Pellets Should I buy with Wifi or Gen1?

[Meatme]

Hi All,

I am new to the forum and am looking to purchase my first Traeger. I have an egg and Weber. But I am excited to buy my next one. I am debating between the Traeger pro 780 Wifi or Traeger Pro Series 34 inch.

What is your opinion please?

 

[MaD HuNGaRIaN]

The only reason to not get Wifi in the year 2019 is if you're going to be using it where there's no network. So many benefits, and I can't think of a single drawback.

 

[Meatme]

Thank you for your response. Which version would you recommend?

 

[BA_Ga]

I'm a bit of a cheapskate, so take my post for what it's worth.

I bought the Pro 34 because it has the size I wanted. The additional cost to buy a unit equipped with wifi is not worth it to me. The pellet feed is the main thing I was seeking. I've had great cooks with stick burners over the years, but have gotten lazy to the point I didn't want to tend the fire anymore. The Pro 34 maintains the temperature I want, which is what really matters.

 

[primeone]

Welcome to the forum!

The Wifi is a handy feature to quickly check on temps. I actually find myself using it a lot. I think it all boils down to cost and how much you want to spend though.

 

[Flatlander]

I'm new to Traeger myself and a huge fan of ceramic cookers. My daughter convinced me to try a Traeger grill so I went with the Pro 575. The pro almost doubles the cook area of my large big green egg but since I also have a billows connected to a thermoworks signals 4 with WiFi I had to go with the Pro series for the wifi capability. The wifi on the traeger works really well. You won't be disappointed.

 

[dblcrona]

I bought the Pro 575 with WiFire and I am glad I did. You can use it manually if you don’t want to use WiFire but for long smoking sessions you can have the added security of not having to watch it all day long. You won’t regret getting WiFire.

 

[Meatme]

Awesome responses. Thank you everyone.

 

[Meatme]

I want to thank everyone for your advice. I am now the proud owner of a pro 575!!!
any advice on how to begin??

 

[BA_Ga]

I want to thank everyone for your advice. I am now the proud owner of a pro 575!!!
any advice on how to begin??

Congratulations!

The main thing is to be sure to season it well before your first cook. The book on my Pro 34 said to run it for 45 minutes to season it. I ran mine for a total of about 5 hours in 3 sessions at a full range of temps to season it.

 

[Walleye Hunter]

Congratulations!

The main thing is to be sure to season it well before your first cook. The book on my Pro 34 said to run it for 45 minutes to season it. I ran mine for a total of about 5 hours in 3 sessions at a full range of temps to season it.

What exactly does seasoning accomplish? Mine had a two stage seasoning process and in the end it turns out that the controller reads 20* or more higher than what the grill actually is. So...what benefit was it to season it at all at that ?

 

[BA_Ga]

What exactly does seasoning accomplish? ;;;

Seasoning burns the "new" off the inside of a smoker. If you do a cook on a new smoker without seasoning it, the food can take on a metallic and/or oily flavor. A not-uncommon thing for competition smokers to do is season a new smoker for up to a year before using it for food.

 

[Flatlander]

I have a pro 575 and "seasoned" it per instructions. I have the latest firmware and have used it about 10 times. I've grilled everything from hamburgers to having smoked briskets and a few pork butts. After the grill preheats and settles down I'm consistently now +/- 5°. I'm in Florida so perhaps the warmer temps has something to do with the more consistent temp variations but I'm very happy with it's performance thus far. Congrats on your purchase!

 

[Flatlander]

And start your first smoke with a bone in pork butt. Use the probe and wrap at around 165° with unwaxed butcher paper (better bark) or go naked and then pull when you hit 203° internal temp. Pork butts are super forgiving. ?

 

[MaD HuNGaRIaN]

Here's a good place to start: (full cook notes in thread)

https://www.reddit.com/r/Traeger/comments/dz74i6