on a regular basis, it's not going to hurt anything.

 

[Murphy's Law]

When I first got the Traeger I would empty the hopper and auger after every cook.

That didn’t last king. Now I honestly can’t tell you what pellets are in the hopper. I find that with a pellet grill I really can’t tell much of a difference.

 

[Slimpicker]

but are you also supposed to purge the auger of pellets?

Simple, NO

 

[RayClem]

I have never cleaned out my auger and the only time I dump the pellets is when I want to completely change pellet flavors. Normally, I just dump new pellets on top of the old. A couple of weeks ago, when the temperature got up to 50 F, I fired up the IW885 after six weeks of disuse. The pellets remaining in the hopper ignited just fine. I do keep my grill covered when I do not plan to use it for more than a couple of days; but it sits out on my deck in rain and snow. I guess the closed hopper and the cover are good enough for pellet storage. However, I do live in Nothern Illinois, not in the Deep South where it is more humid.

 

[Slimpicker]

SEAL the hopper lid with some weather stripping... I did, and it's also much quieter when closing
I know it doesn't mean 'totally' sealed from humidity but it helps from direct moisture.

 

[ctufieldops]

I live in the south (Atlanta) and I have never clean out my auger or empited my pellet bin. I don't cook very often on it during the winter months, but I can say, when I do it's never been an issue. Having said this, I will say that I keep mine covered 100% of the time when not using. That may have helped in keeping moisture from ruining everything.

 

[BobbyQ]

I did it only once. Big mistake for me. The next start up took a long time. Probably in part due to high wind and cool temperature. I opened the lid to check and there were flames licking up around the drip tray.

 

[Like Smoke]

I clean mine every time. I got mine from a friend that was upgrading, and it was nasty inside even had a creosote buildup in the stack. After a good cleaning it performed fine. For me it is a quick job, After cool down, I lift out the grill, and drip pan, lift out the heat diffusion plate and vac the inside of the barrel. The inside is always covered with ash and tiny particles which is what I think is small pellet dust that was blown out of the fire pot. I don't want this stuff blowing up the side and landing on my next cook. I reinstall the pieces, put a new piece of foil on my drip pan and 15 minutes later it is ready for my next smoke. I follow the traeger start up procedure for my 075, turn the controller to smoke, with lid open and close lid after 15 minutes, and set to preferred temp. I am not Mr. Clean, I just don't like dusty protein.

 

[CMTiger]

I clean mine every time. I got mine from a friend that was upgrading, and it was nasty inside even had a creosote buildup in the stack. After a good cleaning it performed fine. For me it is a quick job, After cool down, I lift out the grill, and drip pan, lift out the heat diffusion plate and vac the inside of the barrel. The inside is always covered with ash and tiny particles which is what I think is small pellet dust that was blown out of the fire pot. I don't want this stuff blowing up the side and landing on my next cook. I reinstall the pieces, put a new piece of foil on my drip pan and 15 minutes later it is ready for my next smoke. I follow the traeger start up procedure for my 075, turn the controller to smoke, with lid open and close lid after 15 minutes, and set to preferred temp. I am not Mr. Clean, I just don't like dusty protein.

I clean out the fire pot and out of dust regularly. Certainly after a long cook. I just don’t clear the auger

 

[Shedd]

I clean mine every time. I got mine from a friend that was upgrading, and it was nasty inside even had a creosote buildup in the stack. After a good cleaning it performed fine. For me it is a quick job, After cool down, I lift out the grill, and drip pan, lift out the heat diffusion plate and vac the inside of the barrel. The inside is always covered with ash and tiny particles which is what I think is small pellet dust that was blown out of the fire pot. I don't want this stuff blowing up the side and landing on my next cook. I reinstall the pieces, put a new piece of foil on my drip pan and 15 minutes later it is ready for my next smoke. I follow the traeger start up procedure for my 075, turn the controller to smoke, with lid open and close lid after 15 minutes, and set to preferred temp. I am not Mr. Clean, I just don't like dusty

I clean out the fire pot and out of dust regularly. Certainly after a long cook. I just don’t clear the auger

That’s the way I do it too. I wait until before the cook and vacuum out everything but I have never messed with the auger. I’ve found it’s easier to clean the grill grates after everything has hardened up, brushes off easily then I vacuum whatever falls off the deflector plate. I layer several layers of foil so I just peal them off as needed. It’s about the same as I do on my green egg too, not much trouble at all. A few times a year I pressure wash my grill grates from all my grill’s.

 

[RayClem]

As long as you are using pellets made from 100% hardwood with no additives, the ash from the fire should not be harmful, at least not in the minor quantities you would consume.

One method of cooking protein is to build a wood fire, allow the wood to burn down to coals and then place the protein directly on top of the coals. You can brush off the ash from the coals, or just leave them. Although I have not tried it, I understand that native Americans used to add ash from wood fires into their breads to help with leavening. Just try not to breath the ashes into your lungs.

 

[Shedd]

As long as you are using pellets made from 100% hardwood with no additives, the ash from the fire should not be harmful, at least not in the minor quantities you would consume.

One method of cooking protein is to build a wood fire, allow the wood to burn down to coals and then place the protein directly on top of the coals. You can brush off the ash from the coals, or just leave them. Although I have not tried it, I understand that native Americans used to add ash from wood fires into their breads to help with leavening. Just try not to breath the ashes into your lungs.

Growing up I had some really roughneck backwoods buddies here in SC that would spend a weekend drinking and cooking hogs in the ground. Although they seemed to taste good, they had a thick ash buildup unlike the whole hogs I was accustomed too that my family cooked in pits elevated on wire racks and covered with tin. They still had some ash but mixed with good a good mop sauce it wasn’t noticeable. Several years ago I had been fortunate to spend times on several islands of Hawaii, now they know how to cook a great Kalua pig in the ground. Completely different than my old friends growing up.

 

[Trae Bar IV]

I clean mine after 10 hours of use, or every other cook. I''ve only emptied the hopper to change pellets.