Traeger BBQ 025, Need Help!!

[SmokeNride]

Okay, I bought this little guy a few weeks ago, after moving to my new place last week I finally had time to fire her up today to check her out. UGH! I had a hard time lighting the pellets, it is old and has no starter. So I stuffed some newspaper down there where the pellets come out and lit it that way. It worked, BUT after about 10 minutes or so it hit 400 degrees, up to 600 soon after that. Great for pizza, not so much for the brisket I want to smoke. Yes, my temp gauge works fine. So how the heck do I control this thing? Thanks for any help you can offer me!!!

 

[BBQ Grail]

What's the inside of it look like?

Are those BBQ pellets?

 

[SmokeNride]

What's the inside of it look like?

Are those BBQ pellets?

Answering a question with a question?? LOL. That was the picture the guy selling it used, they weren't the right pellets and were all destroyed from being in the rain.

The inside, under the grate is, I guess some sort of grease trap and the center of it has a little cover that comes off for lighting the pellets that land down there. This grease trap thing is warped for sure so I don't know if that's going to affect the temp like that or not.

And there is only off or on, no low med and high like they have now.

 

[SmokeNride]

Anyone?

 

[DC-Q]

How does it work? Auger? What type of controller? Never seen one of those before.

As far as lighting, when my hot-rod crapped out on my S&W 500 I lit it with a little propane torch til my new hot-rod came in.

This weekend I cooked a 60lb porker for a friends 70th bday. I had my 075 & my S&W 500 at his son's place & my 500 didn't light again. No one was around at 5:30am & I didn't have a propane torch. So I opened up the 075 and scooped some burning pellets out of the fire box & put them in the 500 fire box, turned it on & away we went.

 

[Sweet Breathe BBQ]

There is a starter gel that you can buy which is used for starting pellets. Squirt some of that on them and light it. Kind of looks like sterno in a bottle, though a bit more liquidy. I am not familiar with that model and how the pellets are fed or temp controlled. I have an 070 myself controlled by an auger.

 

[BobbyBBQ]

Traegers (at least modern ones) work by feeding pellets on a timed schedule. My smoke setting feeds pellets every 60 seconds or so to keep a 200-225 degree fire. If you are having trouble with keeping the heat down, you need to increase the amount of time that the auger is IDLE. I recommend installing a variable switch on the auger circuit. That way you can increase or decrease the auger speed. Our team's had success with that. Grab a wiring diagram off the internet or find which wires control your auger and throw a switch from Radio Shack on there. Your smoker's just getting too much fuel.

 

[FattyMac]

I've never had to do it, but I've read somewhere on here about using Hand Sanitizer to start the fire pot.

A few squirts and a few pellets and a match and you should be good to go.