Buying brand new Traeger pellet grill is a fun experience until you start thinking about its management issues.
These issues include the pellet content, how long it will last and when is the best time to buy more pellets.
Regular grilling will help you gain experience but for new users, it becomes a pressing issue.
Well, don’t get panic!
I have got you covered with all the information you need about Traeger pellets, their shelf life and their usage in this article.
Traeger pellet grill is an electric grill that makes use of wooden pellets to fuel them and grill or cook the food in the process.
These pellets help provide the much needed fire and warmth for the delicious steaks and meat.
Well, considering that you are new to the world of Traeger Grills and pellets, you might be having a thousand questions in mind.
Questions like “How much will I have to pay for a bag of pellets?” or maybe “How long will my Traeger Hopper filled to the top with pellets last?”
After buying a pellet grill, it is normal to make such calculations.
Well, to be honest, I have analyzed the time required to burn all the pellets in the hopper.
And it takes around 6 to 10 hours to burn all the 20 pounds bag of pellets.
This time frame is suitable for high temperature cooking.
If you are on a low flame cooking, then you can expect the Traeger hopper to last up to 20 hours too.
I recommend to read this article till the end to understand all the details about proper usage and burning capability of Traeger pellets.
How Full Should a Traeger Hopper Be?
To answer the question in the simplest way possible, a Traeger Hopper should be filled to the top.
Technically speaking, the hopper of your Traeger Grill is basically like the gas or fuel tank of your vehicle.
So, the fuller it is, the better.
A full Traeger Hopper also ensures that you burn less pellets while grilling as compared to a half full or nearly empty Traeger hopper.
Well, think of a situation like this.
You have a barbecue party in your backyard and you have invited quite a few guests to your place.
Your Traeger grill finds it the most suitable moment to run out of pellets.
Keeping your Traeger hopper full will also ensure that you do not run out of pellets in such critical moments.
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How to Fill in a Traeger Hopper from a Pellet Bucket?
It is not difficult to pour pellets from your pellet bucket to your Traeger hopper.
Here’s what you need to do.
1. First of all, you will need to cut a hole, approximately 3 inches at the bottom of your pellet bucket (5 gallon bucket).
2. In order to fill your hopper, put the bucket on top of your hopper.
3. Go on to pour pellets in the bucket.
4. You will not need to use more than half of what it is in the bucket.
Leave the bucket on the hopper.
All hoppers can self feed now.
However, make sure that the bucket does not come in contact with your grill directly.
Also, try not to carry out this process on a windy day.
How Long Do Wood Pellets Last in a Smoker?
All Traeger grills mainly utilize natural wood pellets.
According to my experience, grilling on a normal summer evening, the Traeger Grill usually burns about 1 pound of pellets per hour.
You will burn less pellets if you opt for a slow smoking at a low temperature.
On windy days or winter nights, your Traeger Hopper is likely to burn as much as 3 pounds of pellets every hour.
Similarly, if you are looking for a hot grilling and a fast smoking, you are likely to burn more pellets per hour.
Every pellet bag has 20 pounds of wood pellets.
Hence, you will be able to cook for about 6 hours with an entire bag of wood pellets if you use Traeger on a high temperature.
However, if your grill is on a low temperature, one bag of pellets will help you cook for as long as 20 hours.
How Much Money is Spent for Every Hour of the Grilling?
To calculate the coming expenditure for every grilling session it is important to know the costs of pellets, the grilling time, pellet burning time for different season and modes, etc.
Natural hardwood pellets are available at different costs depending on their brand, content, flavour, etc.
Officially branded Traeger pellets are available in the market in bags of 20 lbs.
Each of these bags will cost you around $19 in any hardware store in the locality.
On amazon, however, you might get them at a discounted price.
Cheaper alternatives are available both in online and offline markets.
They might not be of a great quality and might not provide a strong flavour, but are definitely cost effective in every way possible.
The price of almost all wooden pellets, on average, is $1 per pound.
Since Traeger grills are fired by wood pellets, they cannot use any other form of fuel.
For certain costlier varieties, the wood pellets are available for a little more than $1 for each pound.
On a warm summer evening, your Traeger grill is likely to use ½ to 1 pound of pellets every hour of the cooking.
Windy or winter evenings will burn around 2 ½ or 3 pounds of pellets.
So, to conclude, it can be said that one bag of 20 lbs. of pellets will last for a maximum of 10 hours.
Also, if you are in favour of purchasing official branded Traeger pellets, then every hour of cooking will cost you around $2.
Click Here to Get Premium Traeger Wood Pellets for Your Pellet Grill.
How Long Do Traeger Pellets Last at 225° F?
On a normal summer evening, the Traeger Grill will burn about 1 pound per hour.
On windy days or winter nights, your Traeger Hopper is likely to burn as much as 3 pounds of pellets every hour.
According to the guidelines from Traeger, you will be able to cook for about 6 hours with an entire bag of wood pellets if you have your Traeger on a high temperature.
However, if your grill is on a low temperature, one bag of pellets will help you cook for as long as 20 hours.
225° F is quite a high temperature.
Cooking continuously at this temperature will cause the auger of the grill to feed more pellets.
This will finish off your bag of pellets quite efficiently in about 6 to 7 hours.
How Many Pounds of Pellets Does a Traeger Hopper Hold?
One whole bag of pellets (pellets come in bags of 20 lbs.) will fill up the hopper of your Traeger grill just enough to get you through one cooking session.
The hopper of your Traeger Grill is basically like the gas or fuel tank of your vehicle.
So, the fuller it is, the better.
Hence, if you decide to fill it to the top, it can hold as much as 27 lbs. of pellets.
How Often Do You Change Pellets in a Traeger Grill?
Changing pellets in a Traeger Grill is not only laborious but also a time-consuming work.
So, it is necessary to have terribly good reasons for changing pellets.
Here are two of the most common reasons as to why you would like to change pellets of your Traeger grill.
1. You are bored with the same flavour of your pellets:
You might get bored of having your meat grilled on hickory flavoured pellets for a long time.
All pellets have different and unique flavours that they can infuse in the food.
So, for a change, you decide to change the pellets for your Traeger Grill.
This does not have a stipulated time frame.
You can change the pellets to change the flavour whenever you wish to.
2. You will not be around to cook for a long time:
Taking a break from grilling is fine till you remember to remove your pellets from the hopper and store it in a safe place till your next cooking session.
This is mandatory if you are not about to cook for a week.
This way, when you get back to grilling food, your pellets will be as good as new.
What to Do If Traeger Runs out of Pellets while Cooking?
To begin with, check the temperature that your grill has been set in.
If your grill is still at the same temperature that you had set, simply check the hopper and refill it.
But in most cases, you will notice that the temperature has dipped a little.
This is mainly caused by an empty space created in the auger.
However, the temperature will get back to normal within a few moments once you fill up the hopper with fresh pellets.
Can You Leave Pellets in the Traeger Hopper?
It is perfectly fine to keep your pellets in the Traeger hopper for some time if you know that you will be returning to the grill in some time soon.
It is the duration of the time of storage that might matter in the end.
Traeger lets its users know that they can store their wooden pellets in the hopper for as long as 7 days or 1 week.
But if your hopper is dry and secured, you may store the pellets for a little longer duration.
How Long Does 20lbs of Pellets Last?
Every pellet bag has 20 pounds of wood pellets.
Hence, you will be able to cook for about 6 hours with an entire bag of wood pellets if you have your Traeger on a high temperature.
However, if your grill is on a low temperature, one bag of pellets will help you cook for as long as 20 hours.
Now that you know all about how long a full Traeger hopper lasts, there is nothing that you need to worry about anymore.
Gather your pellets and equipment and get back to grilling now!
References:
https://www.traegerforum.com/threads/new-to-the-group.2030/
https://www.traeger.com/learn/changing-wood-pellets
https://smarthomestarter.com/how-long-do-traeger-pellets-last/
https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx1WQ9E53N8ER75/
https://www.madbackyard.com/how-long-do-traeger-pellets-last/
