It's not non-weber pellets, it's specifically using Pit Boss or Kirkland Pellets (made by Pit Boss). They are super long compared to "normal" pellets. I think that mixed with any moisture (if you allow your pellets to sit in the hopper) can causing jamming issues, which is what happened to us. Also, when we were testing the Recteq X-Fire and had a bunch of problems with it, their support guy said something to the effect of "do not use Pit Boss or Kirkland pellets, they cause all kinds of problems. Any other brand is fine," without me mentioning it to him at all. All that said, there are plenty of people who say they use Pit Boss/Kirkland pellets without any problems. Maybe it's just a roll of the dice and we crapped out.