Temperature accuracy

If your grill with its black exterior is out in the sun, the chamber can get hot. I do not know where you live in So Cal, but I heard Palm Dessert has been between 100- 114F. There you could probably cook a steak to medium rare just leaving the grill out in the sun without ever pushing the ignite button.
I'm closer to the coast. It's in the mid 80's right now and the thermometer is reading 140-150. I did ribs under similar conditions and found the Fireboard and grill probe were both reading high. Had to keep adjusting the temp lower.
 
This one is reasonably accurate. No drilling needed. I see it displaying about 3.5% high. 415' compared to a thermocouple reader showing 400'.
 
This one is reasonably accurate. No drilling needed. I see it displaying about 3.5% high. 415' compared to a thermocouple reader showing 400'.

Have used similar oven thermonmeters. There are two issues with them.

One is that you cannot read the thermometer unless you open the grill lid. That is not ideal as you lose heat in doing so. "When you are lookin', you ain't cookin'. "

The second issue is that grease and soot will build up on the face of the oven thermometer making it difficult to read. It is a good thing you ordered two of them as you will need it in a few months.
 
Have used similar oven thermonmeters. There are two issues with them.

One is that you cannot read the thermometer unless you open the grill lid. That is not ideal as you lose heat in doing so. "When you are lookin', you ain't cookin'. "

The second issue is that grease and soot will build up on the face of the oven thermometer making it difficult to read. It is a good thing you ordered two of them as you will need it in a few months.
Not that much heat is lost, opening the lid a slight bit to peek at the gauge. Fireplace glass cleaner removes the grease spatter/soot buildup.
 
Not that much heat is lost, opening the lid a slight bit to peek at the gauge. Fireplace glass cleaner removes the grease spatter/soot buildup.

If your grill is still under warranty, you might want to use the oven thermometer and clean it periodically. Once dthe warranty has expired, drill a hole in the lid and mount a grill thermometer.

The Galafire thermometer I have on my Traeger can be read from 10-20 ft away.
 
Not really, the problem is not that the probes are bad, but they are not located in the center of the cooking chamber. Most folks purchase a wired or wireless thermometer. There are plenty of options at varying prices. Although I do have a thermometer with four wired probes, I decided to drill a hole in the lid of my grill and install an analog thermometer like you might see on an offset smoker or gas grill. The one I got is large enough to see from several feet away.

https://www.amazon.com/GALAFIRE-Thermometer-Charcoal-Temperature-Replacement/dp/B07VG6M228/
I typically smoke at 225F which is the split in color between blue and orange on the dial. That makes it easy to verify that I am at the correct temp.

Please be aware that Traeger does not accept any third party thermometer results if you contact them. Also, drilling the hole through the lid is likely to invalidate the warranty.
I installed the Galafire last week and did my first cook yesterday. It was spot on with my fireboard at 225 and off by about 5-10 degrees at 400.
 
I installed the Galafire last week and did my first cook yesterday. It was spot on with my fireboard at 225 and off by about 5-10 degrees at 400.
Where did you put it?
 
Where did you put it?
I followed @RayClem's description. Probe tip about About 1/2" above the upper grate. I have a IW650. Here's my mounting. IIRC Ended up about 7-1/2" down from the top edge of the lid and centered between sides of the lid.
 

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Traeger has a calibration feature that might help align the displayed temperature with what your thermometers are showing.
Calibration is for the meat probe, not the ambient pit temperature probe. There is no way of adjusting that probe reading
 

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