Traeger 575 low temperature massive swings

[Kev Reid]

I was cooking a Brisket with the temperature set to 80 degrees C. After 7 hours I nudged the temperature up 5 degrees C
Almost immediately the temperature started to drop rapidly. (Outside temperature 13 degrees C)
It dropped to 42 degrees C before starting a reignite cycle with smoke coming out massively.
It then started to climb again and reached 110 degrees C before settling down to 85C
A little later it happened again but became very smokey at about 70C then rose to over 90C and back down again.
Later in the cook I changed the temperature to 110C and everything went well.
Traeger have reviewed the graph of my cook and have suggested that a small temperature rise of 5C was what caused it and I should always ensure a temperature rise is 10C or more. The three black arrows on the graph show the very Smokey incidents.
Has anyone else experienced this behaviour and can confirm Traeger’s suggestion that low temperature increases should be avoided.
Finally does anyone agree that access to this cooking graph from the app would be a useful addition.

 

[RayClem]

80 degrees C is 176 F. That is about the lowest possible temperature you can set on the grill. Many folks tend to smoke their protein at 225 F which is 107 C. At that temperature, the grill normally provides a stable source of heat.

When trying to run at 80C, you may have been feeding so few pellets that you got a flameout. Reigniting a grill after a flameout is potentially dangerous. There have been reports of grill exploding when hot gases reignite.

When changing temps on my IW885, I normally make changes of +/-25F (about +/- 15C). Changes less than +/- 10 C aren't really doing anything as that is within the normal temperature variability.

Also, when you say you were cooking at 80C, is that the RTD thermocouple temp or an independent temp reading at grate level. With my grill, at such a low temp, there is pretty good agreement between the thermocouple and an independent thermometer. At higher setpoints, the controller often reads higher than the grate temperature. With my IW885 I need a 450 F (232 C) setpoint to achieve a grate temp of 400 F (204 C). This is a commonly reported issue. The controller should always be set to provide the cooking temp you want at grate level.

On your next cook, I would suggest a temperature setpoint that provides a grate level temp of 105 - 110 C. If that is not sufficient to provide the level of smoke you desire, see some of the threads about using smoke tubes or smoke generators packed with pellets and wood chips to provide additional smoke flavor. Although the Traeger provides adequate smoke flavor for me, I have never used an offset smoker, so I am not accustomed to that level of smoke. The Traeger alone won't match an offset smoker for flavor, but it is far more convenient on a long cook such as is needed for brisket.

 

[BBQLUV]

Sounds like a pellet issue. Pellets need to be kept dry; Pellets need to be kept dry. That is usually the cause of wide temp swings,

 

[Slimpicker]

80 degrees C is 176 F. That is about the lowest possible temperature you can set on the grill. Many folks tend to smoke their protein at 225 F which is 107 C. At that temperature, the grill normally provides a stable source of heat.

AGREED, "keep warm" is 165°F... you don't cook anything that low...

Overnight Brisket could be 200°F plus or minus 5°, with fresh pellets and a cleaned out pit to start with...
but RayClem is not wrong

 

[MidwestSmoker]

As others have said it is hard to maintain very low temperatures on Traegers. They struggle to maintain any temperature below 180°F (82°C) because they need a minimum pellet feed rate to prevent flameouts. In fact 180°F is the minimum for most pellet grills I believe. In my view you only need lower temperatures if you doing cold smoking which the Traegers are not designed for.

In my opinion Traegers perform best 190 to 250°F (88 to 121°C). I use 190°F only for overnight cooks (such as for briskets) and raise the temperature to 225°F (107°C) in the morning and finally to 250°F (121°C) to finish. If I am cooking ribs I will start at around 225°C and finish at 250°C.

Try a cook at these temperatures to see if your Pro 575 performs better. Mine is extremely reliable at these conditions.

 

[ThorPan]

I was cooking a Brisket with the temperature set to 80 degrees C. After 7 hours I nudged the temperature up 5 degrees C
Almost immediately the temperature started to drop rapidly. (Outside temperature 13 degrees C)
It dropped to 42 degrees C before starting a reignite cycle with smoke coming out massively.
It then started to climb again and reached 110 degrees C before settling down to 85C
A little later it happened again but became very smokey at about 70C then rose to over 90C and back down again.
Later in the cook I changed the temperature to 110C and everything went well.
Traeger have reviewed the graph of my cook and have suggested that a small temperature rise of 5C was what caused it and I should always ensure a temperature rise is 10C or more. The three black arrows on the graph show the very Smokey incidents.
Has anyone else experienced this behaviour and can confirm Traeger’s suggestion that low temperature increases should be avoided.
Finally does anyone agree that access to this cooking graph from the app would be a useful addition.

Was the cooking graph something you got from Traeger's website somehow? If so, could you please let us know how you got it, since I'd be interested in looking at some of my own cooks?

Thanks!!