Due to the small cooking pit of the Traeger PTG and the findings of my tests I have decided to run the PTG in the Manual Mode when smoking/cooking in order to take the parameters out of the equation.
I know this means I'll have to tend the PTG manually and tweak it to adjust to conditions but while camping I have nothing but time and a few cold ones!! I could play with it tweaking parameters left & right, up and down but the PTG pit is so small by pellet grill standards that things will always be changing. This way I can control it better.
Parameters: T=20, OUTL=0, OUTH=100 ... (P=40, I=500, D=150, and SV=250 BUT none of these parameters have any affect in Manual Mode)
FYI ... After a series of extensive tests this is what I have found running in the Manual Mode. The ambient temperature was around 50-54ºF and at times there was a slight wind. Tested the Output Value at different Power levels from 15% to 40% power. I now have a baseline to use when wanting to smoke/cook at a specific temperature. Just dial in the initial power level and tweak it as conditions dictate.
15% ... ~ 180-200ºF
20% ... ~ 215-230ºF
23% ... ~ 245-255ºF
25% ... ~ 250-265ºF
27% ... ~ 290-305ºF
30% ... ~ 330-350ºF
32% ... ~ 340-360ºF
35% ... ~ 370-375ºF
40% ... ~ > 400ºF
Used iGrill temperature readings at grill level rather than the K Thermocouple Processed Value (PV) in red in the photo. In the photo I used two Maverick ET-732 probes. Yes, the K Thermocouple is more accurate but since I have it mounted vertically where an RTD for a Traeger Digital controller is normally mounted I preferred to document the measured grill temperatures.
I know this means I'll have to tend the PTG manually and tweak it to adjust to conditions but while camping I have nothing but time and a few cold ones!! I could play with it tweaking parameters left & right, up and down but the PTG pit is so small by pellet grill standards that things will always be changing. This way I can control it better.
Parameters: T=20, OUTL=0, OUTH=100 ... (P=40, I=500, D=150, and SV=250 BUT none of these parameters have any affect in Manual Mode)
FYI ... After a series of extensive tests this is what I have found running in the Manual Mode. The ambient temperature was around 50-54ºF and at times there was a slight wind. Tested the Output Value at different Power levels from 15% to 40% power. I now have a baseline to use when wanting to smoke/cook at a specific temperature. Just dial in the initial power level and tweak it as conditions dictate.
15% ... ~ 180-200ºF
20% ... ~ 215-230ºF
23% ... ~ 245-255ºF
25% ... ~ 250-265ºF
27% ... ~ 290-305ºF
30% ... ~ 330-350ºF
32% ... ~ 340-360ºF
35% ... ~ 370-375ºF
40% ... ~ > 400ºF
Used iGrill temperature readings at grill level rather than the K Thermocouple Processed Value (PV) in red in the photo. In the photo I used two Maverick ET-732 probes. Yes, the K Thermocouple is more accurate but since I have it mounted vertically where an RTD for a Traeger Digital controller is normally mounted I preferred to document the measured grill temperatures.
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