New Info on whats in Traeger Pellets

[smokinadam]

I don't smoke, but I think I have some information you all might like to here. I recently purchased an Uuni 2 pizza oven. Google it if you want to learn about it. Long story short, it burns wood pellets to create the ultra-high heat (800+ F) needed to make neapolitan style pizza's.

I'm a builder, so I spend a lot of time in my local Home Depot where I saw a 20 lb bag of Traeger Hickory pellets for $15. I have since learned this is not a great price. Oh well. Anyway, I fired up the Uuni 2 with these pellets for the first time and got very frustrated. It was not working as advertised. Not getting as hot as the creators advertised. Later, after some research, I found that Bear Mountain pellets have a reputation for burning hot. I bought these and the difference was like putting nitrous oxide in a car. ROARING FLAMES. I don't knock Traeger for their slow burning pellets. For a bbq, I'm sure low and slow is great.

I AM knocking them for the "Flavor Oils." The hopper for the Uuni 2 is not like a pellet BBQ. The pellets sit in a tub directly over the fire. As the fire burns down, they just fall down the hopper. The hopper has a scoop for filling it which sits on top of the tube. Besides just heat, it was a hugely different experience burning the Traeger pellets and the Bear Mountain pellets. The Bear Mountain pellets were a clean burn with a pleasant smoke smell. The Traeger pellets left a sticky, brown residue on the tube and the hopper scoop that I'm fairly certain will never come off. I'm certain of this because residue dripped onto my thumb while I was using the scoop. Four days later, I still haven't gotten this residue off. Two days later, it smelled like a mixture between liquid smoke you can buy at your grocery store and the smell on your clothes after camping a week.

My theory now is that the "Flavor Oils" are just liquid smoke. Not cool, Traeger.

this is very intriguing because when I was cleaning our traeger up north the other week there was alot of residue on the bottom of the grill. I know recently my family all uses lumberjack and I have them and only burnt them in my pellet grill and notices no residue when I clean the bottom out.

 

[tannerwooden]

Interesting. I bought the "Hickory" pellets. It looks like the ones they make for pellet stoves are oak. I wonder if "Hickory" is just oak with flavor oils. I didn't get any residue when I used the Bear Mountain pellets though. I also have pellets for wood stoves available from Wilco as well for less than 1/2 the price. I read that there is no difference in manufacturing between the stove pellets and the "food safe" pellets. However, I can't see much of a way to verify this. The author of the article said to just call the manufacturer.

 

[spriggs]

I checked out bbqpellets.ca and  its no way free shipping  40lb bag or pellets was 120 for shipping,  ships from amazion.com looking to get an amnps and some pellets but don't know where to get some 100% flavor wood. and  I'm not paying a crazy amount for shipping. I just got a mes 40 propane.

 

[mummel]

Yeah everything I have read is to avoid Traeger pellets.  I've very happy with my A-MAZE-N's pellets.  I'd like to try the Cookingpellets at some point for due diligence sake but big TUs for A-MAZE-N.

 

[mneeley490]

I have heard that if you use any pellets other than Traeger's in a Traeger, it will void the warranty?

 

[mummel]

No.

 

[mneeley490]

 
I have heard that if you use any pellets other than Traeger's in a Traeger, it will void the warranty?

 
No.

Apparently, it does:  http://www.traegergrills.com/support/faq

Can I substitute homemade barbecue pellets, other brands of pellets, or heating fuel pellets for Traeger-brand barbecue pellets?

No. In fact, doing so will void your Traeger Warranty. Our barbecue pellets are made exclusively from natural food-grade hardwoods and are free of contaminants such as chemicals, petroleum, dirt or sand, or corrosion-causing salt from wood harvested from coastal areas. The pellets are designed specifically to optimize the performance of your Traeger. They are manufactured and packaged at our own mill according to strict specifications for density, hardness, and moisture content. The safety and/or performance of your grill may be compromised if you substitute any fuel other than Traeger-brand barbecue pellets.

 

[mummel]

I wonder when they updated their T&Cs?  This is news to me.  I've read multiple posts where people said no.  Its like buying a BP car and only being allowed to put BP gas in it and not Chevron gas.  Seems like a scam to me.  How do they know what pellets have been used?

 

[bregent]

 
I wonder when they updated their T&Cs?  This is news to me.  I've read multiple posts where people said no.  Its like buying a BP car and only being allowed to put BP gas in it and not Chevron gas.  Seems like a scam to me.  How do they know what pellets have been used?

It's always been in their warranty T&C as far as I know.  Folks that suggest that it does not void the warranty are doing so based on the fact that it:

1) would be difficult to prove

2) could be illegal as it may violate the prohibition of tie-in sales in the Magnuson-Moss act. http://www.mlmlaw.com/library/guides/ftc/warranties/undermag.htm

 

[pafret]

I was trolling the net out of curiosity about the ingredients in "food grade" pellets for BBQ smokers.  I came across this thread and some other interesting information about the quality of the pellets being sold as food grade.  According to the author on the BBQ Guru forum there is no difference from those sold as pellet stove fuel.  The article is titled "What are Food Grade Wood Pellets" and can be read at the link below.  I copied the conclusion and that is also below.

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http://seriousbirder.com/blogs/what-are-food-grade-wood-pellets/

Final Word on Wood Pellets for Food

These answers are quite telling.  When you go out to buy your wood pellets, you want to be safe, use a good product and enjoy the quality of food you produce.  Because you are spending $40 for a bag of pellets does not mean you are getting a better product or safer product than a well researched $8 bag of the same wood.  I might get criticized for saying this, but the reality is that it’s true.  If you want to save money and use wood heating pellets, call the plant where it is manufactured first.  Ask the big questions, they don’t mind.  Ask them all the questions above, you’d be surprised at the answers.  I’ve told them I want to use their product in my smokers and BBQ’s.  They would typically say that there is no reason you can’t.  They sometimes throw in the caveat, “But I don’t know what kind of hardwood we use, could be maple or cherry”.  Wow, how bad can that be.  The worst I’ve ever heard is that a company blends and produces soft and hardwood pellet.  So I simply don’t use that brand.  But there are many brands for heating products that are pure hardwood.  Do your research, one phone call can and you can be off on a new pellet adventure.  I smoke and BBQ a lot with wood pellets.  I used hundreds of pounds of pellets a year.  Nowhere near what a wood pellet stove or furnace uses.  But I can save a lot of $$ buying premium heating pellets and use my savings to buy a a couple bags of mesquite or hickory wood pellets.  Maybe even a beef brisket or prime rib

 

[muralboy]

I'd be concerned about using heating pellets based on the assumptions made in this article.  The author offers no credentials that or data other than "conversations" he had with companies in the "industry".  The final disclaimer in the article should be a red flag

"The opinions expressed in the product reviews and commentary on this web site are solely those of the original author.  The author is not associated with any of the product manufacturers and does not gain financially from any of the reviews and comments contained within this web site.  All product reviews are a combination of objective and subjective commentary and opinion, and therefore open to discussion and further opinions."

The one point that could be a valid point is the lack of uniform standards for food grade pellets: moisture, ash, actual content, etc.

 

[areallynicegirl]

Most of the heating pellets around here aren't hardwood, they're Doug fir. Not good eats.

 

[gpb11]

 
According to the author on the BBQ Guru forum there is no difference from those sold as pellet stove fuel.  The article is titled "What are Food Grade Wood Pellets" and can be read at the link below.  I copied the conclusion and that is also below.

http://seriousbirder.com/blogs/what-are-food-grade-wood-pellets/

Did you scroll down through the comments and note this one from "Uncle Jed"?

  Uncle Jed  July 30, 2014 at 4:42 pm  #  

Ive been in the Pellet and Pellet Stove business for 22 years now. We have over 23,000 Retail Customers.
We sell 35-50,000 tons of pellets a year.
I’ve sold pellet grills since 1992.. sold a lot of em.
I USED to say “it didn’t matter, just use any hardwood pellet”. many manufactures said “that was OK”.
UNTIL one day i had a customer that bought a stove from us a month Earlier, he brought it in for inspection.
It had a Golf Ball Size Hole in the side of the fire pot (made of Ductile Iron, what an exhaust manifold is made of). Also had big holes in the baffles above the fire pot . I asked him “what kind of pellets he was using?” he said “Premium Hardwood from up in Michigan”. I said “something is wrong here, do you have a bag?” he gave us a bag . I sent the sample in for complete lab analysis. The Lab Analysis showed that the wood pellet producer had used some TREATED LUMBER SHAVINGS in his pellets. These Chemicals destroyed this mans Pellet Stove in less than a month.
My lingering question was” what would have happened if someone had used THAT PELLET in their BBQ”? They would likely gotten Very Sick or worse yet DEAD. From that moment forward our staff was never allowed to say “Just use any hardwood pellet” in a BBQ again.
I believe its important to use a pellet where the Pellet Mill and all the conveyors etc are being lubricated with Food Grade Grease and Oils.
Use Pellets made from wood where they know exactly what wood /raw material goes into them.
Raw material should never touch the ground.
Remember, what you cook with ends up in/on the food you and your family eat.
Thanks
Uncle Jed

 

[pafret]

 
I'd be concerned about using heating pellets based on the assumptions made in this article.  The author offers no credentials that or data other than "conversations" he had with companies in the "industry".  The final disclaimer in the article should be a red flag

"The opinions expressed in the product reviews and commentary on this web site are solely those of the original author.  The author is not associated with any of the product manufacturers and does not gain financially from any of the reviews and comments contained within this web site.  All product reviews are a combination of objective and subjective commentary and opinion, and therefore open to discussion and further opinions."

The one point that could be a valid point is the lack of uniform standards for food grade pellets: moisture, ash, actual content, etc.

I agree with you, the disclaimer is boilerplate CYA due to the litigious nature of our society.  The part of the article that interested me was that the pellets are claimed to be food safe yet none of the companies list the contents on the bags nor could they tell what was in them without contacting their supplier.  My original concern was that these pellets might have toxic binders.  According to what I have read there is no binder needed for the ring extrusion mills, but I became aware that the wood types being used was anybodies guess. 

As to whether the mill operator adheres to the guidelines given to the author of the article, there is no way of telling other than you get poor tasting Q.  Without rigid quality control procedures there isn't even a minimal guarantee that these pellets are food safe.  I know they have been in wide use and no one has raised a flag yet.  I just do not like the idea that a safe product can suddenly become an adulterated, unsafe product with no one being the wiser.  The pellets used for heating at least Identify the wood mix, hard, soft or both.

For now I am sticking with my wood chunk generator.  It produces copious, dense smoke; I can't get TBS but I can shut off the generator whenever I like.

 

[gpb11]

When you call up a pellet maker and ask what's in their pellets you'll be told what that person believes to be the truth at that time.  The question though is whether that will remain true tomorrow, next week, next month, next year, etc.

Here's how I see it:

When a company is selling "heating pellets" they have no legal obligation to ensure they're safe to be used to cook food over.  It may well be they are safe for that due to coincidentally aligned incentives.  Yet they have no reason to ensure that remains true in the future.   Since they're not marketing/selling them for use with food there's no reason for them to ensure everything going into the pellets is safe to cook over.

Conversely when a company is selling "cooking pellets" there's an implied suitability for cooking food over the pellets.  That creates a specific incentive to ensure nothing potentially harmful ends up in the pellets.  No, there's no guarantee they'll follow this, but they're betting the company if they don't ensure the inputs are safe to cook over.  

It's kind of like riding around in your pickup without a seatbelt.  People go their whole lives without ever having an accident.  Yet they're rolling the dice every time they pull out into traffic.

IMHO the odds of a problem with 100% hardwood heating pellets is miniscule.  But I'd be trusting my family's health to the pellet makers continue doing something they have no strong incentive to keep doing.  I simply don't have enough faith in humanity to do that.  Not for a few bucks a month.  

 

[gpb11]

 
Without rigid quality control procedures there isn't even a minimal guarantee that these pellets are food safe.  I know they have been in wide use and no one has raised a flag yet.  I just do not like the idea that a safe product can suddenly become an adulterated, unsafe product with no one being the wiser.  The pellets used for heating at least Identify the wood mix, hard, soft or both.

Not sure if you're referring to heating or cooking pellets with this, but I'd say that if a company markets pellets as being for grilling/cooking they're creating an inherent legal duty for themselves to ensure nothing unsafe goes into the pellets, and that includes such things as lubricants used for the extrusion dies.

With some (non-Traeger) brands of cooking pellets they do identify the wood types used.  For example CookinPellets states: 

 
Our Cooking Pellets are 100% Hardwood with NO fillers. Some companies use oak or alder as a filler.

This is not bad but it will make a less flavorful bbq smoke or cook.

Our Pellets have NO additives or binders added!

We have decided to offer only 2 types of bbq wood pellets (smoking pellets). It is our Perfect Mix.  And 100% Hickory. We have done extensive testing with loads of different meat and types of pellets. We have talked with some of the biggest competition teams and restaurants that use pellets and they all agree that a good MIX is the answer! Our  Perfect Mixis Hickory, Cherry, Hard Maple and Apple.No Oak or Alder...Just 100% of the top hardwoods. The way we make this recipe never changes so it has a very consistent flavor. Great for short cooks like chicken, burgers, pork chops, fish and awesome for long smokes like pulled pork, brisket, turkey, whole pigs, whatever you smoke or cook the Perfect Mixdelivers a good smoke flavor without having to have 12 different containers stacked up in the garage. I'm not saying you shouldn't use the other 100% variety woods. I am just trying to make it easier for those that want a great consistent smoke or cook with less hassle and our PERFECT MIX will deliver just that!!

We also offer our 100% Hickory. It is just that, Hickory.

We only use heart-woods, no outer bark, no reclaimed wood, no scrap, no oil additives, no binders!!

 

[pafret]

Hello Uncle Jed;

Your experience with the stove pellets was exactly my concern in searching for information about food grade pellets.  Before I retired, I visited ITT's Rayonier Forest Products Division  in Shelton Washington, about twenty years ago.  The Testing Laboratory did heavy duty chemical analysis of  boxcar loads of wood from all over the country.  They analyzed for moisture, bark, chemical variations and a plethora of other factors.  They provided detailed analysis of raw material inputs, to pulp paper mills, chemical conversion plants such as those that produce vanillin (synthetic vanilla) and other users.  They did fractional distillation of wood slurrys, producing both kinds of alcohol, turpentines etc.  At that time there were about 380 commercial products derived from wood chemical manipulations.

My point in this is that the laboratory maintained rigid quality control over the input and the process, in numerous plants throughout the US on a real time basis.  The customer group was linked through their own network to the lab and sensors provided constant surveillance of the manufacturing processes.  All this to make Paper and Vanilla.  When I read that the contents of "food grade" pellets wasn't known to a fine point it made me very nervous.

I am sure that any of the producing mills will at on time or another run into a shortage of raw material or a supplier will buy the wrong floor sweepings.  A burned out stove is a major aggravation;  you or your family dying from toxic pellets will ruin your day for certain.  Until I see some kind of stringent control of what is going into food grade pellets, I will pass.

pafret

 

[pafret]

 
Not sure if you're referring to heating or cooking pellets with this, but I'd say that if a company markets pellets as being for grilling/cooking they're creating an inherent legal duty for themselves to ensure nothing unsafe goes into the pellets, and that includes such things as lubricants used for the extrusion dies.

With some (non-Traeger) brands of cooking pellets they do identify the wood types used.  For example CookinPellets states: 

Hello gpb11;

My concern is with the cooking pellets.  The quote from the CookinPellets company you listed is what I would expect as a minimum.  They are still being a little cute with the appeal to not needing boxes of different kinds of woods.  Yes, that is a convenience but on the other hand I have read numerous posts form zealots, of the virtues of various wood species for smoking.  There is as much difference of opinion as there is about which wines are better and what they should be paired with.  De gustibus non est disputandem.   I regard the one kind fits all as the Ernest and Guilio Gallo jug wine approach.  However it does simplify their production process and probably lowers the cost. 

I am still leery of  pellets; when I can't trust the food in supermarkets which comes from certain countries, it is difficult to trust food related items coming from an industrial process.   My original concern was that there might be binders in the pellets, but I learned that there weren't any needed for high volume extrusion mills.  The use of die lubricant oils is another issue, again - where did it come from?  If it is Asia, no thanks - those people have been known to filter used crankcase oil and sell it as cooking oil. 

 

[gpb11]

 

[gpb11]

My theory now is that the "Flavor Oils" are just liquid smoke. Not cool, Traeger.

I'd recommend reading Traeger's patents on using flavor oils.  They're publicly available via patents.google.com  In a nutshell they are used for (a) reducing transport costs of flavor woods like hickory to where the pellets are made or (b) used for non-wood flavors like the "Garlic" or "Onion" pellets Traeger used to sell.

I didn't save the links when I looked them up, sorry.

FWIW I'm not intending to defend Traeger.  I won't do business with them myself but more for deceptive business practices, specifically the specious claim that using non-Traeger pellets would void the grill warranty.  (Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act)