Pro 575 Not Achieving Temperatures

[scase]

So I am brand new to the Pellet World. Was in Home Depot last weekend and they had a Traeger Rep working the store showing off the new WiFire Pro 575 even before it was on their website. My father has used a Traeger for the past 7-8 years and LOVES it. My wife and I were taken in and decided spontaneously to purchase this new model. We got it home, set it up, did the "Seasoning" and then anxiously put our first meal on the grilling surface. We purchased some high quality Ribeyes from a local butcher shop and couldn't wait to experience this for ourselves. Long story short, it took a long time to cook these steaks! Ghads! They were good but not what I expected. Next morning I cooked bacon on the Traeger. Set it at 425 and it took probably 40 minutes to cook. That evening I did the chicken challenge. Supposed to take 70 minutes took right at 2 hours to get meat to proper temperature. By this point I was placing an oven thermometer on the grill surface and noticed that the thermometer was reading about 100 degrees cooler than the digital display on the Traeger. Hmmmm, odd, maybe that is why it is taking everything a lot longer to cook. Decided to return this unit to Home Depot and exchange for another of the same model thinking I had a lemon. (By the way I called Traeger 3 times during the week and they were basically no help). Home Depot exchanged with no issue, got the new unit home, seasoned it and cooked a pork loin. Again, it took quite a bit longer than anticipated. Oven thermo was reading about 50 - 60 degrees cooler than digital on this one. My question....is anyone else having these issues or what could I be doing wrong? I really WANT to love Traeger but am now thinking that their new models just aren't very accurate on their temp displays which is a huge problem when you are supposed to rely on their recipes and cook times. I am a bit discouraged. Any suggestions on what to do????? Thanks.

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear about all of the issues and problems. That would have been enough to drive me straight to a different brand especially after not getting any help from Traeger. I've been lucky and haven't had any issues since I got mine a few weeks ago.

A couple of questions for you. Did you setup the grill on wifi? I'm wondering if there are any updates for your controller? What version of firmware does the controller show? What pellets are you using? What's the outside temp?

 

[O C]

I've noticed similar discrepancies with mine, mostly at higher temps. I've been using a calibrated probe on the grate to compare to the builtin probe. At 225 to 275 or so, its pretty close. On a long cook the other day at 225, both probes were within a few degrees of each other. But if I set the grill at 325 or higher, my other probe will read 25 to 50 degrees less (higher the temp, the greater the difference). Probably most of my cooks are in the 350-400 range, and I have to set the grill about 50 degrees higher to get the expected results and a center of the grate temp as expected.
So if I expect something set at 350 to be ready in 45 minutes, I'll be disappointed. If I need 350, I'll set to 400 and check my other probe to confirm. The temperature is very stable though. I don't get wide swings. Just consistently lower than the setting. So when 400 gets me 350 at the grate, I'm good. But I haven't used their recipes.

 

[scase]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear about all of the issues and problems. That would have been enough to drive me straight to a different brand especially after not getting any help from Traeger. I've been lucky and haven't had any issues since I got mine a few weeks ago.

A couple of questions for you. Did you setup the grill on wifi? I'm wondering if there are any updates for your controller? What version of firmware does the controller show? What pellets are you using? What's the outside temp?

Thanks for the response. I did set up on wifi but not quite sure how to check for updates. Using Traeger pellets that were provided by the rep with purchase. Outside temp that day was probably 45 degrees??

 

[scase]

I've noticed similar discrepancies with mine, mostly at higher temps. I've been using a calibrated probe on the grate to compare to the builtin probe. At 225 to 275 or so, its pretty close. On a long cook the other day at 225, both probes were within a few degrees of each other. But if I set the grill at 325 or higher, my other probe will read 25 to 50 degrees less (higher the temp, the greater the difference). Probably most of my cooks are in the 350-400 range, and I have to set the grill about 50 degrees higher to get the expected results and a center of the grate temp as expected.
So if I expect something set at 350 to be ready in 45 minutes, I'll be disappointed. If I need 350, I'll set to 400 and check my other probe to confirm. The temperature is very stable though. I don't get wide swings. Just consistently lower than the setting. So when 400 gets me 350 at the grate, I'm good. But I haven't used their recipes.

Interesting that you indicate only at higher temps. I was thinking that the other day...maybe that is the issue...I haven't cooked anything on the lower temps yet. I was truly hoping to ditch my 20 year old BroilMaster propane grill (that is still in magnificent condition by the way) but maybe I need to hold on to it for true grilling and just rely on Traeger for the low and slow which are nearly impossible on my gas grill. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[NewfieRocket]

I have also been having trouble with my new 575. I have not tried any external devices to test actual temp. My problem seems to be that it cannot regulate the temperature below 200. I am getting swings down to 110 degrees at times. There is no way for me to smoke around 185. The temperature will just continue to decline until it goes into shut down mode for low temp (around 125 I believe). So far I have been able to maintain temperatures above 225. I know the older models had a pause setting to help with the smoke settings at colder temperatures. Does any one know if the 575 has something similar?.

 

[Jeff1963]

Interesting that you indicate only at higher temps. I was thinking that the other day...maybe that is the issue...I haven't cooked anything on the lower temps yet. I was truly hoping to ditch my 20 year old BroilMaster propane grill (that is still in magnificent condition by the way) but maybe I need to hold on to it for true grilling and just rely on Traeger for the low and slow which are nearly impossible on my gas grill. Thanks for the feedback.

just my opinion, but I would never ditch my grill, I thought about it back when I got my smoker, but some things just taste tasted better to us cooked over Fire and direct smoke. Burgers and Steaks. But you cannot beat a beautiful packer brisket smoked all day. There is always a place for both methods , Thankfully, my wife puts up with both on the patio, and that's the most important thing.

 

[jack]

Have the same temperature problems. Mine will hold temps pretty consistently at any setting above 250 degrees. Set at 200 or less and the temp will fluctuate between 120 and 200. Also my Wifire does not work. Tech support has no answers and said they were going to send out a tech. I have not heard anything.

 

[Rwece]

Gosh, this is discouraging! I just purchased a 575, and it was delivered today. I'm still reading the owner's manual. My husband has never been interested in grilling or smoking (he does love his cows though.....) So, I have a friend who has had a Traeger for a couple of years who I will be consulting quite a bit, I'm sure. I wasn't really keen on the wifi capability, so I hope when I use it, I don't get too discouraged. I have only used a Weber, but have heard so much from the BBQ champions where I live about the wonderful flavor of smoked meats, I finally caved and bought the 575. I want to LOVE it!

 

[glitchy]

Gosh, this is discouraging! I just purchased a 575, and it was delivered today. I'm still reading the owner's manual. My husband has never been interested in grilling or smoking (he does love his cows though.....) So, I have a friend who has had a Traeger for a couple of years who I will be consulting quite a bit, I'm sure. I wasn't really keen on the wifi capability, so I hope when I use it, I don't get too discouraged. I have only used a Weber, but have heard so much from the BBQ champions where I live about the wonderful flavor of smoked meats, I finally caved and bought the 575. I want to LOVE it!

Don’t be discouraged, Traeger should get the problem fixed. I’ve read the Timberline had the exact same problem when introduced. My guess is they started this new controller from that bad code and overlooked it. You can still use the grill just fine just don’t expect to get over about 375 until it’s fixed. Cook some beef ribs or chuck roast low and slow and you’ll be hooked

That being said, I have a new 575 and am posting here to watch for news. I reported it to Traeger with pics showing on Sunday and haven’t heard anything at all yet. I’m guessing their overwhelmed, but no response is a bit frustrating. Luckily I have another grill for high temps.

 

[Uncle George]

Hello, I have the same problem, if I run the smoker at 200 inside temp is 170, at 250 inside temp 225, 300 inside temp is 260, at 400 inside temp is 300 and at 450 inside temp is 350. i have been testing this for days, same results. The problem is the RTD, there is no way to reset it like old Traegers, you need a new one, call them and ask them for a new RTD. They wont have any in stock until 04/18/19, when supposedly they will get more in. Mean time I did a little modification, I got a small peace of aluminum foil and wrap the RTD "thermal Couple" the probe inside the grill, a thin layer of aluminum foil. It help me get more accurate temps. At 450 it was running inside at 425, lower temps were on point. I dont want to incentive someone to do this little mod, do it at your own risk if you try to attempt.

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the forum Uncle George and thanks for all of the info. I'm surprised & disappointed Traeger wouldn't have done more testing with the new Pro series to avoid these issues right off the bat.

Hello, I have the same problem, if I run the smoker at 200 inside temp is 170, at 250 inside temp 225, 300 inside temp is 260, at 400 inside temp is 300 and at 450 inside temp is 350. i have been testing this for days, same results. The problem is the RTD, there is no way to reset it like old Traegers, you need a new one, call them and ask them for a new RTD. They wont have any in stock until 04/18/19, when supposedly they will get more in. Mean time I did a little modification, I got a small peace of aluminum foil and wrap the RTD "thermal Couple" the probe inside the grill, a thin layer of aluminum foil. It help me get more accurate temps. At 450 it was running inside at 425, lower temps were on point. I dont want to incentive someone to do this little mod, do it at your own risk if you try to attempt.

 

[glitchy]

I called and finally got through after 10-15 minutes on hold. They are sending me a new RTD probe. If it works, I’ll be thrilled, I still think there’s a good chance it’s a software problem as wide spread as it is. If the probe does fix it, I hope the factory making them is paying for replacements as there’s a lot of people with the problem so they must have had a good sized bad run. Sending everyone new probes could also be a stall tactic while they get a software fix ready - Traeger is the marketing machine of the pellet grill industry for sure. I forgot to ask how quickly they were sending it. The support representative didn’t mention any backorder though.

 

[Uncle George]

I called and finally got through after 10-15 minutes on hold. They are sending me a new RTD probe. If it works, I’ll be thrilled, I still think there’s a good chance it’s a software problem as wide spread as it is. If the probe does fix it, I hope the factory making them is paying for replacements as there’s a lot of people with the problem so they must have had a good sized bad run. Sending everyone new probes could also be a stall tactic while they get a software fix ready - Traeger is the marketing machine of the pellet grill industry for sure. I forgot to ask how quickly they were sending it. The support representative didn’t mention any backorder though.

Hello,
I spoke with Support and she confirmed my order for a new probe. Less than 5 minutes after I finish my call with her, she called me back and said that they dont have any probes in the warehouse until 4/18.

 

[mimatthe]

Hello everybody,

I too am new to the pellet smoker world. I've been eyeing one for a long time, using my gas grill until I could save up enough to get one. I looked at a lot of brands, but when I saw the WiFire technology, I thought I had to get it. Today's my first day of use and have ran into some issues that make me want to take it back and go back to my cheap WalMart gas grill that worked.
First, My pork butt roast (just a little over 2 lbs), has been on the smoker for a little over 6 hours, 3+ of which it has been on 300 degree+ settings - and its still not done to pull apart. The current internal temp is 199 degrees. It seems like a very very long time to smoke a 2 lb piece of meat.
Second, the WiFi technology seems to be a dud. It won't connect to my home wifi. I spent 1 hour on the phone with customer service, and after we uninstalled and reinstalled the app about 5 times, all they could tell me is that I need a wifi booster, despite the fact that my grill lies 25 feet away from my router, and all my other mobile devices get wifi just fine from there.