possible heating issue

Mine had very similar symptoms. I took the fan out and took it to the local dealer for that brand. We hooked 12 volts to it and it turned slowly. Then hooked a new one up and it blew huge amounts of air. The stock fan is a 25 com fan. The one I bought was a 15 cfm. It got me back going until I could order a new one from Cookshack. It gradually dies so you don't notice it til it gets like yours is. It makes a huge difference with a new fan. Good luck.

Spoke with Bill this morning. His 1st guess was pellet dust. I emptied the pellets out and did find residual sawdust at the bottom...maybe about a cup's worth.

After vacuuming out the bottom of the pellet box and the end of the auger tube, I restarted till the auger was empty. Still heard the creaking noise now and again but not as much as before. The smoker came to temp but was sluggish...about 30 minutes to hit 224.

I'm about to call Bill back and discuss the sluggish warm up. The v64 FEC100 I have at the restaurant will come up to 300 in 20-25 minutes.

I'd take a look at the fan. It has 4 screws and a plug. It's easy to get out. Mine gets to temp a lot faster than that with the fresh fan in it.

Are you speaking if the large fan underneath (firebox) or small fan top (auger motor) ?

Both are running. At proper RPM's?...I wouldn't have a way of knowing.

The one on bottom is your combustion fan. Even though it is running, it may not be running at the proper speed. It may not be putting out the cfm you need to feed the fire. The small fan just cools the auger motor.

Also. I have an IQ 4 model and a traeger model. The traeger one sounds like a jet engine when it's running. The IQ 4 model used to, til the fan wore out. Now it sounds that way again. If your fire is not roaring as it's building up to temp I bet your fan is wore out

Update -

Bill Vice sent me a new auger which I replaced yesterday. The old one was somewhat rounded on the lower leading edges and I found some scarring in a few places...maybe a small stone in the pellets?

Upon restart I was at 250 in 20 minutes. I kicked it to 350 and smoked a single chicken. The board temp (actual) never budged over 336. I didn't verify the actual internal with a digital; will do so today.

So I'm still stymied as to what's causing the differential. The firepot fan seems fine...the pellets are burning as they should. I'm guessing that either the cabinet temp probe is faulty or some other issue is preventing the board from recognizing the temp variance.

I plan to speak with Bill again after the weekend...just thought I'd toss it out to the forum for now.

Thanks

Have you check the air duck around the firepot? I've heard of this getting ash built up in it and not letting enough air come out of the holes in the firepot.

I vacuum the pot before every smoke but I'll remove the housing and give it a check.

Got a couple of PB's in now at 275 and it's holding temp. {{scratches head}}