Traeger: all smoke, no heat

[troutman]

The Pellet Pro PID is readily available on line and pretty much bullet proof. I've heard really good things about the Savannah Stoker PID as well, I think it's probably the same thing more or less. It's the PID control that makes all the difference in temperature control and operation. The auger, the burn rod and the fan are really just passive that depend on the PID brain. If she can afford it, I would urge her to upgrade.

As to leaving the pellets in the hopper, I've heard all kinds of pros and cons. If you operate it on a regular basis then there is no need to change out pellets. I live in a very humid climate with lots of rain and have never had the pellets in my hopper get wet or even feel damp. I can run my hand through the pellets and a small dust cloud comes up into my face so I know the hopper is dry.

However, there is still the issue of pellet change out. If I want to go from 100% Hickory to say a competition blend of fruit woods and oak, I have to vacuum out the old and replace with the new. I don't have a dump shoot on my cooker. What I did do to facilitate this was to buy a Bucket Head vacuum from Home Depot for $29.95. It just snaps onto one of their orange buckets (which I own probably 3-4 of) and sucks the pellets out of the hopper in about 15-20 seconds. I take those and dump them into the appropriate plastic bin and refill the hopper with the new ones. Just a cheap and easy way to solve that little issue.

 

[foamheart]

Sorry to be so late to the party, if ya don't mind another old dog in this hunt......
This is not a new discussion here, not only does it happen but its not unusual. We all know that moisture makes the pellets swell and eventually break down into dust. I laughed I actually saw a post on Facebook last month of someone who thought they had found the fountain of wisdom and broke down pellets purposely to obtain dust for dust type aux. smokers. But I am rambling here now.

The last time this topic came up after a few pages of discussion I opened my mouth. I know I just can't stand not to be in the hunt with everyone else.

So after analyzing the situtation, using common sense and not my vast educational backround, <Chuckles> I recommended that they but a water tight container. If you want fancy they sell pet food containers with handly pouring spouts even. Me, I'd buy a "Rubbermaid Roughneck", its what I use. I have one for chips, one for pellets and one for pecan shells. Put an old can in on top of the fodder. Don't fill the hopper on the smoker, use what you need and allow it to burn clean each time.

I also have a MES Aux Smoker attachment and it does the same thing. Things get all plugged up and I have to poke a stick down in it quite often, its no biggie if you know to do it. Its when you don't know about it that it becomes a problem.

You never know when it will be humid, I live on the Gulf Coast its always Humid!! You don't need all those pellets anyway. The place where your meat takes the best smoke is from 90 to 150 IT, everything above and below that is smoking the meat at a diminished capacity. Yes its smoking, but there is only so much room for smoke.

Get a container, get an appropriate sized measuring can and you'll never have that problem again. Easy solution.

 

[johnmeyer]

I appreciate all of the posts, but the recent ones are about humidity effects on the pellets. My original question was about why pellets were not being burned down at the end of the burn (note: they DID burn just fine during that burn). This results in the firepot being completely full when the oven is next used.

There was lots of dust and powder everywhere, so I don't think she has any issue with damp pellets. From everything I have read in the excellent replies so far, this is an issue with the controller not making sure the firepot stays hot enough for 5-10 minutes after the unit is turned "off."

At this point, I will either buy her one of the aftermarket controllers or will simply tell her to do what several people have suggested, namely to spoon out any excess pellets before starting the grill.

If Traeger admits to the problem and has a controller upgrade that has a shutdown cycle and are willing to provide it for little or no money, I'll go that route. However, I am not expecting that.