Very disappointed with the company

[chezsealy]

I'm so disappointed with Traeger as a company. I bought my Ironwood 3 summers ago. The metal piece that holds the drip tray has rusted and crumbled. I just got off the phone with customer service and they will not do anything to help. They say the humidity probably caused it. I guess Traeger grills can't be used in the South... I fell for the "we build the best and stand behind it" marketing.

Anyone know how I can fix this?

 

[DarienJim]

That’s a bummer. How much is replacement part.

 

[chezsealy]

That’s a bummer. How much is replacement part.

Apparently they don't have a replacement part for this and said I just have to buy a new grill

 

[DarienJim]

Ok that’s even worse. I’m sorry.

 

[Murphy's Law]

Did you keep it covered? That looks like it’s seen a lot of water (water, not humidity).

 

[Slimpicker]

Did you keep it covered? That looks like it’s seen a lot of water (water, not humidity).

I would have to agree, if you showed that pic to Traeger I'm sure they assumed it got wet in every rain because not even my uncovered smokers never rusted that bad that soon.

An easy fix is a 90 degree piece of stainless steel and cut it to rest on your drum on both side. Cut it to follow the drum shape and it should sit there just fine once the drip pan is holding it down

 

[Coastie]

Did you keep it covered? That looks like it’s seen a lot of water (water, not humidity).

Agreed. It looks like this grill wasn’t taken care of very well. I clean mine after every use, keep it covered when not in use, and store it in the storage area of my garage.

 

[chezsealy]

I would have to agree, if you showed that pic to Traeger I'm sure they assumed it got wet in every rain because not even my uncovered smokers never rusted that bad that soon.

An easy fix is a 90 degree piece of stainless steel and cut it to rest on your drum on both side. Cut it to follow the drum shape and it should sit there just fine once the drip pan is holding it down

Thanks for the potential fix. I will give that a try.

It sits under my porch that only has one side open to the outside, and it has never been in the rain. I clean it every after every 2-3 uses. I take good care of it, which is why I'm so perplexed that this happened.

 

[EddyVegas]

Agreed. It looks like this grill wasn’t taken care of very well. I clean mine after every use, keep it covered when not in use, and store it in the storage area of my garage.

That's good of you, but you shouldn't HAVE to do that for it to last 3.years. It should certainly either be in a covered area or have a cover

 

[Slimpicker]

Thanks for the potential fix. I will give that a try.

It sits under my porch that only has one side open to the outside, and it has never been in the rain. I clean it every after every 2-3 uses. I take good care of it, which is why I'm so perplexed that this happened.

How far from the coast are you??? I have a gunsmith buddy of mine, he's in FLA, and the saltwater air will rust any barrel left raw in no time. Even inland, that is some corrosive stuff in the air

 

[MidwestSmoker]

How far from the coast are you??? I have a gunsmith buddy of mine, he's in FLA, and the saltwater air will rust any barrel left raw in no time. Even inland, that is some corrosive stuff in the air

I used to live in Northern Alabama and it gets very humid there as well. I used to not cover my grill when I was there because so much moisture would get trapped under the cover.

 

[Coastie]

That's good of you, but you shouldn't HAVE to do that for it to last 3.years. It should certainly either be in a covered area or have a cover

Rust can form on metal in 3 years or less if it’s in a humid area and moisture is a getting to the grill. Since it sits under an outside porch, moisture is apparently getting to the grill. It’s unfortunate.

 

[RayClem]

Thanks for the potential fix. I will give that a try.

It sits under my porch that only has one side open to the outside, and it has never been in the rain. I clean it every after every 2-3 uses. I take good care of it, which is why I'm so perplexed that this happened.

How thoroughly do you clean your grill? I only remove the ash I can vacuum out. I also wipe the RTD thermocouple to remove grease and soot. I never attempt to remove grease, soot, or creosote from other parts of the grill. Those coatings protect the metal from oxidation.

The flame shield and the drip tray get hot enough to burn off those coatings, so they will eventually rust. That is why one enterprising forum member sells stainless steel flame shields and drip trays replacements. They are more expensive than the steel parts available, but they should last far longer.

 

[dw3679]

Who sells the stainless steel flame shields and drip trays and how can I buy one?

 

[RayClem]

Check out the thread:

Heavy Stainless steel drip trays and heat shields

I build these to order for almost every traeger grill. Send me a message with your grill model and zip code and I can get you a quote. These are built out of heavy 304 stainless so No more rust No more warping so less apt to catch fire No more hotspots Looking forward to talking to all of you

www.traegerforum.com