1. Home
  2. Z Grills Smoker Troubleshooting
  3. Hopper Runs Out Of Pellets

Hopper Runs Out Of Pellets

Fire is still burning

If you find the hopper is empty but the temperature hasn’t yet dropped and there are still pellets visible in the auger tube (tube isn’t empty) then you are in luck!

Just add some more pellets and the grill will continue to run as normal.

Fire has gone out

If the grill temperature has already started to drop or LEr is displayed on the controller it means the fire has already gone out and so the Initial Startup Process will need to be followed again.

It will take about 8-10 minutes to get the fire going again.

Here are the basic steps to following, more detailed instructions here.

  • Open the grill lid
  • Pour pellets into the hopper
  • Turn the controller to Shut Down, then to HIGH (this will feed the pellets more quickly into the fire-pot)
  • While waiting for the pellets to feed through:
    • Take out the food (wrap in foil and towel too keep hot)
    • Carefully take out the grill rack, grease tray and baffle plate so you can see in the fire-pot.
  • Once pellets begin to drop into the fire-pot, turn the controller to Shut Down, then immediately to Smoke which will turn the ignition rod back on.
  • Wait for the big cloud of smoke to be released (like normal startup), close the lid, set the desired temperature and once up to temp, put the food back in.