jmathis
New member
I need some advice... Bear with me, as I'm new to "Traeger-ing" and still getting used to the fact that it's more of a smoker than a grill.
My son purchased a second-hand Bronson 20 for me about a year ago - no idea how old it is, but it looked to be in fairly good shape. We cooked on it quite a bit, doing mostly pizza, ribs, chicken, etc. and discovered pretty quickly that it wasn't the best for searing steaks. Recently, I started having some temperature issues, seeing the LEr code a couple of times and then, when I was going to try reverse searing some steaks on my gas stove, seeing the temperature go from 225 (pre-heated) to about 300 (just before putting the steaks on) and discovered it had gone down to about 118 after about 25 minutes after putting the steaks on (decided to just take the steaks off and try to salvage them at that point). I haven't been the best at cleaning the ash out, but also don't use it that much. Does it sound like this could be a problem with the RTD temperature sensor or the digital controller? I could take a stab at replacing both of these parts, if so. I can obviously also buy a shop vac and try being more diligent about cleaning the ash, etc.
I like the idea of a Traeger, but don't feel like I'm getting the maximum value and enjoyment out of it. I also feel like the Bronson 20 is a bit small and limits me, to some extent, to what I can do vs. a bigger, newer model, but also want to give this one a fair chance. Most of what I've done, until recently, I've really enjoyed, with the exception of a brisket, which just turned out dry and tough!
Thanks!
My son purchased a second-hand Bronson 20 for me about a year ago - no idea how old it is, but it looked to be in fairly good shape. We cooked on it quite a bit, doing mostly pizza, ribs, chicken, etc. and discovered pretty quickly that it wasn't the best for searing steaks. Recently, I started having some temperature issues, seeing the LEr code a couple of times and then, when I was going to try reverse searing some steaks on my gas stove, seeing the temperature go from 225 (pre-heated) to about 300 (just before putting the steaks on) and discovered it had gone down to about 118 after about 25 minutes after putting the steaks on (decided to just take the steaks off and try to salvage them at that point). I haven't been the best at cleaning the ash out, but also don't use it that much. Does it sound like this could be a problem with the RTD temperature sensor or the digital controller? I could take a stab at replacing both of these parts, if so. I can obviously also buy a shop vac and try being more diligent about cleaning the ash, etc.
I like the idea of a Traeger, but don't feel like I'm getting the maximum value and enjoyment out of it. I also feel like the Bronson 20 is a bit small and limits me, to some extent, to what I can do vs. a bigger, newer model, but also want to give this one a fair chance. Most of what I've done, until recently, I've really enjoyed, with the exception of a brisket, which just turned out dry and tough!
Thanks!
