Traeger Flatrock Griddle Reviews, Prices & Specs

[RayClem]

I saw one review where the guy wanted to check temperature variation across the grill. Due to the U-shaped burners, the very back of the grill does tend to be hotter than the front. Apparently, most grills are hoter in the back, but since you are standing at the front, you really do not want the front to get super hot. He tried turning off the center burner completely and found that the temperature dropped 100 degrees F lower than the outer regions. Thus, if you heat the one region on 450 F, you should be able to have an adjacent region at 350 F. If I are planning to cook any lower than 350F, I would likely do that on the pellet grill..

To me, the biggest fault of the Traeger grill is that you cannot really get it hot enough to sear protein. Adding a flat top grill provides the high heat needed to sear. Currently, I sear either on my gas grill using GrillGrates or in a skillet on the gas stove in the kitchen. Of course, some guys use a flame thrower torch for searing. It is nice to have optionsl there is no one right way to do things.

 

[JPSBBQ]

I saw one review where the guy wanted to check temperature variation across the grill. Due to the U-shaped burners, the very back of the grill does tend to be hotter than the front. Apparently, most grills are hoter in the back, but since you are standing at the front, you really do not want the front to get super hot. He tried turning off the center burner completely and found that the temperature dropped 100 degrees F lower than the outer regions. Thus, if you heat the one region on 450 F, you should be able to have an adjacent region at 350 F. If I are planning to cook any lower than 350F, I would likely do that on the pellet grill..

To me, the biggest fault of the Traeger grill is that you cannot really get it hot enough to sear protein. Adding a flat top grill provides the high heat needed to sear. Currently, I sear either on my gas grill using GrillGrates or in a skillet on the gas stove in the kitchen. Of course, some guys use a flame thrower torch for searing. It is nice to have optionsl there is no one right way to do things.

People use the turn a burner off hack as a work around. The real test is to turn the burners on low across the board and then see what the temps are across the board. One can always turn one or two burners off and create a smaller “low temp” zone with any griddle. Lots of things are able to be cooked at lower temps. Like simmering a sauce or eggs, etc. Likely not gonna do that on my pellet grill. However, the turn off a burner or two work around is always an option, just not the best possible option for all circumstances. Not a deal breaker for anyone as it’s very common issue with almost all griddles.

I also would not recommend buying a griddle for the sole purpose of searing a steak. It’s an entirely different type of cooking apparatus and discipline. Not for everyone either. Lots of people think it’s for them until they realize how active/“hands on” it is.

 

[RayClem]

People use the turn a burner off hack as a work around. The real test is to turn the burners on low across the board and then see what the temps are across the board. One can always turn one or two burners off and create a smaller “low temp” zone with any griddle. Lots of things are able to be cooked at lower temps. Like simmering a sauce or eggs, etc. Likely not gonna do that on my pellet grill. However, the turn off a burner or two work around is always an option, just not the best possible option for all circumstances. Not a deal breaker for anyone as it’s very common issue with almost all griddles.

I also would not recommend buying a griddle for the sole purpose of searing a steak. It’s an entirely different type of cooking apparatus and discipline. Not for everyone either. Lots of people think it’s for them until they realize how active/“hands on” it is.

I realize that the Traeger pellet grill is for low and slow cooking, with much of the cooking time being unattended or minimally unattended. That is much appreciated with longer cooks.

The flattop grill is for cooking hot and fast, whether it is searing a steak, cooking smash burgers or hotdogs, asian rice, vegetables and meat, or a medium hot cook for brunch with bacon, eggs, hash browns and pancakes, etc. So the flattop is very much hands-on cooking, but the cook takes minutes rather than hours. I am OK with that.

I have a gas grill that works well for some types of cooks. However, it is ten years old and the bottom of the cook chamber is starting to rust through. If I do not get the flattop, I will need to replace the gas grill.

 

[CMTiger]

Friend that is a distributor for a couple in and said he wasn’t super thrilled about the construction of them. Pretty thin metal on the main body. Hasn’t cooked on them yet. I was surprised to hear that as they actually look very solid.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Friend that is a distributor for a couple in and said he wasn’t super thrilled about the construction of them. Pretty thin metal on the main body. Hasn’t cooked on them yet. I was surprised to hear that as they actually look very solid.

Yeah, they aren’t built to pass down to the kids. None of them are. Unless you get in the 3-5k range

 

[CMTiger]

Yeah, they aren’t built to pass down to the kids. None of them are. Unless you get in the 3-5k range

He is a Traeger fan and it’s in his best interest for these things to be awesome lol. He just said the Traeger pellet grills seems to be much more solid. Maybe it’s a griddle thing (?) because I’ve read the Weber offering feels a bit cheaper compared to some other Weber offerings

 

[RayClem]

According to the specs, the Flatrock weighs 189#. That is pretty hefty. My Ironwood 885 weighs 175#. As senior citizens, it took all the strength my wife and I could muuster to get it into the house and out onto the elevated back deck. At least with the Flatrock you can remove the heavy griddle plate before moving the base. Thus, I am glad the metal is not even thicker than it is as I would need to get help from neighbors to get it into the house.

I do not expect any modern appliance to last more than 10 years, even the ones used indoors. At least the Flatrock comes with a five-year limited warranty. The Blackstone warranty is only one year. Camp Chef does a little better with a 3 year warranty on the primary cooking components, but the body of the grill is only warranted for a year. An annual inspection and a little high-temp paint can help prolong the life of your grill.

 

[CMTiger]

According to the specs, the Flatrock weighs 189#. That is pretty hefty. My Ironwood 885 weighs 175#. As senior citizens, it took all the strength my wife and I could muuster to get it into the house and out onto the elevated back deck. At least with the Flatrock you can remove the heavy griddle plate before moving the base. Thus, I am glad the metal is not even thicker than it is as I would need to get help from neighbors to get it into the house.

I do not expect any modern appliance to last more than 10 years, even the ones used indoors. At least the Flatrock comes with a five-year limited warranty. The Blackstone warranty is only one year. Camp Chef does a little better with a 3 year warranty on the primary cooking components, but the body of the grill is only warranted for a year. An annual inspection and a little high-temp paint can help prolong the life of your grill.

All true. Just passing along some second hand info from someone who has had their hands on one. It still looks like a good option.

 

[Shedd]

We are talking about a company that USED to be the most recognizable name in pellet grills, unfortunately they aren’t what they used to be. They have tons of bad reviews, not to mention the high end Timberlines are full of issues. Their build quality isn’t what the older Traeger’s are and can’t compete with most of their competitors. I have my doubts about the griddle, I don’t see them being a contender in that market but that’s my opinion as many have given theirs. Time will tell.

 

[JPSBBQ]

We are talking about a company that USED to be the most recognizable name in pellet grills, unfortunately they aren’t what they used to be. They have tons of bad reviews, not to mention the high end Timberlines are full of issues. Their build quality isn’t what the older Traeger’s are and can’t compete with most of their competitors. I have my doubts about the griddle, I don’t see them being a contender in that market but that’s my opinion as many have given theirs. Time will tell.

They are far and away the most recognizable name in pellet grills. They do just fine. They compete with their competitors by being the far and away biggest seller. When you’re #1 everyone has something bad to say about you. Like any manufactured pellet grill, they have issues. There’s may be twice what others are because they sell 3 times as many units.

it is a tough time for all the grill manufacturers right now as inflationary times have put a pinch on the expenditures of most people and they all are hurting.

 

[RayClem]

We are talking about a company that USED to be the most recognizable name in pellet grills, unfortunately they aren’t what they used to be. They have tons of bad reviews, not to mention the high end Timberlines are full of issues. Their build quality isn’t what the older Traeger’s are and can’t compete with most of their competitors. I have my doubts about the griddle, I don’t see them being a contender in that market but that’s my opinion as many have given theirs. Time will tell.

The appliance market, whether for indoor or outdoor, has changed. It used to be that you could purchase a clothes washer whose frame and tub were porcelain coated steel. It came with a mechanical timer, and a transmission built like a tank. They would easily last 25 years. Now they are made to be convenient, energy efficient, and have electronic controls and WiFi connections to an app. If they last 10 years, you will be lucky.

Traeger has just responded to the market pressures. Most people do not want to keep their grill for 25 years; they want to replace it with one with brand new exterior and all the latest bells and whistles. That is the same reasoning that has people leasing vehicles for 2-3 years and then leasing a new one when the lease expires rather than purchasing one and keeping it for 15 years like I do.

 

[Shedd]

It’s all about preference and how one values their money. I see many post and replies on this forum alone mentioning some bad issues they have with Traeger, many on their top of the line $3500 plus Timberline! I highly doubt anyone forking out top dollar for grills, appliances, automobiles etc are buying them expecting that they are being made cheap and to not last! Auto leasing is again “a preference”, I’ve come out best either paying cash or financing a few months to take advantage of manufacturer incentives. But I put 100k miles on before purchasing another vehicle.

On another note, I hope everyone on here that’s been in the path of all the recent extreme weather are holding up okay, my prayers have been with you!

 

[JPSBBQ]

The Timberline has a ten year warranty I believe.

 

[RustyJake]

The Timberline has a ten year warranty I believe.

Yup, the chamber and cabinet have 10 years on the Timberline and Timberline XL

 

[Shedd]

Traeger charged extra for that warranty. They added what, an extra grand or so to the price to say if it rust through in ten years they’ll replace it. I’ve got a 15 year old Charbroil gas grill at my camper I keep on my hunting land. It’s still not rusted completely though. Don’t get me wrong, Traeger still delivers a good grill and I’ve had very minimal problems with mine, but they are not the company they used to be. I do like mine for some things and I enjoy trying new things on it, but after seeing others that might be better (Yoder, REC TECH, Coyote, etc) I would do a little more research. I expect to pay more for a great product that I want but I’m not going to overpay for it.
I’ve been building houses my whole life, I put my name and most importantly my reputation on the line because we have a lot of builders in my area. It’s the only thing that stands out between me and my competitors. I get repetitive customers over and over, I see them in the stores and restaurants I visit and it’s a good feeling when they tell me how much they love their houses. I don’t cut corners just “because”, I do it right and if they have issues I fix it. Everything costs so much more to build a house but i charge more and give them the same end result I always have. I know these manufacturers can’t do exactly like me, but they can do much better. Cost more, then charge more but be as good as you have always been.