Treager is pizzzing me off!

[KFhunter]

It's unrealiable....


got my azz up at 5am to smoke a briscuit,  everything was going fine and I had already cleaned out all the ash beforehand.  I got the treager lit off and warmed up and backed it back down to smoke and put on the briscuit and went to bed...   (I'm a swing shift guy so I don't see 5am too often  )

wake up again 8:30 and   CRAP!  the treager shows 64 degrees inside   

take everything out, vacuum up the partially burnt pellets, put everything back and light it off...but now I have to do less smoke and more cook due to the lost time.


Do you green mountain and other pellet guys have the same problem?  I can't trust this treager anymore.

[92xj]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

[jrebel]

I have only owned my traeger for 2 months but I LOVE it and have never had a problem.  The only other person I have ever heard of with a similar problem, had wet swollen pellets in the auger.   They would not feed and needless to say it would not drop the pellets fast enough to keep the heat up.  He cleaned his auger and put dry pellets in and it worked fine.  Being on the west side (monsoonville) That would be my first thought...and it doesn't matter what grill you have, if your pellets are wet and swollen they won't work.

Why did you heat it up first then go to smoke....that is backwards from everything that they say to do?   (just trying to learn with this question)

[jrebel]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

j

My research with the rec tec shows it's smoke / low temp to be 180...which is far to hot to smoke with.   130-160 is ideal... 

What specific research steered you away from the Traeger....everthing I read had A+ rating.  Unless we are getting in to the made in America argument.   When I put hands on they look like the exact same machines GMG / Traeger other than shape.   

[KFhunter]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

To be fair to myself I bought this treager before GMG or other offerings were available - I've had it 5-6 years?  Not sure how long.
Pretty much just after they came out.

[jrebel]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

To be fair to myself I bought this treager before GMG or other offerings were available - I've had it 5-6 years?  Not sure how long.
Pretty much just after they came out.

Is this your fist time having a problem after owning it that long??  If so seems like a great track record, not that you ever want to have a problem when preparing your meat...

[92xj]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

To be fair to myself I bought this treager before GMG or other offerings were available - I've had it 5-6 years?  Not sure how long.
Pretty much just after they came out.

I think that is very fair and you have reached the design life of the product.  Trager started it all.  The other folks came in later and built off of the traeger design but improved where traeger had its learning curve.  They are great cookers but just not my cup of tea.

Wet pellets does sound like an option, but it also sounds like it could be computer related.

[92xj]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

j

My research with the rec tec shows it's smoke / low temp to be 180...which is far to hot to smoke with.   130-160 is ideal... 

What specific research steered you away from the Traeger....everthing I read had A+ rating.  Unless we are getting in to the made in America argument.   When I put hands on they look like the exact same machines GMG / Traeger other than shape.   

180 far to hot to smoke?  The purpose of these cookers is for red meat, pork and cooking to temps up to 500°.  If you're goal is to smoke anything 160° and lower you are using the wrong tool for the job.

The computer system is what steered me towards a GMG and Rec Tec.

[KFhunter]

No I've had problems leading to a general lack of trust.

Almost right away all the paint peeled inside the barrel and sat on top of a big turkey I had cooking in there - irritated me.   I took some pics and called the warranty, they shipped me out a new barrel and chimney so I have to give their warranty dept a round of applause.   I never did put the barrel or chimney on preferring to let this one rust out then I'll change it 

I had a hot rod failure,  pain to replace.

Upgraded the digital temp control.


What pizzes me off is occasionally it'll stop working,  like this morning the auger stopped augering pellets.   I unplugged the treager and plugged it back in and pellets began to spill into the pot again.  No plugs or swollen pellets.  the pellets were fresh from this morning.

I got no clue why the auger stopped,  almost like it went to a default safety mode

[h2ofowlr]

It's unrealiable....


got my azz up at 5am to smoke a briscuit,  everything was going fine and I had already cleaned out all the ash beforehand.  I got the treager lit off and warmed up and backed it back down to smoke and put on the briscuit and went to bed...   (I'm a swing shift guy so I don't see 5am too often  )

wake up again 8:30 and   CRAP!  the treager shows 64 degrees inside   

take everything out, vacuum up the partially burnt pellets, put everything back and light it off...but now I have to do less smoke and more cook due to the lost time.


Do you green mountain and other pellet guys have the same problem?  I can't trust this treager anymore.

Mine did this once on Easter.  Had a big ham and realized an hour before the flame snuffed out.  Too much smoke and not enough air put the flame out.  Than the burner filled to full with pellets and just smoldered.

[jrebel]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

j

My research with the rec tec shows it's smoke / low temp to be 180...which is far to hot to smoke with.   130-160 is ideal... 

What specific research steered you away from the Traeger....everthing I read had A+ rating.  Unless we are getting in to the made in America argument.   When I put hands on they look like the exact same machines GMG / Traeger other than shape.   

180 far to hot to smoke?  You should get back to researching and learning....

The computer system is what steered me towards a GMG and Rec Tec.

Rather than post like this...why not offer up your expertise.  Everything that I have ever read said that if you smoke pepperoni sticks or summer sausage and break the 180 degree mark you break down the fat / liquefy the fat and thus dry out the meat.  All my Jerky recipes state that ideal smoke temp is 140-160 degrees.  I am new to smoking large roast / ribs / hunks of meat......so maybe I could learn a thing or two. 

   Thanks for being an arse though....I think I did learn from your post today . 

[92xj]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

j

My research with the rec tec shows it's smoke / low temp to be 180...which is far to hot to smoke with.   130-160 is ideal... 

What specific research steered you away from the Traeger....everthing I read had A+ rating.  Unless we are getting in to the made in America argument.   When I put hands on they look like the exact same machines GMG / Traeger other than shape.   

180 far to hot to smoke?  You should get back to researching and learning....

The computer system is what steered me towards a GMG and Rec Tec.

Rather than post like this...why not offer up your expertise.  Everything that I have ever read said that if you smoke pepperoni sticks or summer sausage and break the 180 degree mark you break down the fat / liquefy the fat and thus dry out the meat.  All my Jerky recipes state that ideal smoke temp is 140-160 degrees.  I am new to smoking large roast / ribs / hunks of meat......so maybe I could learn a thing or two. 

   Thanks for being an arse though....I think I did learn from your post today .

I edited and posted more within seconds. I apologize that someone telling you to research a little more makes them an arse in your eyes.  I learned something today as well.

[KFhunter]

the treager doesn't go below 180 in my experience, unless it's cold outside. 


but I did make some fantastic fish out of triploids,  not a favored species around here to the die hard trout guys.   But holy cow did they taste good hot off that treager.

the fat did break down and pooled on top the fish, pour it off and chow down 


treager is not a cold smoker, nor is it a grill.   It's just a cooker is what I call it now.
makes great ribs and briscuits,  but don't do a ribeye on it.


Only reason I use a pellet cooker is for convenience,  a true smoker will do a better job for smoking - but it's tedious if you just want a couple chickens or rack or two of ribs for supper.
For a convenience cooker I want it reliable so I can do chores around the house while supper is on,  not flame snuffing out or a pot full to spilling over of un-burnt pellets.

[KFhunter]

Oh and FYI most all of my problems are when I want a low temp,  225 or lower.


If I'm cooking hotter I never have a problem.

[92xj]

GMG.
Never had an issue at all.  Doing all my research before buying taught me to stay away from the traegers. GMG and rec tec were my top two choices for my price range. The rec tec required a shipping cost and I smaller head space so I went with the GMG and have zero regrets.

j

My research with the rec tec shows it's smoke / low temp to be 180...which is far to hot to smoke with.   130-160 is ideal... 

What specific research steered you away from the Traeger....everthing I read had A+ rating.  Unless we are getting in to the made in America argument.   When I put hands on they look like the exact same machines GMG / Traeger other than shape.   

180 far to hot to smoke?  You should get back to researching and learning....

The computer system is what steered me towards a GMG and Rec Tec.

Rather than post like this...why not offer up your expertise.  Everything that I have ever read said that if you smoke pepperoni sticks or summer sausage and break the 180 degree mark you break down the fat / liquefy the fat and thus dry out the meat.  All my Jerky recipes state that ideal smoke temp is 140-160 degrees.  I am new to smoking large roast / ribs / hunks of meat......so maybe I could learn a thing or two. 

   Thanks for being an arse though....I think I did learn from your post today .

As far as your temps for smoking pep sticks, I think people are saying dont break the 180° mark on the internal temperature of the actual stick, not the cooking temp.  I pull all my sticks when they hit the 160-165 mark, I will smoke them around 140° (smoker temp) for a while and then finish them off around 200° for a while.  Here is a link showing my process.  http://hunting-washington.com/smf/index.php/topic,147300.0.html
I honestly will be glad to help in any way I can.  I have zero desire to argue and will answer any questions you might have about anything if you just ask.