Camp Chef is a renowned name in the pellet grill industry.
They have been manufacturing extraordinary pellet grills for the past three decades.
With time, their technology of pellet grills has evolved.
Now you can get all the modern features you can ask for from their grill.
But can anything happen like the camp chef pellet grill caught fire?
Unfortunately, yes!
Even though Camp Chef grills like the Camp Chef PG24MZG SmokePro have state-of-the-art safety systems, the grills may catch on fire sometimes.
If your Camp Chef has caught fire, don’t use water to put it out.
Instead, close the lid and unplug the grill to cut off the oxygen supply.
Keep all flammable things away from your grill.
What is the reason for Camp Chef catching fire?
What to do and how to prevent it from happening in the future?
Find out in this article on Camp Chef pellet grills.
Does Camp Chef Pellet Grill Catch Fire?
Have there been any events where a camp chef pellet grill caught fire? Yes.
This proves that the Camp Chef pellet grills are not resistant to catching fire.
The Camp chef pellet grills have all the modern utilities you can ask for from a grill.
The grill can cook automatically by following its programming.
But unlike in programming, the unthinkable can happen in reality.
So, it is not surprising to see a Camp Chef pellet grill on fire while cooking.
There are multiple sensors in the Camp Chef grills to control pellet movement, ignition coil, fire pit fan, and temperature monitoring.
But you won’t find any self-cleaning mechanism in the pellet grills.
This can be a key reason behind camp chef pellet grill catching fire.
Lack of maintenance is the most common reason.
Camp chef pellet grills catch fire.
Now that we think about it, our grill catching fire is mostly our fault.
The pellet grill cannot clean itself.
Some Camp Chef grills can cook efficiently, at the end of the day, they need to be clean and maintained.
That is true for Camp Chef pellet grills too.
Why is My Camp Chef Caught on Fire?
There are cases where a camp chef pellet grill has caught fire while cooking.
The most common reason for them catching fire was lack of cleaning and maintenance.
But that does not clearly describe the actual cause; behind these grills catching fire.
So let us dive a little deeper to understand why our Camp Chef pellet grill catches fire.
Let us begin by investigating the common reason for a pellet grill catching fire.
Camp Chef grease fire
Now, why does it result in our Camp chef pellet grill catching fire?
Lack of maintenance can cause grease and pellet dust build-up.
These two can cause a malfunction in the pellet grill system.
The Camp Chef pellet grill can detect errors but cannot fix them independently.
So, lack of maintenance and cleaning can cause an excessive build-up of grease and pellet ashes.
Grease or oil can easily cause a fire in your Camp Chef pellet grills.
Grease is used in the grill for making the food not stick in the grill.
It is also used for protecting the grill bars from rusting.
There are systems in the grill to make the grease flow down smoothly in the drip tray.
But sometimes, grease pooling happens in the system.
It occurs because grease may have build-up in the flow line and stopped the flow.
This causes excess grease to accumulate in the system and create a grease pool.
The grease is combustible. It will start burning when introduced to the right temperature.
Inside the pellet grill, there is heat, which causes the grease to burn.
Then it spreads to the grill, and your pellet grill catches fire.
Camp Chef pellet fire
Pellet ash build-up can also result in grill fire.
If excess ash is built up in the fire pit of the grill, it will have no fire.
This will cause continuous feeding of pellets. The pit will overflow.
If somehow one pellet catches fire from the ignition coil in the pit, it will cause all the pellets to catch fire quickly.
Are there any cases where we can be responsible for a camp chef pellet grills caught fire? Yes.
That can happen if you use Camp Chef insulation blanket and set the pellet grill on too high a temperature.
Is Your Camp Chef Running Out Of Pellets While Cooking? Then Head Over Here.
What to do If Your Camp Chef Catches Fire?
You can’t tell when your camp chef pellet grill will catch on fire. It can happen anytime.
A fire can occur when you just ignite the grill.
Or it can happen when you open the lid to check on the food.
So, it is not exactly predictable.
We are not prepared for the unpredicted.
So, what can you do at the moment when your grill catches fire?
Here are five steps to try to deal with a fiery Camp Chef pellet grill safely.
Stop panicking
Panicking blurs our judgment. That makes us act irrationally.
A pellet grill on fire can cause a lot of damage if you act irrationally.
So, before you go treating the fiery Camp chef, calm down first and assess the situation.
You need to think of a few things before you start acting.
We will discuss those things in the next few steps.
Unplug your Camp Chef Pellet Grill
The Camp Chef Pellet Grill uses electricity to operate.
So, it is connected to an electrical power source.
So, unplug the grill from the power line.
Doing this will help in two ways:
One, there will be no electrical short circuits in the grill system.
Two, the feeder will stop supplying pellets into the pit for burning.
If you haven’t unplugged the power line, the grill will continuously feed pellets to the pit.
That would cause the fire to grow and waste all your pellets.
Keep all flammable stuff away from the Camp Chef Pellet Grill
The next thing to do is remove everything flammable away from the Camp Chef pellet grill.
Flammable items will immediately burn from a slight touch of fire.
So do that immediately after unplugging the grill from the power line.
Also, be cautious when you do that.
Close the grill and hopper lids
After removing all flammable stuff away from the camp chef grill, close the grill lid.
Close both lids: the grill lid and the hopper lid.
Closing the lid will reduce the air supply into the fire.
Fire needs oxygen to burn.
So, when you close the lid, the fire has very little Oxygen left to burn.
So, it will soon burn out.
But there are other ways for air entering. The fire pit has access to air.
You can do nothing about it for the moment, so don’t try to close that.
Let the fire burn out
Now the best thing you can do is let the fire burn out.
The power was cut off. So, no pellets are being fed to the pit.
The lids are closed. So, the fire has less air to burn.
So, the fire will burn out after some moments, and the danger will be over.
If the fire is not burning out by chance, you can try to eliminate it with a fire extinguisher.
If you don’t have any fire extinguishers at hand, you may try baking soda and salt.
But do remember to wash them away before using the Camp Chef grill again.
How to Prevent Your Camp Chef from Catching Fire?
Have you survived an event where your camp chef pellet grill caught fire?
So, what was the lesson?
Your grill should never catch fire again because it causes significant damage to it.
So, what can we do now?
Take all necessary actions to prevent our Camp Chef pellet grill from catching fire.
Here are some tips that you may follow to prevent pellet grill fire in the future.
Clean your Camp Chef pellet grill regularly
What was the common reason that the camp chef pellet grill caught fire?
Lack of cleaning and maintenance.
So always clean your pellet grill if it is used frequently regularly.
You should clean the metal grills, the fire pit, and the dip line.
This will clean all the build-up and allow the grill to operate smoothly.
The best thing you can do is clean the grill after cooking.
But make sure to let the grill cool down. Otherwise, you will burn yourself.
Keep the lids closed when possible
When smoking/ cooking in the Camp Chef grill, keep the lids closed when possible.
Only open it when you need to rotate the meat inside.
Keep both the grill and hopper lids closed.
This will reduce the air supply inside the grill, and it will have a meager chance of catching fire when cooking.
Do not use extreme heat
Although the Camp Chef pellet grills allow you to cook food at high heat, it is best to refrain from doing that.
A high temperature will cause the grease on the bacon to catch fire.
While that may appear as an art of cooking, it may cause an uncontrollable fire to start in the grill.
If you are not certain about the situation, do not cook food in extreme heat.
Do not allow grease pools
All Camp chef pellet grills come with a system to make grease flow and accumulate in a grease tray away from the fire.
But these lines can sometimes jam.
Or other reasons like unleveled ground can cause grease pooling in the internal system.
The heat inside the grill can easily make the grease burn, and it will spread out in the grill.
So do not allow any grease pool in the grill.
You can be sure of that by checking the grease flowline before cooking.
So, these are the tips that we have to share with you for preventing any future event of your Camp chef grill catching fire.
Can Camp Chef Pellet Grill Explode?
Camp chef pellet grill caught fire? Yes, possible.
But Camp Chef exploding? Is that possible?
Yes, but it is not like a grenade explosion.
How can any pellet grill explode?
They don’t have any explosives, right? No, they don’t.
But they do have highly flammable pellets, which is the main fuel of all pellet grills.
They are responsible for exploding.
An explosion can occur when there is a flameout or a user error.
When there is a flameout, the pellets will build up in the fire pit.
If you ignite the grill with all those pellets inside the fire pit, it may explode.
The explosion won’t kill you.
But it can start a fire in the grill or damage the internal mechanism of the grill.
The other reason is the user error. What is that?
Well, the user of the grill may have set the wrong settings that can cause an explosion in the fire pit.
Some Camp Chef grills have custom programming.
The user may have set up the wrong setting, and the fire pit may have too much pellet to burn at once.
Either way, the Camp Chef pellet grills can explode.
You can prevent that from happening by checking the fire pit before ignition.
Is Your Camp Chef Ruined After a Fire?
What happens after the camp chef pellet grill caught fire?
Is it ruined? Or is it usable? That depends on the fire.
If the fire was low, the Camp chef grill should be usable.
You may have to replace the metal grills for cooking.
It would be ruined if the fire was too extreme and damaged all internal mechanisms.
Can you reuse a ruined Camp Chef pellet grill?
Yes, but you, I’ll have to replace all the damaged mechanisms.
This will require you to inspect the grill thoroughly to determine which part needs replacement.
If you cannot choose the damaged parts, you may call their helpline.
The body of the Camp chef pellet grills is made of metal.
So, it will be able to withstand fire damage.
But the internal mechanics and electrical components may melt.
So, if any parts require replacement, it will be among them.
Repairing a ruined Camp Chef pellet grill will be costly.
So, it is better to do everything in your capacity to prevent fire in the grill.
It does not require much effort.
Just regularly clean the grill and refrain from using extreme settings.
That shall save your Camp Chef Pellet grill.
Source Link:
https://www.campchef.com/how-to
https://www.reddit.com/r/pelletgrills/comments/mt5ksq/why_is_my_camp_chef_on_fire/
https://www.reddit.com/r/pelletgrills/comments/hougot/so_my_camp_chef_dtx_caught_fire_now_what/
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