New traeger.... Need a Lil info...

[wncrick]

So my wife gave me a new smoker after my last stick burner rusted into a heap and she had it hauled away..... This a traeger 572 and my first experience with pellet smokers. After the initial burn in. I started a couple butts on 225. I watched the temps oscillate from 175-305. After 3 hours the temp dropped further and it was out. I removed the pellets from the firebox and restarted according to directions. After another 3 hours or so it was out again. This time I emptied the full burn pot again and vacuumed everything out again. Finished the cook with similar temp swings. Tried again the next day and went out again with an ler error and a full pot of pellets when I wasn't watching. Ambient temps have been 55-70. No wind to speak of. Literally following the procedures with directions in my hand. Using traeger pellets that came with it. It's new, clean, no Ash, no grease. The good news is the pulled pork was excellent so I don't mind the temp swings. I just want it to stay lit. Any ideas and is this normal? Thanks!!!

 

[mr_whipple]

Make sure you have the exhaust damper / chimney cap is set to the proper height. My Camp Chef manual directions were incorrect according to my phone call with customer service. It told me to set the stop nut at 1.5 inches above the end of the threaded rod. Customer support said more like 3/4 inch. That made a huge difference.

 

[bregent]

Well, I would start by calling tech support. But know that this model uses a dumb controller and many folks experience the same problems that you are describing and struggle to keep them lit. Is it possible to return and upgrade to a better unit with a PID controller? I had the same problem with my CampChef - big temp swings and eventual flameout - and after almost 6 months of speaking with tech support and swapping out parts that they sent, I ended up returning it.

 

[wncrick]

Thank you guys for the info. I measured the chimney height and it was 3/4 inch. Tech support said that was correct. They said they have changed the startup procedures from the way the manual says. They are sending new instructions to startup. I'll try that and see how it goes next time I cook. Hopefully this will help as returning it would probably be impossible. I'll keep you guys informed and thanks again!

 

[civilsmoker]

This may seem extreme, but if you can't get it to work right or return it, you could always upgrade it a PID controller like the Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro. Others make PID replacements as well. You would be amazed at how much it will improved the functionality....

 

[Fueling Around]

I have a Masterbuilt pellet grill (pooper) that is a bit smaller than the Traeger 572, but very similar in design (I call it a knockoff copy) with the heat baffle (saddle) over the burn pot and the angled grease tray under the food grate. It has an analog controller with a digital temperature display (that is very similar to my neighbor's older Pit Boss). It has a daisy wheel on the exhaust (I usually leave it wide open). If it had a chimney, I would throttle it down owing to the draft.
Here is what I have learned

• When I want to cook something, I fire up the pooper at least 30 minutes (prefer an hour) prior to placing meat on the grate.
  It takes the MB chamber temperature a long time to settle down after start up.
• I had a flame out once and it was my fault. I used a sack of pellets that was more twigs than pellets (if you follow me) and it bridged in the hopper.
  Now I give all my pellets a mash in a separate bucket with a T handle to break everything into smaller pellets.
• After adding meat, walk away, and don't touch the temp knob for at least an hour. The temperature will radically dip after adding food on the grate especially depending how long you leave the door open. After 30 minutes it will usually shoot up a bit, but slowly settle down.
• The smoke flavor and aroma is pretty tame. I use 1, 2 or 3 smoke tubes to add the thin blue smoke (TBS)

If these tips fail, consider the alternatives offered in previous posts.

This may seem extreme, but if you can get it to work right or return it, you could always upgrade it a PID controller like the Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro. Others make PID replacements as well. You would be amazed at how much it will improved the functionality....

I will be doing this exact upgrade next year. Sadly, I will pay more for the upgraded controller than I paid for the pooper out of the box.
The saddle heat baffle over the fire pot is also warped after trying a higher temperature grill. I will start with some welding table enhancements.

 

[bigfurmn]

We're there any outside factors? Wind? Really cold temps?

 

[wncrick]

If all else fails I will upgrade in the end, but hopefully it won't come to that. I forgot mention there was no wind to speak of and the ambient temps ranged from around 55 to 70. I even did the second cook inside a three sided metal shed to make sure a breeze wasn't causing the problem. Fueling around, thank you for all the information. The updated startup instructions they sent sound a lot more like what you are doing than the manual. I'll make a note to remember about breaking up pellets. I bought a bag of pit boss brand pellets and they are more like what you describe than the small uniform traeger brand pellets that the smoker came with. I look forward to trying this out and I'll keep you guys updated. I only use this for long slow smokes so it may be a little while since I just made a ton of q.
Thanks again
Rick

 

[mr_whipple]

This may seem extreme, but if you can't get it to work right or return it, you could always upgrade it a PID controller like the Smoke Daddy Pellet Pro. Others make PID replacements as well. You would be amazed at how much it will improved the functionality....

Yes. Camp Chef fortunatley started making a PID controller that was backwards compatible to my smoker. The old Ortech style (commonly refered to as "dumb") controllers are to say the least not very accurate or reliable when it comes to temp control. Not sure if Traeger has a newer controller, but its worth looking into as it changed my smoker from a FPOS to a usable cooking tool.