Ironwood 650 FIRE

[Super Smoker]

I just bought a Traeger Ironwood 650. Seasoned it to the instructions, so the second part of the seasoning goes to 500F. Shut it down, all was good, then today I reverse seared some striploin steaks, when I set the grill to 500F again the top of the auger box was on fire. Like a thick paint type of stuff was burning. The fire pot and inside the auger was running proper and no auger fire. Has anyone else seen this type of thing. It was a good thing I caught it before putting the steaks on to sear or they would’ve been ruined with toxic smoke. Took the trays out and scraped the goop off and put it away to sear on my bbq instead.

So I messaged Traeger and told them the issue. She said this was an odd situation and would talk to the tech department and her manager and get back to me. To my total surprise she phoned me last evening and stated by the pictures I had sent them that this is called “paint burn”. It seems that either the factory coating of paint or adhesive in the sidewall which on the Ironwood 650 is double walled and has insulation between the layers, melted during my 500F preheat and ran down onto the top of the auger housing which then caught fire and ruined some of the interior of my grill. Traeger is sending me a new 650 and picking up the burnt one. Traeger was more than helpful and understanding of my situation and willing to immediately make it right. A pleasure to deal with. I’d like to thank the commenters on my post for their help and insight on this matter. What a great group!

[RonB]

I can't help, but welcome to The Pit.

[MsTwiggy]

Hmmmm, I am not familiar with the workings of the pellet pooper. Maybe you have a warranty issue with the coating or something dripped on the auger box which then caught fire. Can you post pics of this? Bummer. . . 🔥🔥🐿️

[STEbbq]

Backburn is my first thought. Nearly all pellet smokers are susceptible to this and it is especially common with folks who are new to pellet smokers.

https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/forum/pellet-cookers/yoder/1453814-pellet-bin-burning

[Super Smoker]

The top of the auger box is under the drip tray so it’s impossible to get drips on it. There was no fire in the auger itself just on top of its cover.

[fkrall]

By all means, call Traeger. I was gifted an Ironwood 885 to supplement my go-to Weber Performer. I've hit a few speed bumps but nothing major and have found Traeger support outstanding. Similar to computer tech support, they have the ability and patience to look inside and/or follow along with you to trouble shoot and advise. And, as you get your sea legs, I'll repeat a fellow AmazingRibs member's advice (paraphrased) to consider and use your Traeger as an excellent convection oven rather than a somewhat limited live-fire smoker or searing machine.

[radiodome21]

Yikes. What kind of pellets were you using? I own a Traeger and a Grilla pellet smoker. Only fire I ever had was in the chimney when some old grease/soot caught fire when I turned it up to 500 to char some asparagus. That was the last time I ever turned it up above 375 and will never do it again. I do steaks all the time on the pellet smoker but never go higher than 225. If I’m going to reverse sear I finish on either my genesis or kettle or forgo it altogether. I use pellet smoker the most and rarely take it higher than 250.

[Super Smoker]

Super Smoker
Top | #4.1
Super Smoker commented
Today, 10:02 AM
The top of the auger box is under the drip tray so it’s impossible to get drips on it. There was no fire in the auger itself just on top of its cover.

[fkrall]

The best Traeger advice I've had was the convection comment I mentioned in my response. When I want some but a lighter grilled-out taste and the more delicate flavors to dominate, I find the Traeger ideal. And most of those times "low and slow is the way to go!"

[barelfly]

welcome from the Land of Enchantment!

[TripleB]

Another issue with pellet poopers. The cost of easy peasy.

[glitchy]

Yup, only pellet grills ever have problems.

[glitchy]

Can you better define the auger box? Or show a pic? Are you talking the housing covering the auger between the hopper and the fire pot?

If that is what you’re describing and you did the seasoning/burn off, my first blind guess would be that somehow grease from the steaks ran down and ended up there and when you cranked it up the grease caught on fire. Could be a defective part or an issue with assembly. Again just a guess based on my interpretation of the description.

[Purc]

Welcome to The Pit from Texas.

[fzxdoc]

Welcome to the Pit! You're going to enjoy coming to this friendly and helpful site.

Sorry to hear about the problem with the top of the auger box catching fire. Since it didn't happen when you did the seasoning steps which took the grill up to 500°, it seems as though the problem more likely was due to something happening during the cook. I'm with glitchy and a few others on this--may have been some grease that found its way to the top of the auger box (between the hopper and the fire pot, right?).

I hope Traeger support can help you with this and that you'll be back to cooking all sorts of delicious meals on your new toy.

If you can, get back to us and let us know the deets when you find the solution. I'm in the market for a pellet grill and am eager to hear every detail about using them. Thanks!

Kathryn

[Huskee]

I do not have this cooker myself, but if it's anything like mine I see your confusion here. The drip tray fully covers all of the components under it and diverts drippings to the drain, so it would seem there's a 99% chance that it couldn't be fat drippings getting under the drip tray and on top of the burn pot. Especially from some steaks during the slow initial part of a reverse sear- not a lot of grease there really. Yet it also seems like if it were a glob of factory grease or some paint, it would have burnt during your initial seasoning.

What I would do is clean it up good and cook again and see if it happens again. If it doesn't, chalk it up to some odd anomaly. If it happens again, then I too would call Traeger customer service. I had to do that recently about a different Traeger cooker I have and their customer service was by far the best experience I have ever had calling any customer service.

[Super Smoker]

So I messaged Traeger and told them the issue. She said this was an odd situation and would talk to the tech department and her manager and get back to me. To my total surprise she phoned me last evening and stated by the pictures I had sent them that this is called “paint burn”. It seems that either the factory coating of paint or adhesive in the sidewall which on the Ironwood 650 is double walled and has insulation between the layers, melted during my 500F preheat and ran down onto the top of the auger housing which then caught fire and ruined some of the interior of my grill. Traeger is sending me a new 650 and picking up the burnt one. Traeger was more than helpful and understanding of my situation and willing to immediately make it right. A pleasure to deal with. I’d like to thank the commenters on my post for their help and insight on this matter. What a great group

[Huskee]

Excellent! What a good company Traeger is. Thank you for sharing the result.

[fzxdoc]

Hooray! Thank you so much for getting back to us on the solution. Wishing you many happy cooks ahead on your replacement Traeger.

Kathryn

[rlozinak]

Welcome to the Pit. I am glad to hear that your getting a new 650!