Why did my hot air popper start smoking while using it?

Unplug device, remove the cover, and check the kernel level. Smoking can be caused by filling the popping chamber above the kernel level indicated inside the chamber. Take out the popped and unpopped kernels in popping chamber, then allow chamber to cool for 15 minutes before reusing. If popper is smoking and the chamber was not overfilled, there were no blockages at the chute exit, the cover groove was clean, then the motor is bad. Click here for more information Presto PopLite 04820 Troubleshooting