Traeger runs hotter than indicated

Last night I put a small pork loin on at 250. Figured I would get a little smoke and cook it faster than 225 since I was in a small time crunch. Anyhow, it was centered towards the back of my Lil Tex Elite. RTD read 250, but my Maverick said 400! While I know I have a hot spot near the Mav probe, this seems excessive. Im also concerned the coolest spot is reading approx 50 degrees hotter than the RTD and the hottest spot is upwards of 150 degrees! I tested the Mav in boilig water and it is spot on. So, the question is; bad RTD or is this just the way its going to be from now on? Ive had the Traeger for a little over three years now.

Ron_L said:

There's plenty of Traeger cooks right here :-D

Sometime it takes a bit to get an answer to a specific issue.

I haven't seen the inside of the Traeger Lil Tex Elite. Does it have a heat shield that covers the center area of the grate and gaps around the outside? Is it possible that you Maverick probe is being affected by the heat coming around the heat shield? If you clip the Maverick pit probe to the Traeger probe, do they read the same or close?

Click to expand...

Great idea clipping to the RTD! Yes, there is a heat shield over the fire pit and then large heat shield under the grate that nearly blocks the entire grate.

SO there mustve been something wonky going on last night. I ran it for an hour at 250 and 350. One probe at the end of the RTD and the other in a few different spots with known hot/cold spots. The probe at the RTD was consistent with the Traeger read out. The other was usually within 20-40 degrees depending on where it was located on the grate. Thanks for the input.