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swedegeek

Newbie
Original poster
Oct 23, 2021
10
5
I belong to a club that bought a Traeger Commercial 200 a few years ago. The pellets didn’t get removed last fall & after spending a winter in the Seattle humidity two of the three augers are stuck. Really stuck. I’ve soaked the hopper/tube assembly in water for 3 days to soften the pellets & its still stuck. Banged on the ends of the auger with a hammer like Traeger recommends, etc.

Traeger doesn’t make this model anymore & doesn’t sell any of the parts, so I can’t replace the hopper/tube assembly. Traeger sent me to the local repair shop, who says they can’t get any parts or other help from Traeger. I’ll call Traeger again & try to escalate it to management, but I’m not hopeful.

So I have some questions:

1. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this repaired?

2. Does anyone have any first hand experience that would indicate whether its the pellets that turn to sawdust during the wet months that stick to the auger or whether the auger & tube rust together?

3. Anybody have experience or thoughts about using three single hopper/tube/firepot/igniter assemblies instead of the 1 hopper with 3 augers/tubes/firepots that this smoker originally has?

Thanks!
 
Can't help you at all but I'll respond and bump your thread back up so maybe someone will see it that might be able to help you out!

Ryan
 
Is there a way to remove the auger from the hopper? I’ve had to do this with my newer Pit Boss. Do you have a picture of the rig? Might help with ideas.
 
Nice video - thanks for sending it.

Unfortunately, two of the three augers on ours are stuck WAY more seriously than any video I’ve seen. The auger won’t turn or move in any way within the tube, even with some serious “persuasion.”

I’ve gotten a few ideas from the forum & one more from Traeger, so I’ll work on those next.

Any more suggestions would be welcome!

Thanks!
 
I'm not sure soaking the whole thing with even more water was a good idea but now that you've done it I'd recommend you switch to WD-40 instead. It displaces viscous water with slippery lubricant. Make gravity your Friend and tip the unit so the auger is exactly vertical. A little hammering (in) on the shaft may loosen the auger in the tube. A couple fender washers on the auger shaft (held on with the keeper) can serve as an attachment for a slide hammer, or an old automotive tie-rod-end "pickle fork" (or other suitable wedges) can be used to apply force in the other direction. Many have reported that a tight vise-grips on the shaft and just back-and-forth twisting works the best. This is all best done with that nylon bushing removed.
At that point just keeping adding lubricant and work it in and out, chipping the stuck pellets out of the auger threads one "turn" (pitch) at a time. Or you may find the auger loosens in the pellets like a wood screw in wood (which is the way it worked in the youtube) in which case screw it all the way out of the jam, then in one turn and slide-hammer it out on thread pitch at a time as in the video.
 
I belong to a club that bought a Traeger Commercial 200 a few years ago. The pellets didn’t get removed last fall & after spending a winter in the Seattle humidity two of the three augers are stuck. Really stuck. I’ve soaked the hopper/tube assembly in water for 3 days to soften the pellets & its still stuck. Banged on the ends of the auger with a hammer like Traeger recommends, etc.

Traeger doesn’t make this model anymore & doesn’t sell any of the parts, so I can’t replace the hopper/tube assembly. Traeger sent me to the local repair shop, who says they can’t get any parts or other help from Traeger. I’ll call Traeger again & try to escalate it to management, but I’m not hopeful.

So I have some questions:

1. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get this repaired?

2. Does anyone have any first hand experience that would indicate whether its the pellets that turn to sawdust during the wet months that stick to the auger or whether the auger & tube rust together?

3. Anybody have experience or thoughts about using three single hopper/tube/firepot/igniter assemblies instead of the 1 hopper with 3 augers/tubes/firepots that this smoker originally has?

Thanks!
Purchase a bulk can of Penetrating oil. WD-40 PB Blaster and etc. Turn auger vertical and start pouring in slowly until it saturates the pellets enough to start coming out the other end. Let sit for a couple days and keep trying to turn. Sound like the auger has rusted to the channel.
 
Man, I'm not sure I'd be spraying things like PB, WD or <insert chemical name here> inside the auger housing. Remember is a cooking machine, and getting the residual chemicals out maybe more difficult then you think. On my pellet stove(home heating type) I've had to take wire coat hanger and poke up the auger hole to release some stuck pellets. Also be careful you don't burn out the motor when your attempting to clear it out.

Chris
 
I am with Chris and would prefer to keep chems out of there if possible. Not sure if you have access to an air compressor but my latest favorite tool for stuck things is an air hammer. $15 at Harbor Freight.
 
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I was trying to get an idea what the OP was working on, it looks like Traeger Commercial 200 is still available. Is it trailer mounted? I feel if we had pictures of it we may be able to help.
 
Motors & fans are taken off. I’ve applied much more torque than the motor does trying to get it loose.

Soaked it for 3 days - figured the pellets got softened by then. No luck.

Haven’t used WD40 for the reason mentioned above. Took a length of hard wire (bigger & much stiffer than a coat hanger) & put it in a drill motor & chewed thru the pellets in the center of the auger. That leaves the pellets around the outside. This model doesn’t have any access to the outside of the auger tubes, but I may bring out the plasma cutter & create some access to burn out the pellets if I get desperate enough.

I figure the tube & auger are rusted together. Might try cooking oil instead of WD40.

I’d happily buy a new hopper & auger, but Traeger doesn’t sell them. I’d happily buy three single hoppers/augers/tubes to replace the three augers in one hopper on this model. Traeger won’t sell them. They have the single hopper assembly parts for warrantee only, but they won’t sell them. Don’t ask me what I think of Traeger’s product support.
 
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Is one end of the auger exposed? If it is then maybe you can lock it down in a vice and manually break it free. Soaking in Coke(the soda) may also help, but that would leave a sticky residue that you'd have to deal with after.

Chris
 
If it is indeed rust, perhaps Coca Cola? I think Mythbusters said it actually does dissolve rust.
 
Used to religiously empty my hopper and purge my auger after every cook to avoid these issues but I admit I don't do that anymore, even in dampest weather. But this thread is getting me scared again.
Looks like the orig poster found a wire to clean the ID of the auger but one of these could come in handy for these jobs too:
 
Motors & fans are taken off. I’ve applied much more torque than the motor does trying to get it loose.

Soaked it for 3 days - figured the pellets got softened by then. No luck.

Haven’t used WD40 for the reason mentioned above. Took a length of hard wire (bigger & much stiffer than a coat hanger) & put it in a drill motor & chewed thru the pellets in the center of the auger. That leaves the pellets around the outside. This model doesn’t have any access to the outside of the auger tubes, but I may bring out the plasma cutter & create some access to burn out the pellets if I get desperate enough.

I figure the tube & auger are rusted together. Might try cooking oil instead of WD40.

I’d happily buy a new hopper & auger, but Traeger doesn’t sell them. I’d happily buy three single hoppers/augers/tubes to replace the three augers in one hopper on this model. Traeger won’t sell them. They have the single hopper assembly parts for warrantee only, but they won’t sell them. Don’t ask me what I think of Traeger’s product support.
One more thing to try since chemicals may linger is White Vinegar.
 
Try a rubbing alcohol soak. That may remove some water moisture? Not sure
 
Is there a way to maybe drive the auger out of the tube with an air hammer? If you can knock it loose, it should come on out of there.
 
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