Bull Any luck on 2.5 Auger for 2022 with Recteq?

[Strider]

Yo! Curious if anyone has luck working with Recteq on a motor upgrade for their 700 since they launched the 1250?

Last year I called and emailed back and forth with their customer service as getting to 400 takes 30-40 minutes and it never goes higher than 450’ish. SUPER disappointing when I paid roughly $1500 for THE smoker on the market. I use in the summer to do pizzas as the house is too hot.

Recteq had me take photos of the grill, ports, airflow and also ensure I used hickory pellets. It still takes forever vs. the 1250 2.5 auger setup. 30-40 minutes. Honestly, if I am cooking something and want a sear, A) The food gets cold in 30 minutes and B) it doesn’t sear as riot mode doesn’t get as hot as they claim. Please correct me if I am wrong. I tried doing smash burgers and was so disappointed with the amount of $ I spent.

I’ve read back over the huge post on auger upgrade and know their our 3rd party options. Just seeing if anyone has had luck with Recteq.

Cheers!

*Disclaimer: Yes, I do like the build, quality, low and slow and service, but with this issue I have hit a frustrating wall. I am actually buying a char-Griller 980 charcoal gravity fed smoker as an alternative. That thing cranks to 700 degrees no problem in 10-15 minutes.

 

[sdynak]

I know I have seen at least one person get the 3 RPM for the 700 for these reasons. I would just keep on them and showing your times and ask them for an upgrade.

 

[Strider]

I know I have seen at least one person get the 3 RPM for the 700 for these reasons. I would just keep on them and showing your times and ask them for an upgrade.

Thank you sir! I think I will now that the 1250 has launched and summer is around the corner. Too hot to use our oven.

Appreciate the info!

 

[sdynak]

I can say the 3 RPM has worked very well for me (got from another member that bought it when they still sold it and he never used it). Only concern I have is I have not used it in warm months yet. Time will tell..

Good luck with that and the gravity feed.. If I didn't have the Kettle I'd be all over that thing.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

I can say the 3 RPM has worked very well for me (got from another member that bought it when they still sold it and he never used it). Only concern I have is I have not used it in warm months yet. Time will tell..

Good luck with that and the gravity feed.. If I didn't have the Kettle I'd be all over that thing.

I have the 3 RPM motor as well. It’s my understanding that this is the same auger motor that the the 1250 uses, although that controller has different firmware. Regardless, the temps on my modified 700 are sometimes a bit off (+/-15 degrees or so on my Signals unit), but it hasn’t negatively affected any cooks yet.

If you could find a good quality 2.5 RPM motor that fits, it might work even better than the 3 RPM motor, because @Jigsaw has found that the stock motor to be closer to 1.6 RPM than the supposed 2.0 RPM.
To my knowledge, Recteq has never offered a 2.5 RPM motor.

 

[Strider]

Wow! Ok! I emailed Recteq back from a previous email explaining everything I had done, was polite and professional and they called back in 1 hour. They reviewed and mentioned that every once in a while a grill could have an issue and sent me a replacement auger! The one I needed too.

What a great company! Phew! Now it is a $1500 smoker!

Thanks for the advice all!

 

[sdynak]

Wow! Ok! I emailed Recteq back from a previous email explaining everything I had done, was polite and professional and they called back in 1 hour. They reviewed and mentioned that every once in a while a grill could have an issue and sent me a replacement auger! The one I needed too.

What a great company! Phew! Now it is a $1500 smoker!

Thanks for the advice all!

There you go.. never give up ..

Now share all those beautiful cooks you have planned with your newfound smoker!

 

[BNeal]

Wow! Ok! I emailed Recteq back from a previous email explaining everything I had done, was polite and professional and they called back in 1 hour. They reviewed and mentioned that every once in a while a grill could have an issue and sent me a replacement auger! The one I needed too.

What a great company! Phew! Now it is a $1500 smoker!

Thanks for the advice all!

Just love a great ending!! Congrats, bro!

 

[hogan1953]

That’s interesting. I called RecTeq last week asking for the bigger motor and despite some firm but polite pressure on my part, they stuck to the storyline that the larger motor was “exclusive to the other models” and they refused to sell me one for my 700. I was on the phone with them for at least 15 minutes and they wouldn’t budge.

 

[Strider]

There you go.. never give up ..

Now share all those beautiful cooks you have planned with your newfound smoker!

You were right! As long as you are persistent, polite and kind, seems like they’ll work with you if you try all of their suggestions.

That’s interesting. I called RecTeq last week asking for the bigger motor and despite some firm but polite pressure on my part, they stuck to the storyline that the larger motor was “exclusive to the other models” and they refused to sell me one for my 700. I was on the phone with them for at least 15 minutes and they wouldn’t budge.

Follow through with their suggestions, keep being polite, professional and persistent. It took my 6-8 months, quite a few emails, some testing and this last email today. Hope that works for ya Hogan!

 

[hogan1953]

Thanks! Like another poster here, I haven’t used my grill yet in warmer months up here in Wisconsin. If long heat up times persist in warmer weather, I’ll have more ammo to persuade them.

 

[sdynak]

Thanks! Like another poster here, I haven’t used my grill yet in warmer months up here in Wisconsin. If long heat up times persist in warmer weather, I’ll have more ammo to persuade them.

I think you have a case with cold temps as it is.. take the approach that it is not what you expected and are displeased. Not that you just want to purchase a motor. Document your temps and how long it takes. I would say if you take this approach it just might get through but as @Strider says keep it professional and calm.

I would get on the phone.. not just an e-mail (do both as backup). Try multiple times but not one after another to avoid being a pest and you just might get someone that cares. Let them know how long this has been going on and you just want a smoker to be useful for all situations.

Write down your story before you call them.. well points at least so you don't fumble on a call. Stick to you guns but not being annoying. Let them know you love it otherwise.

Good luck!

 

[NinoRT700]

I can say the 3 RPM has worked very well for me (got from another member that bought it when they still sold it and he never used it). Only concern I have is I have not used it in warm months yet. Time will tell..

I have the 3 rpm for almost as long as i have the 700. It Was a pretty quick upgrade after seeing how long it took to get to high temps.
But in hotter temps (95*) i had to work a little more to keep lower temps. Like putting feed rate on 1.0 to get a Lo temp and 1.5 to stay steady from 225-275 then 2.0 for 275+
Colder like now i have to work starting from 2.0 to get 180 and upto 3.0 for higher.
Can be annoying but got used to it.
Im guessing the new firmware would help fix that if we could get it

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I think the 2.5 rpm should be about right for a 700. I had been searching for a 2.5 rpm motor, but the pandemic seems to have stalled the availability of them. I didn't want to go with a 3 rpm, because most of my use is from 180 to 275F. But the 2.5 should be able to run stable down there. When I want to grill something, my instinct is to just fire up the charcoal or gasser. So, I may just stick with the OEM 700 motor.

 

[C. Keeper]

I think the 2.5 rpm should be about right for a 700. I had been searching for a 2.5 rpm motor, but the pandemic seems to have stalled the availability of them. I didn't want to go with a 3 rpm, because most of my use is from 180 to 275F. But the 2.5 should be able to run stable down there. When I want to grill something, my instinct is to just fire up the charcoal or gasser. So, I may just stick with the OEM 700 motor.

More than likely, a true 2 RPM would be an improvement.

 

[kstone113]

I was stalking this page as it was posted on the other thread:
https://www.savannahstoker.com/products/traeger-2-5-rpm-replacement-auger-motor

But they have been out of stock since November. I've emailed the company twice and never heard back. I'm assuming they went out of business or something?

I do plan to talk to RecTeq about using the 1250 auger motor in my 700. I mostly use my Bull for smoking so the startup time which is slow isn't a huge deal however I would like the faster times for Pizza and stuff in the summer.

Since the 1250 has been out for almost a year, hoping they will sell the auger motor to me.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

More than likely, a true 2 RPM would be an improvement.

So, are ours 1.6 rpm motors?

 

[C. Keeper]

So, are ours 1.6 rpm motors?

Yes

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Looks like the usual ebay sellers have the 2 rpm motors back in stock.

 

[sdynak]

So I just took my factory Bull auger motor and plugged directly into the harness and turned on the auger motor test and timed the revolutions.

Here was the 1st cycle.. about 7 seconds short of 2 RPM

Here is the time it took to complete 2 full RPM’s

Based on this I’m with @Jigsaw