Traeger cannot maintain temperature

[Blaine may]

My experiencing trouble maintaining temperature with my Traeger. I still have temperatures exceeding the set temperature by up to 100 degrees and 40 degrees below set temperature no matter the P setting.

 

[Like Smoke]

It sounds like your your RTD sensor may be bad. I would check to see if your rtd sensor is clean, if it is I would try an after market one, set the P setting to 2 and see how it works.

 

[RayClem]

Because of the location of the RTD thermocouple in the Ironwood, the temperature will always differ from the temperature at grate level on which you are cooking. On my IW885, the temperature is pretty close when I set the controller to 225F, but will be low by 50F when the controller is set to 450F. However, I agree with @Little Smoke that your sensor might be bad. If you contact Traeger customer service, they might replace it under warranty, but that could take a few days to get it. Hopefully, the issue is with the fairly inexpensive sensor and not the controller.

I do not like the design of the Traeger thermocouple as it is covered with a thin layer of ceramic cement that is quite fragile. I damaged mine the first time I removed the grates and drip tray to clean the smoker. Rather than replacing the thermocouple, I purchased a tube of high heat silicone sealant and covered the exposed wires of the thermocouple. It has been functioning like that for nearly a year. I did purchase a couple of 3rd party replacements in case it failed at an inopportune time, but so far I have not needed them.

If you need a new thermocouple immediately, most Ace Hardware stores should have the Traeger OEM part in stock, but it will be more expensive than the 3rd party ones from Amazon or other outlet.