Frankenstein Traeger

ARS_54

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Traeger Pro 34
So I bought a damaged Eastwood 34 from Home Depot on a reduced tag for $200 earlier this year in February. The hopper was completely smashed in and the controller damaged.

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Traeger sent me a new controller but did not offer replacement parts. I purchased a brand new 3rd party hopper from smokedaddyinc with a pellet chute built-in for $60 dollars including shipping.

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I fixed any other dents as best as I could other than a small dent on the main cooking chamber.

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After cooking brisket for my 2nd time. I began to grow lazy and tired so I started looking into wifi controllers with Traeger releasing their new wifire grills. I could not justify spending over $1000 for a similar grill size to mine. So I found out about the RECTEC Wifi Control and as it turns out it was compatible with my current Traeger Components aside from a minor housing issue for the actual controller and some minor wiring work.


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Let me just say one thing about this controller if you don't have one and want wifi capability without buying a new grill get it. It is life-changing.

The next mod I decided to do was add a heat gasket to my lid. The dent I mentioned earlier was messing too much with my airflow and temperatures. I bought the LavaLock seal most people here buy and used washers to slightly raise the lid to compensate for the added seal. While I didn't take pictures of the installation here is what it looks like with a wrapped piece of tri-tip and a smoke tube in the grill.

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Onto my most recent and 2nd favorite mod. I was not willing to spend $80 on an overpriced Traeger Shelf. So I spent $30 instead of on raw lumber and some other supplies to make one instead. The wood I used was 2inx4inx 6ft and a strip of walnut I had sitting in a scrap pile with some folding brackets I purchased on Amazon. This is my first time attempting anything woodworking and the results came out better than I expected.




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Here is a list of items I've added with an included link if they are still available:
Hopper:
SmokeDaddyInc Pellet Hopper Standalone (N/A)

Controller:
Rec Tec Wifi Controller
Custom 3d Printed FacePlate
Controller Enclosure
Wiring Harness (N/A)

Heat Seal:

Heat Seal

Shelf:

Foldable Hinges
 

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CampWhatnot

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Welcome! Well done!
 

Walleye Hunter

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Looks great, how do you wire the rectec controller to the Traeger apparatus?
 
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A

ARS_54

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Looks great, how do you wire the rectec controller to the Traeger apparatus?


I used this video. Rec Tec stopped selling the wiring harness. So now you have to just make something similar yourself. Local hardware store or Amazon should easily fix that.

 

dblcrona

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Very impressive! I like your ideas. Definitely want to add a gasket on the lid. Wouldn’t mind making my own shelf for my Pro 575 since I’m a woodworker.
 
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