Traeger 575 Temp Dropping Rapidly During Preheating

[driva13]

Hi all - very excited Traeger newbie here - just got a 575 as a wedding gift and its by far the best gift we've received, already cooked the best ribeye of my life with minimal effort on my first cook.

One thing I've noticed with the grill is some strange behavior during preheating. The grill will slowly climb towards the set temperature during preheating, then start to drop rapidly (sometimes 200 degrees) before reaching the set temp. Then the grill gives off a ton of smoke for about ten seconds and starts to climb back up extremely quickly. It makes the preheating process take much longer than its supposed to. Traeger support said they're 90% sure its a pellet issue, but the pellets are Traeger brand and brand new so I'm skeptical.

Anyone have any ideas what might be going on? Or is this normal behavior for the grill? Really appreciate any thoughts.

 

[RayClem]

What is your preset temperature?

The controller can sometimes do strange things if there is a large difference between the actual temperature and the preset temperature. For that reason, I normally ignite my grill with a present temperature of 225F. That is a good temperature for many "low and slow" type cooks. If I plan to cook at a higher temperature (for example 400F for pizza), I still start my grill at 225F. When the temp get up close to 200F, I will bump the setpoint up to 275F. When the temp hits 250F, I bump it up another 50 degrees. That progression keep the temperature rising steadily without overshooting the target and minimizing swings. Also, I have read that it can confuse the controller if you make very small changes like 5 degrees F. If you change in increments of 25-50F, you are less likely to see weird behavior.

Also, since your Traeger is new, please be aware that many Traeger owners find their Traeger thermometers (both the cook temperature and the internal meat temperature) to be inaccurate. Do yourself a favor and get a good remote thermometer with multiple probes and a good instant read thermometer. Many members here recommend some expensive products, but since you are a newlywed, you probably have multiple competing options for financial resources. There are some functional devices that can be purchased at more reasonable prices.

 

[driva13]

What is your preset temperature?

The controller can sometimes do strange things if there is a large difference between the actual temperature and the preset temperature. For that reason, I normally ignite my grill with a present temperature of 225F. That is a good temperature for many "low and slow" type cooks. If I plan to cook at a higher temperature (for example 400F for pizza), I still start my grill at 225F. When the temp get up close to 200F, I will bump the setpoint up to 275F. When the temp hits 250F, I bump it up another 50 degrees. That progression keep the temperature rising steadily without overshooting the target and minimizing swings. Also, I have read that it can confuse the controller if you make very small changes like 5 degrees F. If you change in increments of 25-50F, you are less likely to see weird behavior.

Also, since your Traeger is new, please be aware that many Traeger owners find their Traeger thermometers (both the cook temperature and the internal meat temperature) to be inaccurate. Do yourself a favor and get a good remote thermometer with multiple probes and a good instant read thermometer. Many members here recommend some expensive products, but since you are a newlywed, you probably have multiple competing options for financial resources. There are some functional devices that can be purchased at more reasonable prices.

preset temp was 400 so that could be the problem. the main concern was the extreme drop followed by tons of smoke coming out of the grill. Will try tonight to increase temp incrementally. Thanks for the tips!

 

[RayClem]

I hope my suggestion works.