Z Grill Initial Start-up and Burn-in: Right Way Of Seasoning Your Grill!

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Many of you know, whenever you buy a new pellet grill, you can’t just on the switch, set the desired temperature, and start grilling.

Yes, you need to season it.

Before you fire up your pellet grill for its first cook, it is essential to perform a burn-in process.

It helps to get rid of manufacturing oils still in the grill body.

I know, you really don’t want that stuff on your food.

So, in this article, I’m going to explain in detail z grill’s initial start-up and burn-in process.

Here we go!

Z grill initial Start up and Burn in Process

Before begin the initial start-up and burn in process you need to go through the Z grill manual carefully.

Like any other pellet grill, your Z grill needs to be initial start-up and burn-in before you use it.

The whole process just takes about an hour to complete.

You’ll need adequate wood pellets to run the grill on HIGH for at least 45 minutes.

Perform this procedure outside or somewhere with good air ventilation, if possible.

So, adequate wood pellets and good air ventilation are essential for this process.

Following is the step by step process for Z grill initial Start-up and Burn-in process:

Take everything out

At first, you have to remove the Porcelain Grills, Grease Drain Pan, and Heat Baffle from the interior of the grill.

Open the pellet hopper and grill Lid and check there are no foreign objects in the Auger and Hopper.

The foreign object inside the grill are obstacles to smooth grill functioning and affect the grill performance.

Turn on the grill and set the temperature dial at SMOKE

Plug in the power cord into a 110 Volt AC grounded outlet with the Switch is in the OFF(O) position. Turn on your Z Grills.

While turning on the power make sure it is set on the Shut Down cycle.

Otherwise, you will get an error.

Now, turn the Temperature Dial to SMOKE. Once you set the dial at SMOKE position, the fan will start running.

Check the grill operation

Listen for the fan sound to start up the grill. It will run continually as long as the grill is operating.

The fan is sucking the air from the hopper below and release out into the fire pot.

You can hold your fingers above the fire pot to check that the fan is blowing air through the fire pot.

Check that there is proper air circulation in the fire pot.

Also, check if the Auger is turning or rotating slowly.

It turns very slow only at 1.6 RPM speed.

You are able to hear a “whirring” sound can be when the auger motor is on.

The auger will only rotate for a few seconds when first turned from Shut Down to Smoke setting, and then again after about 30-40 seconds.

There is a bit smoke coming from the fire pot. That smoke comes from the ignition rod.

This is a good sign as the ignition rod is getting hot.

Check that the Hot Rod should turn a light red slowly. It approximately takes 1-2 minutes.

You should see a temperature number displayed on your LED DISPLAY.

If you see something different displayed on the LED display, it is an ERROR CODE.

It means there is some problem in functioning, you need to resolve it as soon as possible.

So, three things that happen in this stage, the first thing is auger turning, the second is a fan running, the third one is the ignition rod is getting hot.

Eventually, the ignition rod gets dull red color.

If there is any visible smoke coming out, it means the ignition rod getting hotter.

It’s a confirmation of the ignition rod is working well.

Add pellets in the hopper

Now it’s time to fill the Pellet Hopper with Pellets.

You have to add enough wood pellets into the hopper to reach the safety grate.

You don’t need to fill the hopper up as 2kg is enough for this first burn-in.

Close the hopper lid, keep the grill lid open.

You just need to add lots of pellets if are going to do a long cook.

Store the wood pellets in a sealed bucket to prevent them from outside environmental conditions and moisture.

Turn the Temperature Dial to HIGH

Turn the Temperature Dial to HIGH position.

It will spin the auger for a longer time.

The wood pellets feed from the hopper through the auger tube into the fire-pot more quickly at a high setting.

About 7-8 minutes after adding the pellets into the hopper they will start to drop into the fire-pot.

If the controller displays LEr (Low Temp Error), don’t get panic.

You just turn the dial to Shut Down Cycle and back to Smoke.

Soon you will see the pellets will drop and fire up.

Fire up the grill

Turn the controller to Shut Down mode and immediately to the Smoke setting to start the ignition rod up again.

Keep the grill lid open and watch until you see some flames.

After 3-5 minutes you will see lots of smoke and then fire begins.

Now, your Z Grill is ready to burn in.

Once you see the fire in fire pot, put back the baffle plate over the fire-pot, grease tray in (without foil), and both grill racks back in place.

Shut the grill lid.

Burn In process

Turn the controller dial to High (232ºC) to run the grill at the maximum temperature.

It allows for the burn of oil from the manufacturing process.

The smoke released won’t smell too good as it burns some oil.

So don’t do this process close to an open window.

Let the grill run for 45 minutes at a High temperature.

The smell will go after about 15-20 minutes.

It is normal for the grill to first increase up to as high as 260ºC before dropping back again down to settle at around 232ºC.

Cooling Down the grill

After 45min from starting up the grill, you will notice that there is no more oily smoke is visible.

So, turn the controller to the Smoke setting. It will reduce the flame size.

Allow it to run for another 10-15 minutes to let the fire vanish.

After 10-15 minutes, turn the controller to Shut Down.

Let the power be switched ON.

During the Shut Down process the fan will run for more than 10 minutes.

It ensures all the pellets are burnt out before it automatically turns off.

Once the grill has turned off, switch the power off.

Unplug the power cord or now your favorite Z grill is ready for the first cook!

Finally, it’s time to Cook!

Once the grill has turned off, open the grill lid.

Remove the grill racks and wipe them down with a moist cloth. Put them back in the grill.

Preheat the grill for 10 minutes before adding food.

This helps your grill to heat up faster and quickly reach your desired cooking temperature.

If you add food sooner, it will slow down the heating process.

Remember, always start the grill on SMOKE Setting with the lid open.

After the Pellets are ignited, you can turn the Temperature Dial to your cooking temperature desired.

Important Operating Tips

1.You have to shelter your grill from the wind as the set temperature and cooking times are affected by external temperature, humidity, wind conditions, etc.

Sheltering the grill helps in temperature output, heat retention, and heat recovery time when the lid is open.

2. Don’t open the lid frequently as it will increase your cooking time.

You can open the grill lid when you want the grill to cool down rapidly.

3. Never move your grill while it is in use.

4. Make sure there is no water or moisture in the pellet hopper or fire pot.

5. Never add pellets directly into the fire pot.

6. Cover the Grease Drain Pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil and change it often.

In this way, you can maintain your Grease Drain Pan easily.

7. Clean the ash from the interior of the grill intermittently.

The excessive ash is in the fire pot may cause the fire to go out.