My pellet grill just quit on me halfway through a brisket smoke

I was about 6 hours into an overnight cook for a party in Springfield, and the auger motor just stopped feeding pellets around 2 AM. I had to wrap the brisket and finish it in my oven, which felt like a total cheat. Has anyone else had a motor fail like that, and is it a common fix or should I just look at a new grill?

3 comments

3 Comments

mark_price4d ago

Oh man, that's the worst feeling! Waking up to a dead grill in the middle of the night is a special kind of panic. Those auger motors do fail sometimes, it's often just a worn out part. You can usually find a replacement motor online for your model, and swapping it isn't too hard if you're okay with a screwdriver. Honestly, finishing in the oven is a totally legit save, so don't feel bad about that at all.

brooke7674d ago

Read a forum post where someone had the same auger motor fail twice in a year... turned out their grill was stored in a damp shed and the moisture kept killing it. Moving it to a dry spot fixed it for good.

rosebarnes4d ago

My Traeger's auger motor has been fine for five years in a covered patio. Maybe some models just have bad luck.