My Grill Will Not Ignite
- If your grill is plugged into an electrical outlet with a GFI (ground fault interrupter)
plug, chances are the hot rod has absorbed or been exposed to too much moisture
and is leaking to ground causing the plug to trip.
- Open your cooking chamber lid, remove cooking grill, angled drip pan and U-shaped
firepot cover. Is there ash build up in the firepot and/or around the firepot? If
so, this needs to be cleaned out. The ash is choking out the fire.
- Check the fuse on the back of the control board. To do this, first UNPLUG the grill
from the electrical outlet. Then, unscrew the control board and look at the fuse—is
it blown or not?
- If the fuse is good, check for power by switching the colored plugs first. Unplug
the purple plug and the orange plug. Plug the purple plug into the orange plug.
Now plug the power cord back into the electrical outlet and turn the grill on. Does
the induction fan operate? If so, you will need a new hot rod and fuse. If not,
you will need a new control board. Unplug the purple from the orange and reconnect
the plugs together to their correct color plug.
- Always start your grill on the SMOKE setting.
There Are No Pellets Getting Into My Firepot
- If this is a new unit, have you allowed at least 7 minutes for the pellets to travel
from the pellet hopper via the auger tube to the firepot? If the answer is yes,
then proceed to next step.
- If your unit is new, unplug the red and orange connectors and hook the red plug
up to the orange plug. If the auger motor works with the orange hooked up to the
red, the problem is in the control board. It will need to be replaced.
-
If the auger motor does not work, but the auger fan does work the problem is in
the auger system itself. If this is the case, check the following:
- Wet or decomposed pellets. If yes, you need to use a shop vac to remove them from
the pellet hopper and firepot and auger tube. Once the firepot is cleaned out, put
the vacuum hose to the end of the auger tube to suck out any pellet material in
the auger tube.
- With the red plug still attached to the orange plug, turn on the barbecue and watch
the two inch propeller on the motor. If the propeller turns and then stops, switch
the barbecue off and see if the propeller un-winds. If it unwinds, there is a jam
in the auger system and the auger will need to be removed, the auger tube thoroughly
cleaned out. Same thing for the pellet hopper.
- If the propeller does not turn, then turn off the power switch. When off, the auger
motor will unwind. This indicates that the auger motor is bad and will need to be
replaced. Contact your local Authorized Traeger Dealer or call our Service Department
at 1-800-872-3437.
How Do I Remove My Auger?
- Remove allen screw and 5/16th inch nut which attaches the auger to the auger motor.
- Use a 7/16th wrench to remove the bolts that hold the auger motor and motor bracket
to burner.
- Place an 12" pipe wrench on the auger shaft.
- Turn the shaft counter clock-wise (pull it towards you).
- It will be hard to turn at first. When the auger breaks free, it will turn freely.
- After removing the auger, push all of the loose pellets out of the auger tube and
into the firepot. Use a shop-vac to help remove all of the pellet material.
- Take a piece of medium grit sandpaper and sand the outside of the auger. If the
auger tube is rusty, sand the auger tube and vacuum out the auger tube.
- Re-assemble the unit by placing the auger back into the tube, make sure the auger
shaft turns freely over the motor shaft before re-bolting the motor bracket and
auger motor. Then re-attach the auger shaft to the auger motor shaft using the 5/16th
nut and allen screw.
How Do I Manually Light The Grill?
- You will ONLY need to do this IF your hot rod has gone out.
- Manual lighting instructions can be found on the paper label on the underside of
your pellet hopper lid.
- Manual lighting instructions are also included in your Owner's Manual, which comes
with every grill.
- Before you Manually Light your grill, you will need to unplug the purple plug, place
a handful of pellets into the firepot, squirt Alcohol Gel onto the pellets. Use
a long handled fireplace match or an "aim and flame" to ignite the gel.
- You will need to wait approximately 5 minutes before turning the grill back on.
Before you turn the grill on, replace the U-shaped firepot cover, angled drip pan
and cooking grill(s). Do Not Burn Yourself!
My Unit Goes Out On Smoke
- Open the cooking chamber lid and remove cooking grill, angled drip pan and U-shaped
firepot cover. Look and see if there is a large accumulation of pellet ash in and
around the firepot. If there is, it will need to be cleaned out. Do this ONLY WHEN
THE GRILL IS TOTALLY COLD! Replace U-shaped firepot cover, angled drip pan and cooking
grills and resume cooking/smoking process.
- If this does not remedy the problem, please contact the
Traeger Service Department.
How Do I Protect My Paint Finish?
- Purchase and use a Traeger Hydrotuff cover. This will help protect against the weather,
dust, scratches to your outside paint.
- Once every 90 days, use a good quality car wax and wax the the entire outside of
your grill. Be sure the grill is TOTALLY COLD before starting this process. Use
a clean towel to thoroughly remove all of the car wax from the grill body.
- If you need to touch-up the paint, see your Authorized Traeger Dealer or go to the
Traeger General Store at www.traegerindustries.com and purchase genuine Traeger
Touch-Up Paint.
I Need A New Part For My Grill
- Check with your Authorized Traeger Dealer to see if they have the part in stock.
They can order it for you.
- Or, you may call the Traeger Service Department at 1-800-872-3437 and be assisted
by a Traeger Service Technician.
My auger makes a lot of noise when I turn on my grill. What's wrong?
You need to "true" your auger. To do this:
- Run the unit out of pellets.
- Remove the allen screw and nut out of the auger and motor shaft.
- Try spinning the auger shaft over the motor shaft. The auger shaft should spin freely
over the motor shaft without binding.
- If the auger binds, loosen the 7/16th inch bolts on the motor bracket and move bracket
until you can rotate the auger shaft over the motor shaft. Then re-tighten 7/16th
inch bolts. Make sure auger shaft still rotates over motor shaft, or repeat step
4 again until it does.
- Reattach auger and motor shafts using the screw and nut which you removed in step
2.
I've been noticing that my grill temperature keeps dropping lower. What is the problem?
You need to "true" your auger. To do this:
- Run the unit out of pellets.
- Remove the allen screw and nut out of the auger and motor shaft.
- Try spinning the auger shaft over the motor shaft. The auger shaft should spin freely
over the motor shaft without binding.
- If the auger binds, loosen the 7/16th inch bolts on the motor bracket and move bracket
until you can rotate the auger shaft over the motor shaft. Then re-tighten 7/16th
inch bolts. Make sure auger shaft still rotates over motor shaft, or repeat step
4 again until it does.
- Reattach auger and motor shafts using the screw and nut which you removed in step
2.
I have a Traeger with a Digital Thermostat unit. What setting do you recommend I
have the dial set on when I first start the grill?
If you own a grill outfitted with one of our Digital Thermostat Kits, you should
know that we recently changed our recommendation on how you should start your grill.
Instead of rotating the dial to the 350 degree temperature setting, we now recommend
that the best way to insure proper start-up is to rotate the thermostat dial to
the smoke setting and allow the grill to start-up on this setting. Once the grill
is going, you can rotate the thermostat to any cooking temperature setting you desire.
Can I substitute homemade barbecue pellets, other brands of pellets, or heating fuel
pellets for Traeger-brand barbecue pellets?
No. In fact, doing so will void your Traeger Warranty. Our barbecue pellets are
made exclusively from natural food-grade hardwoods and are free of contaminants
such as chemicals, petroleum, dirt or sand, or corrosion-causing salt from wood
harvested from coastal areas. The pellets are designed specifically to optimize
the performance of your Traeger. They are manufactured and packaged at our own mill
according to strict specifications for density, hardness, and moisture content.
The safety and/or performance of your grill may be compromised if you substitute
any fuel other than Traeger-brand barbecue pellets.