A flame out is when the fire in the fire box goes out while the cook is still happening. This happens on ALL pellet grills. The most common reason is the fire being smothered because the ash has built up around the fire and smothers the embers. Most of the time it is user error and a result of not cleaning out the smoker box between cooks. To prevent flame outs, be sure the fire box and surrounding area is always clean. With a MAK Grill, you simply pop out the box to dispose of the ash before any cook. Otherwise you need a small shop vac to clean it up. Don't allow ash to build up. It's best to get in the habit of cleaning up after the ash and embers have cooled down.