Help! TL 850 Grease Fire

[halerson]

I bought my 850 early on in 2017 (mistake). I've had three grease fires where the recipe calls for cooking at a low temp and then increase to a higher temp. The sparks created by the increased burn end up landing in the grease chute on the left side of the grill and causing the fire. I've found out that Traeger seems to have become aware of this design flaw and subsequently provided a grease chute shield on later models. I've called customer support and they claim grease fires are my problem and refuse to even provide me the shield, which is all I asked for. Does anyone know how to get Traeger to even acknowledge the issue and provide support.

 

[GrillMeister]

This was the main reason I went with the IronWood 885 instead of the Timberline. I still believe the grease drain design is flawed, especially if you do not pay attention to it from cook to cook.

 

[RayClem]

I have an Ironwood 885, but still do not want to have to clean grease out of the grease chute. Thus, I try to keep a drip pan underneath the meat to catch any grease and juices. That is one reason I went with the 885 rather than a smaller grill. I try to confine my meat to the top shelf and keep the drip pan on the bottom shelf. It sure makes clean-up easier. I do occasionally get some splatter on the Traeger drip liner, but not enough to run off into the grease chute.