Thermocouple Replacement

[Newtra]

Figured I'd make a quick post about this. So I got my Ironwood 885 a couple weeks ago. Did a few cooks and definitely happy with it. One thing that wasn't good.. the thermocouple was damaged when I got the grill. The tip, that looks like a match head, was all cracked. A quick call to Traeger and they sent me a new now no questions asked. Great customer service. I wasn't looking forward to having to replace it myself, but didn't really have a choice. Well I did the replacement today with the help of their YouTube video. Didn't take long, and was relatively easy to do. After a test, I'm finding the replacement is more accurate then the damaged one (no surprise.) I used my Thermopro probe directly next to the thermocouple and the temp difference was only about 6-7 degrees. Figured this might help anyone who has to replace their TC

 

[RayClem]

The tip of the Traeger probes is ceramic and it cracks easily. I broke mine trying to remove the grates and drip tray from the grill.

Rather than going to all the trouble of replacing my thermocouple, I purchased a tube of red high-temperature silicone gasket cement for a few dollars. I cleaned the exposed thermocouple tip and then covered it with a thin layer of silicone. I allowed the silicone to cure for 24 hours and then tried it out. Unlike the original ceramic, the silicone is slick so that smoke and grease does not stick. It is easy to wipe off the thermocouple with a damp paper towel when cleaning the grill. I have enough silicone left over to last me as long as the grill does.

As far as I can tell, the thermocouple covered with silicone responds in the same way as the original ceramic coating. At temperatures around 200 F, it reads the same as my thermometer at grate level. At 300 F controller setting, the grate thermometer reads about 25 degrees lower. At 400 F controller setting, the grate thermometer reads 50 degrees lower. That performance seems to be similar to what most people experience with the ceramic tipped thermocouple. I set my controller as needed to get the temperature I want at the grate level.