Traeger Temperature - Weird Issue

[rossi6998]

Hello all,

I have been using Traeger grills for a couple years now.  I started with one of the smaller Traeger models and worked my way up to the Traeger Elite 34.  I have had the Elite for approximately 8-10 months now and in the past I have had an issue with the temperature not getting hot enough on the "High" setting (should be 420-450 degrees).  Finally replaced the RTD Temperature sensor and controller and things have been fine for the past couple of months until recently.

A couple weeks ago, I noticed my food was not cooking as quickly as it normally does.  For example, based on the size of my steaks, I always cook them on High for 12-15 minutes each side.  I did that the other night and the steaks were not cooked the way I like them.  I had to leave them on for additional time.  Same thing happened with my burgers and chicken on separate occasions.

Believing there was a temperature issue, I placed an oven thermometer inside the barrel to monitor the temperature.  The controller was reading a temperature 450 degrees (from the RTD Temperature Sensor), but the oven thermometer in the barrel was only reading about 390 degrees.  Again, I replaced the RTD Temperature Sensor and the controller.  I am still getting the same results.  I even checked the oven thermometer in the over and it seems to be fairly accurate.

I contacted Traeger yesterday and they are sending me a new RTD Temperature Sensor and a new controller.  As I discussed this issue with the Traeger Representative on the phone, we are both baffled.  We can not figure out why the controller is reading a temperature of 450 degrees, but the oven thermometer is only reading about 390 degrees.

I suppose it is possible I received a defective RTD sensor or controller, and we both agree it should be one of the two parts, but I am not convinced this is going to fix my problem.

Has anyone else had an issue like this?

Thanks

John

 

[bigtrain74]

My apologies for you not getting some sort of reply for over a week now. 

I suppose you are right to assume that you could have received a bad RTD but has anything else changed? Are you using a new pellet?

 

[rossi6998]

Thank you for the response.  I noticed the other day that one of the seven holes in the fire pot was about five times larger than it should be due to use.  I re-contacted Traeger and they are sending me a new fire pot.  I am hoping this is the cause of the temperature difference.  It's just odd the LED on the controller is showing a higher temperature than the temperature in the barrel.  Regarding the pellets, nothing has changed.  I am using Traeger pellets and they are properly stored in my garage.

 

[bregent]

I replied to the same question you posted over at PH, but did not see a response. Here's what I had stated and asked over there:

>We can not figure out why the controller is reading a temperature of 450 degrees, but the oven thermometer is only reading about 390 degrees.

It is not at all uncommon for a thermometer on the grates to read differently than the controller - you are comparing the temps at two different locations. Is the oven thermometer you are comparing with calibrated?

 

[rossi6998]

The oven thermometer is a commercial grade thermometer, but I am not sure if it is calibrated.  I have placed the oven thermometer right next to the RTD Temperature Sensor.  I am getting a 60 degree difference.  I have also placed a probe in the smoke stack and I am getting about the same reading as the oven thermometer.  I am pretty confident the temperature inside the barrel compared to the LED reading on the controller is way off.

 

[jddelfin]

Hi, I came across this post and seem to be having a similar issue with my Traeger. Granted I haven't used thermometers to test the cooking temperatures and conditions, but I'm seeing my food taking longer to cook and generally not even sound like it's cooking once I put it on the grill; such that you would think hot grill...uncooked meat...sizzle sizzle right? Well that's not happening. I'm just curious what additional steps if any beyond the above you had taken to fix the problem. Thanks in advance for your input!