Bull Black soot on meat...[Solved!]

[Maxwell]

Hey all,
new to this forum. Hoping I can get some words of wisdom here.

I bought a RT700 not too long ago. Recently, I have been noticing my meat has a layer of black soot on it. I would take a clean paper towel and wipe the meat and black soot comes off the meat. I also notice a thin layer of black soot on the inside of the cooking drum. Also when I pick up my drip tray, it is completely black on the bottom side. Why would this be?

I clean out my firebox with a shopvac each time I finish cooking.
I also use the Rec Tec branded pellets they sell.
My cooks are around 225 - 250 degrees for low and slow.
From time to time I cook higher temps ( 300 - 400 degrees) for normal cooks.
Either way I cook, I still get the soot

What could be causing this? It's pretty nasty...

 

[bfletcher]

Hey, Max; welcome here. I have not experienced this but I seem to recall an older discussion on this topic but I'm not able to perform a search right now on older discussions. It's possible you might find some helpful detail if you're able to search some of the history. Of course, that is not to say you don't deserve some fresh feedback.

 

[Maxwell]

 

[Maxwell]

The fan goes on and off every 3-5 seconds. When the fan is on, the first picture with the short flames appear where burst of air travels in.
When the fan goes OFF, then the long yellow flames appear.
Could the long yellow flames be the reason for the soot buildup?
If so, is it normal for the fan to go on and off every 3 - 5 seconds?
My preset temp was at 250 degrees. Internal temps were hovering around there before opening it up.

 

[llbts1]

I was told it was normal for the fan to function like that. Mine will settle down after a while and run and then when it warms up it starts cycling on and off again. It initially concerned me also.

 

[Bif Hunkly]

Hey all,
new to this forum. Hoping I can get some words of wisdom here.

I bought a RT700 not too long ago. Recently, I have been noticing my meat has a layer of black soot on it. I would take a clean paper towel and wipe the meat and black soot comes off the meat. I also notice a thin layer of black soot on the inside of the cooking drum. Also when I pick up my drip tray, it is completely black on the bottom side. Why would this be?

I clean out my firebox with a shopvac each time I finish cooking.
I also use the Rec Tec branded pellets they sell.
My cooks are around 225 - 250 degrees for low and slow.
From time to time I cook higher temps ( 300 - 400 degrees) for normal cooks.
Either way I cook, I still get the soot

What could be causing this? It's pretty nasty...

Do you spritz your meat at all or put a water pan in with it?

 

[Maxwell]

I was told it was normal for the fan to function like that. Mine will settle down after a while and run and then when it warms up it starts cycling on and off again. It initially concerned me also.

OK but If you swipe your finger on the meat or better yet after a cook, if you swipe your finger on the bottom of your drip pan or bottom of your heat deflector, does it turn pure black? Mine does... literally pure black soot rubs off onto my fingers. how about you?

 

[Maxwell]

Do you spritz your meat at all or put a water pan in with it?

Yes i spritz as well as use water pans. I assure you, that spritzing or water pan is not the issue.
see below image. This is a picture of my heat deflector after 1 cook. That black soot on the paper towel is what I am talking about. That stuff is getting on my food. The entire inside of my cooker/drum has that soot covered everywhere.

 

[Gonefishin]

I get some soot on the heat deflector and on the insides grill but I've not noticed it on the meat. Of course with all the seasoning on the meat and the way it turns dark after 6+ hours I may just not notice it.

I don't think you could take wood from raw to ash and not get some soot. I'll have to fire up the grill and watch the flame to see if it reacts to the fan the same as your pics show.

 

[Gonefishin]

Just tried my 340. I have mostly brown soot on the heat exchanger with a little black on the heat exchanger and the grease pan. The inside smoker body has none if I run my finger over it, it does accumulate some grease or creosote that flakes off.

Here's the pics.

The 1st is the brown soot after 6 hrs @225. The top of it had more like half burnt dust on it.
The 2nd is the fan is on when it is doing the 5 second or so cycling to hold temp.
The 3rd is the fan off during the cycling
The 4th is when the temp went way too high and the fan stayed off for a bit.

It doesn't hold temp very well with no guts in it.

I had a much higher flame (#4) when there was a buildup of pellets in the fire box.

 

[Bif Hunkly]

Yes i spritz as well as use water pans. I assure you, that spritzing or water pan is not the issue.
see below image. This is a picture of my heat deflector after 1 cook. That black soot on the paper towel is what I am talking about. That stuff is getting on my food. The entire inside of my cooker/drum has that soot covered everywhere.

I asked because I read that too much moisture/humidity can create a "black rain" that covers everything in soot.

 

[Maxwell]

Just tried my 340. I have mostly brown soot on the heat exchanger with a little black on the heat exchanger and the grease pan. The inside smoker body has none if I run my finger over it, it does accumulate some grease or creosote that flakes off.

Here's the pics.

The 1st is the brown soot after 6 hrs @225. The top of it had more like half burnt dust on it.
The 2nd is the fan is on when it is doing the 5 second or so cycling to hold temp.
The 3rd is the fan off during the cycling
The 4th is when the temp went way too high and the fan stayed off for a bit.

It doesn't hold temp very well with no guts in it.

I had a much higher flame (#4) when there was a buildup of pellets in the fire box.

View attachment 6663View attachment 6664View attachment 6665View attachment 6666

Your heat deflector doesn't have that soot buildup like mine. And that black soot covers every inch of the inside cooking drum...not just the under the deflector or drip pan. Also yours looks normal, brownish even.
Mine is pure black as you can see from the paper towel. That black stuff is all over my food. Yuck grey chicken or black beef. My other Kamado smoker produces golden brown chicken and nice mahogany/brown bark on my brisket.

 

[Maxwell]

I asked because I read that too much moisture/humidity can create a "black rain" that covers everything in soot.

Yes I know about "black rain". I had that happen to me on my other smoker, but having experience just that, I can say with confidence that it is not "black rain". I didn't spritz or use a water pan for my last cook.

 

[charlesrshell]

Maybe a bad batch of pellets. See what RT has to say about the issue.

 

[Bif Hunkly]

Maybe a bad batch of pellets. See what RT has to say about the issue.

Yep, they are the ones I'd ask.

 

[Gonefishin]

I was thinking too many pellets in the fire box but I've only seen a minimum auger speed setting.

 

[Greg Jones]

I was thinking too many pellets in the fire box but I've only seen a minimum auger speed setting.

The auger speed is not variable, it is fixed.

 

[Mastertech59]

Possibly a lazy fan but I would tend to agree with the bad pellets mentioned earlier even if there recteq brand, try some different pellets.

 

[Fhughes]

Makes me wonder if the flue cap is restricting airflow

 

[Maxwell]

Thanks for the replies. I have used new Trager pellets also recently with same sooty outcome. I don't think it is the pellets.

I did get a chance to talk to the RT customer service. He told me to do a test cook without covering my drip tray with tin foil. Unfortunately, that did not help. see attached images of my test run (before/after)
Cook @250 degrees - for 5 hours. Never opened the grill once during the test cook.
The inside drum also has that nasty soot all over as well. Please tell me this is not normal.