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Traeger Not Heating Past 300
A Traeger grill that struggles to get past 300 degrees is usually a sign of a mechanical problem that needs to be addressed.
Though sometimes severe weather can also affect a wood pellet grill’s performance, compounding the problem.
A normal Traeger grill can get up to 400 to 450 degrees or more on the highest setting. A few of the newer wood pellet grills like the Traeger Timberline and Ironwood can even get up to 500 degrees.
If your Traeger grill isn’t getting over 300 degrees and it’s not due to the weather, then your first suspicion should be that the interior needs a good deep cleaning to maximize performance.
You should also double-check and clean the internal temperature probe to make sure soot and grease aren’t keeping it from making an accurate reading.
While deep cleaning your Traeger, pay attention to key components like the internal fan and the hot rod. If a fan has malfunctioned or the hot rod isn’t glowing bright red when set to high, it might need to be replaced.
If you are grilling in cold, wet, or very windy weather, try to move the grill to a protected location and cover it with an insulated blanket. If your Traeger grill is still struggling to get over 300 degrees, you might want to try turning up the Pause setting to deliver more wood pellets to the firepot in a shorter amount of time than usual.
How Hot Should a Traeger Get?
Most Traeger wood pellet grills have a maximum temperature of 400 to 450 degrees.
The newer Traeger Timberline series and Ironwood are even rated to get up to 500 degrees on the highest setting.
Why Won’t My Traeger Get Past 300?
Often times grease or soot buildup on the internal temperature probe can cause a Traeger grill to stall out at a temperature of 300 degrees or less.
Giving the probe a careful, yet thorough cleaning might be the simplest way to rectify the problem.
General cleaning and maintenance can also be an issue preventing your Traeger from getting over 300 degrees.
If you’ve been using your Traeger for 20 or 30 hours, it might be time for deep cleaning to remove ash and grease from critical components in the firepot.
If you are using your Traeger grill in overly wet, windy, or very cold weather, the external conditions might be robbing the grill of the heat energy it needs to get over 300 degrees.
Positioning the grill in a location that is protected by the elements, and covering it with an insulated grill blanket might help,
You should also note that Traeger wood pellet grills have a P-setting, or “Pause Setting” that influences the rate that which the wood pellet is delivered from the hopper to the firepot.
Adjusting your P-setting one step higher might be just the thing you need to increase the fuel necessary to get your grill over 300 degrees.
With some Traeger grills, a damaged or stuck internal fan can affect the airflow being delivered to the firepot as well as limit the amount of heat that circulates through the primary cooking chamber.
It’s also possible for the hot rod inside the firepot to malfunction. Especially if it is more than three years old.
What Should I Do To Get My Traeger Past 300?
If your Traeger grill has been struggling to get past 300 degrees, the first thing to do is give the grill a thorough deep cleaning. While doing so, make sure to carefully clean all the soot and grease off the internal temperature probe.
While deep cleaning your Traeger grill, also check to see if the internal fan is working properly. If it isn’t, you might need to replace it.
If you are using your Traeger grill in cold, wet, or windy weather, you might need to move it to a protected location and cover it with an insulated grill blanket to get the temperature over 300 degrees. You might also want to turn the Pause setting (P-Setting) up a notch to increase the volume of wood pellets being delivered to the firepot.
Should I Use More Pellets?
You shouldn’t attempt to add more wood pellets by hand to the firepot of a Traeger grill just to get it over 300 degrees. It is engineered for internal automated delivery of wood pellets already.
Though you can turn up the rate that wood pellets are delivered from the hopper to the firepot using the following steps.
Step One: Look in the upper right-hand corner of your Traeger’s control panel to find the P-setting port. There’s usually a sticker next to the LED light, it might even say “Call Service.”
Step Two: Carefully remove the sticker, which will expose a small hole.
Step Three: Use the tip of a small screwdriver, a round toothpick, or the point of a wooden grill skewer to poke the tiny button inside the hole.
Step Four: Note the display screen and the P-setting it indicates. Each time you press the button it will take the P-setting up more until it reaches the top of the scale and resets back to zero or one.
Step Five: Press the button repeatedly until you get a number that is one lower than the original P-setting of your Traeger grill.
Is It a Hot Rod Issue?
The hot rod in the Traeger’s firepot can malfunction over time.
If you turn the heat to the highest setting with the lid open, a normally functioning hot rod will be glowing bright red.
If not, it is likely deteriorating and needs to be replaced. Even if your Traeger is outside the three-year warranty period, you can still purchase a replacement hot rod from Traeger or on Amazon for around $20 to $25.
Final Thoughts
If your Traeger wood pellet grill is struggling to get 300 degrees it might be that there is a mechanical problem, or the interior needs a good deep cleaning. Most Traeger grills are rated for a maximum temperature of 400 to 450 degrees, with the Timberline and Ironwood rated to get up to 500 degrees.
If your Traeger grill isn’t getting over 300 degrees and the weather isn’t an issue, it might simply be that the interior needs a good deep cleaning to maximize performance.
While cleaning makes sure to thoroughly clean the temperature probe, as well as check to make sure that the hot rod and any internal fan components are functioning correctly.
If one of the internal fans isn’t working correctly or the hot rod isn’t glowing bright red when set to high, they might need to be replaced.
Fortunately, these are relatively cheap parts and you can do the replacement with simple tools your probably already have lying around the house.
If the weather in cold, wet or windy, moving your Traeger grill to a protected location and covering it with an insulated blanket might help it get over 300-degrees. Otherwise you’ll need to turn up the P-Setting to increase the rate that the auger delivers wood pellets to the firepot.
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.