Don't buy the Traeger Pro 34

[randychappell32]

I should have returned it the day I got it. I had purchased an off brand pellet smoker 8 years earlier and I loved it and enjoy so many parties of brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken. I was excited to purchase a Traeger. I still remember the first day I got my Traeger and plugged it in and nothing ... dead in the water. I called Traeger and they assured me it was the thermostat and I agreed to have them send me a new thermostat rather than return it and get the Pit Boss I had compared it to. The Pro 34 has been so disappointing. I have spent time talking to support and they keep offering excuses. I'm done with Traeger. 3 people I know were considering Traeger and I have convinced them not to buy a Traeger. This has been the biggest waste of $600 I have ever spent. I put a pork butt on and have constantly fought all night trying to get my Traeger to work and it keeps shutting down. I'm done. I will now go buy a Pit Boss and tell everyone I know not to buy a Traeger. Customer service is awful. Just keep trying to get you to try the same things and it doesn't work but they tell you to keep trying it because they won't stand behind their product.

Disgusted!

 

[Manannan]

I should have returned it the day I got it. I had purchased an off brand pellet smoker 8 years earlier and I loved it and enjoy so many parties of brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken. I was excited to purchase a Traeger. I still remember the first day I got my Traeger and plugged it in and nothing ... dead in the water.

In this situation with a new out of the box anything that isn't working I would always reject the item and return it to the supplier for an exchange or a refund, it should have not got through the manufacturer's QC in the first place or was possible damaged in transit and is not of merchantable quality. Similarly Traeger Customer Service clearly falls short in such instances at times.

Most people here on the forum will feel your pain, I would be thoroughly fed up in such a situation. However joining a forum purely to have a rant is, while perhaps understandable and makes you feel better, not an unbiased approach given no doubt the vast majority of Traeger Pro 34 purchasers are eminently satisfied.... one bad apple and all that.

I hope you get this issue sorted and end up happy with a Pitt Boss.

 

[randychappell32]

In this situation with a new out of the box anything that isn't working I would always reject the item and return it to the supplier for an exchange or a refund, it should have not got through the manufacturer's QC in the first place or was possible damaged in transit and is not of merchantable quality. Similarly Traeger Customer Service clearly falls short in such instances at times.

Most people here on the forum will feel your pain, I would be thoroughly fed up in such a situation. However joining a forum purely to have a rant is, while perhaps understandable and makes you feel better, not an unbiased approach given no doubt the vast majority of Traeger Pro 34 purchasers are eminently satisfied.... one bad apple and all that.

I hope you get this issue sorted and end up happy with a Pitt Boss.

 

[randychappell32]

In this situation with a new out of the box anything that isn't working I would always reject the item and return it to the supplier for an exchange or a refund, it should have not got through the manufacturer's QC in the first place or was possible damaged in transit and is not of merchantable quality. Similarly Traeger Customer Service clearly falls short in such instances at times.

Most people here on the forum will feel your pain, I would be thoroughly fed up in such a situation. However joining a forum purely to have a rant is, while perhaps understandable and makes you feel better, not an unbiased approach given no doubt the vast majority of Traeger Pro 34 purchasers are eminently satisfied.... one bad apple and all that.

I hope you get this issue sorted and end up happy with a Pitt Boss.

I imagine that everyone here posts from a biased. My bias is based on the fact that I spent $600 on a smoker that Traeger never stood behind. And I'm happy for those of you who are satisfied but I'm not and there is obviously a thermostat issue with the Pro 34 because I have seen too many with issues like mine on the web and Traeger refused to stand behind those issues too. So if I can cause someone to pause and consider other choices before spending money only to experience the frustration that I have experienced, so be it.

No one who experiences the frustration I have with spending that money on supposedly the best smoker on the market only to have it be a lemon and the company won't stand behind it is going to have an "unbiased" approach to Traeger.

 

[Manannan]

the company won't stand behind it

So help us understand from an evidence based point of view? Was it bought from a Traeger dealer? How long have you actually had it? Have you spoken to the dealer, let / make them sort the problem? Did Traeger send a replacement thermostat? Did that not resolve the problem? If not what else have Traeger customer service not done / done? What excuses have they offered? Have you got the problem resolved by way of a refund or fix?

Of course people post from a bias whether unconscious or conscious, positive or negative and I wasn't criticising the fact you are disgusted, fed up and wish you had bought something else, conversely it would really help others come to conscious evidence decision based on all the facts if more info was forthcoming?

 

[randychappell32]

So help us understand from an evidence based point of view? Was it bought from a Traeger dealer? How long have you actually had it? Have you spoken to the dealer, let / make them sort the problem? Did Traeger send a replacement thermostat? Did that not resolve the problem? If not what else have Traeger customer service not done / done? What excuses have they offered? Have you got the problem resolved by way of a refund or fix?

Of course people post from a bias whether unconscious or conscious, positive or negative and I wasn't criticising the fact you are disgusted, fed up and wish you had bought something else, conversely it would really help others come to conscious evidence decision based on all the facts if more info was forthcoming?

 

[randychappell32]

I bought my Traeger from Home Depot. And I didn't contact Home Depot, I contacted Traeger as the instructions indicated. It wouldn't

So help us understand from an evidence based point of view? Was it bought from a Traeger dealer? How long have you actually had it? Have you spoken to the dealer, let / make them sort the problem? Did Traeger send a replacement thermostat? Did that not resolve the problem? If not what else have Traeger customer service not done / done? What excuses have they offered? Have you got the problem resolved by way of a refund or fix?

Of course people post from a bias whether unconscious or conscious, positive or negative and I wasn't criticising the fact you are disgusted, fed up and wish you had bought something else, conversely it would really help others come to conscious evidence decision based on all the facts if more info was forthcoming?

 

[Manannan]

I hope you get this issue sorted and end up happy with a Pitt Boss.

 

[Lie2me]

I also have had issues with my Pro-34. Basically, everytime I try to lower the temp, the fire goes completely out, and the fire box fills with unburned pellets. I've called customer service, and have received several "suggestions" on how to correct the problem, to no avail.

 

[MedTech]

I own a Pro 34 and have had decent luck with it. I have replaced a couple of temperature probes and I had other temperature issues related to the auger but once I replaced the auger motor with a strong aftermarket unit along with a mounting bracket for the auger motor, my Pro 34 has been bullet-proof.

Personally, if I had purchased this grill and it did not work right out of the box, I would have returned it to the place I bought it to get another...I would not have bothered going through Traeger as their customer service does have a lot to be desired. Any reputable retailer should have taken care of an out of the box failuer.