Why is Proper Startup Important?
Following the correct startup process is very important as it can have many different effects on a cook, even hours later. For example, grills started incorrectly may experience temperature swings, flameouts, and many other issues.
Pre-Grilling Checklist
- Is your grill clean?
- Brush any leftover debris or grease down into the EZ-Clean Grease + Ash Keg and empty.
- Regularly inspect the grill for accumulated grease. Most grill fires are caused by improper maintenance.
- Is everything in place?
- Open the lid and ensure the auger box is properly installed with tight screws, your drip tray is properly installed, and your EZ-Clean Grease + Ash Keg is in place.
- Are your racks in the right place?
- Different grill rack levels will produce slightly different results.
- Bottom rack is for high heat cooking: searing, roasting, grilling, etc.
- Top rack is for low and slow cooking: smoking, baking, braising.
- Is your grill lid open or closed?
- Ignite and preheat the grill with a closed lid and no food on the grates. Adding the food too early can result in the grill taking longer to reach to the set temperature.
- Are there pellets in the hopper?
- Pellets are the fuel to your grill. For longer cooks, make sure the hopper starts out full of pellets. Shorter cooks can get away with less pellets in the hopper, however, we always recommend keeping it full just in case.
- Is your grill connected and updated to the latest firmware?
- Having your grill connect to the Traeger app not only allows you to remotely monitor and control your grill but also makes sure your grill is operating on the latest firmware.
- If your grill is connected and powered on, the latest firmware will automatically begin downloading.
How to Start the Woodridge Series Grill
The Woodridge is an AC grill with WiFIRE. Follow these steps to start cooking!
- With the lid closed, plug in the grill and press the power switch located on the back of the auger box to ON.
- Press the selection dial or tap the ignite/shutdown button to wake the grill. A splash screen will appear after a few seconds as the grill powers on.
- The dot matrix displays three dashes and F (Fahrenheit) or C (Celsius). This is the home screen when your grill is idle. You can set a grill temperature directly from this screen.
- To select a temperature, rotate the selection dial to the right to increase the temperature or to the left to lower the temperature.
- The selected temperature will blink on and off.
- While the temp. is blinking, press the center of the selection dial to select your desired temperature.
- Once the temp. is selected, the temperature will change from white to orange, indicating that your set temperature is now locked in.
- The ignite/shutdown button will now blink. Tap this button to start ignition. The grill will now ignite and preheat automatically to reach the set temperature.
- While the grill is preheating, the controller will display an animated arrow next to the temperature, indicating preheating mode. The current temperature will climb in 5-degree increments as the grill heats up.
- Once the grill reaches the set temperature, the controller will no longer display the preheating arrow animation.
- The grill temperature may fluctuate over the course of the cook, but these swings are completely normal for daily wood pellet grill use.
- Your grill can now be loaded with food to start Traegering!