consistently losing fire on a Tailgater

[hollowbase]

My son gave me his Tailgater and I'm totally new to pellet grills. It doesn't seem to want to stay lit. I've been using it on smoke mode to make jerky. I cleaned everything including the sawdust out nof the auger. I'm using Traeger pellets that are new and they are being stored in the house because of the humidiity. The RTD is working correctly and accurately. I have run out of ideas with the exception, of could it be the control board? Does it vary the speed of the induction fan to keep the fire going? After start up the fan just seems to operate on one speed and I know it has higher rpm's due to how it operates on startup. So, if the auger delivers some pellets when it is at lower temperatures if the fan doesn't feed more oxygen is my fire being smothered?

 

[Phyllis]

It sounds like the control board might be the issue since it regulates the fan and auger. If the fan isn’t increasing speed when needed, especially on Smoke Mode, the fire could be smothered due to lack of oxygen. Make sure the fire pot is clean and properly seated, the pellets are dry and feeding consistently and the exhaust vents aren’t blocked. If the fan seems stuck at one speed even at higher settings, the control board may need repair or replacement. If everything else checks out, contacting Traeger support could help pinpoint the problem. Let us know how it goes!

 

[hollowbase]

Thanks for the input. I'm going to order a replacement control board. The only time the fan speed increases is on startup, after that it just doesn't vary. That leads me to the conclusion the fan and motor aren't the problem.

 

[hollowbase]

Well, I'm happy to announce that a faulty contoller was indeed my problem. I installed the new one and fired it up and on the smoke setting the range of temperature was considerably less than before and it only went to 112 on the first cycle after that it stayed above 120. I took the old one apart and the damage was easy to spot.

 

[JamesDufour]

It sounds like the fan might not be increasing speed properly, which could be limiting airflow and causing the fire to go out.

 

[hollowbase]

That exactly what the issue was. Once I replaced the damaged controller the issue went away. I was able to process two batches of jerky back to back without any issues.