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How Long Do Pellets Last In A Traeger?
Traeger makes some of the longest-burning and longest-lasting wood pellets on the market.
At lower temperatures around 225 to 250-degree, a Traeger will burn through roughly 1 pound of wood pellets per hour.
This means you can get up to 20 hours of smoking time out of a single 20-pound bag of Traeger wood pellets.
When you turn the target temperature up it will naturally start to burn through more wood pellets. At the maximum setting of around 450 degrees, a Traeger grill can potentially burn through 3-pounds of pellets in an hour.
If the weather outside is cold, wet, or windy, your Traeger might burn through a higher volume to maintain the target temperature within the 15 +/- range. Using an insulated grill blanket or moving your Traeger to a more sheltered location will help the grill burn more efficiently.
Storing your wood pellets in a dry, airtight container, and sifting them before adding them to the hopper ensures that your Traeger is only burning efficient, high-quality pellets.
Does Higher Temperature Burn More Pellets?
The higher you set the temperature of your Traeger grill, the more wood pellets it will burn through in an hour.
At 225 to 250 degrees a Traeger will burn through roughly one pound of pellets in an hour. At 350 degrees it might burn through as much as two pounds per hour.
When you crank the temperature all the way up to 450 to 500 degrees, it’s possible for a Traeger grill to burn through as many as 3 pounds of pellets in an hour. Especially if the outside weather is cold, wet, or windy.
How to Preserve More Pellets in a Traeger?
Accounting for the prevailing weather will help optimize the volume of wood pellets your Traeger burns through in an hour at any temperature.
If the outdoor weather is very windy, or rainy you might want to move your Traeger to a sheltered location around a corner or under a roofed structure.
This will reduce the amount of wood pellets needed to maintain the target temperature.
If it’s cold outside, wrapping your Traeger in a model-specific grill blanket will help keep the cold and snow from stealing heat energy from the Traeger’s cooking chamber.
Not only will this reduce the volume of wood pellets needed to maintain the target temperature, but it will also help maintain the smoke density inside the cooking chamber.
Storing your unused wood pellets in an airtight container and sifting them before adding them to the Traeger’s hopper ensures that you are using high-integrity pellets.
This improves burning efficiency, while also reducing the risk of auger jams and burn back problems.
How Long Does a 20 lb. Bag of Traeger Pellets Usually Last?
When you’re smoking with your Trager at a temperature of 225 to 250 degrees, you can expect a 20-pound bag of wood pellets to last around 20 hours.
If you are grilling at a temperature around 350 to 400 degrees, your Traeger might burn through two pounds of pellet per hour.
This hotter fire will consume a 20-pounds bag in around 10 to 12 hours.
How Long Are Traeger Pellets Good For?
When stored in an airtight container, you can expect Traeger wood pellets to last 6 months to a year.
This is a little longer than a lot of competitor pellets, which makes buying Traeger pellets in bulk a good way to save on the price per pound.
Final Thoughts
The higher you set the temperature on a Traeger grill, the more wood pellets it will burn through in an hour. This might be 1 pound per hour at 225 to 250 degrees, or as much as 3 pounds per hour at 450+ degrees.
This means on the low end a 20-pound bag of Traeger pellets can burn for up to 20 hours or so.
Whereas higher temperatures around 350 degrees might burn through twice as much, limiting a 20-pound bag to around 10 hours of burn time.
You can optimize the burn rate of wood pellets by covering your Traeger with a model-specific insulated grill blanket or positioning it away from the elements.
This is especially handy if it’s wet, cold or windy out.
Properly storing your wood pellets in an airtight container and sifting them before adding them to the hopper also ensures that your Traeger is only burning high-quality pellets.
This makes for more efficient burning, better temperature control, and less risk of problems caused by loose wood fibers in the auger shaft.
Robert is a certified Pitmaster, with over a decade of experience in smoking the best meats you’ll ever feast upon. He also has a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Texas at San Antonio. When he’s not researching technical topics, he’s most likely barbecuing in his backyard.