Just inherited a Traeger & have questions

[motsyball]

My dad gave me his old Traeger pellet smoker but he had no instruction manual to go with it. My smoking experience is with a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker which uses chips and you can set the smoker temp. He told me that if you set the Traeger to smoke (low) then the smoker temp is usually around 180 to 200, which I have read that is not an ideal or safe temp but if he moved it to medium then it would get over 250 degrees and burn the meat. Would you agree that you should probably start it off the first hour at medium and then turn it down to the smoke (low) setting the rest of the way until the meat is done? If the temp dropped down to 180 would the meat still be safe to eat? Also, do you suggest I only use Traeger pellets or is there another brand you suggest that would work better in it? Here is a pic so you will know which model it is. Any input is appreciated.

 

[chopsaw]

Any input is appreciated.

Well I've only had a pellet grill for a couple weeks , so I'll leave those answers to someone else , but while you're waiting get it cleaned up and look on line for a manual for the model you have .

 

[WaterRat]

If those are your temp choices you actually want do it the other way: start low 180-200 for and hour or 2 then move to higher. 250 is not too high for ribs, pork butt, chicken, etc... Get an external temp probe so you know what your grate temp actually is. You can use any pellets, the old "only use treager pellets in a traeger" is total BS. You can get 40lb bags of pitboss pellets at lowes and walmart for under $20. I'd get lumberjack if I had a rural king nearby. Do a couple hour no meat trial run once you get an external probe to see how it runs.

Also, find your model number, you may be able to replace that whole control panel with a new much better one for not much $$.

 

[smokerjim]

congrats on the new (old) toy, i don't have the traeger but have a pitboss, i usually start my uncured meats at 200 for an hour or two for extra smoke then turn up to 225-250, you'll be fine starting at a lower temp for an hour or two, should say i don't do chicken that low. as for pellets i use pitboss most of the time, mainly because they are usually cheaper then others. i'm sure you'll get all different answers about pellets. i also use a smoke tube in mine for extra smoke.

 

[BigW.]

I do not have a Traeger but you do not have to use their pellets. I use Lumber Jack but there are many others. I smoke a lot at 275. I think your best bet is to clean and fire it up this weekend.

 

[chopsaw]

no instruction manual to go with it.

Go to the Traeger web site . Choose the support tab , then manuals .

 

[motsyball]

Get an external temp probe so you know what your grate temp actually is........Do a couple hour no meat trial run once you get an external probe to see how it runs.

So you would just lay the probe right on the meat grate? Or would you just use this stand up thermometer on the meat grate? Here are pics of the two thermometers I use in my smoker.

 

[cutplug]

180 is safe. Other brands of pellets are fine.
If you decided to upgrade the controller go here and for 65 bucks plus shipping you can have a digital.
https://ortechcontrols.com/

 

[flatbroke]

put tin foil on the metal drip tray, should help with burning. I never had anything burn on mine and it has been loaded down. you can change that temp controller out to one with multi settings if you choose to. its plug and play and easy. to swap. also as far as starting at medium and switching to low I sometimes would start with the low setting for an hour to try and get more smoke them switch to medium. but i switched my controller out a long time ago

 

[motsyball]

One thing I forgot to mention that my dad complained about was if he stored it by leaving the pellets in the pellet bin/hopper then a few weeks later when he got it back out to use the pellets would get clogged and he would have to clean out the pellet bin/hopper. He always used Traeger pellets so is this a common thing with pellet smokers and you should always remove any unused pellets out of the bin/hopper before storing it?

 

[WaterRat]

So you would just lay the probe right on the meat grate? Or would you just use this stand up thermometer on the meat grate? Here are pics of the two thermometers I use in my smoker.
View attachment 508709View attachment 508710

Sorry, I meant smoker temp at grate level, not the grate itself. Your oven therm would work,or put the digital probe in a holder just an inch above the grate.

 

[smokerjim]

One thing I forgot to mention that my dad complained about was if he stored it by leaving the pellets in the pellet bin/hopper then a few weeks later when he got it back out to use the pellets would get clogged and he would have to clean out the pellet bin/hopper. He always used Traeger pellets so is this a common thing with pellet smokers and you should always remove any unused pellets out of the bin/hopper before storing it?

i leave mine in the hopper all the time with no problems, lots depends on the humidity where you live, if he kept it out side, i leave mine in the barn so i don't use a cover, i did read on here a while back where a cover actually hold moisture in and that could be bad for pellets not sure how true that is but makes since.

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

What an awesome gift. I have to say I would go with Cutplug's suggestion and install the digital controller for much better performance. That should be a fun addition to your arsenal. Good luck with that gem.

G

 

[TunaciousBBQ28]

Your smoker has an old style temp control system. I believe you can upgrade that to one that has more settings. My Texas model is about 8 to 10 years old, and is analog with a dial. It has 10 temp settings. It looks like yours has: Smoke= 150 to 180 F. Medium=225 to 275F. High = 350 to 400F. On my model, I start on Smoke setting with grill cover open. Once it starts to smoke, close the cover.
Try it as is. If you need more options, contact Traeger for an upgraded controller.

 

[cutplug]

Your smoker has an old style temp control system. I believe you can upgrade that to one that has more settings. My Texas model is about 8 to 10 years old, and is analog with a dial. It has 10 temp settings. It looks like yours has: Smoke= 150 to 180 F. Medium=225 to 275F. High = 350 to 400F. On my model, I start on Smoke setting with grill cover open. Once it starts to smoke, close the cover.
Try it as is. If you need more options, contact Traeger for an upgraded controller.

See my earlier post. Ortech makes the controllers for Traeger... or go to Traeger and spend $30 more.

 

[Winterrider]

Clean it up as is. Roll up a ball of tin foil little bigger than golf ball, insert your digital probe thru and set in middle of smoker on your low setting and see where you are at with temp. Move around to different corners to verify hotspots. Up temp and do the same. If you find it to be beneficial for yourself, as stated an upgrade controller may just be the ticket for easier heat management.

 

[bill1]

I leave my hopper full in the warm summer but during rainy season I purge it out at the end of each cook. It takes a couple extra minutes at the start of the next cook to fill the auger back up, but that's a lot less effort than dissasembling things to un-clog a frozen auger.

Of course mine has a lower hopper door to make it easy to empy out the pellets into a bucket at the end of a cook. The early Traegers didn't have it. You could either add one ( a hole saw and electrical box cover does the trick) or find some good scoops to "bale" with.

 

[motsyball]

Earlier this week I did a dry run on the Traeger I inherited from my dad to make sure it was working correctly. All went well so yesterday on my way home from my morning appointment I went by Rural King and picked up a couple bags of Lumberjack pellets. Couldn’t believe they were only $9 for a 20 pound bag. I then decided to drop by Walmart and pick up a rack of spare ribs to do my first test run on. Holy freakin cow! I’ll never use my MES again! They were so much better then anything I ever smoked in my Masterbuilt. Anyone in the Louisville Ky area interested in buying my MES? LOL!

 

[RiversideSm0ker]

Congrats on the successful first run motsyball. It still might be worth considering that replacement controller that was linked earlier to add some fine tuning but you can never argue with success.

G