Where’s my Ash?

[gunsnrods]

Newbie here. I have used my Traeger enough to empty one bag of pellets. The little tin cup under the grill just has a trace of ash, I emptied it once. Are these things that efficient?

 

[Manannan]

Are these things that efficient?

They are efficient but not that efficient and the amount of ash left over is also depends on other factors including pellet manufacturer and burn temperature for example.

However in addition to the tin cup, which is better for grease collection, you also need to look inside the main body of the Traeger removing the various plates and baffles relevant to you model, much of the ash sits here and can be brushed into the cup or vacuumed out which is again model dependent... this is essential every few smokes.

On my old 575Pro I did maybe every 4 or 5 smokes, on my new Gen 2 Ironwood maybe every 3-4 mainly because it is easier!

 

[gunsnrods]

OP here. Learned something. I took the grill and innards of my grill out, signicant amount of ash. Used my old 5 gallon shop vac to clean it out.
Once upon a time my Dad used a shop vac to clean ash from a fireplace, bad idea, ash passes right thru paper element. I just ordered a new high filtration filter from Amazon, typical use is dry wall dust, that will catch the fine pellet dust. It’s washable, too.

 

[Shedd]

Now that you have the ash cleanup figured out you might want to vacuum it out about every two cooks and if you do an all night smoke then vacuum it. Better to do it sooner than later. I have a small shop vac and I don’t use a filter, I just make sure to turn the exhaust away from me and vacuum it out. I’ve tried the best filters and they still clog. Also I get my aluminum foil from Sam’s Club, the big box wide roll (commercial grade). I don’t buy the aluminum drip pans, I double layer the drip pan with foil and once it gets too bad I usually get away with changing the top layer.

 

[RayClem]

If you do short cooks, you can go several cooks between ash cleanup. If I am doing a long cook, I will clean the grill prior to the cook.

 

[Matthew Briganti]

Yes, Traegers are very efficient and produce very little ash. It's normal to have only a small amount after using a whole bag of pellets. Don't worry!

 

[Manannan]

Newbie here. I have used my Traeger enough to empty one bag of pellets. The little tin cup under the grill just has a trace of ash, I emptied it once. Are these things that efficient?

Yes, Traegers are very efficient and produce very little ash. It's normal to have only a small amount after using a whole bag of pellets. Don't worry!

The relevant point is you need to look for what ash there is in the right place otherwise it can still build up over time and cause a problem.

 

[drich]

OP here. Learned something. I took the grill and innards of my grill out, signicant amount of ash. Used my old 5 gallon shop vac to clean it out.
Once upon a time my Dad used a shop vac to clean ash from a fireplace, bad idea, ash passes right thru paper element. I just ordered a new high filtration filter from Amazon, typical use is dry wall dust, that will catch the fine pellet dust. It’s washable, too.

I am sort of a clean nut. I have that the ash contain acid that can cause your Traeger to rust so after vacuuming I use my blower to get the remainder of the ashes out. If you do this be sure you know which direction the wind is blowing.

 

[drich]

I am sort of a clean nut. I have that the ash contain acid that can cause your Traeger to rust so after vacuuming I use my blower to get the remainder of the ashes out. If you do this be sure you know which direction the wind is blowing.

That should have read “I have heard that the ash contains acid “.

 

[RayClem]

In general, wood ash is alkaline, not acidic.

In earlier times, wood ash was used to make soap. When fats such as the drippings off roasted meat fell upon the ashes of the fire used to cook that meat, the result was the saponification of fatty acids to produce esters we call call soap. The reaction is driven by the high pH (alkalinity) of the wood ash.

 

[Grilling with smoke]

This is just an FYI, when I seasoned my I had very little ash as well. When I opened my Timberline I found the firebox had not been installed correctly and I also found that there was pellets and ash in behind the firepot. I also found the firebox was faculty and replaced it. End of problem.

 

[drich]

In general, wood ash is alkaline, not acidic.

In earlier times, wood ash was used to make soap. When fats such as the drippings off roasted meat fell upon the ashes of the fire used to cook that meat, the result was the saponification of fatty acids to produce esters we call call soap. The reaction is driven by the high pH (alkalinity) of the wood ash.

Thanks. I will not be that concerned about the ash