Stampede Another Is It Worth It Question

Sealion

Sealion

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Tucson, AZ
Grill(s) owned
  1. Stampede
Hello. I am new to this forum and really appreciate the honest talk about RECTEQ grills here. You are fans but are not shy about calling out shortcomings.

I had a Traeger from Costco but returned it because of poor temperature control. I have been researching for a new one (starting to drive myself crazy!) and am thinking a RT is the best value for my price point; probably the RT-590. We are empty nesters and not heavy users (3-5 times a month), but I am looking for a quality unit.

I have two reservations. First, I am disappointed on how RT hides the negative reviews. If they really are that good, they can handle some negative comments. Nothing has only 4- and 5-star reviews. To me, it shows a lack of integrity and makes me wonder what else they are hiding. That gives me pause. However, I feel like I have read enough owner feedback in the forums that I believe it is a good product.

Secondly, and more importantly, is the poor app function. I have read many accounts of too many or too few notifications, and consistent non-functioning on holiday weekends. That is a serious flaw because you can never know if you can trust your grill or not. I guess I could get a third-party temperature probe as a work around, but I hate to do that.

Questions: Is the RT worth it? How big of a deal is the poor app function?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
I think it's worth it. Quality materials, very accurate controller, and the company does back up it's products. As you allude to, they are not perfect, but most short comings are minor and/or just individual preferences.

The app is not required at all. While it is a feature, it definitely has some issues and some are what I would call show stoppers.

Personally, I think they need to do some serious work on it. Making it functional would be a good start.
 
These grills are quality products and the company stands behind them.

As far as the app goes I use it on most cooks. I have never had trouble controlling and monitoring my grill from the app (increase/decrease temps, check probe readings), even on busy holiday weekends. I have had delayed notifications a few times though not as often as others have from what I’ve read on this forum. Plus I don’t really rely on notifications. I know how long my cooks should take and I check either the grill or app to see how things are coming along. Overall the app is underwhelming but still useful to me.

Customer service is typically exceptional though a few folks (very few) have had issues. I did get a smart a$$ response one time from a rep but have had really good experiences overall the few times I’ve called. When you call and don’t leave a message they call you back to see if you need anything. My guess is not many other companies do.

In my opinion the grills are a good value. They are built sturdy, are reliable, have excellent warranties and they really stand behind them with responsive, helpful customer service.
 
@Waterboy just gave a very honest review, in particular regarding the app. I've used our RT700 a couple times a week for more than a year. Bottom line is I can crank out great meals and have fun doing it. The only aspect of the app to fail for me is notifications. The app has plenty of useful features and serves my needs. That one shortcoming has never overshadowed all the things I like. My wife was a bit skeptical when we spent close to $2,000 on the grill and a bunch of accessories. That changed quickly. She will be joining me at the RT academy next year and is excited to go.

Yes it is worth it. Easy call.
 
For the app, keep in mind the limitation is also 2 probes where you can get a nice inkbird 4 probe for $50 on sale.. really is not a showstopper. I personally do not like the notifications currently. There are too many but yes an issue when there are 0. I never relied on a notification telling me when my cook is done. I'm way to OCD to do that LOL.
 
I think most problems that occur are pellet related ie: pellet length, and quality. Some pellet problems are due to the pellets absorbing moisture from high humidity or the grill being left out in the rain. JMHO.
 
sdynak said:
For the app, keep in mind the limitation is also 2 probes where you can get a nice inkbird 4 probe for $50 on sale.. really is not a showstopper. I personally do not like the notifications currently. There are too many but yes an issue when there are 0. I never relied on a notification telling me when my cook is done. I'm way to OCD to do that LOL.
Click to expand...
That's actually my main complaint - TOO many notifications.
 
I’m a 590 owner and have had a great experience with it. There is so much info and videos out there on how to get good results, I was able to make great smoked food from the start. The app works well. And whenever I had a question customer service answered no matter what it was
Enjoy!
 
590 owner. I agree, the app is the weak link. Notifications can be annoying. If I turn my grill up, I don't need to know it is heating up to set temp. I know that, I'm the one that turned it up. Then lets you know when its at temp set. I wish this part could be turned off, but "I" haven't been able to figure it out.
Put a butt on yesterday morning at 6 Am @ 250°. Went out at 2Pm to golf. Was monitoring temps. Wanted to turn it up after front nine so would get done closer to the time I got home. Tried raising set point but it just kept going back down to the original set temp. Open and closed app to try again, no go. Had to wait until got home to raise temp.Frustrating as that was a feature that sold me on RT.
Multi Million dollar company should be able to get this app shit fixed, sooner than later, not this excuse we are working on it like I got last time talked with.

Edit: great unit otherwise.
 
I’m a 700 owner for 2 1/2 years.
Absolutely worth it.

Hey, nothing is perfect. But my RT experience has been very close. Sure the app could be much better. But it does all I need it to. So no real problem there. Everyone raves about the customer service. But honestly, I’ve never needed to test that. My 700 has performed perfectly. Sure I have called them with a few questions, and received courteous and helpful answers each time.
 
It all comes down to the features you want and the $$$ you want to spend. I know you returned your Traeger but the ones they sell at Costco are comparable to Pitboss. I believe the ones that cost the same at the RT are much better grills. I got my RT700 this year. I had been waiting to buy for 6 months hoping for a sale but the pandemic and everyone buying expensive grills plus the inventory shortages made that impossible. My second choice was Grilla Grills. They get great reviews and most reviews are positive about customer service.
I don't have any issues with the app but I keep it simple. I just want to turn it off/on and be able to see the internal temp. I could care less about the graphing and I don't use the meat probe. I cook more based on time and the look of the meat.
 
I am very happy with my new 1250. Other than probe issues in the graph, which I have no need for anyway, the app had been fine. Coming from a stick burner which required much more attention (no apps or alerts to be concerned about) the ease of using the RT is awesome. My last two briskets have been absolutely fantastic and dare I say the easiest to make.

I am also very impressed with build quality. If I'm going to pay for an item, especially the cost of the R.T.'s, I expect a quality grill. So far, I am far from disappointed. At this time I feel the same about the 1250 as I did when I got my Weber gas grill 18 years ago. (It's still going strong)
 
I think that their products are absolutely worth the money. We are using ours even more frequently than we had imagined. I do have a few thoughts about the app. Most of the issues that I've seen seem to be a result of using amateur developers, otherwise many of these simple things would have been fixed by now.

  • Multiple notifications while dialing in the set temperature are silly. The app should not notify until temp setting has been static for 5 seconds or so. This is a minor annoyance, but should be fixed.
  • Same issue when setting alert temperature on probes.
  • All temperature settings should allow direct numeric entry and not rely on finicky sliders.
  • ON/OFF control needs to go back to a slider, not just a button. It's too easy to turn the smoker off when you put your phone in your pocket.
  • Some users have reported delayed or no notifications during holidays. I've personally only seen this on a couple of occasions, and it wasn't a holiday.
  • *** The main point that I want to make is this *** All temperature readings, (Set, Actual and Probes) have always been spot-on and in real-time for me. Even when I've had a delayed notification, the temps displayed in the app have ALWAYS matched what the display says on the smoker itself. Make a habit of glancing at the app once in a while and don't fully trust the notifications, you'll be fine.
 
I have had many grills over the years, and I can say that my RecTeq 590 and Bullseye, have been the best grills I have ever owned.

I know there are more expensive grills, but for the money these are IMHO the best.
I have never cooked better than on these grills. Are they 100%, nothing is but when I call they answer.

I am not a professional and have limited BBQ experience, but now with RecTeq, I can say that I have thoroughly enjoyed cooking on these grills and so have my friends and family!!!
 
The app works 99.9% of the time for me. Yes, it's rudimentary, but for keeping an eye on temps, it's adequate. You can always go look at the front LCD display if for some reason the app is not updating. For short cooks, I usually don't use the app and mostly only use it for long low and slow cooks.

There are a small number of users that have issues with the app, with some being very vocal about it. Generally, when things are working well, people don't post about it in the forum, only when things aren't working do they post about it, sometimes ad nauseam 🤢

Realize the app is using WIFI and with the grill being outside, sometimes a long distance, going through several walls to get to the router so there could be some signal issues. Use a WIFI phone app to check the signal strength at the grill location. If weak, add a better antenna on the grill, move the router closer to the grill or use a WIFI extender.

I have zero regrets purchasing my RT-590.
 
I'm very new to the Recteq world, but zero real complaints so far.
  • Build quality on my 1250 is great.
  • I wish I had wrapped my drip pan in foil before a couple of initial long cooks
  • I wish I had installed Lava Lock gaskets before my initial cooks (or have it as part of the manufacturer's build).
  • Notifications are a little goofy, but generally work okay.
  • Temperature sensors in the built in PID are within reason 99% of the time. I use a separate Thermoworks Signals thermometer with one air sensor about an inch above grill height and one probe in what I'm cooking.
  • My first serious cook was done overnight for 13 hours and despite my paranoia waking up to check my phone, the cook was a rock solid 250 the entire time.
The bottom line is I feel like I got what I paid for. Fun cooking vs. fighting a stick burner for over half a day or even running in and out of the back door every 5 minutes to check a Weber for even the simplest cooks. I also no longer have lump charcoal dust permanently embedded in my fingernails from May to October.
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Go for it. Temperature control is amazing. Customer service is second to none. Great build quality. I only use the app to monitor temperature while it's preheating. Don't let the app complaints turn you off. I don't see Aaron Franklin using an app.
 

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