Hi, and thanks for reviewing the Traeger Ranger. If the grill’s temperature drops regularly then it is something that should be correctable fairly easily. This behavior can be the result of a number of different causes, such as compromised pellets, an obstruction of air flow, adding food before the grill heats up, and even the way it is started and shut down. You can also check the thermostat (RTD probe) to make sure it is measuring the temperature correctly by comparing reading at startup to the ambient air temperature. As for the timer shutting down the grill, this is usually due to the center button being held too long when trying to cycle through the different modes. To test this, try firmly, but quickly pushing the center button to see if the display changes between the grill temperature, timer and probe alarm modes. If it does, then simply stop at the timer and set with the hours with the up button, then quickly press the center again to set the minutes the same way. Once the timer is running, it will sound an alert when the countdown is finished, but it won’t make any adjustments to the grill or shut it down. However, if you still are having difficulties, with either the temperature or the timer, you are always welcome to call Traeger Support any day of the year. We have agents available up until 10:00 PM MT who can help with everything discussed here and a lot more.