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I installed the IQ4 controller this weekend and had no issues with it at all. Other than mounting the fan backwards the first time it went without a hitch. The only issue I had was with the initial startup of the unit.

My FEC100 is about a year old. When I used to start it I would put about a quarter cup of pellets into the pot and turn it on, never had an issue with startup at all. When I went to start the cooker this weekend with the IQ4 in it I did the same thing but the cooker just would not light. I turned it on and off a couple of times just to keep the pot from filling up with pellets. Finally I took some of the pellets out, put a chunk of starter cube in the pot and started it manually. However, when I did this it still started slowly then all of a sudden I got a good fire going in the pot, almost as if the ignighter had kicked on. Anyone had a similar experience or does the new IQ4 controller not turn on the ignighter for a bit just to allow some pellets to get into the pot?

Any help is greatly appreciated. Other than that issue, the new controller worked flawlessly for the whole cook keeping the temp about 2 degrees from the set point.

Troy
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I would call Tony at CS but my understanding is that with the IQ4 controller, it has a different lighting sequence than the old Traeger controller. When first started, the IQ4 drops pellets for three minutes and then turns the ignitor on.

As I said, this is just my understanding and I could be wrong. Which is why I direct you to Tony. He can answer you in two seconds!
John,

Thanks for the reply, I plan to call Cookshack just to be certain. What you write about the 3 minute ignite sequence makes perfect sense after what I experienced with the initial startup this weekend. It seemed like it took about 2-3 minutes and it went from a small fire to a large fire in a matter of seconds which I attributed to the igniter kicking in and starting some of the pellets from below. Thanks again, I'll post the results of the call.

Troy
I just talked to Ed at Cookshack and there IS a delay, he thought from 2-3 minutes, from the time the unit is turned on to when it ignites the pellets. The auger starts feeding pellets and then after the 2-3 minutes the igniter kicks on. It keeps you from having to "prime" the FE as I used to do with the older controller.

With that answered the installation of the IQ4 is 100% complete and successful and I have to say, I'm looking forward to cooking with it.

Troy

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