Quote Originally Posted by Aloha_Shooter View Post
...the instructions that came with the smoker specifically said to clean out the ashes and load the firebox manually before starting.
They may have rewritten that. Going through my book and the online guides, I don't see that anywhere. Vacuum out the pot if the ash covers the igniter is all I see. I clean mine out before every cook, then press the button and go.

Try it, I bet it works fine for you.