Help! My silverton is running between 50-80 degrees lower than it set and what the controller says. Customer service says everything is fine.

[D.E.B.]

I spent 4 hours on the phone with customer service. They had me run all kinds of tests, everything checks out, but it still is running 50-80 degrees lower than it is set, and what the controller says. I changed the thermocouple, no change. Both of my Meater thermometers and a new oven thermometer are within 3 degrees of each other. Customer no service says that they cannot take my word that all 3 thermometers say that it is not reaching the set temperature. They say they will not help because the controller says everything is fine. At one point, the smoker was 85 degrees lower than set. I cannot get ahold of anyone other than out of country.... Help

 

[Hogan]

I spent 4 hours on the phone with customer service. They had me run all kinds of tests, everything checks out, but it still is running 50-80 degrees lower than it is set, and what the controller says. I changed the thermocouple, no change. Both of my Meater thermometers and a new oven thermometer are within 3 degrees of each other. Customer no service says that they cannot take my word that all 3 thermometers say that it is not reaching the set temperature. They say they will not help because the controller says everything is fine. At one point, the smoker was 85 degrees lower than set. I cannot get ahold of anyone other than out of country.... Help

I'm in the process of reading Alexei Navalny's book "Patriot". Traeger Customer Service sounds a lot like the federal courts in Russia.

 

[IEJoe]

I spent 4 hours on the phone with customer service. They had me run all kinds of tests, everything checks out, but it still is running 50-80 degrees lower than it is set, and what the controller says. I changed the thermocouple, no change. Both of my Meater thermometers and a new oven thermometer are within 3 degrees of each other. Customer no service says that they cannot take my word that all 3 thermometers say that it is not reaching the set temperature. They say they will not help because the controller says everything is fine. At one point, the smoker was 85 degrees lower than set. I cannot get ahold of anyone other than out of country.... Help

Most thermometers are checked to see if they are true in iced water. Should read 32 degrees, if it does not read that it is bad or the hysteresis setting on the controller is not set correctly. Many are checked at a given temperature they have a resistance value or voltage value to coincide with read temperature. Confirm fan is running and all diverters are installed properly, as air flow can affect these readings. When you put other thermometers to compare readings make sure you place them in same proximity as unit probe. Just food for thought, Joe

 

[Tsar Chasm]

I spent 4 hours on the phone with customer service. They had me run all kinds of tests, everything checks out, but it still is running 50-80 degrees lower than it is set, and what the controller says. I changed the thermocouple, no change. Both of my Meater thermometers and a new oven thermometer are within 3 degrees of each other. Customer no service says that they cannot take my word that all 3 thermometers say that it is not reaching the set temperature. They say they will not help because the controller says everything is fine. At one point, the smoker was 85 degrees lower than set. I cannot get ahold of anyone other than out of country.... Help

I wouldn’t put too much (any) stock in the ambient temp reading on the meaters. Due in no small part to the ambient sensor being so close to the cooler protein, it’s just not accurate. Get an independent meat thermometer with an ambient probe for accuracy. The ThermoWorks Signals is what I use. https://www.thermoworks.com/signals/

 

[Thatguy]

I spent 4 hours on the phone with customer service. They had me run all kinds of tests, everything checks out, but it still is running 50-80 degrees lower than it is set, and what the controller says. I changed the thermocouple, no change. Both of my Meater thermometers and a new oven thermometer are within 3 degrees of each other. Customer no service says that they cannot take my word that all 3 thermometers say that it is not reaching the set temperature. They say they will not help because the controller says everything is fine. At one point, the smoker was 85 degrees lower than set. I cannot get ahold of anyone other than out of country.... Help

If you search on this specific grill you will see this is a common issue, even via the reviews on the official Traeger website. What I would recommend is to use a reliable (verified) third party thermometer and offset the temps. This is very frustrating but I do find that it works. Also using high quality pellets and cleaning the grill often.

 

[Mh001]

I recently had an issue with slow ignition and low temp errors. It took a long time (and 3 different tech support people) to get this resolved. It was a s/w issue related to the controller not clearing the error messages so the grill would not heat properly due to programmed safety concerns. Finally got through via a phone call and got a true expert (messaging was not helpful, even told grills won't work below 32 F) on these grills. He had me power cycle the grill Release error messages through a power cycle to clear the error messages and this fixed the problem. It's simple to do and who knows, might help with your low temp readings.