Grill Maintenance

Jliz2803

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Location
San Clemente
Grill
Pro 789
Is there a video anywhere on how to clean my Traeger? It keeps telling me to clean my grease trap, but I don't know where it is. I have used the grill about 12-15 times now and have not cleaned it other than the grates. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
@Jliz2803

I believe there are videos on-line. Do a search on YouTube and/or Traeger's website.

On the Pro780 though, the grease trap is on the left of the grill, the v-channel that the drip pan is resting on. Clean that out as well as the chute that drips the grease down into the bucket. I spray some grill cleaner in there and wipe really good with paper towels. I also have a small metal paint scraper that I keep nearby and will scrape off any harden grease and gunk.

You can cycle through the menu and clear notifications so it will stop giving you that message.

You'll get the message on a regular cadence. It's just a reminder after X # of cooks to clean the grease system.
 
This is the best one I've come across:
 
It keeps telling me to clean my grease trap, but I don't know where it is.
Your grill doesn't know where it is either!!!
Heat will clean your grease trap, it will turn to liquid and flow into your grease bucket!!
Traeger grills have built in messages that repeat once a certain amount of time has been logged... these messages are meant to be reminders and not much else. They can be manually cleared on the control panel.
Point being this, I've never cleaned my grease trap in 2 years owning my Pro 575
I use oven liners on my drip pan and pretty much keep a lot of grease from flowing in my trap, but that also just flows right into my bucket. I use pickle jars in my bucket also so I've only replaced my aluminum bucket liner once in 2 years.

By all means keep your grill as clean as you want, it's your grill. Just don't let the notifications intimidate you.
 
I clean my grill regularly to my own schedule. I don’t pay any attention to Traegers messages and I don’t bother resetting them.
 
I normally cook on the top rack of my IW885. I keep a drip pan underneath the cook to capture most of the drippings. I clean the drip pan out after every cook. I rarely get any great in my grease chute or bucket.

You do not want to clean your grill too thoroughly. The buildup of grease and smoke on the walls of the grill are part of the character of the grill that impart flavor to your cook. That layer of grease also protects the metal from rust. Thus, wipe off heavy deposits, but do not try to get things looking new.

The main thing you are trying to avoid by cleaning your grill is getting so much ash in your burn pot that the pellets do not burn properly. If you use a lot of fruit wood like apple, you can get "clinkers" in the pot that can become a problem. You also want to keep grease from building up to the point you have a flare up.
 
This isn't directly the same topic but close enough that IMO it didn't need its own thread. I live in NJ. I've had some college football and golf trips over the last 6 weeks so the Traeger has been idle. This weekend the cover came off and low and behold there had to be 30-40 stink bugs in the cover. My grill and smoker are kind of covered so my question is... do I need to put the cover on??


traegerx.jpg
 
Since you have a covered patio, using a cover under normal circumstances might not be necessary. However, if you know the grill will not be used for several weeks. it might be prudent. If you are going to be away from home for a while, you never know what might happen. BTW: While Traeger would lover for you to purchase one of their form fitting grill covers, you should be able to make a 3rd party cover work, especially since you do not need to use it full time.
 
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Thanks for the reply.. I do actually have one of the Traeger covers but i need to shorten it as i dont have legs....
 
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