pellet smokers in winter

[smoken mirrors]

hey all....
any of you run pellet smokers in the wintertime and how does it affect performance? I've got a traeger pro 34 and it's about-16°C, and I'm missing some bbq...think she will run ok?

 

[Chasdev]

It will be difficult to get up to temp and it will eat lots more pellets than normal to keep it hot enough to cook, unless you are shooting for a very low and slow cook.
If the manufacturer offers an insulating "blanket" or custom fit heat retaining cover, I advise you buy one.
Some folks use a welders blanket and cover that with regular blankets.
My CampChef offered a custom fit heat insulating blanket which I ordered when I bought my cooker.

 

[sandyut]

Ive used my rec tec down to below freezing. I have a cold weather cover (insulated). the smoker works fine, pellet consumption is notably higher for sure. I have read welding blanket achieve he same result.

 

[bigfurmn]

I've used my Pit Boss down to -40F. Eats a lot of pellets but get some good smoke flavor from so many pellets burning.

 

[Murray]

Keep in mind that pretty much all smokers aren’t designed nor manufactured for extreme cold. Power cords will not be flexible, cords for temperature probes will be brittle and uncooperative. I’m confident that everything will work fine just be aware that things break easier with cold temperatures. Thermometers will also read differently in the cold depending how the internal electronics react to cold weather. I get a 10F difference between my Inkbird 4 probe, Thermopro TP-8 and Inkbird PID when I first bring them outside, over time they will slowly start to equal out as the internal electronics cools to ambient temperature. 10F isn’t really a big deal to me just found it interesting that all 3 were within 1F at room temperature and as much as 10F difference once they hit the cold air, all 3 probes were half an inch apart and the PID was set to 50F. Ambient air temperature was -20C.