Help! Firebox Fills During Cooking

[Scarecrow71]

We have a Traeger Pro that we bought some 12 years ago, and it has worked wonderfully. Last summer, I ended up replac8ng the heating rod and the induction fan as they were both old and not working properly. And when cooking hot and fast, things work great.

Unfortunately, when trying to do a shoulder today, the firebox filled up with pellets after 4.5 hours. This is the reason why I replaces the element and fan this summer, but now I have no idea what is happening.

Temp was set to 250, and hopper was probably half filled when I noticed this today. All that was on the T was the shoulder, so I wasn't trying to cook too much at one time.

Anybody know why this happens and what I can do to fix it? Do I need to replace the entire controller? Why aren't the pellets burning when dropping into the box? Is the thermometer not reading right?

 

[RayClem]

You state that the controller was set to 250F. What was the actual cooking temperature inside the chamber. The controller temperature might be inaccurate.

The Traeger Pro has a smokestack. Have you checked to see that the pipe is not partially clogged. If your grill is 12 years old, it might be. Also make sure that the cap on the stack is properly adjusted. If pellets are not burned fully, it sounds like they might not be getting sufficient air. With lower temp cooks, the combustion is incomplete. That is what causes the smoke that flavors the items being cooked.

 

[Like Smoke]

I got my Texas from a friend that was up grading to another model and he wasn't very good about cleaning, so before my first smoke I did a complete cleaning, sanding, and repainting with high temp paint. The stack had a large buildup of creosote and the stack cap was about 1 inch or more higher than Traeger recommended for my model, (1/2 inch). You don't have to worry about to much restriction of air flow because there is a one inch square tube that your grease bucket hangs on that is open to the cooking chamber. I personally don't use this option because I catch my drippings in an aluminum pan that has liquid in it for humidity and holds the cooking racks that I use. After market thermometer / probes are also a must. Hope this was of some help and welcome to the forum.

 

[Timmy]

Make sure mice or other debris isn’t clogging the airway from the fan to the fire pot. And check the bottom screen/ grill intake. Lack of air could cause the same issue.