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Traeger Not Heating Up
There are a few mechanical faults that can cause a Traeger grill to not heat up properly. Some are just a product of time and use.
If your Traeger grill is less than 3-years old, chances are good that Traeger’s warranty will cover the cost of the replacement parts. The process of repairing or replacing the parts will then come down to your capable hands.
Some of the more common reasons why a Traeger won’t heat up include hot rod deterioration, low-quality pellets, low pellet volume in the hopper, a blown fuse, ash or other debris in the firepot, moisture buildup, or a damaged induction fan.
If a thorough cleaning doesn’t restore the normal operation of the Traeger grill, you might want to check the fuses in your home, the fuses in the grill, the internal induction fan, and the hot rod inside the firepit.
Traeger hot rods typically only have a lifespan of two to three years. If your grill is older than that, you might need to replace the hot rod, which is relatively easy to do.
If your Traeger grill is struggling to heat up during cold, wet, or windy weather, you might need to adjust the P-setting. The lower you set the pause of the auger the hotter your grill will burn.
If your Traeger grill is heating up normally at low temperatures but struggles to get over 300-degrees, it might be something as simple as soot and grease build-up on the internal temperature probe. A good, gentle cleaning might be all it needs to get the control center to respond to the accurate internal temperature of the smoking chamber.
If you have a WiFIRE-enabled grill like the Traeger Pro 575 and it isn’t heating up properly, you might need to perform a soft reset of both the grill and the smartphone or tablet it is paired with.
Why Won’t My Traeger Heat Up?
There are a few common mechanical faults that might cause your Traeger to not heat up or to heat up slowly. The first place to start is to check to make sure your pellet hopper is full, the auger is delivering wood pellets to the firepot, and the firepot is free of ash or unburned debris.
If these general maintenance and cleaning issues appear to be in good order, then it is likely an electrical or a mechanical fault. Make sure to check all the fuses and the circuit panel that runs the outlet.
Hot rod deterioration, a damaged induction fan, and moisture buildup can affect the mechanical performance of your Traeger grill and need to be dealt with separately.
How To Repair Hot Rod Deterioration in a Traeger Grill
The hot rod heating element in Traeger’s firepot is essentially a large electrical resistor. This means it typically only has a lifespan of roughly two to three years, but it is thankfully easy to replace.
Common symptoms of hot rod deterioration typically manifest as low heating, slow ignition, and sometimes uneven heat distribution in the primary smoking chamber. Once you source the new part, you can replace your deteriorated hot rod using the following steps.
Step One: Turn off and unplug your Traeger grill
Step Two: Carefully unscrew and remove the hopper.
Step Three: Pull out the grill grates, drip pan, tray, and the firepot shroud.
Step Four: Unscrew the hot rod screw before carefully pulling out the deteriorated hot rod.
Step Five: Install the new hot rod through the side of the hopper hole, and screw it into place.
How To Fix A Blown Internal Fuse on a Traeger Grill
Traeger grills have internal fuses that also interrupt power to the grill. To find out if it’s a fuse problem causing your Traeger to not heat up you will need to check the fuses.
Pinch each one out carefully. If you find one is blown replace it with an exact duplicate. You can usually find suitable replacement fuses for a Traeger grill at an auto parts store or a Traeger licensed retailer.
Fixing A Broken Induction Fan in a Traeger Grill
The induction fan inside a Traeger grill plays a critical role in making sure the firepot and the hot rod get enough air for combustion, as well as helping to distribute that heat to the cooking chamber. A faulty induction fan will manifest as uneven heating where one side of the grill is hot and the other is cold, it also causes the grill to not heat up properly.
After sourcing a replacement part, you can replace a Traeger grill’s induction fan using the following steps.
Step One: Turn off the grill and unplug it.
Step Two: Remove all the components in the smoking chamber to access the firepot and induction fan.
Step Three: Carefully disconnect the wires connected to the induction fan
Step Four: Replace the faulty induction fan with the new one.
Step Five: Check the fuse for the fan and replace it.
What Should You Do If Your Traeger Won’t Heat Up?
If your Traeger won’t heat up you should start with checking the pellet hopper and firepot to make sure they are clean and in good working order. Any ash, debris, or stray wood fibers should be cleaned away, and the pellet hopper needs to have at least two or three pounds of wood pellets in it.
Then you should check the fuses in your home’s circuit panel, as well as the fuses in the Traeger grill itself. Unplug the Traeger and replace any blown fuses.
If all these things check out, then you should be suspicious of a mechanical fault like hot rod deterioration, or a faulty induction fan. To inspect these, you will need to remove all the internal components and grill grates to get a closer look at them.
How To Get a Traeger Hotter?
The first step in making sure your Traeger grill is getting hot enough is to make sure it’s properly cleaned. You can then preheat the grill for 15 minutes at 180-degrees to build up a solid bed of embers in the firepot.
Covering your Traeger grill with an insulated blanket and making sure that it’s positioned out of the wind will also help with internal heat retention.
If none of these things are getting your Traeger grill as hot as you want you can try to adjust the P setting. This is a special setting built into a lot of Traeger grills that lets you adjust the auger RPMs in overly hot or overly cold conditions.
How To Adjust The P Setting on a Traeger Grill?
The P setting on a Traeger grill is the “Pause Cycle” which essentially arrests the auger motor once the grill hits the desired internal temperature.
If you need your Traeger Grill to run hotter, you can dial the P-setting down half a point to a point. The lower the P-setting is the hotter your grill will run.
You can adjust your Traeger grill’s P-setting using the following steps.
Step One: Find the P-setting on the upper right corner of the control panel. There’s usually a sticker next to the LED light, it might even say “Call Service.”
Step Two: Peel back the sticker, which will expose a small hole.
Step Three: Use a paper clip, a micro-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.
How Do I Know If My Traeger Hot Rod Is Bad?
The easiest way to test the integrity of your Traeger’s hot rod starts with turning the heat to the highest setting with the lid open. If the hot rod is glowing red it’s operating normally, if not it is likely deteriorating and needs to be replaced.
Can You Call Traeger Customer Support?
Traeger’s customer support can help you troubleshoot why your grill isn’t heating up properly. You can access them online at https://www.traeger.com/support or by calling 1-800-872-3437.
Traeger Not Heating Up Past 300
If your Traeger grill is heating up and acting normal on low temperatures but struggles to heat past 300 degrees in normal weather, you should suspect soot or grease on the internal temperature probe. Giving it a thorough, yet gentle scrubbing usually helps make for a more accurate reading, allowing the Traeger grill to them heat up past 300 degrees.
Traeger Pro 575 Not Heating Up
If a Traeger Pro 575 or other types of WiFIRE enabled Traeger grill doesn’t heat up, it might simply need a soft reset. You can then use the following steps to reset the grill and the device it is paired with.
Step One: Turn off the smartphone or tablet with the Traeger app.
Step Two: Wait for 3 to 5 minutes before turning the phone back on.
Step Three: Turn off the Traeger grill at the primary power switch on the back.
Step Four: Wait 60 seconds and then turn the grill back on using the same switch.
Final Thoughts
While Traeger grills are made from high-quality materials and exacting engineering standards, they nonetheless have a lot of moving, electrical parts. As time goes on one of these components can develop a fault. Especially if you have a bad habit of poorly maintaining your wood pellet grill.
The good news is that Traeger covers all their grills with a 3-year warranty that generally covers the cost of the replacement parts. Then repairing or replacing the parts requires a minor amount of mechanical skill.
Some common reasons why a Traeger won’t heat up include hot rod deterioration, low-quality pellets, low pellet volume in the hopper, a blown fuse, ash or other debris in the firepot, and moisture buildup in the smoking chamber, or a damaged induction fan.
Checking the fuses in your home, and the fuses in the grill, after cleaning and filling the pellet hopper is a good place to start. Though it could also be a faulty internal induction fan and the hot rod inside the firepit.
You should also note that the average Traeger hot rod typically only lives two to three years. Replacing it is relatively easy and inexpensive.
You can also adjust the P-setting if your Traeger grill is struggling to heat in bad weather. The lower you set the pause of the auger the hotter your grill will burn.
If your Traeger grill is struggling to get over 300-degrees, you might need to clean the soot and grease build-up off the internal temperature probe. This will help the Traeger’s controller to get a more accurate temperature reading inside the smoking chamber.
If you have a Traeger Pro 575 or another type of WiFIRE-enabled grill that isn’t heating up properly, you might need to perform a soft reset of both the grill and the smartphone or tablet it is paired with.
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.