Sealion
Active member
Thank you all for the thoughtful insights! Great discussion and I will go for the RT-590.
Now I have to research the grill grates....
Now I have to research the grill grates....
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
Now I have to research the grill grates....
I wish I could say the same for briskets. I still have to use my stick burner to get the smoke flavor I'm after and that the people that eat it like.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 resemble that last remark!I never relied on a notification telling me when my cook is done. I'm way to OCD to do that LOL.
For what it's worth, I bought the grill grates when I got my 590 last year. I've used them once.Thank you all for the thoughtful insights! Great discussion and I will go for the RT-590.
Now I have to research the grill grates....
I agree with everything you said right up until the end. It's not always convenient to be manually checking temperatures. A great example is when I do longer overnight cooks and need an alarm to wake me to wrap or remove at a set temperature. I can hear the other keyboard commandos firing up their keyboards to tell me to spend more money and buy a 3rd party device but that's not the point. The point is that I shouldn't have to. The device I already paid good money for should do this for me since it was in the looong list of features they sold me on to buy it in the first place. You're right though, this is amateur hour in terms of what RT is doing with this app experience.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 agree with everything you said right up until the end. It's not always convenient to be manually checking temperatures. A great example is when I do longer overnight cooks and need an alarm to wake me to wrap or remove at a set temperature. I can hear the other keyboard commandos firing up their keyboards to tell me to spend more money and buy a 3rd party device but that's not the point. The point is that I shouldn't have to. The device I already paid good money for should do this for me since it was in the looong list of features they sold me on to buy it in the first place. You're right though, this is amateur hour in terms of what RT is doing with this app experience.
For those that tried to blame people's home WiFi, I've got the latest Ubiquiti UniFi gear with pro-sumer access points all over and 100% easily to both the smoker location and anywhere I'm using my mobile phone. That problem isn't on my end and that I can guarantee you.
For me, if I had to do over again and knowing what I know now, I wouldn't buy another one.
It was pure bliss on the front end and I was sold after much research and plenty of experience with past smokers. I even brought RT a lot of business from my recommendation based on my personal experience. Shortly after the honeymoon phase though RT dropped the ball on customer support in terms of their app in a big way. Not sure why people insist on separating customer service from the yugely broken app because they are one and the same. RT just needs to fix it. No more excuses. It just needs to work.
I also prefer stick burner smoke. I keep my 1250 at 225 the entire time and have been toying with smoke tubes with chips and pellets. Last cook I put hickory chunks on the cast iron heat diffuser. That seems to get decent results.I wish I could say the same for briskets. I still have to use my stick burner to get the smoke flavor I'm after and that the people that eat it like.
How many hickory chunks are you using and what size approx? That’s a good idea, hickory or mesquite will sure add the smoke, just wondering what a good amount is so it doesn’t flame upI also prefer stick burner smoke. I keep my 1250 at 225 the entire time and have been toying with smoke tubes with chips and pellets. Last cook I put hickory chunks on the cast iron heat diffuser. That seems to get decent results.
Poor horsey
I guess his I'm already dead alarm didn't go off.Poor horsey
I keep them about a 1/2 inch in from sides. You should see slight discoloration on diffuser that indicates where the heat is concentrated. I fit what I can into that area, the big limiting factor is the gap between diffuser and the drip pan. It isn't much. At 225 you may still find some of it didn't smolder, let alone flame up.How many hickory chunks are you using and what size approx? That’s a good idea, hickory or mesquite will sure add the smoke, just wondering what a good amount is so it doesn’t flame up
I've tried those and it wasn't enough for me. I'm used to 3 logs going for 18+ hours.I also prefer stick burner smoke. I keep my 1250 at 225 the entire time and have been toying with smoke tubes with chips and pellets. Last cook I put hickory chunks on the cast iron heat diffuser. That seems to get decent results.
As far as the reviews, it's pretty standard for websites to show positive feedback to encourage shoppers to buy. However, I agree with you that in this case, it's a bit deceptive as it gives the appearance of inclusion of all reviews. I've submitted a three-star review for the RT-700 (on the basis of the subpar app, and to test your theory). We'll see if it shows up. TBH, if the worst thing they do is not show bad reviews on their website, I'd say they're doing pretty well. It's not ideal from our perspective, and I appreciate that it takes away from their credibility, but from their perspective many of the reviews are probably unfair/misleading, and ultimately their website is a marketing tool to sell products, not a place to show unfiltered complaints.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.