Arizona Traeger Smoker

[Reedenise]

I live the Arizona where the temperature is around 105/110. My problem is my Traeger Mesa 22 smoke temp. Manual says should maintain a temperature of 150 to 180. Mine is 200 to 215 on smoke setting. My 180 setting is also around 235. I would like to be able to cook some foods at lower temperatures. Are there any suggestions?

 

[pops6927]

simple fix! Freeze up several 1 liter and 2 liter bottles of tap water and place inside your smoking chamber to lower the ambient temp inside the smoking chamber! Then change out every so often with new ones to keep it cooler during the smoke! Alot cheaper than moving!

 

[Reedenise]

Thanks probably go through lots of bottles in 4/5 hours

 

[sawhorseray]

Welcome from Gilbert, AZ! We are fortunate in that we can smoke 12 months a year. I make and smoke my own sausage and bacon that along with lox I make sure to get done on my electric smoker during the winter months. I do chicken, ribs, butts, beef short ribs, etc on my offset smoker or Weber kettle anytime. What are you looking to get done that won't work at 235º? That's about a ideal temperature for briskets, butts, ribs, you name it, tho I cook most those things around 275º on my offset. I don't own a pellet smoker but I've got a friend on the forum, Smokin' in AZ , who has one and lives in Chandler, he smokes up great cooks all year long. RAY

 

[mike243]

Your temp outside will affect the low temps, it has to run a certain amount in order to keep the fire going or it will flame out, that added to the ambient temp is why your temps are so high. if you are wanting to do sausages and other items that require low temps a electric smoker is hard to beat imo

 

[Reedenise]

Welcome from Gilbert, AZ! We are fortunate in that we can smoke 12 months a year. I make and smoke my own sausage and bacon that along with lox I make sure to get done on my electric smoker during the winter months. I do chicken, ribs, butts, beef short ribs, etc on my offset smoker or Weber kettle anytime. What are you looking to get done that won't work at 235º? That's about a ideal temperature for briskets, butts, ribs, you name it, tho I cook most those things around 275º on my offset. I don't own a pellet smoker but I've got a friend on the forum, Smokin' in AZ , who has one and lives in Chandler, he smokes up great cooks all year long. RAY

Hi Ray thanks for replying, my Traeger is new and so far I have really just been practicing making Beef Jerky, which the recipes usually calls for a temperature of around 160/180.
so instead of 4 hrs it’s done in about An hour and a half.

 

[sawhorseray]

Hi Ray thanks for replying, my Traeger is new and so far I have really just been practicing making Beef Jerky, which the recipes usually calls for a temperature of around 160/180.
so instead of 4 hrs it’s done in about An hour and a half.

Yep, things that require low temps like jerky, bacon, sausage, and cured meats will best be done during the winter months, or on a electric smoker. I've smoked belly and Canadian bacon here on my Pro 100 during the summer but it's started out around midnight, and the Pro 100 lives under my patio where the direct sunlight never hits it. Not having a pellet smoker I have no way of telling if one will be ideal for holding low temps, even some of the lower grade electric smokers can have some pretty large temp swings. Get your smoker seasoned and then break it in with a pork butt or something equally forgiving and easy pull off. There are some adjustments needed when running a smoker in the sunlight here during summer. Have an independent wireless remote temperature gauge to monitor the temp inside your cook chamber at the level the meat sits at, the temp gauges that come with most smokers are notorious of being inaccurate. Hope that helps a little, good luck and smoke something up! RAY

 

[Smokin' in AZ]

What Ray said.

I just got a REC TEC RT-340 in november and it has a low smoke setting that is around 180, but I noticed earlier this year when doing a early morning cook that it is hard to keep it below 235 with the sun shining directly on it, it does have a setting that you can turn down the feed rate of the pellets to counter outside high temps, so I moved it under the patio in the shade and then it worked much better.

As Ray pointed out the low heat cooks need to be done in the cooler months, that's when I di mine.

There are still a lot of things you can do in the summer at 235-250, just remember best done in the shade.

Hope I helped you understand your new toy a bit better.

John

 

[mike guy]

If you can, putting the smoker in the shade or under some kind of deck umbrella goes a long way. The ambient temps are still going to be fighting against you, but that direct sunlight will heat up metal at least 50 degrees.

 

[Reedenise]

If you can, putting the smoker in the shade or under some kind of deck umbrella goes a long way. The ambient temps are still going to be fighting against you, but that direct sunlight will heat up metal at least 50 degrees.

Thanks

 

[Reedenise]

What Ray said.

I just got a REC TEC RT-340 in november and it has a low smoke setting that is around 180, but I noticed earlier this year when doing a early morning cook that it is hard to keep it below 235 with the sun shining directly on it, it does have a setting that you can turn down the feed rate of the pellets to counter outside high temps, so I moved it under the patio in the shade and then it worked much better.

As Ray pointed out the low heat cooks need to be done in the cooler months, that's when I di mine.

There are still a lot of things you can do in the summer at 235-250, just remember best done in the shade.

Hope I helped you understand your new toy a bit better.

John

Thanks John

 

[bill1]

...Mine is 200 to 215 on smoke setting. My 180 setting is also around 235...

Reedenise--The first problem should be correctable with a different "P setting"...typically the higher the setting the more time between auger feeds while in "smoke mode", meaning it will cool down more. (Most folks find smoke mode gets too cold so you kinda' have a nice problem here.) I'll note the newer Mesa's don't necesarily have a "smoke setting" or smoke mode so let me know if that's part of the communication problem.
The 2nd problem (about 180 being 235) may be confusing me....this is regular cook mode, right? Are you saying that you set it to 180 desired and there are temp swings that cause it to spend more time at 235 than you'd like? If so, that's pretty common with pellet grills at low setpoints and high ambient temperature just makes it worse. A large mass of water inside or even a couple bricks may help a little if Pops' ice sounds cumbersome. (Although you might be surprised how long a 6 qt stainless bowl of ice lasts.)
If instead, you're saying that at a 180 set point that it regulates fairly steady but at 235, or if you're saying the 235 readings come from a separate, trusted thermometer, well then we may have other things to troubleshoot.