Why doesn't Traeger recognize and FIX the MAJOR PROBLEM with the ambient temp probe being off by 25-30 degrees?

[Slimpicker]

I did place my Smoke sensor in the middle of the lower rack towards the back. I admit this is pretty far away from the Traeger sensor on the right wall.

That back area and front area is where most of the HOTTEST heat rises, that is NOT a good place to make any temp judgements. I've had 400° heat rising back there and right in front when calling for only 300... all the heat has to travel around your drip pan, the only places are along the whole back and front. If I push meat back too far it burns back there. I have the 575 and you have the 780, designed the same way. You're better off putting a probe straight across from the Traeger probe to the left than where you put it. Sorry but it's the way they were designed.

 

[Parrothead1809]

That back area and front area is where most of the HOTTEST heat rises, that is NOT a good place to make any temp judgements. I've had 400° heat rising back there and right in front when calling for only 300... all the heat has to travel around your drip pan, the only places are along the whole back and front. If I push meat back too far it burns back there. I have the 575 and you have the 780, designed the same way. You're better off putting a probe straight across from the Traeger probe to the left than where you put it. Sorry but it's the way they were designed.

Thanks for the info! I’m move the probe for my next cook.
-PH

 

[charles99]

If you mount a 3rd party thermometer adjacent to the Traeger thermocouple, you will likely find that they read similarly. However, that will not be the temperature in the center of the grill where you are trying to cook. Because the thermocouple is mounted on a side wall, the mass of the metal wall will affect the temperature. The air flow along the side of the grill can be either laminar flow or turbulent flow depending upon the fan speed. Because of this effect, the temperature discrepancy between the actual cook temperature and the measured thermocouple reading will vary depending upon the controller setpoint. Perhaps Traeger could program in a non-linear calibration curve, but this curve might need to be adjusted based on the ambient temperature outside the grill as that affects the fuel-air usage. Also, filling the grill chamber with food will affect air flow, humidity and the air-fuel usage. Thus, what you ask of Traeger is far more difficult than you surmise. In order to insure accuracy, you would need to add a number of other sensors for outside temperature, weight of food, humidity levels, etc. and supply the data to a computer far more sophisticated than the D2 controller. It is a lot less expensive to purchase a 3rd party digital or analog thermometer and adjust the controller setpoint to obtain the cook temperature you want.

@RayClem I have a Silverton 620 that I've had less than a year. Most of my cooking seems to take longer than it should but not as bad as the disaster last Sunday smoking a pork butt that took WAY too long to come up to temp - 5lb butt at 225 was only at 160degrees after 17 hours (finished in the oven). So I have been doing some testing today. I have 2 thermoworks thermometers. I placed a probe right next to the thermocouple and plugged it into each of my thermoworks receivers. They both registered the same temp so they're in sync. However temperatures between the thermoworks and the Traeger thermocouple are WAY off. (See attached pics) I called Traeger "support" and was told that they don't recommend using a 3rd party thermometer. What a crock. I'm ordering a new thermocouple to see if that helps. I've only had the grill for a year but it gets a LOT of use. So if a new thermocouple works, then that becomes annual maintenance, but this is really stupid. Part of the draw of these things is "set and forget (to a point" but if I have to constantly monitor my own thermometers because I can't trust their gauge, then it's hardly set and forget. I'm going to do some more testing - a full cleaning, leaving the thermocouple alone, and try my thermoworks at several locations. Perhaps they've done some programming to add some temp to the display to account for the fact that their thermometer isn't in the cooking sweet spot (poor design?). This was NOT a cheap grill but maybe I need to live with it while I start looking at other brands for a purchase next year. (now I'll go back to reading the rest of this thread)

 

[charles99]

Traegers are EXPENSIVE. I didn't know or expect that their ambient temp thermometer located on the wall of the cooking area would be off by 25-30 degrees. I ruined two meals due to undercooking them before I found this forum and found that this is a COMMON issue and that I had to shell out MORE of my hard earned money to by a third party probe to compensate for the Traeger's inaccurate probe. What a joke! I'd return my Traeger if I could. WHY DON'T THEY FIX THIS!?!?!?

They have fans in them to circulate the heat. But their thermocouple and a thermometer placed right next to it SHOULD read the same.

 

[RayClem]

@RayClem I have a Silverton 620 that I've had less than a year. Most of my cooking seems to take longer than it should but not as bad as the disaster last Sunday smoking a pork butt that took WAY too long to come up to temp - 5lb butt at 225 was only at 160degrees after 17 hours (finished in the oven). So I have been doing some testing today. I have 2 thermoworks thermometers. I placed a probe right next to the thermocouple and plugged it into each of my thermoworks receivers. They both registered the same temp so they're in sync. However temperatures between the thermoworks and the Traeger thermocouple are WAY off. (See attached pics) I called Traeger "support" and was told that they don't recommend using a 3rd party thermometer. What a crock. I'm ordering a new thermocouple to see if that helps. I've only had the grill for a year but it gets a LOT of use. So if a new thermocouple works, then that becomes annual maintenance, but this is really stupid. Part of the draw of these things is "set and forget (to a point" but if I have to constantly monitor my own thermometers because I can't trust their gauge, then it's hardly set and forget. I'm going to do some more testing - a full cleaning, leaving the thermocouple alone, and try my thermoworks at several locations. Perhaps they've done some programming to add some temp to the display to account for the fact that their thermometer isn't in the cooking sweet spot (poor design?). This was NOT a cheap grill but maybe I need to live with it while I start looking at other brands for a purchase next year. (now I'll go back to reading the rest of this thread)

It is not advisable to use a third party thermocouple to control the Traeger unless it was designed to do so. The most expensive Timberline is equipped with a Meater thermometer in an attempt by Traeger to correct the issue. They even bought the Meater company to facilitate this. However, I do not have a Timberline, so I do not know how successful they were. The location of the thermocouple within the grill chamber is part of the issue. If the thermocouple is not properly calibrated, that is a second issue.

 

[charles99]

internal ambient temp probe???

The Traeger has to different temperature probes. One measure the ambient temperature in the cook chamber. The other is an internal probe that you can insert into your protein to measure temperature.

Never attempt to cook to time and temperature as you might in your kitchen over. There are too many variables when cooking outdoors.

Part of the issue with the RTD thermocouple used to measure cook temperature is that the probe is located at a specific position along the side of the grill chamber. The temperature within the chamber will vary right to left, front to back, and top to bottom, so there is no fixed location that will give you an accurate representation of the temperature your cook is experiencing.

The internal temperature probe can normally be calibrated using an ice/water bath. Once calibrated, the temperature will be accurate at the freezing point of water (0C/32F). However, that is not a point of interest when cooking. Calibrating a thermometer using the boiling point of water is more useful, but since that temperature varies depending upon the mineral content of the water and the barometric pressure, that method is fraught with complexity.

The best way to measure temperature is to measure the temperature with multiple thermometers and use an average of the results.

The Traeger support rep and their web site call the thermocouple an "ambient temperature probe". As shown in the pics, the Thermoworks "air probe" (versus the meat probe) is about 1/4" from the Traeger thermocouple. They SHOULD read the same temp. I calibrate my Thermoworks thermometers appropriately, even adjusting for temperature of boiling water at my 6000 feet of elevation (200 degrees) and using distilled water. I know better than to use time and use meat thermometers all the time. And I don't care how you cut it, 15 hours to cook a 5 pound pork roast to 160 degrees is nuts unless your grill is not the temperature you expect it to be.

 

[JPSBBQ]

This has to be an elaborate joke right?

 

[CMTiger]

Fwiw Traeger did spend $100 million to purchase Meater…..which is a meat probe company. Whether or not you think something is wrong with their previous probes or not they aren’t just doing nothing…..they’ve dropped a whole lot of money trying to improve their offering on this area

 

[RayClem]

The Traeger support rep and their web site call the thermocouple an "ambient temperature probe". As shown in the pics, the Thermoworks "air probe" (versus the meat probe) is about 1/4" from the Traeger thermocouple. They SHOULD read the same temp. I calibrate my Thermoworks thermometers appropriately, even adjusting for temperature of boiling water at my 6000 feet of elevation (200 degrees) and using distilled water. I know better than to use time and use meat thermometers all the time. And I don't care how you cut it, 15 hours to cook a 5 pound pork roast to 160 degrees is nuts unless your grill is not the temperature you expect it to be.

You can always set the actual cook temperature to anywhere you want it. When cooking larger pieces of meat like a pork roast, I start my cook at 225F and and expose the meat to smoke for a few hours. Then I boost the temperature to 275 F to finish off the cook. After the first few hours, the meat won't pick up additional smoke. The higher finishing temperature will speed up the cook without affecting the flavor. If you are trying to reach an internal temp of 160F and the cook temperature is only 185F, the cook is going to take a very long time.

BTW: The internal temperature for cooking pork has been revised by the FDA. They used to recommend cooking pork to 160-165F just like ground beef and fish. Now the recommended temperature is 145F minimum. Modern farming methods have reduced the risk of disease and parasites like trichinosis that drove the earlier recommendation. So unless someone in your family insists on well-done meat, you might want to adjust your end point next time. Pork is better at either a temperature of 145F, which preserves the original meat juices, or at 200-205F which renders all the fat and connective tissue.

Also, cooking at high altitude can significantly affect cook times, just as it affects baking. I have a daughter who lives in the Denver area, so I know that this summer has been far wetter than normal, but you have to be careful to maintain cooking humidity to prevent protein from drying out. I would suggest adding a pan of water to the chamber during your cook.

 

[Shedd]

Let me say this. I have a 780Pro, the butts I’ve been cooking lately average about 7 lbs. I know my grills probes (ambient and meat) are off as well as my grill varies in temperature 15 degrees one way or the other at times and I’ve noticed if I turn the temperature up during a cook it can spike 30 degrees. At first it bothered me then I quit letting it get to me. I don’t use my third party probes until hours into the cook then I use one of my Meter probes to watch for desired done temperature. Point is, I set the temperature on the Traeger at 225 and let it go however it goes. The butts take 16 to 17 hours to cook. I don’t sweat it, I quit cooking to a timeframe (event, gathering or dinner) I cook a day or two ahead. I put it on , go to bed, get up insert a Meter or Two and do things around my place until my Meters alert me. Im at the point in my life that I’m not gonna let a grill or event control me when I can enjoy my day, have fun and still turn out the meats everyone wants me to cook. I call it smarter not harder and thanks to vacuum sealers and Sous Vide I can do it perfectly every time. I also have a butt or two in the freezer already cooked just in case my 780 goes wacko during the night. 160 degrees will definitely take that long!

 

[charles99]

Let me say this. I have a 780Pro, the butts I’ve been cooking lately average about 7 lbs. I know my grills probes (ambient and meat) are off as well as my grill varies in temperature 15 degrees one way or the other at times and I’ve noticed if I turn the temperature up during a cook it can spike 30 degrees. At first it bothered me then I quit letting it get to me. I don’t use my third party probes until hours into the cook then I use one of my Meter probes to watch for desired done temperature. Point is, I set the temperature on the Traeger at 225 and let it go however it goes. The butts take 16 to 17 hours to cook. I don’t sweat it, I quit cooking to a timeframe (event, gathering or dinner) I cook a day or two ahead. I put it on , go to bed, get up insert a Meter or Two and do things around my place until my Meters alert me. Im at the point in my life that I’m not gonna let a grill or event control me when I can enjoy my day, have fun and still turn out the meats everyone wants me to cook. I call it smarter not harder and thanks to vacuum sealers and Sous Vide I can do it perfectly every time. I also have a butt or two in the freezer already cooked just in case my 780 goes wacko during the night. 160 degrees will definitely take that long!

If it didn't have a temp on the display, I'd be fine with it. Like old fashioned ovens. But new ovens have a temp setting and if my new oven were off by 30 degrees, I would rightly demand it gets fixed by the manufacturer. My Traeger is the same way. It has a temperature setting and I expect it to hit that temp or within 5 degrees or so. I don't cook to a time, but I do have an expected window of a couple hours.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Ovens are routinely off by up to 50 degrees plus or minus.

 

[charles99]

Ovens are routinely off by up to 50 degrees plus or minus.

And then you call and get it repaired.

 

[JPSBBQ]

And then you call and get it repaired.

WrongO! It’s baked in just like the pellet cooker. I suggest people worried about such insignificant items take up baking as it is closer to a science while grilling and BBQ is more of an art. Sure it includes some science but the variables are all over the place.

 

[CMTiger]

I’ve never once even checked my ovens temp