Time to get serious about a new smoker.

[comprar]

I also own this Bradley smoker. Which is showing its age but could still be used on large cooks to supplement the new smoker. To do smoked jalapenos, etc. I've also thought about getting an old fridge and the smoke generator from the Bradley and using it for cold smoking.

[kccougar]

First time ever smoker problem last night. I cooked tri-tip steaks for dinner, which turned out fine, but a little after midnight I started smelling smoke upstairs in my bedroom and went to investigate. It was extremely windy last night, and it appears that rather than extinguishing when I turned the smoker off, the wind stoked the fire to keep it going, and it eventually burned up the auger and into my hopper so the entire hopper full of oak pellets was smoldering away. It was late, and I was too tired to consider many options for fixing the problem so I just dumped a a couple gallons of water into the hopper to put out the fire. It smoked and smoked - I'm surprised no one called the fire department but it did smell like a campfire more than a house on fire - but eventually went out. Now I'm going to have to let it all dry and then vacuum out the debris. How hard will it be to clean out the auger?

[Shaka]

First time ever smoker problem last night. I cooked tri-tip steaks for dinner, which turned out fine, but a little after midnight I started smelling smoke upstairs in my bedroom and went to investigate. It was extremely windy last night, and it appears that rather than extinguishing when I turned the smoker off, the wind stoked the fire to keep it going, and it eventually burned up the auger and into my hopper so the entire hopper full of oak pellets was smoldering away. It was late, and I was too tired to consider many options for fixing the problem so I just dumped a a couple gallons of water into the hopper to put out the fire. It smoked and smoked - I'm surprised no one called the fire department but it did smell like a campfire more than a house on fire - but eventually went out. Now I'm going to have to let it all dry and then vacuum out the debris. How hard will it be to clean out the auger?

Clean that hopper and auger out ASAP! If you don't the glue that holds the pellets together will turn them to mush. If the mush dries in your auger it will act like a glue and your auger will not spin. This problem is a HUGE PITA! If I were you I'd take that auger out and make sure everything is clean.

[hostile]

First time ever smoker problem last night. I cooked tri-tip steaks for dinner, which turned out fine, but a little after midnight I started smelling smoke upstairs in my bedroom and went to investigate. It was extremely windy last night, and it appears that rather than extinguishing when I turned the smoker off, the wind stoked the fire to keep it going, and it eventually burned up the auger and into my hopper so the entire hopper full of oak pellets was smoldering away. It was late, and I was too tired to consider many options for fixing the problem so I just dumped a a couple gallons of water into the hopper to put out the fire. It smoked and smoked - I'm surprised no one called the fire department but it did smell like a campfire more than a house on fire - but eventually went out. Now I'm going to have to let it all dry and then vacuum out the debris. How hard will it be to clean out the auger?

I've had a similar problem. My shop vac is able to blow and vacuum. Going back and forth between the two I was able to clean it out without any problem.

[Jeff Lebowski]

First time ever smoker problem last night. I cooked tri-tip steaks for dinner, which turned out fine, but a little after midnight I started smelling smoke upstairs in my bedroom and went to investigate. It was extremely windy last night, and it appears that rather than extinguishing when I turned the smoker off, the wind stoked the fire to keep it going, and it eventually burned up the auger and into my hopper so the entire hopper full of oak pellets was smoldering away. It was late, and I was too tired to consider many options for fixing the problem so I just dumped a a couple gallons of water into the hopper to put out the fire. It smoked and smoked - I'm surprised no one called the fire department but it did smell like a campfire more than a house on fire - but eventually went out. Now I'm going to have to let it all dry and then vacuum out the debris. How hard will it be to clean out the auger?

Next time scoop out your pellets and let it burn out. Much easier to clean out dry ashes.

[hostile]

I've had a similar problem. My shop vac is able to blow and vacuum. Going back and forth between the two I was able to clean it out without any problem.

Also, as Shaka said, I didn't wait very long - just let the pellets cool down.

[old_gregg]

Finally putting an end to a long-lasting saga with our Traeger.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that we were seeing smoke come out of the hopper after some of our cooks. Since I last brought it up it had been happening more and more, eventually getting so that anytime we did a high-temperature cook we could count on smoke to start pouring out of the hopper by the end. At first it was only happening as we were shutting things down, but with more and more regularity the hopper would start smoking during cooks.

I called in to the help line dozens of times. I got to be on a first-name basis with some of the support staff. Every time they would suggest I do something to fix it that I hadn't heard before, I tried it. Tried cleaning it out before cooking. Tried new pellets (twice-- in fact, they sent me fresh bags of pellets to make sure it wasn't a problem with the pellets I picked up). Tried leaving the door open during the shut-down cycle. Tried leaving the door shut during the shut-down cycle. Nothing was working. With no reason to think that it was actually going to fix the problem (but no idea what else the problem could be), the support team sent me a new auger motor, a new induction fan, a new thermometer, and a sample pack of rubs and shakes (just out of pity, really). I give them an A for effort-- and if nothing else I can probably build a second traeger out of all the spare parts they've sent to me-- but nothing was working. Smoke was still pouring out of the hopper toward the end of high-temperature cooks. I was about ready to take the thing back to Costco-- I love it, but I'm not going to pay $700 for a grill that I can't cook a burger on.

I'm not sure what gave me the idea, but as a last-ditch measure I tried changing one last variable-- the time of day. I had been doing the cooks in the afternoon, so I tested it in the morning. This time, it worked like a charm.

As it turns out, something about the fact that the grill was sitting in the sunlight seemed to be throwing off the temperature regulation or something in the machine's inner workings. We've since found that everything works great if we keep the grill in the shade when we cook-- whether by cooking on a cloudy day or by moving the grill a few feet over on our deck and popping open the umbrella on our outdoor table. Simple little fix, and now we're back in business.

I looked around online quite a bit when we were trying to get this resolved (on this site and several others) and didn't see anybody suggest that this could be an issue, so I thought I'd post something so at least that bit of input is out there in case someone else ever has the same problem. I also called the Traeger customer support team to let them know what we had found; they seemed pretty surprised themselves (though they declined my offer to let me return all the spare parts. Like I said-- A for effort).

i wonder if one of those insulation things they sell would fix it

[DrumNFeather]

Over the summer I purchased an Off-set smoker, and I'm planning on taking the smoker part for a spin here pretty soon. I'm starting small with a turkey breast, but I'm a little concerned about being able to manage the temperature of it, as I've never really ventured into offset smoking before. Mostly, I'm worried about maintaining the fire over a period of time...how often do you add more wood or charcoal to it, etc.

Anybody have any quick-hitter tips on this?

[Pelado]

Over the summer I purchased an Off-set smoker, and I'm planning on taking the smoker part for a spin here pretty soon. I'm starting small with a turkey breast, but I'm a little concerned about being able to manage the temperature of it, as I've never really ventured into offset smoking before. Mostly, I'm worried about maintaining the fire over a period of time...how often do you add more wood or charcoal to it, etc.

Anybody have any quick-hitter tips on this?

http://amazingribs.com/tips_and_tech...t_smokers.html

[Green Monstah]

Over the summer I purchased an Off-set smoker, and I'm planning on taking the smoker part for a spin here pretty soon. I'm starting small with a turkey breast, but I'm a little concerned about being able to manage the temperature of it, as I've never really ventured into offset smoking before. Mostly, I'm worried about maintaining the fire over a period of time...how often do you add more wood or charcoal to it, etc.

Anybody have any quick-hitter tips on this?

What kind of smoker is it?

[DrumNFeather]

What kind of smoker is it?

Oklahoma Joe's:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Oklahoma-Jo...e-00003d456b45

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[Green Monstah]

My suggestion for a cooking chamber that small (assuming it's only the left side of the grill) is to buy a charcoal basket that fits in your firebox, then place a few chunks of smoke wood on top on an as needed basis. A fire is gonna be a little tricky to regulate temps.

[Art Vandelay]

I've smoked two different turkeys. Both turned out excellent....for turkey. I've used apple pellets both times. Has anyone experimented with different types of wood?

[Moliere]

I've smoked two different turkeys. Both turned out excellent....for turkey. I've used apple pellets both times. Has anyone experimented with different types of wood?

I smoked on turkey (3 or 4 years ago) and I probably used hickory. I liked the flavor but it was the gravy that was awesome. I cuaght the drippings in a pan and made gravy with it and it had a smokey flavor. MJ hated it though

We just fry our turkey now. Much more fun and a lot quicker...and it tastes even better.

[old_gregg]

smoked turkey is the only kind of turkey