It is normal for smoke to be thicker at the beginning of a cook. As the grill gets closer to the smoke temperatures (165º F), the smoke will thin out. Give the grill some time for this to happen. If the smoke remains thick after the grill settles and reaches the desired temp, keep reading for more help.
What to Do if Smoke Remains Thick After Preheat
When smoke remains thick after the preheat cycle finishes, the fire is likely not reaching the proper temperature and the pellets are just cindering. If this is the case, check the following:
-
Check your pellets
- Pellet quality is the biggest culprit of thick smoke. If they are holding moisture, they will not burn as hot.
- Pellets may be bad if they are light in color, dull, dusty, break easily, or if the bag the pellets came in has a lot of sawdust.
- Even if you believe your pellets are ok, try a fresh batch to be sure. Sometimes, pellets can take on moisture without us noticing.
-
Was there a grill fire on you most recent cook?
- A common cause of thick smoke is a grill/grease fire. The smoke is a result of burning off remaining grease and residue.
- Turn off your grill, allow it to cool, and deep clean your grill.
-
Check your grill's induction fan.
A broken induction fan can also cause excessive smoke. Perform the following to check the induction fan or contact Customer Service for further support.- Turn off your grill and allow it to cool.
- Remove the internal components: grill grates, drip tray, and heat baffle.
- Turn on your grill and ignite.
- Hover your hand over the firepot (be sure not to touch the hot rod). You should be able to feel air blowing into the firepot from the fan. If there is no air blowing into the firepot from the fan, contact Customer Service for further assistance.
What to Do if Smoke is Thick Mid-Cook
-
Is the grill trying to re-ignite?
- WiFIRE-enabled grills and AC grills with ARC controllers have a re-ignition feature that identifies when the flame has gone out and attempts to reignite by oscillating the induction fan more frequently in an attempt to stoke the fire.
- Thick smoke during re-ignition is normal.
- You can verify the grill is trying to reignite by receiving an alert on either the app or the controller display.
-
Did you have a grill fire?
- Chances are that if you see a lot of smoke during a cook, something in your grill--usually grease--has caught on fire.
Feel free to contact Customer Support for further support if you have any questions or concerns.