Stampede Build quality 590 vs 340

[SmokeyJoe]

Hi everyone,

I need a little help. I originally purchased a 340 from Rec Tec, it had quite a few issues. I’m swapping it out for a 590, but I’m concerned because ive read a few people mention build quality, heating issues, and grease dripping from the bottom (I had a similar issue with the 340). Can someone tell me if it’s the same quality/gauge stainless steel as on the 340, or if the 590 has any of these other issues?

Thanks In advance for all your help!

 

[sweetride95]

I've had a 590 3-4 month now. Have been very happy with it.

No heating issues. Sometimes my grill is slow to start (10ish minutes), but after talking with CS, it's normal for slow starts if you have some ash left in your pot from a previous cook. It shrouds the igniter, making the fresh fed pellets slow to take off. It's a little annoying, but never fails to start.

I have not had any grease issues. Any and all grease that's caught on the tray finds its way to the side channel and down into the bucket. Where/how were you getting grease into the bottom of your grill?

 

[SmokeyJoe]

There are only spot welds and they didn’t apply the high temp caulk from the factory. I’m still not sure how Greene made it down there. Also had two wires reversed causing a ton of electrical issues that two new controllers didn’t fix.

The 10 minute start thing is going to be annoying. The 340 started within 5 minutes and got up to 597 degrees, it was just too small and I had too many issues.

Is the barrel made of the same 304 ss? Or do they use a thinner material than the 340?

 

[sweetride95]

I will have to watch for grease drooling down on the inside. It'll never be clean enough to silicone it now.

The barrel is made of a decent gage 304. I haven't seen a 340 in person to compare to. The grill itself feels fairly substantial when you do roll it around or wiggle test it with the handle.

The startup stuff might be the Lumber Jack pellets I use. The 10ish minutes is the worse it's been. 5 minutes the average. I still have some experimenting to do. I haven't heard of anyone else with my experience. I'm not going to clean the pot after every cook. What I have observed so far though..... I noticed after a cook, my grill smokes for 20-30 minutes after shutdown. Afterwards, inspecting the fire pot, all of the pellets that were fed on the auger cycle were charred up. This leaves a decent amount of ash in the pot because the fan isn't running. That crowds the igniter, slowing the restart. Lowering the grill temp to 250 before shutdown hasn't made any difference. That is actually more annoying than the startup because it takes forever to the grill to cool 400 down to 250.

I have to get another call into CS this week. If anyone has had similar experience please provide some feedback.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

Thanks! Seriously appreciate the feedback. It’s a hell of a lot of money to be acting up so quickly, but their customer service is beyond reproach. I’ll let you know how mine is acting when I get it.

 

[sweetride95]

Sounds good Smokey, If customer service straightens me out this week, I'll post our findings.

 

[Bytor]

I have had my 340 for about 6 months now and have had no issues with it. The right side of the pit burns a little hotter than the left, but that hasn't ruined cooks any. Initially did have grease issue on the right side,but noticed it was coming from the grease trough. I scrape with a putty knife every few cooks and all has been well.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

Awesome! Yeah, I had a boatload of issues that mostly boiled down to two flipped wires in the wiring harness. I had to pull the one way connectors and reorient them so the wires would line up. Fixed most of the problems, but then the grease was another issue. I caulked it, and somehow still had grease dripping out From somewhere. I loved that little smoker despite all the issues, I just also wanted something a bit bigger, so I’m paying the difference and swapping it out for the 590. Again, huge shoutout to Rec Tec. they went above and beyond to make this right.

Side note, mine ran about 25 degrees hotter on the right. How much hotter is yours?

 

[Mastertech59]

None of RecTec Grills barrels are made of 304 stainless steel it's a lesser grade of stainless steel I'm thinking 430 which is a Ferritic stainless steel and can rust if not taken care of. With all this being said RecTec Grills are a good bang for the buck and the company service is the best it gets.

 

[sweetride95]

The right rear corner of mine runs about 25-30 degrees hot too. I mindfully rotate ribs or swap sides if I'm doing a pair of butts. I don't worry about it while grilling because I'm naturally moving things around based on how their cooking.
My traeger was hot in the right rear too, it must be a functional thing.

 

[ModernRec]

Hi everyone,

I need a little help. I originally purchased a 340 from Rec Tec, it had quite a few issues. I’m swapping it out for a 590, but I’m concerned because ive read a few people mention build quality, heating issues, and grease dripping from the bottom (I had a similar issue with the 340). Can someone tell me if it’s the same quality/gauge stainless steel as on the 340, or if the 590 has any of these other issues?

Thanks In advance for all your help!

I haven't gotten one drip of grease below my drip pan. but i make sure nothing is placed on the grates that may hang over the drip pan also.

 

[ModernRec]

There are only spot welds and they didn’t apply the high temp caulk from the factory. I’m still not sure how Greene made it down there. Also had two wires reversed causing a ton of electrical issues that two new controllers didn’t fix.

The 10 minute start thing is going to be annoying. The 340 started within 5 minutes and got up to 597 degrees, it was just too small and I had too many issues.

Is the barrel made of the same 304 ss? Or do they use a thinner material than the 340?

Just curious, did you tell them "I want a new grill with no issues?" Just curious how they responded. There CS is great, but you shouldn't be trouble shooting and rewiring a new grill for the $ you spent on it.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

We got to that point, but only after multiple phone calls (like 10 in a week) and I had to insist on a new one before a manager got involved. From there it was relatively smooth sailing. I tried a few more things, but the problems never fully resolved. They let me pay the difference to upgrade and threw in a few items (bag of pellets, vent cover, floor mat) to compensate me. It's a small company so I wasn't going to be unreasonable, but you're right: I should not have been having to troubleshoot or rewire the grill. I'm really hoping the 590 is a better experience. If not, then I gave it the old college try.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

The right rear corner of mine runs about 25-30 degrees hot too. I mindfully rotate ribs or swap sides if I'm doing a pair of butts. I don't worry about it while grilling because I'm naturally moving things around based on how their cooking.
My traeger was hot in the right rear too, it must be a functional thing.

Hey sweetride95, did you get your issues resolved? Mine is arriving today, so I'll report back my findings when I fire it up.

 

[sweetride95]

I have not been able to get a call in to them. Work has been crazy making tooling for ventilator parts. I have a 10lb belly cured up for bacon. I have to get it on the smoker friday. I hope to call them before I start that process. I'll report what they say. In the meantime, good luck with yours.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

I have not been able to get a call in to them. Work has been crazy making tooling for ventilator parts. I have a 10lb belly cured up for bacon. I have to get it on the smoker friday. I hope to call them before I start that process. I'll report what they say. In the meantime, good luck with yours.

I got the 590 started up. It's definitely slower to reach temperature than the 340, but it does get there. It was approximately 20 minutes to 250 for the first startup. I'll keep an eye on it, but it definitely took about 5 minutes to start fully ignite. This was in line with the 340 and what others have said they experience with their pellet grills.

My question is: do your handles have gaskets around them? The 340 had gaskets, but the 590 didn't come with any so the handles are warmer than the 340s were.

 

[sweetride95]

Once mine has started fully, it does take some time to warm up fully.
20 minutes to 250 sounds in line with mine.
I'm starting to think the slow-ish startup is normal for my grill. I plan to call CS tomorrow for a chat.
My doesn't have any gaskets on the handles.

 

[sweetride95]

Hey sweetride95, did you get your issues resolved? Mine is arriving today, so I'll report back my findings when I fire it up.

I talked to customer service today. I already had my grill running, so we couldn't check the fan. But we basically talked about startups and clean burn pots versus ashy ones. A clean pot always starts quicker than an ashy one. Since my grill always starts and runs dead nuts on temp, we're 99% sure the grill is fine.

Today I am finishing some belly bacon, so knowing im running for hours in extreme smoke mode, I vacuumed the pot out before starting. I threw in a handful of pellets before reassembling everything. It started smoking in no time, and was actually running in just a couple minutes. It's since been running +/- 3F for the last 4 hours.

Perhaps my extended startups have been on the third or fourth cook. Lots of ash shrouding the igniter wild definitely slow lighting. I will not likely vacuum after every cook, but will try to be more attentive to it.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I clean every grill I own after each use. My Kamado, my Kettles, my WSMs, and definitely my Rec Tec.

I always start a cook with a clean fire pot or fire bowl, and all ash vacuumed from the cooking chamber. And a freshly foiled drip pan.

I have never had a problem with my Rec Tec starting up.

 

[SmokeyJoe]

I talked to customer service today. I already had my grill running, so we couldn't check the fan. But we basically talked about startups and clean burn pots versus ashy ones. A clean pot always starts quicker than an ashy one. Since my grill always starts and runs dead nuts on temp, we're 99% sure the grill is fine.Today I am finishing some belly bacon, so knowing im running for hours in extreme smoke mode, I vacuumed the pot out before starting. I threw in a handful of pellets before reassembling everything. It started smoking in no time, and was actually running in just a couple minutes. It's since been running +/- 3F for the last 4 hours.Perhaps my extended startups have been on the third or fourth cook. Lots of ash shrouding the igniter wild definitely slow lighting. I will not likely vacuum after every cook, but will try to be more attentive to it.

That’s really good to know actually. I’ve never had a pellet grill and I’m learning from scratch. I live in SC and I’ve been having some issues keeping low temps (it climbs on its own) and oddly getting to higher temps (tops out at 510 degrees). It’s weird, but Rec Tec said we could do a larger auger motor, it’s just it might make the low end temp issue worse. Otherwise I love this grill. It’s a beast and I honestly may just spend the additional money when their actual grill makes a return. I’m also glad I went Rec Tec over something else.