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

[RayClem]

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.

Well for one thing, the Traeger grills are designed to allow the temperature to float around the controller set point. That is to allow the grill to more closely mimic the operation of a wood burning offset smoker. If you expect the temperature to stay within 5 degrees of setpoint, you need to get rid of the Traeger and cook everything in your kitchen oven. But even that is unlikely to achieve your desire.

If you check your kitchen oven, you will find that it does not hold a tight tolerance on the temperature, either. The Traeger has a PID controller which stands for proportional, integral, derivative which is an advanced method for controlling temperature. Your kitchen oven has a simple on-off thermostat with minimal intelligence. The oven turns on until the temperature exceeds the maximum set point and then turns off completely. It does not turn back on again until the temperature falls below the minimum set point. The thermostat for your home furnace has similar logic. If you place an accurate temperature probe in your kitchen oven and monitor it, you will see significant variations in temperature, especially if you open the oven door to check the cook.

Maintaining an exact cook temperature is not necessary. Many a good meal was produced over an open wood fire without the aid of a thermometer.

 

[JPSBBQ]

Well for one thing, the Traeger grills are designed to allow the temperature to float around the controller set point. That is to allow the grill to more closely mimic the operation of a wood burning offset smoker. If you expect the temperature to stay within 5 degrees of setpoint, you need to get rid of the Traeger and cook everything in your kitchen oven. But even that is unlikely to achieve your desire.

If you check your kitchen oven, you will find that it does not hold a tight tolerance on the temperature, either. The Traeger has a PID controller which stands for proportional, integral, derivative which is an advanced method for controlling temperature. Your kitchen oven has a simple on-off thermostat with minimal intelligence. The oven turns on until the temperature exceeds the maximum set point and then turns off completely. It does not turn back on again until the temperature falls below the minimum set point. The thermostat for your home furnace has similar logic. If you place an accurate temperature probe in your kitchen oven and monitor it, you will see significant variations in temperature, especially if you open the oven door to check the cook.

Maintain an exact cook temperature is not necessary. Many a good meal was produced over an open wood fire without the aid of a thermometer.

Finally some perspective and sanity.

 

[CMTiger]

My unprofessional opinion that I've sorta formed is that many recipes call for a cook temp of 350 because ballpark is oftentimes good enough.

 

[RayClem]

My unprofessional opinion that I've sorta formed is that many recipes call for a cook temp of 350 because ballpark is oftentimes good enough.

Exactly. If you were to set 10 brands of electric and gas ovens to 350F, you are likely to get 10 different temperatures varying by as much as 30 degrees, perhaps even more. Whether recipes are designed for the Traeger or the kitchen oven, they are only guidelines.

Experienced cooks rarely measure ingredients, they add what they think is the right amount and then adjust accordingly. Cooking and grilling is as much art as it is science.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I've stopped chasing temperature of the grill and focus on the temperature of the protein. I know my grill well enough at this point so if I want 275 for example, I set it around 300 and know I'm close enough.

You have to also pay attention to your time, though. If Traeger says cook at 275 for 8 hours, know you may be finished an hour sooner or hour later.

 

[Clownwacko]

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!?!?!?

I cut down a paper towel cardboard tube, and put it over the

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!?!?!?

 

[Clownwacko]

I cut down a paper towel cardboard tube to fit over the temperature probe inside of the cooking chamber.

 

[RayClem]

I cut down a paper towel cardboard tube to fit over the temperature probe inside of the cooking chamber.

And.......??? What happened? Did this make things better or worse?

 

[Clownwacko]

And.......??? What happened? Did this make things better or worse?

 

[Clownwacko]

Been doing for over thirty years. Doesn’t cost anything to try it.

 

[RayClem]

Been doing for over thirty years. Doesn’t cost anything to try it.

OK I get it, you have been doing the cardboard tube trick for decades. However, that still does not answer my original question.

I presume that this trick makes an improvement, but what specific improvement does it make to the cook chamber temperature as measured by a 3rd party thermometer?

I can see how you might place a cardboard tube over the long thermocouples on older Traeger models, but I am not sure that it going to work on the newer models whose thermocouple is about 1- 1/2" tall.

 

[Shedd]

Been doing for over thirty years. Doesn’t cost anything to try it.

Can you elaborate more about this and explain how and why it works. Maybe pictures if possible. The limited information you’ve provided doesn’t make any sense because one would think that a cardboard tube inside a pellet grill would burn or come apart. Thank you!

 

[Clownwacko]

Sorry, I don’t know why or how it works. Guess it keeps it cleaner. It doesn’t burn or catch fire.

 

[charles99]

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.

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yes, they can vary as they cycle particularly at higher temps, but not so much at lower temps. and you can see that. the heating elements turn on and off - electric or gas. but it averages out at the set temperature. and most ovens do not vary that much. the problem with the Traeger is that it's not reading because of variance during cycle - an external air probe would see that too and they don't. the temperature is pretty constant because of the way the Traeger works - it doesn't really "cycle". And the thermocouple ALWAYS reads TOO LOW.

 

[JPSBBQ]

yes, they can vary as they cycle particularly at higher temps, but not so much at lower temps. and you can see that. the heating elements turn on and off - electric or gas. but it averages out at the set temperature. and most ovens do not vary that much. the problem with the Traeger is that it's not reading because of variance during cycle - an external air probe would see that too. the temperature is pretty constant because of the way the Traeger works - it doesn't really "cycle". It ALWAYS reads TOO LOW.

Sooo, it’s consistently low. You know it’s consistently low presumably because you monitor the temp separately or can do so. By all means don’t raise the temperature as desired. I get it that it should average out, and I’ve never had this issue, but it’s an easy work around. Especially if the issue is consistent as you pronounced.

The Traeger's do cycle. Depending on your model and the algorithm. I’ve notice that the new ones cycle more and are producing more smoke as a result.