Traeger Customer Service and Timerbline 1300 Purchasing Experience (how does this company stay in business?)

[RemE]

I have ordered lots of stuff over the past few weeks, the GrillGrates are on backorder they will eventually arrive. I have the FireBoard Pro 2, I already had K style thermocouples. I also purchased the latest Thermapen, Jalapeno Racks, spray bottles, and pellets. I'm trying to find people here in Tucson AZ for a group buy on pellots. $14 for a bag of lumberjack is kinda high.

I have thought about more insulation, perhaps a future project. Planning on ribs this weekend, Maybe some pork belly burnt ends and Jalapeno poppers.

Pellets at my local ACE are over $20 so I now watch for specials on-line and buy 40 pounders of the good stuff.

My ThermaPen One just arrived, and more important, it came with Jelly Bellys! I did toss the included cheap AAA battery and put in a AAA Lithium.

 

[MidwestSmoker]

I have the FireBoard Pro 2, I already had K style thermocouples.

I don't understand your reasoning behind purchasing a FireBoard Pro and the thermocouples. I thought those are meant for pizza ovens, not pellet grills.

 

[RemE]

I don't understand your reasoning behind purchasing a FireBoard Pro and the thermocouples. I thought those are meant for pizza ovens, not pellet grills.

I would tend to agree, especially if the pro doesn't support comp needle probes, plus it's only 3 channels.

 

[arzoumanian]

I don't understand your reasoning behind purchasing a FireBoard Pro and the thermocouples. I thought those are meant for pizza ovens, not pellet grills.

The K style thermocouples simply have a wider range of tempture. They also use a thermocouple vs a thermistor so they are more accurate and quicker. They are also more expensive!
Probe type: 100K Thermistor. Probe Temperature Range: 0 to 572°F That’s the competition series Fireboard sells.

The thermocouple Probe Range: -148 to 1202˚F (-100 to 650˚C) That's the K style temp range.

Your Thermapen has a therocouple in it. Check out all the differant needle probles you can use at thermoworks!

 

[RemE]

Understand the benefits of K type, but at the temps we cook, I'll take the 6 channels.

 

[Heartsofwar]

This is how my Treager arrived Via FedEx. The FedEx person I spoke to said he delivers a lot of them.

Here's how they showed up for me:

(Note:

• The 1300 that had the defective paint issue and was delivered on 05/07 came from Washington (not pictured).
• The 1300 delivered on 05/21 that was denied delivery came from Georgia (Pictured)
• the final 1300 on 06/01 came from Washington again (Pictured)

 

[Heartsofwar]

I would not go above 450F for a while, do a brisket or two and let it settle in. Even though I cured my heat issues by insulating the hot spots, I don't go over 450, use GrillGrates to get the grill marks needed.

Except the Traeger Timberline 1300 Owners Manual instructs that the temperature be dialed up to 500 degrees during seasoning.

As previously mentioned, if the grill is going to be marketed / sold as being capable of 500 degrees **AND** they're going to put it in their owner's manual as a required step for seasoning, Traeger deserves the black eye.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is a pound of a cure, sure... but, most people are going to do exactly what the manual says or take it to the limit.

 

[RemE]

Except the Traeger Timberline 1300 Owners Manual instructs that the temperature be dialed up to 500 degrees during seasoning.

As previously mentioned, if the grill is going to be marketed / sold as being capable of 500 degrees **AND** they're going to put it in their owner's manual as a required step for seasoning, Traeger deserves the black eye.

Of course, an ounce of prevention is a pound of a cure, sure... but, most people are going to do exactly what the manual says or take it to the limit.

Agreed, the grill goes to 500, and one would expect to be able to do it without damage. But there are quite a few that bubble the paint, hence my suggestion to take it much slower on the burn in. It's design issue that has yet to be addressed by Traeger.

 

[KraZ440]

Here is a useful post about seasoning your grill: https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/read-first-►traeger-faqs-tech-info.2145/#post-20850

 

[arzoumanian]

I agree we should follow the instructions, however with so many having paint issues, why not adjust the temp so perhaps it doesn't occur. It's a gamble I suppose.

 

[Heartsofwar]

I agree we should follow the instructions, however with so many having paint issues, why not adjust the temp so perhaps it doesn't occur. It's a gamble I suppose.

Well, technically speaking, the instructions do indicate a gradual ramp-up in temps. First at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then 500 degrees for 30 minutes. I understand everyone's perspective, and I'm not saying users shouldn't follow some caution here... They should! I'm just simply saying that when you spend $2000+ on a product, having any issues when following the manufacturing instructions in the owner's manual is a dead-to-rights manufacturing problem that needs to be addressed openly by Traeger, not quietly handled by CS warranties or cautious users...

Where is the bulletin from Traeger? To be quite honest, I would have followed the gradual ramp-up if I had known about it, but I didn't. Live and learn though...

 

[BrianT]

Well, technically speaking, the instructions do indicate a gradual ramp-up in temps. First at 350 degrees for 20 minutes and then 500 degrees for 30 minutes. I understand everyone's perspective, and I'm not saying users shouldn't follow some caution here... They should! I'm just simply saying that when you spend $2000+ on a product, having any issues when following the manufacturing instructions in the owner's manual is a dead-to-rights manufacturing problem that needs to be addressed openly by Traeger, not quietly handled by CS warranties or cautious users...

Where is the bulletin from Traeger? To be quite honest, I would have followed the gradual ramp-up if I had known about it, but I didn't. Live and learn though...

Following the gradual ramp up in temp makes no difference - did it and paint still bubbled.

 

[RemE]

Wow, step away from the keyboard and all hell breaks loose!

Traeger is hit and miss on how they handle complaints about paint. I was lucky, I got my gen2 Timberline two years ago now, seasoned it per instructions, no issues with paint.

I came here last year, searching for answers on WiFire and the poor alerting on my phone, always missed. Then I just accepted the deficiencies in the design and decided to just make the grill better, Fireboard for temp management and alerts, insulation for paint protection, fuel economy, and safety.

I fully agree that a high end grill should simply not shed its paint the day it's fired up. And I support folks blasting Traeger support for that issue.

That said, most other companies state in their manual that paint isn't warranted.

In the end it's just a grill folks.

All are welcome here, and sometimes we all have a bad day.

And you know what mitigates a bad day?

Pork!

 

[MidwestSmoker]

In the end it's just a grill folks.

All are welcome here, and sometimes we all have a bad day.

And you know what mitigates a bad day?

Pork!

Yes!

It's not perfect, but my Traeger brings a lot of satisfaction from what I cannot do otherwise. Also, part of the attraction is that many issues are fixable if you like some tinkering.

 

[DVSCYCLES]

" I was lucky, I got my gen2 Timberline two years ago now, seasoned it per instructions, no issues with paint."

Same here with no paint issues. Are there multiple paint/manufacturing locations?