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Traeger Pellet Smoker... problem...

Discussion in 'The Smokehouse' started by Chvymn99, Apr 14, 2018.

  1. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    I mentioned this before in the smoker section... but it happened to me again last weekend. I was at Costco today and saw the rep there and was questioning him... he said it was unusual and to call Service line. I’ve had this smoker for about 9 months now. I’ve had a several over fire and several pot kills. I put a couple of moving blankets on top and fire bricks inside it to try to help control winter coldness ( several readings off the net mention that this helps in the winter time cooking). Which seemed to help. But last Sunday in the middle of a cook. I had a burn out and pellets just pouring out of the pot. Now according to both of the Service tech that I talked to... it’s caused by my Traeger pellets not funneling down (sticking together) and creating a pocket.. burning out the fire then trying to play catch up.... they advised me to run my hand through the pellets every hour to keep this from happening... has any body seen or heard of this with a pellet cooker? If I wanted to play with the smoker every hour I’d have bought a sticker smoker or weldered mine up...:mad:
     
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  2. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    i never heard of that,and ive owned a few
     
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  3. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    I was googling lastnight... Its out there, some have issues and some have never had a issue. I was brainfarting last night about a vibrator to keep things moving. I've seen this at work with some of our materials, where we had to hook up a air controlled vibrator to keep the pellets moving. I'm thinking I've got a old shaver that is battery fed that I'll dangle in the middle or somewhere in the pellets to see if that helps any.... and tie it off to the side of the loader.... I like this darn thing, but its almost to the point of cashing out and moving on....
     
  4. bocefus78

    bocefus78

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    Kev, just don't Google small battery operated vibrator like I just did trying to help here lmao. :doh:
     
  5. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    :rofl: :lol::rofl: :lol: I did that.... Not quite what I was expecting... :faint:
     
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  6. NortheastAl

    NortheastAl

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    :rofl: :lol::rofl: :lol:
     
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  7. Babaganoosh

    Babaganoosh

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    I've had my traeger for 5 years and never a problem. I did get a backwards burn up my auger a bit once and had smoke in the hopper upon shut down but that was it. A good cleaning and never again.

    I removed the screen that's in the hopper and keep the pellets pretty full. I've heard that running them low can cause issues but I haven't dealt with it happening to me.

    Do you have your smoker on flat ground so that there's a slight downhill angle away from the hopper?
     
  8. Babaganoosh

    Babaganoosh

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    What pellets are you using? Try a different brand

    Is there debris in that auger causing a jam?

    Hot rod working fine?

    What controller does it have? What temp when you get the flame out? Are you getting an error code?
     
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  9. Highbeam

    Highbeam

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    My Englander pellet grill flames out last weekend during a 19 hour overnight cook of pork butt. The meat was at 188 at 10 am, I looked back and meat temp had fallen to 180, then see the door meter down at ambient! Uh oh. Open the hopper and there was this large vertical tunnel through the pellets to an empty auger at the bottom. First time that has happened. Thank goodness it wasn’t in the middle of the night.
     
  10. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    It was at least three quarters full... it’s on a flat garage surface...
     
  11. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    What pellets are you using? Try a different brand - Using Traeger pellets in zipper bag that I get from Costco...

    Is there debris in that auger causing a jam? When I cleaned it out for watching the timing on the rpm, there was dust on the flat parts of the bottom...

    Hot rod working fine? I’d assume at this point...

    What controller does it have? It’s the newest one out of Traeger... from what I’ve read that’s the one to have.

    What temp when you get the flame out? This last time was at 180 F...

    Are you getting an error code? Nope...
     
  12. Babaganoosh

    Babaganoosh

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    If that's the gourmet blend try busting the pellets up a little bit.. I seem to recall them being really long and causing problems.

    I also sift my pellets before they go into the hopper. I use a cheap plastic colander.

    Oh and 180 is very close to the smoke temp. I think I've heard that a few people have had issues at 180. Try the smoke setting instead. It relies on a timer for pellet feeding instead of temp. Also take a toilet paper tube and jam it between the temperature probe and the wall of the grill. It seems to keep steadier temps by giving a more accurate reading.
     
  13. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    :D... I can see it now... Honey save the next roll of toilet paper tube .... Why??? I’m going to use it for my smoker....:faint:.... that seems practical in reality... I read somewhere to make sure you kept it clean...

    No, have never sifted, but will try it... in my smoke setting I had a blow back.... it literally popped the lid and the blankets in the air.... scared the heck out of me....
     
  14. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    Well I haven’t done a real long cook yet, but so far so good with the toilet paper roll & the vibrator (via a old toothbrush)...

    34026FDA-B278-4AD6-A142-FFD0CC6C6BC6.jpeg
     
  15. NortheastAl

    NortheastAl

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    One thing I just remembered when I had a pellet stove, and that was to wax the sides of the hopper every now and then to allow the pellets to slide down. It might help.
     
  16. SKEETER McCLUSKEY

    SKEETER McCLUSKEY

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    Those pellets look awful long?wonder if it' bridging
     
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  17. Eric VW

    Eric VW Moderator

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    Well look at you, ya handy Macgyver you....:salute:
     
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  18. wildwest

    wildwest Moderator

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    WWW was thrilled to find some unbranded pellets on sale at a grocery store here. He just came back in, they are bridging. He tried crunching them at first third try now over the last month but the few he missed bridged too and stalled out the auger. It's ok, finish the burgers inside, thunderstorm just moved in anyway. Will pay (too much) for branded pellets at Murdoch's soon.
     
    Last edited: May 27, 2019
  19. gbreda

    gbreda

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    :p :whistle: :rofl: :lol:
     
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  20. gbreda

    gbreda

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    That sometimes happens with a komado as well if you open the lid without "burping" it
     
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