Bull $2K, and problems from the get go

[C. Keeper]

OK, so replacement parts arrived (I'd have thought they'd expedite them, but no - regular post) - Had to go into the smoke chamber, loosen the hopper bolts, take off the cover that protects the auger/fan, have my son help pry the hopper away from the smoke chamber where the wire was pinched/shorted, and had one b**ch of a time getting the new light assembly wires ran back down and into the area where the plugs are located underneath. It's done, but nowhere was there any printed info or video on how to accomplish this. Smoker is together and running now, but I think I should have been compensated for all the aggravation. 2 weeks since it arrived and just today was able to use it......

Glad you got it working.

 

[Waterboy]

I think I should have been compensated for all the aggravation. 2 weeks since it arrived and just today was able to use it.....

I agree. They usually send the gift pack of rub at least.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I agree. They usually send the gift pack of rub at least.

I'm not sure this is a thing anymore. I read about that for a while before I broke down and bought one and ended up having a bunch of issues and they never offered to send me anything. I'm not saying that I expected it but it seems like a small token given the amount of issues I've had and based on the fact that it seems like a way they used to say they were sorry for mistakes.

 

[MikeyB]

I was just about ready to order a 700. Based on this info, I think I will reconsider a Yoder from my LOCAL dealer

Check out Lone Star Grillz. They just came out with 2 pellet smokers.
Their pits are built like tanks.

 

[sdynak]

I was just about ready to order a 700. Based on this info, I think I will reconsider a Yoder from my LOCAL dealer

So there has never been any issues with a Yoder? I would be interested to learn more on that if you can enlighten me. Maybe it will sway me to switch. Thanks..

Edit:

Never mind.. I just cruised over to the Yoder Forum and it seems all the posts there are issues unlike here where most posts are about cooking & enjoying. Good luck & enjoy your Yoder.

 

[jfjohn77]

Are you saying the RT-700 isn't USA made?

Yep! I didn't realize that myself until I received mine earlier this month and I saw "made in China" plastered on all four sides of the box. You know they used to try to hide that fact, now it looks like they enjoy rubbing our noses in it! If I had to do it over again I would not have bought it. I haven't had an issue as of yet other than a scratch on the side of the barrel. Knock on wood... I probably just jinxed myself. I'm doing a few simple mods and I'll make the most of it, unless I start having issues and it won't get the job done. Then it will go the way of the Traeger! I'll go back to my Stick Burner... I know it works!

 

[jfjohn77]

Check out Lone Star Grillz. They just came out with 2 pellet smokers.
Their pits are built like tanks.

OMG! I wish I had known about these before I bought the 700. I could have driven over to pick it up (after the wait list got to me).

 

[fullhouse32]

Yoder Yoder Yoder- not for me.

 

[C. Keeper]

Okay @sdynak, I went over to the Yoder forum and there's nothing but happy campers over there, utopia like

 

[sdynak]

OMG! I wish I had known about these before I bought the 700. I could have driven over to pick it up (after the wait list got to me).

Those do look pretty sweet.. will be nice to hear some feedback from the early adopters. I would not likely jump on them but just good to know if there are true options that hold up their claims.

 

[sdynak]

Yep! I didn't realize that myself until I received mine earlier this month and I saw "made in China" plastered on all four sides of the box. You know they used to try to hide that fact, now it looks like they enjoy rubbing our noses in it! If I had to do it over again I would not have bought it. I haven't had an issue as of yet other than a scratch on the side of the barrel. Knock on wood... I probably just jinxed myself. I'm doing a few simple mods and I'll make the most of it, unless I start having issues and it won't get the job done. Then it will go the way of the Traeger! I'll go back to my Stick Burner... I know it works!

Worlds apart from Traeger rest assured.. I had gone through 2 of those before I wised up and even knew about RecTeq at the time.

You will enjoy the 700 and who else has a 6 year warranty? I wish they were built in the USA myself and I bet they could still be competitive if they did at their price point. Just international shipping alone must be costly. It was a hard decision but I had enough of problems in the past and was not willing to spent 2-3 X to try others out and still be unhappy. I almost dropped all together.. in fact it was years the Traeger sat before I jumped back in. Was very unhappy and now a complete turn around.

 

[jfjohn77]

Worlds apart from Traeger rest assured.. I had gone through 2 of those before I wised up and even knew about RecTeq at the time.

You will enjoy the 700 and who else has a 6 year warranty? I wish they were built in the USA myself and I bet they could still be competitive if they did at their price point. Just international shipping alone must be costly. It was a hard decision but I had enough of problems in the past and was not willing to spent 2-3 X to try others out and still be unhappy. I almost dropped all together.. in fact it was years the Traeger sat before I jumped back in. Was very unhappy and now a complete turn around.

That's pretty much my story and feelings too. I do know that the Lone Star Grillz offset smokers are awesome and well built. The guy doesn't build any Junk. I built my own pit (several actually) years ago and have played with it, modified it and got it where I want it, so I'm not going to spend the money to buy what I already have. But if I didn't have it or didn't know how to build it, I would have one of his pits. I started getting into pellet pits because I'm getting older and I guess lazier (hate to admit that), but they still have to do their job or they're gone. Don't have the time anymore to waste on a bad pit. Life is too short. Money can be replaced, Time cannot.

 

[Chrisk57]

I really hate you are having issues. I too wish they were made in the USA but not much is anymore unfortunately. One reason I bought is they are a Georgia Company and I live maybe 3 hours away.
I have had a couple of small problems, they have always helped me quickly. I called Friday about an issue with the notifications and the temperature log, the guy I was talking to told me he would have a tech guy call me, the tech guy called me while I was still on the phone with the customer service guy.
My issue was that while cooking a brisket my temp chart disappeared, no big deal at the point it did as I saw the stall, but it should not have vanished.
He told me to adjust the refresh rate in the temp chart, upper right for longer cooks to maybe 15 minute intervals rather than 5 second intervals, they had too many data points on long cooks causing issues .

I sincerly hope it gets working and you have some stress free cooking!

I’m having the same issue on my first long burn, glad I found this.

 

[zhuskers1]

Check out Lone Star Grillz. They just came out with 2 pellet smokers.
Their pits are built like tanks.

Thank you for this post. On my list!!

No longer considering Rec Tec based on this thread - quality and Made in Communist China.
Thanks to all for this enlightening information.

 

[Grilltreats]

Life's little hiccups...Yoder's are not immune either and I read many reports of issues with those as well. One big one being rust issues. I am certain the electronics and steel for those comes from China as well. So...get what you want. I certainly would not swap my Recteqs for Yoder's...No way. I dislike sanding and painting a lot.

 

[Lilbullowner]

I'm hoping my experience isn't typical, but thought I'd share what I've dealt with thus far:

Ordered the RT-700, folding shelf, extra interior shelf, comp cart, and cover. Received it this past tuesday. Finally got everything together friday and the first problem was that there weren't any screws included to affix the the cover plate to the inspection window on the comp cart. No biggie, called and some are supposed to be on the way. Next... got ready to do the initial burn in and... BAM... circuit blew. Hmm.... looked everything over, didn't see anything wrong inside or out. Called again, rep was telling me things to help trouble shoot the issue, but no joy. Was finally able to diagnose it myself. The interior light wires were pinched somewhere between the pellet hopper and auger area causing a dead short. The reason I know this is because I had the light switch in the off position, was able to reset my circuit breaker and the unit came on. I then pushed the light switch and BAM.... there went the breaker. Called Recteq back, told them what I found and am supposed to be receiving a new light/harness. I've been reading as much as I can in the forums, and for the most part these smokers seem to be pretty good, but, had I known where they were made, I might have gone a different route as I do believe in "Made In America". For the $2K I've spent on the equipment I have, I'd have expected better quality control.

The only issue I had with RT-700 was the extra interior shelf and bottom shelf was bent a bit. Also the door on the smoker box didn't close right. They sent me all the parts & everything is fine now....well, I do sell have connectivity issues. I go through the proccess to connect wifi & it doesn't connect. Bummer.

 

[Lilbullowner]

Thank you for this post. On my list!!

No longer considering Rec Tec based on this thread - quality and Made in Communist China.
Thanks to all for this enlightening information.

Really?? The issue he referred to was fixed.
Practically everything is made in China these days, who cares. Get a Treager made in USA. I'm finding "made in USA" is more expensive & no better than China products that are cheaper. Go ahead and waste your money for the "made in usa" cause. I review product & get the best for the money.
I'm not a leftwing democommie, by far, but I also never get caught up in "if it's not made in USA I'm not buying".

 

[Lilbullowner]

I was just about ready to order a 700. Based on this info, I think I will reconsider a Yoder from my LOCAL dealer

You think because you buy "LOCAL" you'll have a more premium product? The only benefit you'll have is being able to drive to the dealer for a refund.

 

[jfjohn77]

Really?? The issue he referred to was fixed.
Practically everything is made in China these days, who cares. Get a Treager made in USA. I'm finding "made in USA" is more expensive & no better than China products that are cheaper. Go ahead and waste your money for the "made in usa" cause. I review product & get the best for the money.
I'm not a leftwing democommie, by far, but I also never get caught up in "if it's not made in USA I'm not buying".

I had this issue also. Keep trying over and over. Finally I got a separate Gmail account, used that to set it up and have not had an issue since. Go figure??? I don't understand, but it worked for me.

 

[well digger]

I'm hoping my experience isn't typical, but thought I'd share what I've dealt with thus far:

Ordered the RT-700, folding shelf, extra interior shelf, comp cart, and cover. Received it this past tuesday. Finally got everything together friday and the first problem was that there weren't any screws included to affix the the cover plate to the inspection window on the comp cart. No biggie, called and some are supposed to be on the way. Next... got ready to do the initial burn in and... BAM... circuit blew. Hmm.... looked everything over, didn't see anything wrong inside or out. Called again, rep was telling me things to help trouble shoot the issue, but no joy. Was finally able to diagnose it myself. The interior light wires were pinched somewhere between the pellet hopper and auger area causing a dead short. The reason I know this is because I had the light switch in the off position, was able to reset my circuit breaker and the unit came on. I then pushed the light switch and BAM.... there went the breaker. Called Recteq back, told them what I found and am supposed to be receiving a new light/harness. I've been reading as much as I can in the forums, and for the most part these smokers seem to be pretty good, but, had I known where they were made, I might have gone a different route as I do believe in "Made In America". For the $2K I've spent on the equipment I have, I'd have expected better quality control.

dont get to comfortable toejam. probably more issues to come. if you start blowing breakers again ( which most people have ) make sure your not plugged into a GFI breaker. for some reason alot of response has made of this. i have the same problem, i cant run my bull off of a Gfi breaker. i had the same problem when i got two of my smokers as far as missing parts or parts not connected or attached all the way. there should be a law about claiming to be made in the USA when all the manufactures have to do is assemble the built in china then put together here. Recteq isnt the same as they were 3 or 4 years ago. for that reason ive just bought a Camp Chef. i figured if i have to spend so much time fixing what Recteq just sold me and fix future problems, what the hell i might just as well buy something cheaper as most of these smokers arent built to last more than 5 years anyway. the biggest gripe i have is when you call them about a problem and the first thing they ask is, " are you in front of your grill". hell no im at work so i can pay for this thing. with 3 hours time difference its tough to tell your boss, i have to go home about 1:00 so i can call my smoker guy and get my smoker working. im only venting cause ive bought 4 smokers from Recteq and for the price they should be alot better and trying to talk to someone after 8:00 their time would really be helpful.
good luck