Amateur Smoker, Traeger Newbie - Question about Ironwood

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

Hey everyone! New to this forum as I'm the new owner of an Ironwood 885 which I purchased after a TERRIBLE experience with a PitBoss Elite series which I had for about a week.

Also new to pellet grills/smokers in general as I have been using the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 for the past several years.

I wanted to go with a pellet for smoking simply for ease of use. I have kids and a lot of things going on, and had to babysit the propane smoker quite a bit all the time. I understood going in that I may lose some of the heavier smoke flavor, and that's ok.

What I'm curious about is how "stable" should I expect the Ironwood 885 to be once I set the temp? I know it can fluctuate, but due to the terrible time I had with the Pit Boss, just extra leery.

I've only the Ironwood a few times, and it has been colder (30s) and slightly windy out. What I typically notice is that if I set to a temp, let's just say 250, the Ironwood will hit that temp for a bit, then start to drop down, maybe to 235/240, and then go back up to 250 again. And the cycle repeats.

I know the cold and wind doesn't help things, and look forward to trying on better days soon, but just wondering if this is normal/to be expected.

Thanks everyone!

 

[MarkC18]

I got my first Traeger in Dec so I have only been using it for about 3 months but from what I have read in this forum and talking to other Traeger owners this is normal. Mine does the same thing.

 

[Timmy]

Sounds to me it running pretty decent. Just be sure you check the actual temp with a good quality 3rd party thermometer. Traeger says to check it close to the factory rtd probe.

 

[Shedd]

It’s a Traeger so it’s not going to be accurate (the biggest issue I see people complaining about) even the overpriced Timberlines have temp issues. However using a third party temperature device is a good idea on any grill. They all get off, some more than others.

 

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

Sounds to me it running pretty decent. Just be sure you check the actual temp with a good quality 3rd party thermometer. Traeger says to check it close to the factory rtd probe.

I did put another ambient probe in there near the factory one and it was pretty close. I'd say Traeger was reading about 5 degrees hotter than it was. Will be doing more testing, but was pretty happy that it was that close.

 

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

It’s a Traeger so it’s not going to be accurate (the biggest issue I see people complaining about) even the overpriced Timberlines have temp issues. However using a third party temperature device is a good idea on any grill. They all get off, some more than others.

Fair enough, just wanted to make sure it was at least "expected". Going to try my first longer smoke in about a week, so that will be the true test. Thank you!

 

[Shedd]

The ambient temperature will be hotter if you cook above your pit probe. It makes a difference when I sit a rack on top of bricks that’s sitting on the Traeger’s grate or if you cook on a top grate. I always put a third party probe on the rack/grate the meat is on. I never even use the meat probe for my pro 780. Just be sure to completely fill your pellet hopper to the top, mine ran out the first overnight cook I did. Luckily my third party ambient probe woke me up when temp dropped. It was really cold at 3 am and I had a very hard time getting it started back up.

 

[CMTiger]

These fluctuations are normal and used to increase the smoke profile. It's still not super smokey by any means, but this is the idea.

 

[Torstenlaw]

I've had mine almost a year and it's been steady. The lower the temp the more smoke it makes, so you could start lower for a bit and step it up after 60 minutes.

 

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

The ambient temperature will be hotter if you cook above your pit probe. It makes a difference when I sit a rack on top of bricks that’s sitting on the Traeger’s grate or if you cook on a top grate. I always put a third party probe on the rack/grate the meat is on. I never even use the meat probe for my pro 780. Just be sure to completely fill your pellet hopper to the top, mine ran out the first overnight cook I did. Luckily my third party ambient probe woke me up when temp dropped. It was really cold at 3 am and I had a very hard time getting it started back up.

So did some simple chicken drumsticks tonight. First of all, I'll say they came out amazing, very juicy. Wife was happy!

During the short cook, I monitored the ambient temp with two additional probes. As you said the top shelf was about 15-20 degree hotter than the lower. The Traeger probe matched the readings (for the most part) at lower temps. But noticed that when I jumped it to 350, the probes were running about 25-50 cooler.

Did a little poking around on the forum here and that appears to be a recurring issue.

Seems that Set temp and ambient temp (using the Traeger probe) is fairly accurate at lower temps, but when you get up into hotter temps, people have to set the Traeger about 50 degrees hotter. So if they want 350, they need to set about 400. Have you experienced this?

 

[RayClem]

If you were using an offset smoker fed with sticks of hardwood, it would be impossible to maintain a constant temperature, no matter how diligent you might be. These minor variations in temperatures affect the combustion byproducts and are part of what gives smoked meat its flavor.

The Traeger controller does not try to hold a precise temperature. It is trying to emulate the behavior of a stick burner. Thus, +/- 15 F variations are common. That does not take into account the inaccuracies of the temperature RTD temperature probe. Every grill is different. Use a third party thermometer to monitor the cook temperature. My IW885 RTD reads only 5 degrees F high at 225 F, but I have to set the controller at 450F to achieve a cook temperature of 400F. Your grill, however, might be different. That is why you need to use a third party thermometer. Always use an third party internal temperature probe to determine when your cook is ready. You cannot rely on the Traeger meat probe or cook based on time and temperature.

Even though the temperature variations of the Traeger might be similar to that of a stick burner, do not expect the smoke flavor to be the same. Seasoned hardwood will have a moisture content of around 20%. In the manufacture of wood pellets, the moisture is reduced to 5-10%. Thus, the combustion byproducts of pellets will differ from hardwood. Also, the higher the cook temperature, the less smoke you will generate. I typically smoke meat at 225F as I find my IW is fairly stable at that temperature. Some people try to cook at even lower temperatures, but that can be difficult if you are cooking in full sun or if it is windy. I live in the Chicago suburbs, so your conditions in Milwaukee are fairly similar to mine. If you are cooking at 350F or higher, very little smoke flavor will be imparted to the items.

For those who are accustomed to the smoky flavor of protein cooked on a stick burner, use of smoke tubes filled with wood pellets and/or wood chips can increase the smoke. Some have even gone so far as to modify their grills to add smoke generators that emulate an offset smoker. So if you want more smoke flavor, there are ways of achieving it. I have never used a stick burner, so I am happy with the flavor of items cooked on the Ironwood.

 

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

Hi RayClem - Thanks for all the information! I knew when moving away from my Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 I'd have some adjustments to make with a pellet grill, including the fact that it wouldn't be as "smokey". Though, after making some of the best drumsticks I ever have made last night on the Traeger, by daughter's first comment was... "Dad, this smells like... wood!" Lol. So it must be smokey enough for my family.
Like many people state on this forum, Traeger markets the grill as almost being a completely stable oven (if there is even such as thing), with unflagging and accurate temps. Though, what I've experienced so far with the variations makes more sense to me with it being pellet fed. Just caught me by surprise being a $1500 machine.

Overall, really like the grill. I'm actually happy to hear that the temps being off (i.e. 350 when it's 400) is very common and almost expected. I can just plan to adjust accordingly then. Bought the Ironwood for 'low and slow' cooking, and while i thought it would be cool to replace my propane grill, never really thought it would. Never really expected to be able to sear, etc. on a pellet grill.

In terms of a 3rd party probe, I'm using a ThermoPro right now that I've had for awhile. It does an ok job and seems to be fairly accurate, but eventually want to upgrade. I see FireBoard2 and Thermoworks mentioned a lot. Was looking at this one:

Smoke X® Long-Range Remote BBQ Alarm Thermometer

Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.

www.thermoworks.com

Thoughts? Or any others you'd recommend? Really don't want to spend over $150, but would love a probe that is accurate, multiple channels, with a wireless display (and app, but not completely necessary.

P.S. This is an amazing community, so glad I stumbled across it!

 

[Ray Reiter]

Hey everyone! New to this forum as I'm the new owner of an Ironwood 885 which I purchased after a TERRIBLE experience with a PitBoss Elite series which I had for about a week.

Also new to pellet grills/smokers in general as I have been using the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 for the past several years.

I wanted to go with a pellet for smoking simply for ease of use. I have kids and a lot of things going on, and had to babysit the propane smoker quite a bit all the time. I understood going in that I may lose some of the heavier smoke flavor, and that's ok.

What I'm curious about is how "stable" should I expect the Ironwood 885 to be once I set the temp? I know it can fluctuate, but due to the terrible time I had with the Pit Boss, just extra leery.

I've only the Ironwood a few times, and it has been colder (30s) and slightly windy out. What I typically notice is that if I set to a temp, let's just say 250, the Ironwood will hit that temp for a bit, then start to drop down, maybe to 235/240, and then go back up to 250 again. And the cycle repeats.

I know the cold and wind doesn't help things, and look forward to trying on better days soon, but just wondering if this is normal/to be expected.

Thanks everyone!

It's out in the weather, with limited insulation, the temp will be somewhat cyclicle.
If you find it staying either higher or lower than the set point, there are two adjustment proceedures described in the operators manual.
-sensor calibration
-temperature offset adjustment.

Worked for me...Happy 2 year IW650 smoker

 

[GrillGuyMilwaukee]

It's out in the weather, with limited insulation, the temp will be somewhat cyclicle.
If you find it staying either higher or lower than the set point, there are two adjustment proceedures described in the operators manual.
-sensor calibration
-temperature offset adjustment.

Worked for me...Happy 2 year IW650 smoker

Hi Ray!

I've looked through the manual and online, and not seeing anything about adjusting the temp probe in the grill, only the meat thermometer.

Am I just missing it?

 

[CMTiger]

Hi RayClem - Thanks for all the information! I knew when moving away from my Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 I'd have some adjustments to make with a pellet grill, including the fact that it wouldn't be as "smokey". Though, after making some of the best drumsticks I ever have made last night on the Traeger, by daughter's first comment was... "Dad, this smells like... wood!" Lol. So it must be smokey enough for my family.
Like many people state on this forum, Traeger markets the grill as almost being a completely stable oven (if there is even such as thing), with unflagging and accurate temps. Though, what I've experienced so far with the variations makes more sense to me with it being pellet fed. Just caught me by surprise being a $1500 machine.

Overall, really like the grill. I'm actually happy to hear that the temps being off (i.e. 350 when it's 400) is very common and almost expected. I can just plan to adjust accordingly then. Bought the Ironwood for 'low and slow' cooking, and while i thought it would be cool to replace my propane grill, never really thought it would. Never really expected to be able to sear, etc. on a pellet grill.

In terms of a 3rd party probe, I'm using a ThermoPro right now that I've had for awhile. It does an ok job and seems to be fairly accurate, but eventually want to upgrade. I see FireBoard2 and Thermoworks mentioned a lot. Was looking at this one:

Smoke X® Long-Range Remote BBQ Alarm Thermometer

Specializing in cool, unique and professional temperature tools. Super-Fast thermocouples, thermistors, infrared thermometers, data logging and more.

www.thermoworks.com

Thoughts? Or any others you'd recommend? Really don't want to spend over $150, but would love a probe that is accurate, multiple channels, with a wireless display (and app, but not completely necessary.

P.S. This is an amazing community, so glad I stumbled across it!

The InkBird has been great for me and is always on sale on Amazon