Traeger Thermal Blanket

[David Eade]

Christmas 2022 my wonderful wife ordered me a Traeger Thermal Blanket as a Christmas present from Amazon for the best part of $300.°° and it arrived in an Amazon box without an instruction booklet and I used it a few days ago only to find out it melted the nylon strap holding it to the lower part of the smoker. Traeger blew me off but at least the liaison person was understanding. I wish I could post a picture but not sure how.

 

[RayClem]

Nylon is a polyamide polymer. There are many different types of nylon. Some can withstand high heat (493 F) while some types should not be exposed long term to temperatures over 150 F. Thus, if you use this for high-heat cooks, melting can definitely be an issue.

I do not have a Traeger insulation blanket as I have an Ironwood grill, for which no such blanket is available. I did see some poor reviews on the Traeger site indicating that the middle tie tends to melt, but the blanket can still be used without this tie.

Perhaps Traeger should have designed the straps with Nomex fiber rather than Nylon. Nomex is a polyaramid fiber which melts at 660F. Some versions are combined with Kevlar for even greater heat resistance. However, Nomex is quite expensive, so using it would have increased the cost of the blankets.

 

[RickW]

Please don't use those!
It just takes a few more pellets to maintain tamp in CO at -20