Traeger Timberline Problems, updates and fixes

[Ag76]

That sux for sure.

 

[Beefcake]

I don't get all the real low temps you guys are trying to cook at, never done it...

I was trying to cold smoke.

 

[Beefcake]

Mine will cook at 165 all day long as well as 500*. Only problem I am having is soot when super smoke is on. My fillets I like medium rare and will cook them at 175-185* for 3-3.5 hours until center hits 130* on my tappacue then I will raise temps to 250* until center gets 142-145 and it's perfect medium rare and has the smoke ring I like on my steaks. That's the reason I got into pellet smokers cause you can smoke low and slow


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I'm curious about your weather conditions while smoking at 175. For me, it was very humid and 85 degrees. not sure if that was a driving factor for being 25 degrees above target temp. Thank you

 

[rwalters]

Earlier today, I was at the same store that unixadm bought his 1300 from. 1st time I've seen the Timberlines in person. They are impressive indeed...and I can see why you guys chose to buy. Soooo disappointing though to hear what you are dealing with. I specifically asked the sales lady how the Timberline sales are doing...she replied FANTASTIC! I then asked her about the issues that I am reading about. She was quick to acknowledge and confirm that she was well aware. She told me that it was only with the 1300's, not the 850's. She also told me that Traeger has temporarily halted production of the 1300's until the known issues have been remedied. Hmmmm....

On another note, there was a Memphis Pro sitting right next to the Timberlines. I really like the Memphis lineup...but to be honest...the Timberlines felt like a more solid and better built unit then the Memphis. When Traeger gets these issues worked out...I really believe that they will have one of the nicest pellet cookers on the market...and one of the best bangs for your buck.

 

[bosco0633]

Just want to add an update as well. My 1300 was a stud out of the box... then came the software updates and things went a bit south quickly. My grill couldn't get to 500 anymore, recovery time issues were horrible and soot became an issue after the .02 update. I also experienced multiple auger jams due to crushed pellets and burn back.

I contacted my dealer and then Traeger Canada called me to discuss the issues. They were absolutely fantastic to deal with. I learned that the first production run 1300s had some auger issues due to being too big.

2 days later, they show up at my house with a brand new unit that they personally burned in for me and removed the sleeve around the fan. They took the old one away and advised me to keep cooking and they would support me with any further issues.

First of all, customer service overload!!!! 100% support from the company is top notch in my eyes.

Secondly, the new 1300 seems to be working well. After initial pre heat (10 min) I can get to 500 in 20-25 min, so 30 to 35 min from ignition. I recover temps at 500 within 5 min now which wasn't possible before.

The smoke seems to be way better now and temp stability is about perfect.

I did jerky at 165 for 5 hours and had no issues with temp control

I did steak at 500 no issue.

I have been testing all scenarios and so far I believe that this grill is running well


The only hiccup that I see still is super smoke. Super smoke seems to choke back the fan by turning on and off. The issue that I find with this is that it produces soot. Definitely not as much as before but enough to see the build up on the stainless walls and grates.

I hope that they can figure this out, but for now I will continue low and slow without super smoke.

I think they almost have it sorted out....

I agree with rwalters comments above, traeger has built the perfect grill in my opinion. I think once the software sorts itself out, and traeger replaces the units having the current issues, you will see a surge in sales due to its design and quality.

Hang in there everyone, I believe things are looking up for the 1300 folks

 

[AutoPaint]

I've tried to add reviews with pictures on several websites that sell this grill including Williams Sanoma. None of them will print it.

Here is what I wrote with pictures and videos.

Awful Experience
I was so excited to buy my new Timberline 1300 great size, great design. Well I have been very disappointed from day one. The directions say to turn the temperature to 500 degrees in order to season the grill. The grill could never get close to that and it got full of black soot. and smoke came out of the hopper. Then that began a series of calls and emails. They told me I would have to change the thermocouple, then the fan, then take the frame that holds the fan off. Then there were 2 firmware updates Every week end instead of enjoying my brand new grill I was making repairs and there's absolutely no one who works for Traeger that finds this unreasonable. This weekend I was told maybe my auger is too long and I should grind it down. I told the rep I didn't know how to that and she told me to find someone in my area who can. This is absurd what a nightmare.

Create a Traeger Timberline Problems YouTube video and I'll comment on it as others will I'm sure.

 

[Utah]

Create a Traeger Timberline Problems YouTube video and I'll comment on it as others will I'm sure.

[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utXRvEiWATE"]Traeger Timberline 1300 Issues - YouTube[/ame]


[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgwyrE6fGJs"]July 30, 2017 - YouTube[/ame]

 

[jsix]

[[ame]https://youtu.be/MFnlFuxRuIg[/ame]

 

[jpmorrison]

Update:

After receiving my new 1300 replacement from the dealer, I have cooked on it 3 times, and it seems to be working exactly as described in the above post by bosco0633. Seems like they are getting close to having this all worked out. Cooking some steaks on it right now at various temps. I will let everyone know how that goes. :-D

 

[rwalters]

Update:



After receiving my new 1300 replacement from the dealer, I have cooked on it 3 times, and it seems to be working exactly as described in the above post by bosco0633. Seems like they are getting close to having this all worked out. Cooking some steaks on it right now at various temps. I will let everyone know how that goes. :-D

Fantastic news!

 

[tom b]

Update:

After receiving my new 1300 replacement from the dealer, I have cooked on it 3 times, and it seems to be working exactly as described in the above post by bosco0633. Seems like they are getting close to having this all worked out. Cooking some steaks on it right now at various temps. I will let everyone know how that goes. :-D

how were the steaks? what temp did you cook at?

 

[Wtcinwy]

still no replacement auger, still plenty of black soot coating my food regardless of super smoke or not and temperature from 180-225. and best of all no refund if the smoker has been used. Ingenious Traeger..

 

[jpmorrison]

Update:

The steaks were awesome. Set the 1300 at 225 on super smoke for 45 minutes. No burn back or soot issues. Took them off and cranked it up to 475. It did take a little longer to get to 475 then expected but it got there (about 45 minutes). Put steaks back on to reverse sear. Shutdown process worked fine with no burn back as well. Hope this helps. So far so good.

 

[The Wookiee]

Mine has been running nicely sans supersmoke since 01.01.03... haven't gone over 325 but good clean burn pretty good smoke output under 250 no burnback and the ash looks like what I saw on my previous pellet. I did replace fan and burnpot with smoke daddy ones I had (SD pot he 9 holes instead of 7). Fan collar is off. I noticed the auger out of the tube into burn pot a bit (smoke daddy auger I ordered didn't fit proving this traeger is not a standard auger size like other non-timberline traeger b/c SD 12&18 " augers fit the older 22&34 traegers) so I loosened the screw in the area where pellets feed into auger, pushed it back up tuto tube from burn pot end and retightened the screw- seems to be staying back where it should now. I am on the list to get new auger from traeger whenever they get them. Also moved the hot rod tip a little further into burn pot.

Wagyu brisket & chuck roll this weekend we're terrific and had great color (not the sooty coat I was getting earlier).

I too am hopeful this is working out... and totally agree they need to split the firmware to be specific to the different models and sort out supersmoke soot thing (which I can live without for now).

If they won't refund you're used pit they should replace it with one that works!!!

 

[tom b]

yes I find if I stay off super smoke and cook between 225-425 (this is what I bought this cooker to do) I really like it

 

[The Wookiee]

yes I find if I stay off super smoke and cook between 225-425 (this is what I bought this cooker to do) I really like it

Concur. We'll see how it does when I do some chicken up to 400. I had good recovery times 300 and under. But the bird is usually for my bride; my favorite cooks rarely go over 275 to finish...

 

[Beefcake]

When I first got my 850 it was still on SW version 1. Attached is a pic of an 18 hour picnic roast at 220. I had super smoke on for the first few hours. I don't think there was any soot. The grates look fairly shiny still after 18 hours.

 

[unixadm]

I figured I'd post a few pictures after installing the lower shelf I got for free. I have not really used the Timberline 1300 much, even after the firmware update. I bought a PBC and have been having fun cooking on that.

A new version of the Traeger app was released today for iOS. It now has a show firmware option for the grill. I hope it saves credentials, but it doesn't look like it does. I'm also waiting for temperature alarms for the cooker temperature.

I still have not heard from Traeger HQ after I was told I would. I reached out to Traeger and have not heard a peep either. Ugh.

 

[Beefcake]

Update on my 850, temp is set at 215, on super smoke, it is holding temp +/- 2 degrees for the past hour. No soot at all. After the hour, I just put on a pork butt and it recovered in about 2 minutes with only a 3 degree overshoot. I'll watch it for another 30 min, but I think I can trust it and go to sleep and check it in the morning. I'll kick it up to 225 at 5:00am. I'm very very happy they worked out the software issue with the 850. I'm actually pretty impressed with the grill again!

 

[unixadm]

Good update. I still get soot on my 1300 in Super Smoke mode. I used it today to cook ribs using a three step process. 200 -> 250 -> 290. It worked well and produced a good product.

It seems the iOS app is saving the username/password longer, so that's good as well.