Temp control issue

Ya I totally get that most of the noise will come from the unhappy few. It's just hard to find many threads on the BFG that end feeling positive. The RT-700 seems to be a rock star out there... almost feel like I should just get 2 of those vs a BFG. Thanks for the info... will just keep pulling my hair out trying to decide what to do. Haha
 
Yeah I believe the 700 is just more popular...wish I had a BFG actually...lol love the 700 though.
 
I know this is an old thread—just found it while searching for info on my problem. I’m having the same exact issue on my new RT-340. Worked fine for a month now 275-280-290 when trying to run on LO or 225. Been using the same pellets since the beginning. Ugh
 
I know this is an old thread—just found it while searching for info on my problem. I’m having the same exact issue on my new RT-340. Worked fine for a month now 275-280-290 when trying to run on LO or 225. Been using the same pellets since the beginning. Ugh

Might wanna try turning down your auger speed to maybe 3.0. It could be feeding too many pellets. If that doesn't work I'd contact Rec Tec. They should be able to get you squared away.
 
I've had my RT-340 for about 5 months so I was using it when it was still cold out and had no issues. I just started having issues with the temperature control. After watching a video about adjusting the feed rate, I'm thinking my issue may indeed be the feed rate. I currently have the temp set at 225 for the past hour, it reached about 264 and the feed rate was set to 6.5%. I lowered the feed rate to 4.0% and it's currently falling. This is a great grill. I am no where near a 'gill master' but I've had great compliments using the Rec Tec recipes. It's a learning experience getting used to this grill and I'm very happy with it. By the time I typed this out, the temp fell to 225 and seems to be maintaining so it appears the feed rate adjustment worked for me.
 
I just got a RT-700 a few days ago and have done two cooks on it. My temps have been holding fine. That’s a strange thing yours is doing.
I also have a Bull and it has been pretty good about holding temps UNTIL THIS WEEKEND! I had it set at 225 and it had climbed to 284 when i checked on it. Right now it is set on low and it is 300 degrees. I’ll be calling Rec Tec tomorrow and I will be sure to let them know that they lost a sale today because a friend that was here is in the market for a pellet grill but was definitely turned off by the issues I had today.
 
I also have a Bull and it has been pretty good about holding temps UNTIL THIS WEEKEND! I had it set at 225 and it had climbed to 284 when i checked on it. Right now it is set on low and it is 300 degrees. I’ll be calling Rec Tec tomorrow and I will be sure to let them know that they lost a sale today because a friend that was here is in the market for a pellet grill but was definitely turned off by the issues I had today.
What was the weather like where you are? Have you adjusted the feed rate? This has been suggested to others having issues holding low temps in warm weather.
 
No they did not take the old pellets back because they are useless. Just make a call and they will replace what was bought. I have had a few cooks (one 23hr smoke) with the other manufacturer pellets and have not had a problem since. I have been working with the company trying to get a solution since May and after many tries I think this was it. I’m lucky to live a couple exits up from the company which helped with troubleshooting my issue quicker.
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what brand pellet did you use?
 
Hello
My name is Carlos, I'm Tucson AZ and I just purchased a BFG 2500. I bought this smoker because of the convenience of cooking meats overnight without having to be up all night feeding the fire, used to have a 84 lang deluxe. I read a lot of comments about keeping temperature controlled and I experienced something similar the first couple cooks (i cooked chicken thighs, ribs, and tripas... separate ocassions)
I set the temperature at 250F, it ended up going all the way to 280F. I lowered the temperature all the way down to 225F and that's how I kept it around 250-260F.
I used my smoker to grill some carne asada one day, got it up to 450F, when i was done I wanted to drop the tempature to 250F and it was impossible, I had to turn it off, let it cool down and turn it back on... took around an hour or so.

I'm using a combination of Lumber Jack 100% hardwood Pecan and Treager Cherry hardwood 3/1 ratio.
The time I cooked a rack of baby back ribs i had better luck, the temperature only went about 10 degrees off, I smoked them at 250F for about 3 hrs, it was a small rack. The only thing I noticed was the lack of "smoky" flavor, keep in mind I switched from good'ol fire and stick to pellet... I ordered a smoking tube, I'm planning on using Cherry pellet for that sweet fruity flavor and for the smoker ring, hopefully that solves the "smoky" flavor I was used to.

I really like this smoker, I hope I can figure out smoke ratio, temperature control and all of the other components to get to like this piece of equipment even more. I needed pellet because I have a food truck, I can leave meats smoking while I do other prep!

Any suggestions or comments are very much appreciated! I'll take all the help I can to make a smooth transition from "fire and stick" to pellet!

Thank you

Carlos G
 
what's your feed rate set to? i had to turn mine down from the factory setting of 6.5 down to 4.0 and it holds perfect

I'm glad someone did the same I did! I set the feed down to 4 and the temperature stayed pretty consistent all the way thru. I added a smoker tube with 50/50 pellet-wood chips cherry flavor for about 3 hrs at 225F.
Started my cook low just in case... went up to 250F and kept it at that pretty much the 3 hrs with the smoker tube going on in the chamber.

I'm going to keep working on adding more color to the smoke ring by messing with the pellet ratio.
Wifey said this were the best ribs...

Carlos Guerrero
Tucson AZ
 

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I'm glad someone did the same I did! I set the feed down to 4 and the temperature stayed pretty consistent all the way thru. I added a smoker tube with 50/50 pellet-wood chips cherry flavor for about 3 hrs at 225F.
Started my cook low just in case... went up to 250F and kept it at that pretty much the 3 hrs with the smoker tube going on in the chamber.

I'm going to keep working on adding more color to the smoke ring by messing with the pellet ratio.
Wifey said this were the best ribs...

Carlos Guerrero
Tucson AZ
Look good
 
I'm glad someone did the same I did! I set the feed down to 4 and the temperature stayed pretty consistent all the way thru. I added a smoker tube with 50/50 pellet-wood chips cherry flavor for about 3 hrs at 225F.
Started my cook low just in case... went up to 250F and kept it at that pretty much the 3 hrs with the smoker tube going on in the chamber.

I'm going to keep working on adding more color to the smoke ring by messing with the pellet ratio.
Wifey said this were the best ribs...

Carlos Guerrero
Tucson AZ
Glad that worked, Carlos! I am also in Tucson, AZ! Happy to see another RecTec owner in the Old Pueblo. Gonna be smoking some wings on my RT-340 this weekend. Cheers, good sir!
 
Glad that worked, Carlos! I am also in Tucson, AZ! Happy to see another RecTec owner in the Old Pueblo. Gonna be smoking some wings on my RT-340 this weekend. Cheers, good sir!
Some rib tips with lumber jack pecan and cherry, smoke tub with cherry pellet and wood chips!

Turned out great!!!
 

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Anyone having issues with keeping the temp relatively close to where you have it set. I have cooked on this grill 3 times and cant keep it close to 235. It does good for the first few hours then afterwards it goes to 280 and beyond. After about 8 hours I cant keep it under 300. I have turned the minimum feed rate down to its lowest setting and turned the temp down to 210. Is the grill defective? I dont know how many times I can calibrate this thing. I am seriously thinking about returning it if I cant figure this out.

I am using Rec Tec pellets and no matter what time of day or the temperature outside this issue is happening.
I’m having the same problem. It ran ok for the first month, now it runs over 235 when it’s set to 200.
 
I’m having the same problem. It ran ok for the first month, now it runs over 235 when it’s set to 200.
I change the heat diffuser, I lowered the feed rate, use lumberjack pellet.
First few cooks temperature went up too high, with some of the changes I did to it maintains temperature pretty much on line.
 
I feel his pain. From the beginning my feed rate was at the lowest temp and always burned too high. If he smokes before I do post the results. I have been through everything and still get the same results. Hopefully these pellets do the trick. They no long give or sell the other pellets with the BFG since this is the only grill having the issues. ??our fingers because I hate to have to return it since it’s such a great concept.

I just received my BFG....Did they ever fix the heat control issue??
 
1st cook with my new 1250 was with chicken thighs. Turned out great. I did notice in the beginning, when i first started, the temps spiking and plummeting but i just attributed it to the lid being opened to load the bird. After that, i left her alone and the temps stabilized to roughly 250.
outside temps at start = 60 deg.

Now im on my 2nd smoke. Small 3lb pork shoulder.
-Outside temps at start = 32 deg.
-Started the smoker and within 5 min huge bellows of smoke... so i opened the lid to let it breath. Temps climbed to 300 by the 10 min mark then a slow decline to about 250
-for the next 20 min i watched as the fan kicked on and off somewhat rapidly and produced about half as much smoke but the temps ranged from 250 - 225 where at about the 30 min mark she stabilized to 225.

I put the shoulder on and since then i have been at a steady 225.
I have the RT meat probe and (2) additional external temp probes (1) in the meat and (1) in the smoker to check for accuracy. All probes seem to match so far.

My question- Is this somewhat normal as a start up for this unit?
As of now im not too concerned as i have been at a steady 225 for an hour. Just wondering if this is what i should expect with all my start ups or possibly its due to the outside temps.
 
1st cook with my new 1250 was with chicken thighs. Turned out great. I did notice in the beginning, when i first started, the temps spiking and plummeting but i just attributed it to the lid being opened to load the bird. After that, i left her alone and the temps stabilized to roughly 250.
outside temps at start = 60 deg.

Now im on my 2nd smoke. Small 3lb pork shoulder.
-Outside temps at start = 32 deg.
-Started the smoker and within 5 min huge bellows of smoke... so i opened the lid to let it breath. Temps climbed to 300 by the 10 min mark then a slow decline to about 250
-for the next 20 min i watched as the fan kicked on and off somewhat rapidly and produced about half as much smoke but the temps ranged from 250 - 225 where at about the 30 min mark she stabilized to 225.

I put the shoulder on and since then i have been at a steady 225.
I have the RT meat probe and (2) additional external temp probes (1) in the meat and (1) in the smoker to check for accuracy. All probes seem to match so far.

My question- Is this somewhat normal as a start up for this unit?
As of now im not too concerned as i have been at a steady 225 for an hour. Just wondering if this is what i should expect with all my start ups or possibly its due to the outside temps.
Hey neighbor!
Temps will swing when the lid is opened, then stabilize as you noted. Perfectly normal operation of the grill.
 

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