Charcoal pellets just came

[Chuckrooney]

MOD NOTICE:

Just got this from Rec Teq support:

"Thank you for reaching out. The biggest thing with pellets is the blend, age, and length. We don't want to use a pure mesquite blend or anything that has charcoal in it such as char-hickory or pure charcoal. Pellets have a shelf life of roughly 6 months as well and we do not want them any longer than 1/2 of an inch. All of these will cause weird temp swings. You can use any brand that you would like as long as you are mindful of the things listed above.

The main reason for the is that the heat from the fire pot will ignite the pellets in the auger tube and in turn, burn up all the pellets in the hopper. That is the biggest reason to stay away from charcoal pellets."

In. Can’t wait to try them

 

[KRedman]

Interesting. Wonder how they’ll do and how they’ll taste. Definitely report back!

 

[rijndael]

The water resistance is an interesting benefit.

 

[Hawkness]

Any word from Rec Teq if these are recommended? Or will void the warranty? etc?

 

[Greg Jones]

Any word from Rec Teq if these are recommended? Or will void the warranty? etc?

recteq advises against using charcoal pellets, however I can’t see them stating that using them would void the warranty.

 

[Hawkness]

recteq advises against using charcoal pellets

Thanks!! I remember getting that message when I first purchased my 590, but at the time I think there were only blended pellets, not 100% charcoal. (but I could be mistaken, it has happened before....already at least once today!!) Curious to see how they fare in the 700.

 

[Newb]

I’m interested to know if they raise the max temp. Maybe help with searing?

 

[rijndael]

I can’t see them stating that using them would void the warranty.

And, it would depend on what part of the warranty they could 'void', even if they wanted to.

It'd be hard to deny a warranty claim on the controller, for a wifi issue, if you used charcoal pellets.

I'd imagine the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act still applies:
https://www.autoanything.com/resources/magnuson-moss-warranty-act-explained/

 

[Hawkness]

Just got this from Rec Teq support:

"Thank you for reaching out. The biggest thing with pellets is the blend, age, and length. We don't want to use a pure mesquite blend or anything that has charcoal in it such as char-hickory or pure charcoal. Pellets have a shelf life of roughly 6 months as well and we do not want them any longer than 1/2 of an inch. All of these will cause weird temp swings. You can use any brand that you would like as long as you are mindful of the things listed above.

The main reason for the is that the heat from the fire pot will ignite the pellets in the auger tube and in turn, burn up all the pellets in the hopper. That is the biggest reason to stay away from charcoal pellets."

The last part scares me a little.

 

[KRedman]

Just got this from Rec Teq support:
The main reason for the is that the heat from the fire pot will ignite the pellets in the auger tube and in turn, burn up all the pellets in the hopper. That is the biggest reason to stay away from charcoal pellets.

The last part scares me a little.

Seems like that would make sense.

 

[NinoRT700]

I got my bag of royal oak charcoal pellets a few days ago. Havent used them yet but they definitely appear to all be a good size and aren’t very hard so wouldn’t worry about jamming the auger.
also i wouldn’t use these just to see how high i can get the temp to go.
The potential flavor is the real reason i picked them up so im not really worried about anything catching fire

 

[opus]

Just got this from Rec Teq support:

"Thank you for reaching out. The biggest thing with pellets is the blend, age, and length. We don't want to use a pure mesquite blend or anything that has charcoal in it such as char-hickory or pure charcoal. Pellets have a shelf life of roughly 6 months as well and we do not want them any longer than 1/2 of an inch. All of these will cause weird temp swings. You can use any brand that you would like as long as you are mindful of the things listed above.

The main reason for the is that the heat from the fire pot will ignite the pellets in the auger tube and in turn, burn up all the pellets in the hopper. That is the biggest reason to stay away from charcoal pellets."

The last part scares me a little.

I've never heard the 6 month shelf life before. I'm in trouble. I use the LIFO method when using my pellets so the bags on the bottom are well over a year old.

 

[rijndael]

I'm pretty sure that plenty of pellets at my local walmart are over 6 months old. There are certain brands/flavors that just don't move.

 

[Greg Jones]

The long pellet length is what got me in a conversation with recteq support about charcoal pellets in the first place. I bought the Lumber Jack char hickory pellets and had a problem with them due to their length (some over 2-½”) where they would bridge the auger. At the time, recteq in deep with Kingsford and Kingsford’s testing showed the charcoal pellets were less than desirable. The burn back issue is what Kingsford encountered in their testing, according to recteq. A search here should find more info, for those newer to the site.

 

[chadinsc]

i hope they last longer than 6 months im down to about 900lbs now

 

[C. Keeper]

i hope they last longer than 6 months im down to about 900lbs now

Better start cooking.

 

[kstone113]

I am curious your results with these and these alone. In my Bullseye hopper right now, I have a mix between competition lumber jack and char-hickory lumber jack. I have been liking this.

 

[JGW]

How do we know how old pellets are? They could have been in a warehouse for months before going on the shelf.

I'd be careful with charcoal pellets, myself. Their explanations seems pretty reasonable, and since they are or were teamed up with Kingsford in some manner, I would heed their words.

I suspect Kingsford would have wanted charcoal pellets before moving to wood. Charcoal is their main biz, and they fact that they have NOT produced charcoal pellets is kind of telling.

Note: Kingsford has 80% of the charcoal market in the US. Changing the shape into pellets would have been easy for them and they didn't.

Another thought.....wood pellets, charcoal, etc. all produce dust. Charcoal dust is explosive, so as you run the pellets, you will be generating dust in the auger, etc. Wood dust is as well, but not nearly so.

 

[llbts1]

Okay, I understand the charcoal. I tried them and did not like the smoke flavor, but mesquite, what's up with that? That's all I use on a brisket and sometimes chicken. That would be the Bear Mountain variety. Am I misunderstanding this? As most of you know, mesquite is a great wood with beef. I am confused.

 

[JGW]

Growing up in Texas, mesquite was always used as a grilling wood, not smoking. Most folks used Oak or Hickory.