Pellets Bad pellets/question/pics

[patstock11]

So long story short i bought a traeger pro 34 in may of 2021, and recently upgraded to a timberline 1300. When i bought the pro 34 i bought a bunch of pellets, and stored them in 5 gallon buckets with plastic lids and rubber seals. I figured id have a ton of different flavors at my disposal for quite a while. So when i went to complete the initial burn in on my new timberline i had alot of temperature issues and massive fluctuation swings. I was using pellets from the pro 34 but they were now nearly 7 months old, but in my mind stored properly. I took pictures of what the result of my 7 month old pellets are, clumpy, not fine dust, and almost look like metallic slag....do these look like bad pellets ? Any help would be greatly appreciated, i really hope its just bad pellets

 

[Murphy's Law]

Those lookalike they got wet somehow??

 

[patstock11]

i know but the crazy thing is they never got wet. maybe prior to me buying them the store got them wet/?

 

[Timmy]

So long story short i bought a traeger pro 34 in may of 2021, and recently upgraded to a timberline 1300. When i bought the pro 34 i bought a bunch of pellets, and stored them in 5 gallon buckets with plastic lids and rubber seals. I figured id have a ton of different flavors at my disposal for quite a while. So when i went to complete the initial burn in on my new timberline i had alot of temperature issues and massive fluctuation swings. I was using pellets from the pro 34 but they were now nearly 7 months old, but in my mind stored properly. I took pictures of what the result of my 7 month old pellets are, clumpy, not fine dust, and almost look like metallic slag....do these look like bad pellets ? Any help would be greatly appreciated, i really hope its just bad pellets

Is this before the cook or after?

 

[patstock11]

Is this before the cook or after?

After cook. Clumpy. "Metallic like" ash clumps. Hard

 

[Timmy]

Those chunks are clinkers, here is a post on another thread that may shed a little insight. But may not be your exact issue.
Post in thread 'anyone ever seen plum pellets?'
https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/anyone-ever-seen-plum-pellets.1462/post-29118

 

[Spanky]

What brand and type wood were those pellets.

Did all of the different 5 gallon pails turn out the same?

 

[patstock11]

What brand and type wood were those pellets.

Did all of the different 5 gallon pails turn out the same?

That i am not sure of yet. These were mesquite traeger pellets with a few apple pellets sprinkled in mixed, i believe. They are certainly the oldest pellets i have. I recently did a brisket, probably a month ago with 100% oak lumberjack pellets, the cook was about 16 hrs and there were none of these "clinkers"

 

[dkuchenberg]

So long story short i bought a traeger pro 34 in may of 2021, and recently upgraded to a timberline 1300. When i bought the pro 34 i bought a bunch of pellets, and stored them in 5 gallon buckets with plastic lids and rubber seals. I figured id have a ton of different flavors at my disposal for quite a while. So when i went to complete the initial burn in on my new timberline i had alot of temperature issues and massive fluctuation swings. I was using pellets from the pro 34 but they were now nearly 7 months old, but in my mind stored properly. I took pictures of what the result of my 7 month old pellets are, clumpy, not fine dust, and almost look like metallic slag....do these look like bad pellets ? Any help would be greatly appreciated, i really hope its just bad pellets

They look like they got wet somehow. I don't believe they will feed correctly. I think you will have auger problems what will lead to temperature issues. They may be ok to put in a smoke tube but I definitely would not try to cook with them.

 

[Rexofribs]

I had the same issue with pellets from one company. Will not be using again. Nothing wrong with pellets thr company actual mention it’s on their website. Noted that it might be a problem with fruit tree based pellets has some kind of substance or whatever that forms clinkers /slag. Never had issue with treager pellets or B&B pellets. Just have to be aware of it and clean out fire pot with every cook.

 

[patstock11]

burning some meat church traeger pellets at the moment just to see what the ash looks like

 

[Spanky]

That i am not sure of yet. These were mesquite traeger pellets with a few apple pellets sprinkled in mixed, i believe. They are certainly the oldest pellets i have. I recently did a brisket, probably a month ago with 100% oak lumberjack pellets, the cook was about 16 hrs and there were none of these "clinkers"

patstock11

I have had good results (smoke flavor and no storage issues) with Lumber Jack Oak and Mesquite pellets. I mostly use the Smoke House Brand 50/50 Oak and Hickory from Sams Club. Oldest I have stored the Lumber Jack and Smoke House Brand Pellets has been about 6 months. My storage system is not great as I just leave the unused pellets in the original bag in garage on dry cement floor. I am not a fan of Traeger pellets as I believe they offer low smoke levels at a premium price. I used them up quickly and never purchased any more.

Your storage method in sealed pails sounds excellent and much better than the way I store mine.

 

[patstock11]

So, if anyone is still interested i had great results burning with the meat church blend. Fine powdery ash, no clinkers, and temp was spot on with little fluctuation. Im gonna chalk my problem up to either moist pellets due to age, or apple pellets being mixed with mesquite.....Could very well be moisture bc it gets humid as all hell up here on long island in the summer even if properly stored in buckets. Anyway, Merry christmas everyone!

 

[HotSpringsBBQ]

I have come to really like the Lumber Jack brand. I tried a few other brands, but this one has served me well and seems to smoke a tad better for me, with less dust. Just my 2 cents !

 

[patstock11]

i liked lumberjack as well, its just hard to find here on long island. Only place is dick's sporting goods and it was for shipping only, which became expensive