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white start up smoke coming out of a z grills pellet grill

How to Start a New Z Grills Pellet Grill

Learn step-by-step how to start a new Z Grills pellet grill for the first time!
This Z Grills initial startup guide will have you safely and quickly up and running to start smoking some delicious food on your new Z Grills pellet grill.
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Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Australian, barbecue, BBQ, Smoked

Equipment

  • Z Grills Pellet Grill
  • Heat Proof Grilling Gloves
  • Electrical Extension Cord

Ingredients
  

  • 1 Bag Wood Pellets

Instructions
 

Check Internal Components are Working

  • Open the lid and remove the porcelain grills, warming rack, grease drain pan, and heat baffle from the Z Grill pellet grill.
    an open z grills pellet grill
  • Make sure there are no foreign objects in the firepot.
    z grills pellet grill fire pot and heat baffle
  • Open the hopper lid as well and make sure there are no foreign objects such as (leftover bits of styrofoam from the packaging) in the auger and hopper.
    a z grills pellet grill empty hopper
  • Turn the temperature control knob to Shut Down Cycle and plug the power cord into a grounded outlet.
    a z grills pellet grill set to the shutdown cycle setting
  • Turn on the Z Grills pellet grill by pressing the Power Button and turn the temperature knob to Smoke. You should hear the fan kick on.
    z grills pellet grill control knob set to the smoke setting
  • Look down into the hopper and confirm that the auger is turning.  It will be turning intermittently and VERY slowly, so you’ll need to watch it for a couple minutes to confirm.
    a z grills pellet grill auger
  • Hold your hand a safe distance above the firepot to confirm you can feel some heat and airflow as well.
    a z grills pellet grill firepot
  • Once you’ve confirmed all these components are working, turn the temperature control knob back to Shutdown Cycle.
  • The fan will continue to blow for 10 minutes on this setting before the grill automatically turns itself off.

Load the Z Grill Hopper with Pellets and Prime the Auger

  • Once the Z Grill pellet grill has shut down after 10 minutes, you can load the hopper with pellets about one third to half way full.
    1 Bag Wood Pellets
    pellets in a z grills pellet grill hopper
  • Turn the temperature control knob to HIGH.
    a z grills pellet grill control knob set to HIGH
  • After about 5 minutes you should start to see pellets that have made their way completely down the auger fall into the firepot.
  • Turn the temperature knob back to the Shutdown Cycle and wait 10 minutes for the grill to turn off automatically.

Startup and Perform a Burnoff on the New Z Grills Pellet Grill

  • Once the Z Grill is cool, put all the cooking components you removed earlier, including the heat baffle, grease drip pan and cooking racks, back in the Z Grill.
  • With the Z Grills pellet grill still turned off but plugged in, keep the lid is open and turn the temperature control knob to Smoke.
  • This is the initial startup process on the Z Grills pellet grill and usually takes 5-10 minutes.  Make sure to keep the lid OPEN for this entire process.
    white start up smoke coming out of a z grills pellet grill
  • Close the lid and turn the temperature control knob to HIGH to perform a burnoff.
  • The Z Grill should come up to 450°F and you want to let it run at that temperature for about 45 minutes to burnoff the residues, oils, and chemicals leftover form the factory.
    a z grills pellet grill control panel showing 450 degrees F on the HIGH setting
  • After 45 minutes, you can drop the temperature if you want to cook some food, or just turn the temperature control knob back to Shutdown Cycle, and wait 10 minutes for it to automatically turn off.

Video

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