Auger Stuck

[Big Grouch]

I have ribs in my Camp Chef now. Just opened my phone to check the app, I saw Stuck Auger, an email from this thread. I thought I was getting a warning that my auger was stuck.

 

[cal1956]

i just came in from my local hardware store and it reminded that a couple of weeks ago i was down there and they have a traeger for sale for $900.00 + and the owner of the store saw me looking at it and since we have been freinds for 20+ years and they are some of the people i give sausage to every year , they offered the traeger to me at cost $ 529.00 but i politely said no thanks, goes to show there is a lot of mark up on those

 

[sandyut]

i have been reading this thread and before now i didn't think i wanted a pellet smoker ......now i am 1000% positive i don't !!!

Not all pellet grills are the same. Never had any issues with my Rec Teq...just sayin.

 

[bill1]

i just came in from my local hardware store and it reminded that a couple of weeks ago i was down there and they have a traeger for sale for $900.00 + and the owner of the store saw me looking at it and since we have been freinds for 20+ years and they are some of the people i give sausage to every year , they offered the traeger to me at cost $ 529.00 but i politely said no thanks, goes to show there is a lot of mark up on those

That's just the dealer mark-up. The fact I've gotten two pellet machines from on-line distributors, both under $200 and both with (I'd say) identical pellet drive mechanisms to the Traeger and with basically just software differences in the controllers, says it's even worse than you think. Total "mark-up", in terms of dollars, on a quality offset is probably at least as bad but at least the base manufacturing costs are going to US labor.

My addition to the comments on pellet machines vs more conventional smokers...I think a lot depends on what kind of "labor" you like to do. The work of eating the food is at the top of my list, so yes bottom-line flavor counts for a lot. Clean-up is at the bottom of my list but a pellet machine (particularly in its stock setup) is not too bad that way. Alas, pellet machines have quite a few moving parts and so time-between-repairs is a matter of years, not decades. But parts for all the Chinese-based units (and that includes Traeger) are cheap and plentiful and I quite enjoy that sort of tinkering. But if anything with wires scares the dickens out of you, that part of long-term pellet cooking may be a total show-stopper.

Keep in mind too, the original poster had a very rare commercial grade Traeger. The fact it had multiple pellet drives meant he couldn't' just buy a replacement drop-in assembly from Amazon. It's like comparing repair time for a reactor-driven sub vs a Ford F-150..customers of the former learn to stockpile lots of spare parts. F-150 owners can just rely on the local parts store.

Finally a lot comes down to reliability and resilience. I'm a pellet-machine fan, but I'll admit I always step out to my cookers with the realization that it may not even power on. But in the back of my mind (and the side of my patio) is a old 50 year old Weber kettle. There's nothing on my menu that couldn't be done well on that highly reliable apparatus should low probabilities attack my pellet plans. But if space limits you to a single machine, you may look at this all slightly differently.

 

[bill1]

Not all pellet grills are the same. Never had any issues with my Rec Teq...just sayin.

Granted. But odds are either the auger drive, the induction fan, the hot finger, or the crucible will fail in the next 20 years. And I wouldn't bet RecTeq is using the standard Chinese set-up where all this stuff is readily available on-line with next-day delivery at under $30 each. Since the body/case of that RecTeq is going to still be in great shape in 20 years, you'll probably want to either ensure you have some spare parts, or that RecTeq is maintaining a supply for you.

 

[cal1956]

my son owns a pit boss pellet machine the last time i talked to him about what he was smoking , he told me that it got rained on and the controlboard wasn't working.
some people swear by pellet machines but i don't think they are for me

 

[sandyut]

Granted. But odds are either the auger drive, the induction fan, the hot finger, or the crucible will fail in the next 20 years. And I wouldn't bet RecTeq is using the standard Chinese set-up where all this stuff is readily available on-line with next-day delivery at under $30 each. Since the body/case of that RecTeq is going to still be in great shape in 20 years, you'll probably want to either ensure you have some spare parts, or that RecTeq is maintaining a supply for you.

Not a big concern for me. If it dies at the age of 20 years and I cant get parts. I would call it time for an upgrade. They use almost all the same main parts in all the models...I doubt they would go and make big changes because it would make what is simple - complex.

 

[Brokenhandle]

Not a big concern for me. If it dies at the age of 20 years and I cant get parts. I would call it time for an upgrade. They use almost all the same main parts in all the models...I doubt they would go and make big changes because it would make what is simple - complex.

In 20 years I'll probably need new body parts myself! The heck with worrying about the pellet smoker lol. But Dave you have a headstart on all of that. Hope you're continuing to mend!

Ryan

 

[sandyut]

In 20 years I'll probably need new body parts myself! The heck with worrying about the pellet smoker lol. But Dave you have a headstart on all of that. Hope you're continuing to mend!

Ryan

Thanks Ryan, slowly but surely I am healing. Its much slower and longer than I ever imagined. I was able to ride my mountain bike last week - first ride of 2022. Looking more hopeful to be slope ready by winter

 

[swedegeek]

As the OP, I have couple of observations & new questions:

1. Traeger doesn’t sell some parts, including the hopper. This is the sheet metal part onto which the auger tube, auger motor mount, fan all are attached etc. In other words, its the main guts of the machine. You’re out of operation without it. This apparently applies to all grills. I don’t know how often they’re needed, but that seems like poor customer support.

2. After having removed the augers, I’m now working on rebuilding the smoker using new components (motors, etc.). Should I get parts from Traeger, or are the ones from Amazon just as good?

3. What parts are likely to fail & therefore I should order spares to have on hand?

4. The markup from $529 to $900 is not unusual in retail. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower, depending on the type of goods.

Thanks!

 

[bill1]

...I doubt they would go and make big changes because it would make what is simple - complex.

But the moving parts most likely to fail (fans, motors) are not made by them. They rely on suppliers. Suppliers can and do make changes and even go out of business.

 

[bill1]

As the OP, I have couple of observations & new questions:

1. Traeger doesn’t sell some parts, including the hopper. This is the sheet metal part onto which the auger tube, auger motor mount, fan all are attached etc. In other words, its the main guts of the machine. You’re out of operation without it. This apparently applies to all grills. I don’t know how often they’re needed, but that seems like poor customer support.

2. After having removed the augers, I’m now working on rebuilding the smoker using new components (motors, etc.). Should I get parts from Traeger, or are the ones from Amazon just as good?

3. What parts are likely to fail & therefore I should order spares to have on hand?

4. The markup from $529 to $900 is not unusual in retail. Sometimes higher, sometimes lower, depending on the type of goods.

Thanks!

3. Parts likely to fail are moving parts and parts that see the worst thermal cycling. So auger drive motor, induction fan, hot finger, and crucible. Next up is electronics with multi points of failure, namely the controller...these are easily bought as a unit.

2. With few exceptions, the parts on Amazon are the Traeger parts.

1. Worse case you can buy one of these: