Very Disappointed In Traeger Pellet Grill/Smokers

[timh]

I have been looking at pellet smokers for about two years. Was in Costco about four weeks ago and there was a Traeger booth set up with a Traeger rep. We talked about them and I end up buying the Select Pro and Junior Pro both for $1435.00. He even delivered to my house 50 miles away. Threw in covers for them and a bunch of chicken seasoning. Saturday morning put together my select pro and the back panel was damaged during shipment. Okay I straighten it and moved on. Put together the junior pro and it was damaged on the bottom pellet feed box almost crushing the fan in during shipment,finished putting it together. Emailed Traeger and no response. Did the require burnout in both of them. In the select pro did some brawts with the Traeger tri-blend wood pellets at 225F, temperature swing was +/- 30 F at least. No smoke in the brawts. The following Saturday went camping, threw a pork shoulder roast on it at 225F, grate temp was 190F with hickory pellets. Cooked for about five hours with temperature swing about +/- 30F. Then it got to 100 -/+ temperature swing. Temperature maxed out at 450F and couldn't control it. I had to shut it down and finish off in the oven. The reason why I bought these smokers was so I could set and forget it. Not the case. Contacted Traeger and they were not much help. Took both of them back to Costco and got my money back.

 

[jcam222]

I have a Traegar Tailgater and I can honestly say it is the worst grill / smoker I have ever owned. The temp swings are insane. I am so glad I got it used off someone cheaply and I understand why lol. I will never in my lifetime buy another of their products. It is random too. Sometimes after awhile the temp will settle in, other times it just goes bonkers, did some steaks yesterday and it soared to 450F no matter where I set it. I paid $200 for it and I wish i could sell it for that, probably could but feel as though I would be screwing someone over. Best of luck and truly hope you can get your controller straigented out.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I’m unfamiliar with these models.

Do they have PID controllers?

 

[motolife313]

My parents traeger broke after couple years. Says it’s on 225 but really on high. My stick burner hasn’t broke down yet

 

[txgunlover]

I try not to run down brands, but having had 1 Traeger for less than a year, I can definitely say it was one of the worst purchases I've ever made. On the other hand, I have two Rec-Tecs and love them.

 

[dog1234]

I like stick burners!!!! I fabricated a reverse flow stick burner a few years ago. After several time smoking with it I failed many times. So I purchased a Masterbuilt, and loved it. Then a friend of mine came over a couple months ago and talked me into pulling out my reverse flow. So I cleaned it up read plenty on fire management and I love it now. I will not use my Masterbuilt except for jerky. So my message here is stick burners. Learn how to manage your fire and it all good!!!!!

 

[Preacher Man]

It's threads like these that have kept me from buying a Traeger when I see a deal.

But then I got that one buddy who consistently puts out some outstanding Q over and over with his non-modified Traeger

 

[jcam222]

It's threads like these that have kept me from buying a Traeger when I see a deal.

But then I got that one buddy who consistently puts out some outstanding Q over and over with his non-modified Traeger

Same here, have a friend that loves his and turns out great food. He can hardly believe my comments on mine.

 

[sweetride95]

6 months in on mine and no problems, great food so far and getting better each cook.
I think it's luck of the draw.

 

[dubob]

6 months in on mine and no problems, great food so far and getting better each cook.
I think it's luck of the draw.

As it is with almost anything. S**t happens and there isn't a single company out there that can claim 100% satisfaction from 100% of their customers.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I have been very happy with my 1300. The only problem I have had was with the wifi connection and Traeger sent me a new controller and fixed that. Great customer service form Traeger also.

 

[Hawging It]

Love the Bayou Classic Stick Burner. It holds consistent heat which is key to a good smoke. Just my take. Good luck on finding your ideal smoker. You will find one!

 

[Bru]

I have 2 traegers and have never experienced the wild temperature swings. Mine turn out great food consistently. So much easier to cook low and slow than my stick burner.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

It really is luck of the draw.

And because there are probably more Traegers out there than probably anything else, it follows that there would be more complaints, fair or unfair.

 

[WeberBlackStoneYoder]

Last year my brother bought the Traeger Eastwood model from Home Depot. Worked great the 1st month he had it. After that he had nothing but trouble. Had a rough time with customer service trying to fix the problem. After about 6 recorded conversations they finally sent him a new one. He has not had any trouble with the replacement.

 

[bbqbrett]

I don't have a Traeger but considered getting one. I know several people who have them and only one has had any real problem and that is the auger stopped working. He got really heavy use out of it though. Problem is I enjoy cooking with charcoal and wood and fiddling with the fire etc. Sometimes the convenience of a pellet smoker just seems like it would be nice. After hearing some of these stories though I am not sure now.

 

[Thebutscher]

I have been looking at pellet smokers for about two years. Was in Costco about four weeks ago and there was a Traeger booth set up with a Traeger rep. We talked about them and I end up buying the Select Pro and Junior Pro both for $1435.00. He even delivered to my house 50 miles away. Threw in covers for them and a bunch of chicken seasoning. Saturday morning put together my select pro and the back panel was damaged during shipment. Okay I straighten it and moved on. Put together the junior pro and it was damaged on the bottom pellet feed box almost crushing the fan in during shipment,finished putting it together. Emailed Traeger and no response. Did the require burnout in both of them. In the select pro did some brawts with the Traeger tri-blend wood pellets at 225F, temperature swing was +/- 30 F at least. No smoke in the brawts. The following Saturday went camping, threw a pork shoulder roast on it at 225F, grate temp was 190F with hickory pellets. Cooked for about five hours with temperature swing about +/- 30F. Then it got to 100 -/+ temperature swing. Temperature maxed out at 450F and couldn't control it. I had to shut it down and finish off in the oven. The reason why I bought these smokers was so I could set and forget it. Not the case. Contacted Traeger and they were not much help. Took both of them back to Costco and got my money back.

I've had Traegers for twenty years (3 of them). First had some temp swings of about 20 or so. Other two no problems. Latest is a Select Pro from Costco. Holds temp within 3-5 degrees. This is over about 1.5 years using it avg 4x per week. Maxes out at about 450 but added GrillGrates so it works fine for anything.

I think people with bad experiences tend to post more reviews, so with Traeger's market share (70% last I saw) they will generate more online complaints.

 

[dan the mano]

well I also have a Traeger smoker and think it is great ( I also have 3 Bradley's too) . at first I also had temp swings of about -20 to t50 . I talked with traeger a few about this and had no problem as they had told me that some of these were having troubles with the thermostat (controller). so they sent me a new one , and now I still have temp swings , but very minor ,like -10 to t 20 and that I can live with ,no problem.

how ever I did have another problem which I found out the answer to ,and that was that after smokes... vacuum out the igniter box and keep it clean to start with, or you will eventually probably have fires.

then another tip I found out was to place some bricks around your igniter box and area there .. as this helps to stabilise your temp , especially in cooler places .this is just to help keep some tempt there so once heated up ,the burner doesn't have to work as hard to maintain your desired temperature setting.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

well I also have a Traeger smoker and think it is great ( I also have 3 Bradley's too) . at first I also had temp swings of about -20 to t50 . I talked with traeger a few about this and had no problem as they had told me that some of these were having troubles with the thermostat (controller). so they sent me a new one , and now I still have temp swings , but very minor ,like -10 to t 20 and that I can live with ,no problem.

how ever I did have another problem which I found out the answer to ,and that was that after smokes... vacuum out the igniter box and keep it clean to start with, or you will eventually probably have fires.

then another tip I found out was to place some bricks around your igniter box and area there .. as this helps to stabilise your temp , especially in cooler places .this is just to help keep some tempt there so once heated up ,the burner doesn't have to work as hard to maintain your desired temperature setting.

Bricks?

If I pay good money for a smoker or a grill, I don't expect to have to use "bricks" to make it behave itself.

Do they include these "bricks" in the box with the smoker when you purchased it?

 

[johnmeyer]

I never owned a Traeger, but I have two experiences, both of them quite negative.

1. I got a demo three years ago from a Traeger rep at Ace Hardware. His food sample had zero smoke taste, but had a slightly odd taste from the pellets. I wasn't tempted in the least to ever buy one.

2. A year ago, my daughter's new mother-in-law wanted me to fix her Traeger which was producing nothing but smoke, and wasn't able to heat. I reverse engineered it and found that you can flood the pellet pot in exactly the same way as you flood a small 4-stroke engine. The solution is simple: make sure to always clean out the pellet pot before next use. However, what is scary is that when I did some research the next day, to confirm the understanding I gained from partially disassembling the unit, I found that the same design flaw that leads to the flooded smoking problem can also lead to explosions, as you'll see below. Note the massive smoke before the explosion. This is exactly what I saw.

You can Google "Traeger explosion" and get lots of other hits.

You couldn't pay me to use one of these, now that I understand the fundamental design problem, and now that I've tasted the food prepared by a Traeger employee.