Overheating issues.

[HLG]

Hi! looking for some insight into an issue I am having. I'll try to keep it short!

Issue: Set temperature for start up at 165. Takes a while to ignite, once it does it takes off and gets north of 500 pretty quick. The auger continues to feed pellets, the fan continues to blow and causes it to run like a tiger torch. I have found that the fire pot gets overfilled with pellets before it ignites as well. Tried it today, it took about 15 mins to ignite, although it was making quite a bit of smoke for some time before the temps began to climb.
I have changed the following:
RTD
Hot rod + wiring
Auger wiring harness
Control panel
Just wondering if anyone has an idea of what to look at next before replacing more parts.

 

[RayClem]

To see exactly what is happening, remove all of the grill grates, drip tray, and flame shield from the grill so you can see into the fire pot.

Clean out all the excess chips in the fire pot. Then use the auger priming function. That should give you the proper amount of pellets in the pot to ignite the grill.

Now set the temperature on the controller to around 225F and push the ignite button. Unless if if freezing outdoors, it is going to be difficult to maintain a temperature of 165F on your grill, even with your living in Canada. Even aif you want to smoke at a temperature below 200F, I would still recommend that you ignite your grill set at 225F and only reduce the temperature after the grill stabilizes.

Observe everything that is going on with the auger, fan, and hot rod during the ignition phase.

Leave the lid on the grill open until thick smoke starts to roll out of the grill. Now trigger the shutdown sequence on the controller and watch what happens as the fire pot burns itself out over a 20 minute period.

If everything looks good, replace the flame shield, drip tray and grates and try to restart the grill again. I make it a habit of priming the auger before ever startup, but I am not certain it is necessary, but it does not appear to cause any problems.

 

[Slimpicker]

Do you have your 'hot rod' sticking out into the pot the desired length???

(wow, BBQing can get a little suggestive at times, eh?)

 

[HLG]

To see exactly what is happening, remove all of the grill grates, drip tray, and flame shield from the grill so you can see into the fire pot.

Clean out all the excess chips in the fire pot. Then use the auger priming function. That should give you the proper amount of pellets in the pot to ignite the grill.

Now set the temperature on the controller to around 225F and push the ignite button. Unless if if freezing outdoors, it is going to be difficult to maintain a temperature of 165F on your grill, even with your living in Canada. Even aif you want to smoke at a temperature below 200F, I would still recommend that you ignite your grill set at 225F and only reduce the temperature after the grill stabilizes.

Observe everything that is going on with the auger, fan, and hot rod during the ignition phase.

Leave the lid on the grill open until thick smoke starts to roll out of the grill. Now trigger the shutdown sequence on the controller and watch what happens as the fire pot burns itself out over a 20 minute period.

If everything looks good, replace the flame shield, drip tray and grates and try to restart the grill again. I make it a habit of priming the auger before ever startup, but I am not certain it is necessary, but it does not appear to cause any problems.

To see exactly what is happening, remove all of the grill grates, drip tray, and flame shield from the grill so you can see into the fire pot.

Clean out all the excess chips in the fire pot. Then use the auger priming function. That should give you the proper amount of pellets in the pot to ignite the grill.

Now set the temperature on the controller to around 225F and push the ignite button. Unless if if freezing outdoors, it is going to be difficult to maintain a temperature of 165F on your grill, even with your living in Canada. Even aif you want to smoke at a temperature below 200F, I would still recommend that you ignite your grill set at 225F and only reduce the temperature after the grill stabilizes.

Observe everything that is going on with the auger, fan, and hot rod during the ignition phase.

Leave the lid on the grill open until thick smoke starts to roll out of the grill. Now trigger the shutdown sequence on the controller and watch what happens as the fire pot burns itself out over a 20 minute period.

If everything looks good, replace the flame shield, drip tray and grates and try to restart the grill again. I make it a habit of priming the auger before ever startup, but I am not certain it is necessary, but it does not appear to cause any problems.

Hi, I have done this as well, this is where I observed the overfill of the fire pot regardless of what starting temp I would use. I haven't tried triggering the shut down once it starts to smoke though. I imagine if it works properly, I should see the auger stop(after a few more turns) and the fan continue to blow until the remaining pellets burn down?

 

[HLG]

Hi, I have done this as well, this is where I observed the overfill of the fire pot regardless of what starting temp I would use. I haven't tried triggering the shut down once it starts to smoke though. I imagine if it works properly, I should see the auger stop(after a few more turns) and the fan continue to blow until the remaining pellets burn down?

 

[HLG]

Do you have your 'hot rod' sticking out into the pot the desired length???

(wow, BBQing can get a little suggestive at times, eh?)

The hot rod is sticking out around 1/4". It seemed to start igniting faster once I replaced the panel. It used to take 20 minutes or more to produce smoke, this time it took around 10 to start smoking, temp started to climb at around 20 mins

 

[RayClem]

The hot rod is sticking out around 1/4". It seemed to start igniting faster once I replaced the panel. It used to take 20 minutes or more to produce smoke, this time it took around 10 to start smoking, temp started to climb at around 20 mins

The hot rod is supposed to protrude 1/8" - 1/4", so it sounds like you are within spec.

 

[steinfire]

I'm having the same issue on my 780 but have only replaced the

RTD
Hot rod + wiring

The replacement control panel is coming in today and I will see what happens.

I have not replaced the auger wiring but mine seems to be working ok, it just continues to overfill the fire pot.

Hopefully this will be ther fix. I have 2 butts and a brisket in the freezer that need to be cooked.

 

[steinfire]

Update on my overheating issue is now a NON heating issue.

I replaced the control panel and power button last night after traeger sent it to me and now everything works but the igniter.
Now the hot rod does not even get hot at all.

I've replaced - temp sensor and wiring to controller, fire pot, hot rod and wiring to controller, power button and wiring to controller, controller board

Everything is working except the igniter. I have new pellets, vacuumed and blew out old ash or pellet pieces, auger is properlt feeding pellets to the pot, I can hear the fan and feel the air from fan, temp on the display is correct and reading 74 when I'm trying to ignite at 225. I can connect to the wifi and all looks good on app. Hot rod is still 74 degrees after 20 minutes of trying to ignite. Auger continues to feed pellets and overflow the fire pot. No smoke at all from pellets and still no heat at all.

So I talked with Traeger support again for an almost an hour and did the videophone thing and now they are sending me a replacement pellet box, fan, and wiring????????

 

[Slimpicker]

You have to double check all your connections because should be no excuse for a hot rod not getting power from a brand new controller.

 

[steinfire]

Yes I went back and reseated all the connections, even if they did not have anything to do with the hot rod. I ordered a new hot rod from Amazon just to try it out. I will get that before the weekend and I'm sure the Traeger parts (hopper assembly box) will not come in for for another week. I have stuff I want to cook so I need to get this going again.

 

[Slimpicker]

Your hot rod has a second connection on the way to the control box... it stays in the lower pit, just make sure that one is also pushed together tight. My replacement came from Traeger but I had to double check that connection also.

 

[steinfire]

Your hot rod has a second connection on the way to the control box... it stays in the lower pit, just make sure that one is also pushed together tight. My replacement came from Traeger but I had to double check that connection also.

If you're talking about the one in near the auger. I pulled the fire pot out again and reseated that one as well. I also made sure that the hot rod was at the correct depth. It falls between 1/8th and 1/4th"

 

[lvlnbrhd]

Hi! looking for some insight into an issue I am having. I'll try to keep it short!

Issue: Set temperature for start up at 165. Takes a while to ignite, once it does it takes off and gets north of 500 pretty quick. The auger continues to feed pellets, the fan continues to blow and causes it to run like a tiger torch. I have found that the fire pot gets overfilled with pellets before it ignites as well. Tried it today, it took about 15 mins to ignite, although it was making quite a bit of smoke for some time before the temps began to climb.
I have changed the following:
RTD
Hot rod + wiring
Auger wiring harness
Control panel
Just wondering if anyone has an idea of what to look at next before replacing more parts.

I would love to reply to you and speak my mind about this issue, however I tried that before and some very sensitive people on here blocked me for a few months. I have gone through this same exact issue with my “piece of shit” Traeger. If you would like to contact me on my email, I will explain everything in detail. [email protected]

 

[steinfire]

I'm finally working again! After going back and forth with Traeger support and replacing almost every part they finally sent me the entire hopper assembly. This included everything new (controller, wiring, fire pot, hot rod, temp sensor, fan, auger and motor). The only thing I didn't replace was the grill shell, grates and the wheels. I'm thawing a butt out right not to cook tomorrow. I started having issues at the end of December so its been awhile so glad I'm back. My charcoal grill was still good but I had lots of meat in the freezer that I needed to smoke. Thanks for the help.