Alarm settings in App?

[KSM]

I recently purchased a flagship 1100 and have done 7 or 8 smokes in the past 2 months or so. Im not sure but I seem to remember you could set some form of alarm notification should the pit temp change significantly from your desired target temps (which was great for getting a bit of peace of mind for leaving the pit unattended all night long should something go wrong and temps get out of control). Now I am looking at the App and cant find that feature and beginning to wonder if that was just on my aftermarket probe set or if the Recteq had that feature as well (other than temp 50 degrees below target) and I just don't know how to find it and set it in the App. If such a feature exists or one can set probe upper and lower temp. Alarm notifications, I would appreciate a tutorial as I cant find it in the user manual.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I recently purchased a flagship 1100 and have done 7 or 8 smokes in the past 2 months or so. Im not sure but I seem to remember you could set some form of alarm notification should the pit temp change significantly from your desired target temps…

You are correct. The App does it based on the temp you select for the unit. If it drops or rises about 5F-10F from your setting it will alert you. Now the challenge is which alert you select. In iOS (Settings-Notifications) the alert can be “persistent” and stay on you screen, not-persistent and leave the screen after about 5 seconds, or off. You can also select an accompanying sound to play with it sends the alert. Be cautious when you select the sound as I noticed if it isn’t an Apple default sound, it may not work. I have a bunch of customer ringers and it has been it or miss with my experimenting. Another observation is that it will not send notifications if the RT servers are overwhelmed with traffic. For that reason, many of us have a 3rd party thermometer to rely on. Just my thoughts.

 

[KSM]

You are correct. The App does it based on the temp you select for the unit. If it drops or rises about 5F-10F from your setting it will alert you. Now the challenge is which alert you select. In iOS (Settings-Notifications) the alert can be “persistent” and stay on you screen, not-persistent and leave the screen after about 5 seconds, or off. You can also select an accompanying sound to play with it sends the alert. Be cautious when you select the sound as I noticed if it isn’t an Apple default sound, it may not work. I have a bunch of customer ringers and it has been it or miss with my experimenting. Another observation is that it will not send notifications if the RT servers are overwhelmed with traffic. For that reason, many of us have a 3rd party thermometer to rely on. Just my thoughts.

Thank you SmokeZilla; So if I understand correctly, there is no setting in the App that I have to activate and set the upper and lower alarm limits as its done automatically (just be mindful of the alarm tone selected). It must have been my third party thermometer set that I had used previously where I had the options of controlling alarm settings. I am disappointed to read that Recteq has not really addressed their server bandwidth/capacity issues after all these years. Looking back at some of the posts from some years back this has been an ongoing issue. Why incorporate a feature if you are not going to fully stand behind it??? Thanks again.

 

[Motodad1776]

I don't like that I cannot select my own audible alert tone and that the default doesn't continuously alarm, and now my 2 RT probes are on the fritz and acting very bizarre. I am using my external today for the 5 pound butt, actually that is what I have been using since both my RT probes are possessed by demons.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I don't like that I cannot select my own audible alert tone and that the default doesn't continuously alarm, and now my 2 RT probes are on the fritz and acting very bizarre. I am using my external today for the 5 pound butt, actually that is what I have been using since both my RT probes are possessed by demons.

Moto…
It has been posted several times that when probe problems occur, check the nuts where you insert the probes on you RT to make sure they are tight. If loose, the probe(s) won’t fully connect to the controller causing intermittent problems. Another thing to check is never, never, ever, fully submerse the probe tips where the wire and probe meet. That is an instant disaster as there is no IP rating at the connection point. If they did get submerged or left in a sink with water running you can try using a propane torch to gently “dry” the connection and they might come back to life. Let us know what you find out.

 

[Motodad1776]

Yeah I many have gotten the probes wet a few times like you mentioned. The well nuts are tight on the controller, something I have always kept an eye on since ownership. I may order up some more from RT or see what aftermarket probes are better and will work with my 590. Thanks for the good info.

 

[SmokeZilla]

Yeah I many have gotten the probes wet a few times like you mentioned. The well nuts are tight on the controller, something I have always kept an eye on since ownership. I may order up some more from RT or see what aftermarket probes are better and will work with my 590. Thanks for the good info.

Moto…,

FYI, if you catch the RT reps on a good day they have been known to replace probes for free depending on the circumstances.

 

[KSM]

I don't like that I cannot select my own audible alert tone and that the default doesn't continuously alarm, and now my 2 RT probes are on the fritz and acting very bizarre. I am using my external today for the 5 pound butt, actually that is what I have been using since both my RT probes are possessed by demons.

What a pain - I was hoping to use my third party device as a backup - now I need a backup for my backup. Calling Recteq, this is not rocket science - get more bandwidth and spend a few bucks fixing the alarm issues.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Calling Recteq, this is not rocket science - get more bandwidth and spend a few bucks fixing the alarm issues.

You git 'em!!!!!
3rd party remote is #1
Thermapen is #2
Recteq probes are just for fun... I don't think anyone relies on accuracy or notifications from Recteq.
Yes, it would be nice....

PS - I think there is a consensus that bandwidth IS the alarm issue. Well, there's CPU bandwidth and Internet bandwidth. Let's not get too geeky - although I would enjoy that.

 

[Jim6820]

You git 'em!!!!!
3rd party remote is #1
Thermapen is #2
Recteq probes are just for fun... I don't think anyone relies on accuracy or notifications from Recteq.
Yes, it would be nice....

PS - I think there is a consensus that bandwidth IS the alarm issue. Well, there's CPU bandwidth and Internet bandwidth. Let's not get too geeky - although I would enjoy that.

And, if the “3rd party remote is a ThermoWorks Signals, the Thermapen will just get used for steaks, burgers and chicken. No “backup” required.

 

[SmokeZilla]

And, if the “3rd party remote is a ThermoWorks Signals, the Thermapen will just get used for steaks, burgers and chicken. No “backup” required.

Jim6820 is correct. I use the Signals as my primary, the Smoke as by traveling backup, the iQ as my rotisserie primary with the MEATER Block as its backup. I also have the Thermopro T19 for instant read and their ThermoPro TP710 to back that up. I have a drawer full of additional probes from many others (inkBird, Enzoo, etc.) that were sent to me for demo and testing purposes that I give away during private cooking sessions to reduce cluttter. But in the end, 1 primary and 1 back up 4 probe accompanied by 1 instant read should suffice for most people. If I am having a party for 40 or more or on a long camping trip with a lot of families that require multiple cooking devices, I may go a little heavier, YMMV.

Edit: The pics show some of the stuff I haven’t gotten around to repurposing but have working versions of each, lol.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Don't let @SmokeZilla 's throwaways get you down. Smoke is my #1 thermometer, but in lime green. And a yellow thermapen.

 

[Greg Jones]

Don’t sleep on the FireBoard stuff. ThermoWorks is excellent (I own far too many of them), and also excellent are the FireBoard products. Also made here in the USA

 

[SmokeZilla]

I looked at the Firebird Spark and was very interested until I noticed it has a rechargeable battery. My favorite instant reads are battery powered only. It is fairly easy to access charging solutions but when it comes to long cooks, my money is on good old AA and AAAs. If you are looking for an economical solution for a combo probe that is extremely portable, try the ThermoPro TP710. It has a probe and the instant read. When you switch modes it does not break the cook’s history so you can actually save your cooking profiles. I like this unit when I am camping and cooking simple things but want status reminders when the cook is complete.

Link: https://buythermopro.com/product/thermopro-tp710/

Edit: I’m not against the investment for the more expensive devices but after you’ve dropped them, crushed them, and left them behind, you pick your road tools accordingly.

 

[Greg Jones]

I own an instant read Spark, very happy with it, as well as I am with the Thermapen, but my mistake is that I thought we were discussing wired thermometers in the same category as the TW Smoke & Signals.

 

[Grilltreats]

I recently purchased a flagship 1100 and have done 7 or 8 smokes in the past 2 months or so. Im not sure but I seem to remember you could set some form of alarm notification should the pit temp change significantly from your desired target temps (which was great for getting a bit of peace of mind for leaving the pit unattended all night long should something go wrong and temps get out of control). Now I am looking at the App and cant find that feature and beginning to wonder if that was just on my aftermarket probe set or if the Recteq had that feature as well (other than temp 50 degrees below target) and I just don't know how to find it and set it in the App. If such a feature exists or one can set probe upper and lower temp. Alarm notifications, I would appreciate a tutorial as I cant find it in the user manual.

It used to be awesome. You could set the alarm temp to whatever you wished it to be. I always set mine to 5° and that would give me plenty of time to advert a disaster on overnight cooks. Then they went to a fixed 15° alarm with no say from the end-user. Now I have no idea if there is an alarm or not. The App has become very unreliable over the years anyway. I'd be scared to trust it on an overnight cook now. The alarm notifications are very unreliable, and they put a lot of extra junk like grill is heating up and grill almost at temp crap in there. It's very annoying. I can't believe these are people who actually grill creating this app. I say let's cut out the fluff and get back to our grilling needs.

 

[SmokeOCD]

If it lights, and you top it off with pellets before bed - no notifications needed really. I just ran a brisket overnight with no monitoring of any kind. Slept like a baby, no worries. Got out there this morning and wrapped the brisket. Still haven't topped off the pellets, it's been running over 15 hours.

 

[Motodad1776]

Anyone else get an app survey in their email from Recteq? I filled mine out, did the ranking and gave a response on what the issues are and what I want in the app.

 

[Waterboy]

Anyone else get an app survey in their email from Recteq? I filled mine out, did the ranking and gave a response on what the issues are and what I want in the app.

I got a survey in my email yesterday. I ran out of room on a couple of “What can we do to improve” comment boxes.

 

[RattleR]

Meh, got one a while back. My vacuum sealing just a few minutes ago was much more productive and satisfying.