True statement.I use dollar tree drip pans. I place them on bottom rack, long cooks, meat on top. I’ve only had one incident. Which wasn’t really an incident. Had a brisket foil wrap leak really bad into the bottom. Happened at the end of the cook, realized when went to take it off. Shut it down next day went out and there was a yucky grease puddle. Which I cleaned up. There is no excuse for grease fire. Any grill that you let grease build up in is going to flame up.
Although cleaning the grill is a great way to avoid an over abundance of fires there is definitely a design flaw. During the burn in I could see the flames making it all the way down to the grease recesses. That mixed in with ash is a recipe for disaster. Even with a perfectly clean grill, doing a slow cook for a fatty meat gives all the ingredients for a grease fire. You cannot place both components so close to each other. Grease and fire don’t mix
I haven’t cleaned mine for dozens of cooks now. Including ribs, pork butts, briskets , pizzas, steaks, chicken, etc. Absolutely no issue. This thing is way less work than other designs. It’s not flawed, but rather genius!!!!
I will say it is a huge advantage that the grease generally drops below the heat source. Most pellet grills have a pan directly above the heat source which is far more problematic. Not to say grease fires can’t happen because clearly they can as animal fat combusts above 375 but I am really impressed with this simple yet genius design. I routinely cook above 500 without issue. It’s almost a challenge for me now to see how long and how cruddy I can get this thing before it’s an issue. The photos don’t lie, I’ve been really negligent!
Perfectly normal!
