Who does not like a delicious and yummy grilled chicken or meat?
Vegetables, onions, and everything else taste great if grilled properly.
Traeger grills have been satisfying millions of meat lovers with the best grilled meat.
The sauce and the flavors all stick to the meat and melts in your mouth.
Just like all other appliances and machines, Traeger grill hot rods tend to wear out eventually.
If you see your rods producing too much smoke or when your food stays raw even if cooked for long, this means your Traeger hot rod has gone bad.
The best method to fix this is to unplug your grill.
Go underneath it and unplug the Molex connector.
Next, remove the grill, the heat trap, drip, and baffle.
Unscrew the firepot and remove the hot rod from the firepot.
Insert a new hot rod into the Traeger auger tube and you are good to go.
You will find the best Traeger hot rod replacements online.
Today, we are going to deep dive into this topic.
We will take a good look at the main reasons behind Traeger hot rod going bad and then we will also get to know few easy fixes to solve this issue.
How Long Does a Traeger Hot Rod Last?
Most Traeger grills last for 1 to 2 years.
They also come with a warranty card for a 1-year maximum.
However, the hot rod’s conditions depend on its use and how many pounds of meat you are grilling on a regular basis.
If you use it every day, the rods will wear off faster.
If you use it moderately and clean it regularly, then it may continue working fine even after its warranty expiration.
Many people claim their Traeger hot rod lasted for 6 to 8 years before it went bad.
In any case, if your hot rod gets damaged before its warranty date, then you can call Traeger support and get your hot rods replaced for free.
How Do You Start a Traeger Grill without Hot Rod?
If you do not have a hot rod or could not get it replaced you need to manually start the Traeger grill.
To do so you will need pellets and a smoker.
You need to take a handful of pellets and put them in the firepot.
Next, take a smoker or a rod igniter and flame the pellets.
Use it to flame the pellets for 3-5 minutes.
Soon the pellets will ignite inside the Traeger grill.
You can get Hickory Signature Traeger Grill pellets online for your firepot.
They take less time to ignite and they are made of natural hardwood.
These pellets are great for BBQ, grilling fish, vegetables, and meat cooking.
I recommend to check out the following video to understand how to replace your Traeger grill hot rod as well as the fuse.
How to Check and know if The Hot Rod of Traeger has gone Bad or Not Working?
Your Traeger hot rod will be giving you signs when it has gone bad.
If you are cooking and have turned the heat setting to high and flipped the lid open, then check whether its rod is red.
You might wonder your charcoal is burning, and the air temperature is high and still the hot rod is not glowing red.
This happens because it has gone bad and it needs to be replaced.
Check for these signs to know if your Traeger hot rod has gone bad.
4 Signs that Proves Traeger Hot Rod is Damaged
1. Long Time to Heat up
This is one major sign of a bad hot rod.
Your Traeger grill should take no more than 10 minutes to fully heat up.
If it takes more than 10 minutes, then consider changing your rods.
2. Fire Dies out
If you see that your fire dies out as soon as you start cooking, this indicates temperature swings.
Your firepot cannot maintain the fire because your grill rods are worn out.
A worn-out rod obstructs airflow and causes fire to die out.
3. Your Grill might Fail to Turn on
You already know that your Traeger grill requires certain power to turn on.
To turn on the grill, Traeger auger motor needs to be functional.
The malfunctioning in the augur tube is mostly because of a faulty hot rod.
4. Your Grill Does not Smoke
Smokes are a vital part of the Traeger grill.
Lack of smoke production is mainly due to the problem in the hot rod.
In such cases, you need to replace the bad hot rod with a new one as soon as possible.
How Do You Fix a Traeger Hot Rod if It is Bad?
The Traeger hot rod is located underneath the firepot.
If your hot rod has gone bad, you need to take it off.
You have to remove the Traeger hot rod and all the components.
This includes a heat deflector, firepot, and drip pan too.
After you have taken the bad hot rod out, you need to replace it with a new one.
You will find hot rod igniter kits and Traeger Hot rods online.
From the above signs section, you can quickly find out if your Traeger hot rod is bad.
Once you know it, then you can replace it with the new one asap.
Click Here to Get Traeger Grill Replacement Hot Rod.
Click Here to Get Grillme Replacement Hot Rod Ignitor Kit.
Does The Traeger Hot Rod Have a Fuse?
Yes, all Traeger hot rods have a fuse.
The fuse comes with hot rod igniter kits.
It is a cylindrical fuse that is lightweight.
You will usually not get a single fuse piece anywhere.
The fuse usually comes with the Grillme Replacement Hot Rod Ignitor Kit.
Grillme offers a set of Traeger hot rods with 2 pieces of fuse along with wooden pellets.
The entire kit is available online at a reasonable price.
Recommended Articles for You:
Check Out These 4 Reasons That Cause Clicking and Popping Noise of Traeger Grill Auger
A Complete Guide Explaining How to Properly Use Traeger Probe Thermometer
Learn What Types of Wood Pellets are Best to use for Your Traeger Grill
How to Replace a Traeger Hot Rod?
1. Before you start replacing your Traeger hot rod, you must unplug your grill from the main switch.
You will find a purple wire beneath your grill.
2. You need to unplug the connector that is connecting the two wires.
This is the most important step, as you do not want your grill to have a short circuit.
3. Now, you have to open up your Traeger grill.
Take out the grill grates and the drip tray.
Put them aside carefully.
4. Take out the heat baffle, so that your firepot is exposed.
Take ¼ quarter-inch wrench to remove the screws in the firepot.
After unscrewing, twist your firepot in the position of a star, so that it gets easy to take it out.
5. Next, you have to unscrew the set screw.
This will free the hot rod from the firepot.
6. Now, take your Molex to connect and connect it with your new hot rod using tapes.
Use tapes to attach Molex to the hot rod.
7. Use that to guide your new hot rod wiring inside your Traeger grill.
After getting the new hot rod wire out of the grill, connect it to the purple and white wires of your controller.
8. Put the new hot rod back into the firepot in 1/8 quarter of an inch.
And Finally, screw back the set screw and reassemble your grill.
Final Thoughts
Like all other appliances, Traeger hot rods also have their limitations.
No matter how technologically advanced an appliance is, you need to replace its parts sooner or later.
Unlike other grills, Traeger hot rods usually last more than its 1-year warranty.
Now that you have read this article, you should when your Traeger hot rod goes bad.
You also know by now how to change the old and damaged hot rod of Traeger grill.
Replacing your Traeger hot rod is an easy process and does not take much time.
You do not have to call a professional help for this task.
You can easily replace it with a reliable Traeger grill replacement hot rod available online.
References:
https://www.pelheat.com/Traeger-hot-rod-igniter-repair-replacement.html
