Traeger Wood Fired Grills

We use it all winter long. I would guess that in really cold climates that could be difficult but it rarely gets below 40 here in Virginia Beach. You can turn any frozen pizza into a wood fired delicious pizza. I would absolutely recommend this grill and I will definitely be getting a new one once this one stops working. BTW after 6 years we have had zero issues with it. Always make sure you do not run it out of pellets, cook on lowest heat first then turn up. Going the opposite way will not result in the temperature you want.

We spent $600+ on this grill and it has been nothing more than a statue in our garden - we planned Thanksgiving and Christmas meals with wood-fired meats, but those went out the window. In summary - the product breaks easily, and Traeger customer service has absolutely zero responsiveness. If you get any response at all it's a miracle, never mind a useful interaction.

A few days later I called Traeger to report the issue. Their technician's diagnosis was the digital controller was bad. They said the controller was on back order until the end of November. Their customer service made a ticket and said a new controller would be mailed to me as soon as they came in. I accepted the bad news but requested to speak to a supervisor to lodge my dissatisfaction for having to wait nearly 2 months for the part. The representative told me that no supervisor was available to speak to me and that he would have a supervisor call me back. I never received a call back from a supervisor or anyone from Traeger.

On December 4, 2019, I called Traeger to check the status of my order. As caller 79 I was placed in a never ending que. After nearly 2 hours on hold, I gave up and provided my telephone number as a call back. Later that same day, a Traeger customer service rep called me back. After explaining my issue (again) the rep found my trouble ticket. Unfortunately, Traeger had taken no action on my ticket (despite having the part in stock in Georgia) and furthermore they had no explanation as to why they had not shipped the replacement digital controller nor why I never received a call back from a supervisor. The rep indicated he would have the part shipped from Georgia on December 11, 2019.

A few days past December 11, 2019, I recieved the controller. I removed the old one and installed the new one leaving the original RTD because I could find no way to remove the original RTD without destroying the unit. The RTD on the Scout and Ranger models are installed in a very different manner than the typical barrel style Traeger smokers which only require the removal of 2 small screws on the body and 2 screws on the digital controller and then feeding the new RTD through the barrel up to its mounting point. The Scout and Ranger models have the RTD secured to the body of the unit by 2 screws but the RTD runs through the body in a manner that appears inaccessible to replace without destroying the unit.

Upon testing the new digital controller, I soon discovered the unit performed exactly as before with uncontrollable high heat to the point of the unit going into safety shut down mode. At that point, I suspected the original RTD was the problem and not the digital controller. In order to test this theory, I removed the 2 wires on the original RTD located on the digital controller and then wired the new RTD to the controller. Since I could not find a way to remove and replace the old RTD, I stuck the new one on the inside of the grill on the pellet box in order to test the new RTD.

Upon turning the Scout on, the unit operated normally with the temperature regulating properly. It was now confirmed the RTD was the problem and not the digital controller as diagnosed by a Traeger technician during my initial call. So much for their legendary VIP 365 customer service and "seasoned experts who have my back." (From Traeger Owners Manual)

I called Traeger to speak to a technician to report what I had discovered and so that they could walk me through how to remove the old RTD from its mounting location and install the new RTD. I have quite a bit of experience working on another Traeger that I own and I am competent in repair and replacement of various Traeger parts. However, the Scout is manufactured differently than the typical barrel type Traeger's and I was stumped on how to remove the RTD without causing damage to the unit and felt the appropriate thing to do was call them to seek their expert assistance. After all, the Traeger manual directs customers not to return the Traeger, instead, they are "here to help!" (From Traeger manuel customer service insert)

What happened next was unbelievable. I was once again placed in a queue. I was caller 99. (That is a problem in itself) I left my number and was called back later the same day by a customer service rep. After recounting this entire story, the rep placed me on hold in order to speak to a technician because the rep did not know how to walk me through the RTD replacement process. A few minutes later the rep came back on and said he spoke to a technician who indicated that they did not know how to replace the RTD on a Scout model and that it would be difficult at best and that it might not be repairable due to the design! He instructed the customer service rep to tell me to cut the RTD wire and install it like a barrel type Traeger. I couldn't believe my ears.

The customer service rep then attempted to give me those instructions and I had to interrupt him to explain (again) that the RTD installation was different on the Scout models and cutting wires and jury rigging a new one was not the proper way to replace an RTD. I then asked to speak to a supervisor. Again I was told no supervisor was available and they would take my number and have a supervisor call me.

Approximately (8) days later on December 23, 2019, I received a voice mail from a Traeger representative who did not identify her self. Without leaving me a name or a number, her voicemail directed me to call Traeger customer service back to reach her. Again, I could not believe my ears! How was I to return a call back to someone who did not leave their name or a direct call back number? Why did a customer have to wait 8 days to hear back from a supervisor? Unbelievable!

Due to the approaching holiday and suspecting that I would be placed in a queue of 99 callers again, I decided to wait until after the holiday to call Traeger Customer Service back in an attempt to find the supervisor who called me and so that I could request my money back. At this point, I was done fooling around with Traeger Customer Service reps on this matter during the holiday.

On January 2, 2019, now starting into my fourth (4th) month of inability to use my Traeger Scout, I called Customer Service back. Guess what? I was number 99 in que. So, same drill, I left my number and later in the day a rep called me back. As before, I had to walk through the entire problem even though I was returning a call to supervisor. Instead of putting me through to a supervisor, the rep suggested I take the Scout to a Traeger service center.

For the first time in 3 months and several calls, Traeger suggested I take the grill (under a 3 year warranty) to a service center. I informed the rep that I was no longer willing to commit any more of my time on this nightmare and simply wanted to speak to a supervisor in order to seek a refund along with a return merchandise shipping order so that I could ship the unit and associated accessories back. You guessed it...no supervisor was available to speak to me. However, the rep told me she would personally see to it that a supervisor return my call before end of day.

The end of the day came and went without a call-back from a supervisor. So much for the promise from the customer rep to see to it that a supervisor call me before the end of the day. I ended up filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. Hopefully, the BBB will have better luck than I've had. The moral of the story is two-fold: First-never, ever, ever, buy a Traeger Scout or Ranger. Second-in my opinion and experience, Traeger has the absolute worst customer service of any company I've ever dealt worth. They may have a 3-year warranty on their product, but if you cannot get parts in a timely manner, or competent technical expertise when it's needed, what's the point of owning their product? They may advertise that they are "here to help," but that has not been my experience.

As for me...upon completion of this forum submission, I'm heading to a local Green Mountain dealer to buy their version of a table top smoker. While I'm there, I also plan to purchase a new Green Mountain smoker to replace my Traeger Lil Tex. I'm done with Traeger products and their customer service run around. Whether I get my money returned for my purchase of the Scout that is unusable and apparently unrepairable, remains to be seen. I'm not holding my breath.

Additionally the "hot rod" or igniter to start the grill stopped working. (I've seen this complaint several times from other customers as well.) So to start my grill I have to put a couple tablespoons of pellets in the fire box and light them with charcoal lighter fluid first. Once glowing red I start the Traeger up as usual. I do this instead of the $33. Traeger wants for a new one, plus the hassle of installing it which I understand from others is not that simple to do.

Another comment I would make is about the different flavors of wood pellets Traeger sells and uses in their recipes. The Traeger uses a small "blast furnace" to create heat. This small blast furnace is so hot it instantly burns up any oils in the small wood pellets that would give any associated flavors of that particular wood. So all the different wood pellets is just a ruse to sell you more pellets for different recipes.

As far as an outdoor convection oven, Traeger does okay if you're roasting a whole chicken or other meat that requires a higher temperature. Also searing meat is difficult because the only area of the grill that creates enough heat to sear is only a few inches in the very front or very back of the grill, where super heated air circulates from under the baffles below the cooking grates. For the money of Traegers, I would never buy another one or recommend one to a friend.