Pellet Grill Pellets

[WildWilly]

My Traeger is about 15 years old.
It cost about $700 way back then.
I’ve ran a lumberyard worth of pellets through it.
Not a single part has ever cost me more than $21
It takes me about 10 minutes to change any component, minus auger because I’ve never tuned up the auger so don’t know how long that takes.
I clean it when it gets gross. That depends on what I cook, but typically it’s MAYBE once every 2 weeks or so?
Depends how lazy I am and if the drip pan starts to catch fire. And even then it’s like 3 minutes to clean it.

Rec Tec guys are funny that way.
I guess overspending for a bbq grill does trigger some doubts?

in fairness, there is a huge difference in a 15yo Traeger and a 2 year old one. they've really gone to shit these days

 

[was thatguy]

in fairness, there is a huge difference in a 15yo Traeger and a 2 year old one. they've really gone to shit these days

No argument there.
Bil got a new digital one for Christmas 2 years ago.
He gave it away pretty fast. I used it twice at his house to try to get it dialed in for him.
Didn’t care for it.
Pretty sure I could have got it usable eventually, but it was totally foreign to me.

 

[hman442]

Reading on the "Down South Serious as Hell about Smokin & BBQ" forums, most of those guys don't care for Traeger pellets. They claim that they are all oak, with cherry, mesquite, etc. flavoring added to them. So, I thought dang, I ain't using those anymore, so I tried 3-4 other brands available locally, ordered some off of Amazon.....I couldn't taste any difference in the meats, temps seemed similar, etc. So now I buy whichever. I do agree that when you get a bag that's partially full of dust that it's a piss off, but I wonder if that happens with lots of brands, as in the last couple bags off the assembly line before they switch woods, etc. As far as the RecTec never needing the 45 second vacuum like the Traeger, that must be a cool design if, through the burning process it leaves no ashes. That'd be cool! With my old Traeger, the ashes don't cause issues, i just figure that with 1/2" of ash on the bottom, and a strong fan blowing air across it, I might be eating ashes, as I assume they get circulated in the wind from the fan ?

 

[hman442]

in fairness, there is a huge difference in a 15yo Traeger and a 2 year old one. they've really gone to shit these days

My Traeger is about 7-8 years old. I did have to replace the fan last year. I've read talk that the temp varies alot, which, with the mobile carry around temp probe thing, mine does go about 40 degrees above and below the set temp. That got me wondering, so I put the probe in my kitchen o en, and it varies 30 or so above and below set temp, so I figured it to be normal. But, if some of those premium brands are made of thicker steel, that would probably help with that issue I guess, but on the other hand, the kitchen oven is insulated to the point where it doesn't really heat up the kitchen, and it still varies

 

[Bpracing1127]

Im sure I will catch some grief but I use the Walmart pellets and havent had any issues and they seem to burn good. I clean out the burner after every 8-10 hours of use.

So you clean half way through a brisket lol?

 

[LargeOrangeFont]

My Traeger is about 7-8 years old. I did have to replace the fan last year. I've read talk that the temp varies alot, which, with the mobile carry around temp probe thing, mine does go about 40 degrees above and below the set temp. That got me wondering, so I put the probe in my kitchen o en, and it varies 30 or so above and below set temp, so I figured it to be normal. But, if some of those premium brands are made of thicker steel, that would probably help with that issue I guess, but on the other hand, the kitchen oven is insulated to the point where it doesn't really heat up the kitchen, and it still varies

Unless you have a PID controller it will vary the temps no matter what because the feed is only based on a timer.

A PID controller will still vary a bit, but can compensate for other variables like ambient temp, current internal temp, etc.

 

[thedan]

So you clean half way through a brisket lol?

I’m laughing too much at this!!! Would this cause “The stall”, or the ”The first stall?”

 

[Ladsm]

So you clean half way through a brisket lol?

I guess I should have been more specific, I dont do alot of long term slow cooks. I do alot 1 hour fish and 2-3 hour red meat cooks and clean it every 3-4 cooks. I havent had 8 hours to wait for something to cook.