Traeger Ironwood 650 Vs 885

Traeger ironwood grills are some of the best grills in the pellet grills family. This great reputation results from their high performance in grilling foods and their strong build.

So, if you are looking for a pellet grill, then Traeger ironwood is the real deal.

You need to note that the ironwood series comes in two sizes, namely Traeger ironwood 650 and Traeger ironwood 885.

Traeger Ironwood 

Imagine being out there in the backyard on a hot afternoon monitoring the temperature of your food now and then. How about adding fuel to your grill after every 30 minutes for several hours during winter?

With Traeger ironwood 650 or 885 pellet grills, you just set the temperature and go. You can comfortably monitor the temperature in your Traeger pellet grill from your phone.

What more? I know you like properly cooked food. So, with Traeger grill, you won't have to worry about unevenly cooked food or flare-ups.

Hardwood pellets are the major sources of fuel for a Traeger grill. This means that it's easy to smoke, roast, and grill on Traeger.

Traeger's produced its first patented grill in 1986. This means Traeger has been around for a long while, and their grills are fully tested for reliability.

Traeger Ironwood Review

In summary, we have seen that it is very easy to cook in a Traeger 650 or 885 pellet grill. The smoker's Wi-Fi controls and speed fans make cooking easy for beginners and veterans.

You can use your grill most often for that pure smoke flavor.

Now, the only major difference between Traeger 650 and Traeger 885 pellet grills is the cooking chamber's size. So, most of the other features of this brand are the same.

Let's now get a deeper look at the features of the Ironwood pellet grill.

Performance and functions

Many grills in the grilling industry use charcoal or wood chunks for cooking. But, the Traeger grill 650 and 885 pellet grills use wood pellets to produce a wood-fired flavor.

You will place the one-inch pellets in the firebox through an auger drive mechanism, then ignite them using the hot stick. 

The Traeger software controls the auger and the fan to establish temperature consistency in the cooking chamber. This way, you can get rid of flare-ups and grease fires common in a gas grill or a charcoal smoker.

Design

Traeger ironwood is in the shape of a barrel with a square pellet hopper on its right side. You will find a motor-powered auger at the bottom side of the pellet hopper. The auger supplies the firepot with wood pellets.

The auger and the convection fan helps circulate smoke and regulate the cooking temperature.

In addition, you will find a control unit built into the pellet hopper. This control unit features a bright LCD screen, a dial, a food or meat probe slot, and a few buttons. 

App

You can use the Traeger App on Android or IOS. On the home screen of this app, you will get to see a display of the current temperature, a food probe, and a timer if set.

The App displays links to food recipes and video tutorials too. 

There are 3 circles on the main control page. These circles feature probe temperature, grill temperature, and a timer. 

The circles show the current and desired temperatures. You can operate the menus under each circle by tapping the circles.

How it works

Here we shall see how to turn on Traeger ironwood 650 and the 885 pellet grills for that amazing wood-fired flavor.

As we have seen earlier, a Traeger ironwood grill uses wood pellets to heat the cooking chamber.

So, you will load the pellet hopper with pellets. The pellets are then moved to the firebox through the auger and lit by a hot rod to produce heat and smoke. Traeger fan spreads heat and smoke in the food for an indirect cooking session.

The smoker's drip pan prevents direct contact between brisket or other types of meat/food and the fire flames. 

When the smoker attains the temperature you had set, the electric auger reduces the speed at which it is feeding the firepot to maintain the desired heat level. 

Remember that you can control heat or smoke levels using Traeger's control panel or the WiFIRE App.

Low temperatures will produce more smoke, while high temperatures will produce more heat and less smoke.

Cooking space

As we have seen earlier, the only Traeger grill differences between the 650 and the 885 models are the measurements of their cooking spaces.

The "650" and "885" digits on these smokers' labels refer to the size of their grilling space or grill capacity, i.e., 650 and 885 square inches, respectively. 

You can put eight chickens or five-rib racks in Traeger 650 and smoke all of them at a go.

The cooking space of Traeger 885 can take up ten chicken, seven rib racks, or nine pork butts during a single cooking session.

However, if you are looking for a grill with a smaller cooking space and a lower price, you can look at Weber Smokey Mountain vs Electric Smoker.

Fuel 

As discussed earlier, the Traeger ironwood 650 and 885 pellet grills use pellets for fuel. The Traeger grill manufacturer recommends using their pellets on their grills. These pellets are either 100% made of hardwood or flavored.

So, how much pellet will you use? On average, a twenty-pound bag from Traeger can last for six hours at a high temperature of 500 degrees. 

On the other hand, the same bag will last 20 hours at a low cooking temperature of 225 degrees.

That said, how much smoke does a Traeger produce? Burning wood pellets at lower temperatures produces more smoke than burning them at high heat.

Power

The Traeger grill is powered by both electricity and wood pellets. This smoker uses an electric rod to ignite the pellets and a d2 controller fan to spread the heat and smoke. The Wi-Fi feature of this grill uses electricity too.

Hopper capacity

The Traeger pellet hopper can comfortably carry up to 20 pounds of wood pellets. On average, one pound of pellets cooks for one hour under low temperatures.

Included extras

The ironwood series arrives in your backyard carrying almost everything you need for that amazing outdoor cooking experience.

Some of the extras accompanying a pellet grill include a meat probe that you shall plug in the Traeger d2 controller. The meat probe ensures that you get timely temperature readouts on the WiFIRE App.

But, if you will be cooking several cuts of brisket or other types of meat, you will need to get more probes for thorough temperature monitoring.

The select smoke feature is another Ironwood wood pellet grill App's function. This feature helps you increase or lower the amount of smoke hovering over food.

In addition, Traeger grills come with a side shelf for your cooking tools. However, this shelf is too small to hold all your cooking necessities.

Optional extras

The Ironwood series comes with most of its accessories. However, you can still spoil yourself with a Traeger rub and sauces.

Some more extras that you can look out for include a grill cover to keep your smoker safe when it is not in use, a front shelf, a pack bucket liner, and disposable drip tray liners. These extras will improve your smoking experience.

Safety measures

The Traeger ironwood pellet grill comes with several safety measures, namely:

● The WiFIRE App helps in monitoring the cooking temperature in the pellet grill. This way, you are protected from the common grill fires.

● Stable design to keep the pellet smoker from falling

● Great insulation to prevent heat from moving to the outer parts of the pellet grill. This is beneficial, especially if you have kids playing around and you wouldn't want them to get burn wounds by coming into contact with grill surfaces.

● The design is properly polished with no sharp corners.

Portability

Any camp chef or a grilling professional will confirm that the Traeger ironwood series is portable.

Both the Traeger 650 and 885 models have two large wheels on one side and the other two locking wheels on the other side. This makes moving the grill from one place to another easy while observing stability. 

Apart from the great wheels, these grills are light in weight. Therefore, you don't need to call your entire neighborhood to help you move the WIFI pellet grill.

However, the mobility of the grill can be limited by the power cable on the smoker that you plug into the electric socket. This is because you can only cook near an electric power source.

Durability and Warranty

We can't miss speaking about durability and warranty in this Traeger ironwood 885 and Traeger ironwood 650 reviews. This is because you will want value for the money you spend buying a Traeger.

Traeger is made from high-quality steel whose endurance has been tested and approved. Traeger can withstand extreme temperatures.

The black stainless-steel coating on the grill components keeps them from corrosion.

Overall, Traeger can last for many years under good maintenance.

In addition to its durability, Traeger comes with a three-year warranty for US residents. However, this warranty doesn't apply to commercial grill usage. Also, the warranty doesn't apply if you use a pellet package not compatible with the Traeger grill.

Also, note that the Traeger warranty cannot be transferred from one person to another. The warranty is only usable to the original buyer.

Maintenance

The maintenance of a wood pellet grill is a key contributor to its durability.

Traeger recommends cleaning the grill thoroughly once per year or once every three months, depending on its usage. That sounds like a relief; you won't be cleaning your grill daily or after use.

The thorough cleaning process of the pellet grill includes:

● Scrapping off built-up grease.

● Changing the plate liner of the drip pan.

● Ash vacuuming. 

Traeger advises removing the ashes from the fuel box after every 20 hours of cooking. The company also recommends using an ash vacuum cleaner to clean the firepot.

It is easy too to clean the cooking chamber and its components.

FAQs

1. Do Traeger pellets expire?

Traeger pellets can go bad. Some of the reasons that can cause the pellets to go bad are wrong pellet handling methods or exposing them to moisture.

2. Can I leave pellets in the hopper?

No, you shouldn't leave Traeger ironwood pellets in the hopper. Always ensure that you empty the hopper after each use to prevent the pellets from rusting in there.

3. Is the Traeger ironwood worth it?

Both Traeger ironwood 650 and Traeger ironwood 885 are great for your smoking, grilling, and roasting needs. You get to enjoy ample cooking space and easy controls while using either of these two grills.

4. Will a turkey fit on a Traeger ironwood 650?

Yes, a turkey or two can cook in the ironwood 650 all at the same time.

5. What is the difference between traeger pro and ironwood?

Ironwood grills have bigger cooking space and hopper size compared to traeger pro. As a result, traeger ironwood is more expensive than traeger pro.

6. Is the Traeger ironwood 650 big enough?

The Traeger Ironwood 650 has a large cooking rack area measuring 650 square inches. Therefore, it has enough cooking capacity to hold 8 chickens, 6 pork butts or 5 rib racks.
In addition, this grill has a large pellet box that can hold up to 20 pounds of wood pellets for a long cooking session.

Conclusion

If you are looking for an outdoor kitchen, then the Traeger ironwood series has covered you.

We have seen the features of Traeger ironwood 650 vs 885, and now you can choose either of the two that has your desired cooking space.

Finally, after taking your grill home, remember to check out recipes from the Traeger App to make your cooking sessions more beautiful.