Very Disappointed In Traeger Pellet Grill/Smokers

[indaswamp]

@johnmeyer


The guys at the firehouse have a cabela's pellet grill and they are notorious for not doing a proper shutdown. The next time someone goes to use it, you get thick smoke like seen in the video. They also leave the pellets in the hopper and with the high humidity they suck up moisture, expand, and crumple apart. This renders the auger useless. Fire has backed up through the feed tube and caught the entire hopper of pellets on fire. I told they guys that if they want me to continue cooking all that good BBQ for them on the pellet grill @ the firehouse, they need to take care of it and do a proper shutdown.

 

[johnmeyer]

Yeah, as I found with my friend's Traeger, it is the shutdown that causes the problems. A better controller could reduce or eliminate the problem and in fact there are several non-Traeger aftermarket controllers that claim to do just that. The explosion is caused by the massive number of pellets leftover from the previous use not catching fire because the chamber is full ("flooded"). Then, if there is dust in there it gets atomized by the fan, and any spark will give you a large-scale version of the old science experiment where you blow flour into a paper bag or paint can under which there is a lit candle:

 

[sweetride95]

So it's Traegers fault the end user may or may not properly shut down or vacuum the grill out regularly? Hmmm....
The Traeger-hater nation has been popular around here lately.

 

[schlotz]

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.

Generally speaking I agree and if you spend enough time most suppliers have their nay-sayers. Some deserved, others not (ie operator induced problems). But, there is one out there that's darn close to 100% satisfaction. MAK - they're not on the low end of affordability but IMO you do get what you pay for. :D

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Generally speaking I agree and if you spend enough time most suppliers have their nay-sayers. Some deserved, others not (ie operator induced problems). But, there is one out there that's darn close to 100% satisfaction. MAK - they're not on the low end of affordability but IMO you do get what you pay for. :D

Yes you do.

But of course, it goes without saying that even the best can have problems.

I recall some describing issues with the wifi in the MAKs.

But like you say, when it comes to customer satisfaction, that's the most important thing.

And IMO, that comes from build quality, reliability, and customer support. From what I've heard and read, the MAKs check all three of those boxes.

But they, like my favorite pellet grill Rec Tec, are relatively small companies compared to Traeger.

This IMO, gives the smaller companies somewhat of an advantage when it comes to those three things above, especially individualized customer support.

First off, a customer wants things to work right. He wants to see that what he bought is stout. And if things don't go as planned, well then he wants to be able to pick up the phone and have the company do whatever it can to make things right.

From what I've heard and read, the people who make MAKs do that with flying colors.

 

[sweetride95]

We also have to be careful comparing $2000+ hand built grills to $500-700 big box store offerings.
Your mileage should be equivalent to what you spend.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

We also have to be careful comparing $2000+ hand built grills to $500-700 big box store offerings.
Your mileage should be equivalent to what you spend.

Fair point. And the Traeger line really does face a lot of stiff competition at their price points because so many other smaller operations have started to sell pellet grills

 

[Winterrider]

For the price th Mak is asking, you sure would think a PID would be a standard issue. Crazy price, I'm sure it is a nice grill though.

 

[retfr8flyr]

The Mak controller is a PID controller, the Yoder is still the old style.

 

[Pelagic]

I installed a dual mode controller on my Z-Grills 700 series and really like it - it has traditional mode (more temp swings & smoke) & PID mode for more precise (+- 5 degrees) temp control. Pretty handy to smoke something for prescribed time, wrap it and switch to PID mode and cook at a set temp.

 

[sandyut]

I am with slowmotion- and second the Rec Tec. I didnt consider a trager based on the numbers of highly variable reviews - those that got one that works and those who get the lemons.

if I am going to throw down I want it to work and last. MAK looks great too but pushes the cost level too high for me. My butcher had a MAK1 outside the front door running all last summer - it was a very tempting sight and impressive to see them use it daily. but loaded with accessories it broke the bank for me.

 

[flatbroke]

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.

treager pellets sucked for me too. they are too long and cause it to burn hot. I switched to pitboss and no issue now

 

[bigfurmn]

Random thought... Has anyone put a thermostate in their home oven? Does the home oven hold a consistant 325 degrees the whole way through a cook? No, it doesnt. It works a lot like a pellet grill. It is the average temp. Keep the grill out of the wind and elements as much as possible and it works a lot better. At least that seems to work for my Pit Boss. Having it just inside the garage with big door, side door and side window open works much better than setting it in the driveway any day of the week. Just my opinion and thoughts. No science involved at all. Just common sense.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Spot on about kitchen oven temps oscillating.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-test-your-oven-for-temperature-preheating-accuracy/

https://blog.thermoworks.com/thermometer/thermal-secrets-oven-calibration/

But a question: How to know if the indicated and marked temp setting on a less accurate grill represents what would be the actual "average temp" over cooks of varying lengths?

Those who are looking for accuracy with their kitchen ovens may go through the above linked or a similar described procedures of finding an average temperature for their oven’s given setting, and then adjusting their indicated oven setting according to that average.

However like you indicate, unlike outdoor grills, which of course are intended to be used outside, most kitchen ovens aren’t outside where such factors as ambient temperatures, season, swings in ambient temperature, for instance night vs day for overnight cooks, and other conditions such as wind or direct sunlight, may affect things.

Someone may go to, or may have already gone to, the trouble of finding out what an indicated temp setting on a Traeger or other grill represents in terms of what can be expected to be the actual average.

But it would seem to me that a device offering a steady state temp or at least a minimal variance in temp, would be an easier setup.

It’s also reassuring to know that if one wishes to, has to, in order to minimize fire hazards, do a cook with the grill unsheltered, in the open, at poolside, in direct sunlight, or in the cold of winter, or overnight where temps may drop, in humid conditions or dry heat summer conditions, in other words in a variety of conditions, that the indicated temp is within a few degrees of the actual temperature.

 

[family man smoker]

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.

I had an issue with my new Timberline 1300, Traeger requested a rep named Brandon contact me and he did. We did trouble shooting over the phone and Brandon sent me parts to replace. I sent in pictures and video showing the issues and Brandon and Traeger stood by the product since it was only about 3 months old and are sending me a replacement grill !!!

So happy I stuck with Traeger over the years, a lot of companies try to doge responsibility especially after they already have our money but Traeger is a solid stand up company

The smokes I did have on my 1300 were incredible, super smoke mode is incredible resulting in beautiful pink smoke rings throughout my briskets

Traeger is a stand up company, glad I stayed with them

 

[WeberBlackStoneYoder]

My wife just bought me a new Traeger 1300 Timberline about three (3) months ago, after two smokes the plug melted, I called Traeger still being the optimistic country boy I am and they sent out a new cord. cord was installed, unit fired up and away we go smoking meat (my passion) and after two more smokes the unit today 6/2/2019 stopped feeding pellets into the pot so all the food gets removed once again and im waiting for a new auger to be delivered within a couple weeks

I am not here to ruin any company, I am seeking advise from other great people who love to use pellet smokers however, I also will not hide my experience with any brand

I have been looking at the Yoder models, one is a little over $8,000.00 for their pellet smoker with cart, looks incredibly well built but I dont want to go though what I am going through now with this one especially if its going to be much more than this Traeger 1300, I do not mind spending the high end money but looking for the absolute most dependable smoker in the great United States..... any suggestions form experience would be grateful

 

[WeberBlackStoneYoder]

Yoders are very well built. I spent $2,400 on mine.

 

[family man smoker]

Yoders are very well built. I spent $2,400 on mine.

Thank you for the input I'm leaning that way

 

[SlowmotionQue]

My wife just bought me a new Traeger 1300 Timberline about three (3) months ago, after two smokes the plug melted, I called Traeger still being the optimistic country boy I am and they sent out a new cord. cord was installed, unit fired up and away we go smoking meat (my passion) and after two more smokes the unit today 6/2/2019 stopped feeding pellets into the pot so all the food gets removed once again and im waiting for a new auger to be delivered within a couple weeks

I am not here to ruin any company, I am seeking advise from other great people who love to use pellet smokers however, I also will not hide my experience with any brand

I have been looking at the Yoder models, one is a little over $8,000.00 for their pellet smoker with cart, looks incredibly well built but I dont want to go though what I am going through now with this one especially if its going to be much more than this Traeger 1300, I do not mind spending the high end money but looking for the absolute most dependable smoker in the great United States..... any suggestions form experience would be grateful

I'm sorry that this happened to you and looking at that plug, it could have been a disaster in the way of a fire hazard.

Seriously, I'm glad that it didn't burn your whole house down.

 

[family man smoker]

I'm sorry that this happened to you and looking at that plug, it could have been a disaster in the way of a fire hazard.

Seriously, I'm glad that it didn't burn your whole house down.

I had an issue with my new Timberline 1300, Traeger requested a rep named Brandon contact me and he did. We did trouble shooting over the phone and Brandon sent me parts to replace. I sent in pictures and video showing the issues and Brandon and Traeger stood by the product since it was only about 3 months old and are sending me a replacement grill !!!

So happy I stuck with Traeger over the years, a lot of companies try to doge responsibility especially after they already have our money but Traeger is a solid stand up company

The smokes I did have on my 1300 were incredible, super smoke mode is incredible resulting in beautiful pink smoke rings throughout my briskets

Traeger is a stand up company, glad I stayed with them