New owner of Pro 22 either disappointed or with defective product

[teflo]

I have recently purchased a Pro 22. Have been really excited about owning a Traeger but have been struggling with temperature and extremely disappointed with Traeger support.

I essentially can't get the temperature under 230. Smoke = 230, 180 = 230, 225 = 250. It seems to hold temp effectively at 300 and 325. Should I expect the grill to always overshoot lower temperatures? I have inspected the hot pot to make sure its clean, checked amount of pellets in the pot before firing. Ambient temperature is between 70-80 when doing this and same results. The pro 22 I have purchased does not have a P setting which is frustrating in its own way, but my understanding is while smoke is not temperature controlled 180 should be temperature controlled so it overshooting for 50 degrees seems like a problem.

Contacting their customer support phone line has been a hassle in that they are unfamiliar with the product (telling me I have a P-setting when I don't) and going back and forth on telling me what temperatures I should expect from any given setting. I have contacted their support channels through social media as recommended by other users but have received no response in days.

Is what I am describing even an issue? Do I have a bad controller? Should I just return this? Really lost and would love some help.

Thanks!

 

[splinervision]

Have you measured the temp with another thermometer in the center of the grill to see if it's an accurate readout? Keep in mind the way pellet grills work is they burn more pellets to increase temp, then stop burning pellets to decrease temp. So as your temp goes down it will stop adding pellets to the fire pot and as it reaches a low threshold it'll add more to increase the temp. It'll never be as accurate as an electric or gas grill. It does seem a bit extreme, but I can see mine fluctuate 25 degrees either way sometimes. I tend to set mine a notch higher than the temp I want so that my minimum temps stay where I want them. So if I want 225 I will set it at 250 and it'll range from 225ish to 275ish. If I set mine on 225, it'll range from around 200ish to 250ish. That's just how it works. The biggest problem I do have with my Pro22 is that it will not produce much smoke because minimum temps seem to be in the 200ish range once it's going good.. You get more smoke around 180. Anyway, I fixed that by using a Z-SMoker with mine (pellet burning tube). It does seem like yours is burning hotter than mine does. I see less of a temperature swing at higher temps than lower ones. I've had my Pro 22 for less than 2 months.

 

[teflo]

I am understanding of the fact that it will fluctuate. What I am describing is the average temperate at the described settings

I will give another thermometer a shot and see what results it produces.

Assuming the readout is correct it seems ridiculous to me for them to put a setting for 180 on the device and it produces on average 50 degrees hotter.

Purchasing another device (Z-Smoker) to smoke when this is priced and sold as if it will effectively smoke sounds like I should get the return label printed now.

Appreciate your perspective.

 

[davwhite]

If you still can take it back and get the 575, at least. I had the Pro 22 and while I thought it was ok at first I was not happy and eventually sold it. I was not going back to low and slow because of my disappointments, but I missed it so i bought the 575 and am now totally happy with want I do. I just purchased some GrillGrates to make it even better.

 

[Bcruse126]

I used my pro 22 yesterday for first time and had same issue. Called traeger and was told to fire up grill with lid closed. Instructions state to be open, and she told me I miss read instructions . Have not tried it (although I did Not read instructions wrong) due to smoking butt at the time

 

[dunawayfamily]

I used my pro 22 yesterday for first time and had same issue. Called traeger and was told to fire up grill with lid closed. Instructions state to be open, and she told me I miss read instructions . Have not tried it (although I did Not read instructions wrong) due to smoking butt at the time

For the D2 WiFIRE Controller-based models, the guidance is definitely to IGNITE / warmup with the lid closed ... so the Traeger Customer Service rep is "confused" ... Traeger Support is "challenged" with the shift to using an Outsource Partner to handle the influx of calls ...

The manual for the PRO 22 clearly backs up what you said on Page 24 ... see attached screen snip ...