Did a test run last week - slow at 225, pulled the meat while it got up to 500, worked great. Christmas day - failed to hold 225. It just lost temp gradually, no error codes or any other indication of something wrong. Had to scramble and get the oven going to finish the rib roast. Going to check it out more today.
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Any chance your fuel got damp because of high humidity ? Also check and clean your temperature probe. I had pellet issues once, got excessive smoke and low temps. Hopefully it's a simple solution. -
99% of pellet grill problems are pellet-related, that is what I have been told.
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If the grill is properly cleaned, it's almost always the pellets have been compromisedComment
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How often do you use your Smokefire? I run the pellet hopper to empty and vacuum out the burn pot about twice a month and make sure the pellet slide is clean.
If you leave pellets in the slide and burn cup, maybe they are swelling in the winter weather.
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Did you get a chance to look at it? I'm interested in the outcome, hopefully simple.Comment
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Well, something I noticed today while testing. i had a new bag of Pit Boss pellets. They come up - very slowly - Through the auger then stop. They are still hard and dry,but kind of long. Looks like they might be too tough for the auger to chop up.Comment
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Sounds like the auger isn't feeding the required amount of pellets. Clean out you bin and run the anger for a while to see if it clears out. Put a few,pellets on the auger and see if they come out ok. Your auger may have a crusty build up from some damp pellets. Or, grab a bag of pellets from another source and see if they work better. Maybe it doesn't like Pit Boss. Keep us posted.Comment
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FWIW, I clean my Traeger, and for that matter my Weber kettle, thoroughly after every cook. I believe that's important for the Traeger, and it might be helpful for you in the future. (I also love pulling the wings off flys, but that's a story for another time.)Comment
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My SmokeFire was pretty picky about pellets. I finally gave up and only used Weber or Lumberjack (likely who makes Weber pellets). It wasn’t worth the hassle of trying to figure out what it liked or didn’t because my local grocery store carries LJ at a reasonable cost.
It sounds like you’ve identified the problem, but if you keep having issues keep an eye on the wind too. The Smokefire is very susceptible to wind affecting performance when it blows straight in the back. I had issues with getting to temps with as little as 15 mph winds. Turned the grill 90° and problems gone…at least for that cook.Comment
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Still no issues found. I emptied the hopper through the bottom chute, which was interesting. The pellets would bridge the gap and I had to keep poking them through. Might be doing the same thing down at the auger.
The auger had some sawdust in it but nothing major. The pellets coming out of the auger looked like they had been chopped up quite a bit, and it didn't seem to ever fill the auger for a steady feed.
Can't find anything but Traeger pellets around here, I'll revisit this once I have some Weber pellets.Comment
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What a difference pellets can make. The 2d pic shows the difference in size/length from the Pit Boss pellets to some Kinsgford pellets. The Pit Boss pellets came out chewed up if at all, while the shorter Kingsford pellets are not catching in the auger.
3d pic shows burner on the way to 400, first pic shows a 6 minute heatup time to 400! That is faster than any of my charcoal burners or even my oven range.
Other notes - if you have to pull your auger, put the bottom motor/auger mount screw in first. It is in an awkward spot. Also be sure to check the ash catch after something like this, I had enough failed burns and still-combustible pellets in there for flames to catch.Attached FilesLast edited by bmillin; December 31, 2023, 03:03 PM.Comment
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