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Traeger grill overheating
People who have a Traeger grill that is overheating have a serious problem on their hands. They won’t want to panic, but the fact that this fancy grill is not able to produce the kind of quality work that they know that it is capable of is definitely concerning.
This is why there are a lot of people who have questions about what it means when their Traeger grill is overheating, and they may want to know what steps they should take next if this should occur to them.
We are going to look at some of the common reasons for overheating as well as what can be done if you find this problem arises with your Traeger grill.
Why is my Traeger overheating?
There are many potential reasons why your Traeger grill might be overheating, but most common of all is that there is ash or dust that has built up in the area where the pellets are supposed to go.
When you use your grill and burn up the pellets necessary to operate it, you are going to see ash and dust build up in the grill over time.
This is expected and is normal, but you need to understand that allowing it to go on for too long could leave you in a situation where you are unable to use your grill in the ways that you would like to.
If you experience overheating with your Traeger grill, try to remain calm about the situation. It is not going to help anything for you to panic. At the same time, you should take immediate action to try to alleviate the problem.
How do I know if my Traeger Hot Rod is bad?
Checking on the Traeger Hot Rod is a 4-step process. We will walk you through those steps:
- Disconnect the fiberglass-wrapped wire’s Molex connector from the Molex connector that you see is purple and white in color
- Reconnect it after you have done this
- Turn the grill on and run it for approximately 5 minutes
- If the rod is still not heating up, contact customer service
This disconnect/reconnect trick should work in the vast majority of cases. If something is off with this, then you might have a bigger problem with your Traeger Hot Rod than was initially assumed.
Thus, you need to get in touch with customer service as soon as possible so they can help walk you through the process of what to do next.
You don’t want to take any chances with your Traeger Hot Rod as it is a sensitive piece of equipment that you need to take good care of all the time. Your grill is important to your life, and you don’t want to take chances with it.
What to do if your Traeger grill is overheating?
The very first thing you need to do obviously is turn it off. You cannot take any chances of letting it get any hotter than it already is. You pose a danger to yourself and others if you allow it to keep burning up as you carry on with your day. Instead, allow it to cool off and do what it needs to do.
After you have done this, make sure you allow it to completely cool off before you investigate what the source of the overheating was in the first place.
There is a good chance that it was something in the grill itself that needs to be inspected, but you aren’t going to know for sure until you can take a hard look at it.
You will want to take off the grill grates, the baffle, and the grease tray. You are trying to get a sense of how much ash and dust there is in the grill. Make sure you DO NOT blow on it at any time.
It might be tempting to do so, but you are only going to spread ash and dust everywhere, and that could lead to bigger dangers and more overheating in the future. Use a vacuum to get the dust and ash out of there for the safest possible experience.
Should I contact customer service?
Never hesitate to contact customer service if you have a question about your Traeger grill.
Not only is this the wise thing to do because it allows you to get the proper answers about what is going on with your grill, but it is also smart as it lessens the chance of you making an unwise choice that causes you bodily harm or harms your grill in a way that makes it impossible to use going forward.
It might sound a little dramatic to put things in such crass terms, but that is truly the dynamic that you are looking at when it comes to a grill like this. You should always reach out to customer service in the event that you feel there is something more you need to know about your grill.
Final Thoughts
There are many things that can lead to a Traeger grill potentially having problems, but most of them are easy to solve. Your best bet is to get in touch with someone from the company who knows what they are talking about and can help you as needed.
When you have those individuals working with you, things become a lot safer and a lot easier to handle. Near fear what they may say or think as they are there to help you with these types of issues.
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.