Fan noice

[Quinta59]

Hi, We just recently took deliver of a Timberline 850 and have started to use it.
We started by making St Louis Cut Ribs. Turned out super good!
But the fan is extremely loud. It just drives me crazy. Hard to be nearby. Especially when you cook for a long time.
Anyone else with this problem?

Best regards
Christer

 

[RayClem]

How hot were you running the grill? The fan is variable speed. It runs run faster and noisier the hotter the setpoint. If you are doing a low and slow cook at 225F, the noise is minimal. At a grilling temp above 400 F, it will be quite noisy. Some of the noise comes from the fan and some comes from the roar of the fire pot. With the lid closed the noise is muted. For a long cook, you can leave the grill unattended. Some folks do overnight cooks fully unattended. Just fill up the pellet hopper when you retire to bed.

 

[Quinta59]

Hi Ray, thanks for you är reply. I was running at 225F and was using Super Smoke. The fan was reving up and down all time in rpm. Low rpm is okey, but max is extremely noicy. Either there is something wrong or I need to replace the fan with a low-noice fan. Do you know if that is possible. A part from the fan noice it seems to be a premium product.

 

[RayClem]

I have the Ironwood 885 rather than a Timberline and I have not used SuperSmoke, although it is available. I usually cook at 225F unless I am trying to grill vegetables or fish that like higher temps.

I suggest you try a cook without SuperSmoke and see what happens. I suspect the fan is ramping up and down in order as it slows the burn in order to generate more smoke and then has to ramp the fan up to keep the firepot from a flame out. My fan runs at a fairly stable level at 225 F without SuperSmoke, unless I open the lid.

You can call Traeger Customer Support, but I suspect they will tell you that what you have observed is normal. I doubt the fan itself is making much noise, it is the rush of hot air through the firepot that is generating most of the noise. It is like a jet engine.

 

[Quinta59]

Thanks à lot for your informative answer.
I Will jeep trying and give you feedback.
Cheers!

 

[RayClem]

I am doing a vegetable cook this afternoon with squash and zuchinni and also corn on the cob. The meat was cooked a few weeks ago and will be reheated.
I set the temp to 400 F. While the grill is heating, the fan is close to full speed.

I used the microphone on my cell phone and a sound meter to measure my Ironwood.

With the lid closed and about 1 ft away from the pellet box where the fan is located, the sound was 60 dB which is equivalent to a busy office. That should not be annoying.

As soon as I opened the lid, the sound jumped up to 75 dB which is equivalent to traffic noise in a busy city. That would be annoying after a while.

The decibel scale is logarithmic with 3 dB representing a doubling of sound pressure. 10 dB doubles the volume and 20 dB represents an increase of 100 times. Thus, 75 dB will be about 50 times louder than 60 dB.

If you have a cell phone, download a sound meter app. I use an Android phone and downloaded Sound Meter by ABC Apps from the Play Store. If you use an iPhone, there will be something similar such as Sound Meter HQ.

If your Timberline sound level is significantly higher than 60 dB with the lid closed, it might be that your fan has a bad bearing, bent blade, etc. In that case, call Traeger and report the issue. If you are armed with the decibel information, that will help your cause.

 

[Quinta59]

I am doing beef ribs today. No SuperSmoke. Temp set to 225 F. Measured sound as you suggested approx 1 ft away.
Sound level 58-59 dB (can't keep the phone still). So without SuperSmoke it doesn't rev up and down. And the sound level is close to yours. Thank's a lot for your help and have a nice day

 

[RayClem]

Great. I am glad your fan is quiet in normal mode. Thus, only use SuperSmoke when you really need it and can tolerate the extra noise.