Traeger won't get hot?

ricefarmer said:

This has been talked about a lot, and I've researched for months how to fix this grill. As my first post, I've had a little Texas elite for about a year now, cut restrictor rod, firebricks, sealed the lid, and always use fresh pellets. In Arkansas it was 32 degrees yesterday, hickory pellets and only reached 360 under a welding blanket, what is going wrong? I've noticed lately it won't light unless I unplug it for 10 seconds and retry? I love the grill but for the price they must have large profit margins! Customer service tells me my pellets are wet, I've tried them out of a fresh bag and also a Rubbermaid container stored in a heated garage with no difference..

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When it was cold outside I always had better results with my Traegers with 100% oak pellets. Try Lumberjack or BBQ Delight pellets.

You might be better off going to visit pelletheads forum and researching your P setting on your temperature controller.

I saw a drop in performance when I sealed my door on mine, I have since returned it to normal.

As far as lighting, your lighting rod might be out of position and pushed in too far. If I remember correctly there is a set screw you can loosen and move the lighting rod as needed. Make sure you clean the ash out of the firepot after each cook, this helps a lot.

Outside temperature will play a big part of your maximum temperature, they are made out of relatively thin metal, and it is being force fed cold air from outside by the fan, a lot of people forget this important fact. The Traeger controls temperature by limiting the amount of fuel available but has plenty of air available, cold air in this case. Most other smokers control temperature by controlling available air and having plenty of fuel available, so cold air doesn't affect these smokers as much.

For reference, about the hottest I have gotten on my Traeger is 450, during the winter it can be hard to hit 400.

ricefarmer said:

In Arkansas it was 32 degrees yesterday, hickory pellets and only reached 360 under a welding blanket, what is going wrong?

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Hi. What are you cooking that you are looking for over 360*?

I would check to see if the fan that blows on the firebox is working properly and not blocked. On mine, I have a lot of wood dust build up that was blocking the fire from being stoked that really creates the heat.

ricefarmer said:

I do a lot of burgers, steaks, and grilled vegetables on it, as well as pecan pie's! Not quite BBQ all the time. Appreciate it fellas

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You would benefit from a Weber Kettle for grilling needs...big time.