Stampede Cold Outside Temps and trouble reaching set temp

[charlesrshell]

Code changes not needed at all! If you can appreciate a car analogy, I’ve posted that a couple of times here in the past-a search for gas pedal should find it. I had a face-to-face conversation with Christian in recteq service (the best there, IMO) a couple of weeks ago, and I asked him about the tech questions that seem to come up most here;

1. Minimum feed rate, already discussed above
2. Auger speed-it is fixed, not variable. The auger starts and stops as needed to supply the fire pot.
3. Fan speed-it is fixed, not variable. I have stated here in the past that I thought it was variable, and I was wrong. The fan usually is on, but will start and stop if the user has set a target temp that is much lower than the current temp.
4. Changing temp probe offset-the +/- values for calibrating the temp probes is in actual degrees.
5. Changing RTD probe offset-the +/- values for calibrating the RTD (controller) probe is a percentage change e.g making a -5 change will change the RTD calibration by 5%.

Thanks @GregJones. You are our go to guy. Did they laugh at you when you told them I want a WiFi mod and cart for the Bullseye? They always give me the money excuse. I bet there would be bunches of us that would get the mods.

 

[Greg Jones]

Thanks @GregJones. You are our go to guy. Did they laugh at you when you told them I want a WiFi mod and cart for the Bullseye? They always give me the money excuse. I bet there would be bunches of us that would get the mods.

There really wasn’t an opportunity to discuss any of that. It wasn’t Christian’s department, and he is the first person I spoke with (3 hours before Academy started). The entire Academy was surprisingly grill neutral. There were no discussions of grill specifics/problems/opportunities, and no sales pitches. Someone there with a stick burner would have learned just as much as people there with recteq grills. The closest it came to being about the grill is one of the presenters cooks in the Steak Cookoff Association competitions on a Bullseye, and she demonstrated the entire process from selecting the cut to actually cooking it on a Bullseye. Spoiler alert, grill grates and riot mode were in play!

 

[charlesrshell]

There really wasn’t an opportunity to discuss any of that. It wasn’t Christian’s department, and he is the first person I spoke with (3 hours before Academy started). The entire Academy was surprisingly grill neutral. There were no discussions of grill specifics/problems/opportunities, and no sales pitches. Someone there with a stick burner would have learned just as much as people there with recteq grills. The closest it came to being about the grill is one of the presenters cooks in the Steak Cookoff Association competitions on a Bullseye, and she demonstrated the entire process from selecting the cut to actually cooking it on a Bullseye. Spoiler alert, grill grates and riot mode were in play!

OK, thanks Greg.

 

[sandyut]

I expect the most misunderstood feature of the recteq grills is the auger feed rate. If needed, lower the feed rate when your grill will not maintain low temps in hot weather and then leave it alone. Changing the feed rate because of cold weather or to make the grill heat faster or hotter does nothing for how the grill operates in those conditions. As soon as you turn the temp setting to anything other than LO, the feed rate no longer factors into how the grill operates.

I too spoke with Rec Tec about this when the first hot day came after getting my 700 in winter and the temp kept rising and rising. lowing the min feed rate was a quick and easy fix. I was warned that if it was left at the low feed setting during the colder months I would risk a flameout. I believe this is true because as winter returns if I don't turn the mon feed rate back up the warm up takes forever. we may be saying the same thing.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I too spoke with Rec Tec about this when the first hot day came after getting my 700 in winter and the temp kept rising and rising. lowing the min feed rate was a quick and easy fix. I was warned that if it was left at the low feed setting during the colder months I would risk a flameout. I believe this is true because as winter returns if I don't turn the mon feed rate back up the warm up takes forever. we may be saying the same thing.

Not to fan the flames of the fire but from where I sit you're both saying something in complete opposition to each other.

You're saying that adjusting the feed setting will have an effect at any temperature and this can also affect the amount of time needed to preheat especially in colder weather. He's saying that this setting ONLY applies when the user has selected the LO setting (for maximum smoke) and anything above that it's a set feed rate and the only question is how frequently it turns on/off depending on the heat algorithm. He also seemed quite confident in the information he gave.

I'd like a definitive answer on this setting as I've experienced some rather lengthy preheat times with my RT-590 but I'm pretty new to this so I wasn't sure if this was common with this smoker in colder temps or not. I was happy that once it got to temp it stayed pretty much right on that temperature and didn't overshoot or search the way my previous smokers often times did. Even factoring that overshoot/temperature search after it hits the temp I think that those smokers still got to temp much faster even factoring in the extra time for it to settle into the set temp.

If this is indeed a setting I can adjust when the mercury drops to speed up the preheat process I'd like to explore that avenue.

 

[C. Keeper]

Code changes not needed at all! If you can appreciate a car analogy, I’ve posted that a couple of times here in the past-a search for gas pedal should find it. I had a face-to-face conversation with Christian in recteq service (the best there, IMO) a couple of weeks ago, and I asked him about the tech questions that seem to come up most here;

1. Minimum feed rate, already discussed above
2. Auger speed-it is fixed, not variable. The auger starts and stops as needed to supply the fire pot.
3. Fan speed-it is fixed, not variable. I have stated here in the past that I thought it was variable, and I was wrong. The fan usually is on, but will start and stop if the user has set a target temp that is much lower than the current temp.
4. Changing temp probe offset-the +/- values for calibrating the temp probes is in actual degrees.
5. Changing RTD probe offset-the +/- values for calibrating the RTD (controller) probe is a percentage change e.g making a -5 change will change the RTD calibration by -5%.

In my Frankenstein world there is an option for higher temps, a 2.5 RPM auger motor. Most of the auger motors are 2.0 RPMs so this is probably going to be the route that I take if I keep the Rec-Traeger. The RT-2500 is 3 RPMs but is probably too fast but half the price of the 2.5 auger motor. The other option is an auger bypass switch that will bypass the PID controller and run the auger 100% which I think is Riot mode.
The problem with the above mods is low temp operation, i.e. not low enough for smoke. If you already have minimum feed rate set to the lowest a faster motor isn't a good idea.

 

[sandyut]

this the from the manual
Adjustable Parameter 1: Min Feed Rate - Min Feed Rate is the minimum rate that the auger is allowed to feed fuel to the fire pot, regardless of Set Point.

 

[sandyut]

the auger speed is constant, its the amount it turns at the constant speed.

 

[C. Keeper]

this the from the manual
Adjustable Parameter 1: Min Feed Rate - Min Feed Rate is the minimum rate that the auger is allowed to feed fuel to the fire pot, regardless of Set Point.

That setting is for minimum temp without flame out.

 

[sandyut]

not arguing - just sharing my experience and interpretation.

 

[C. Keeper]

the auger speed is constant, its the amount it turns at the constant speed.

Auger is a 2 RPM motor modulated by PID controller.

 

[gwrace1]

So if the auger is a set speed with on and off , then the higher you set the temperature the more it should run. It only makes sense that higher temps in any weather will burn more fuel and require more run time.

 

[C. Keeper]

not arguing - just sharing my experience and interpretation.

I'm not trying to argue either perhaps someone else will jump in.

 

[C. Keeper]

So if the auger is a set speed with on and off , then the higher you set the temperature the more it should run. It only makes sense that higher temps in any weather will burn more fuel and require more run time.

Exactly! it is only on / off not variable speed (feed) rate.

 

[gwrace1]

I watched a team of 3 the other night prep and cook a 150 lb hog on a commercial stick burner. Took almost 24 hours of constant monitoring to keep the temps accurate. In this scenario the guy on duty feeding in the wood was the auger. He started and stopped as temps needed adjustment. Came out great but what a huge time and labor commitment. Being an IT guy I'm all about the automation. Go recteq!

 

[Greg Jones]

My final thought on the subject is to consider this-recteq has published multiple YouTube videos (as the controllers have evolved over the years) on the how and why of changing the minimum feed rate. In every one I have viewed, they have explained how to lower the feed rate to maintain low temps in the summer if the user lives in a hot region. I’ve yet to see anything from recteq that suggested turning the feed rate up in the winter if the user lives in a cold region or if the grill will not reach higher temps.

 

[C. Keeper]

I watched a team of 3 the other night prep and cook a 150 lb hog on a commercial stick burner. Took almost 24 hours of constant monitoring to keep the temps accurate. In this scenario the guy on duty feeding in the wood was the auger. He started and stopped as temps needed adjustment. Came out great but what a huge time and labor commitment. Being an IT guy I'm all about the automation. Go rec

My final thought on the subject is to consider this-recteq has published multiple YouTube videos (as the controllers have evolved over the years) on the how and why of changing the minimum feed rate. In every one I have viewed, they have explained how to lower the feed rate to maintain low temps in the summer if the user lives in a hot region. I’ve yet to see anything from recteq that suggested turning the feed rate up in the winter if the user lives in a cold region or if the grill will not reach higher temps.

Agreed.. if you look at the feed rate as time based it makes sense.

 

[C. Keeper]

My final thought on the subject is to consider this-recteq has published multiple YouTube videos (as the controllers have evolved over the years) on the how and why of changing the minimum feed rate. In every one I have viewed, they have explained how to lower the feed rate to maintain low temps in the summer if the user lives in a hot region. I’ve yet to see anything from recteq that suggested turning the feed rate up in the winter if the user lives in a cold region or if the grill will not reach higher temps.

Greg, here is my take on controller operation based on time:
In order to maintain 180 degrees the auger must run 5 seconds every 30 seconds. If you run the auger any less than 5 seconds (minimum feed rate) for the 30 second period there is a flame out.
In order to maintain 350 degrees the auger must run 20 seconds for every 30 seconds thus we have exceeded the 5 second minimum feed rate and will continue to exceed the minimum feed rate as we increase the temperature. These feed time are not actual but used to explain.
My intention is to help with this great hobby, if someone can explain better I'm all ears.

 

[Greg Jones]

Greg, here is my take on controller operation based on time:
In order to maintain 180 degrees the auger must run 5 seconds every 30 seconds. If you run the auger any less than 5 seconds (minimum feed rate) for the 30 second period there is a flame out.
In order to maintain 350 degrees the auger must run 20 seconds for every 30 seconds thus we have exceeded the 5 second minimum feed rate and will continue to exceed the minimum feed rate as we increase the temperature. These feed time are not actual but used to explain.
My intention is to help with this great hobby, if someone can explain better I'm all ears.

That’s exactly my understanding of how it work, well stated. And by extension, if the minimum feed rate is set by the user to 10 seconds every 30 seconds, then it may set the minimum temperature of the grill to 250*, but it won’t help the grill get to 350* any faster nor will it help the grill get to 500* if it previously maxed out at 450*.

 

[Maule Guy]

The Harbor Freight welding blanket works well.

Ken;

The shelf in your images looks like Oak. Did you rout the edge? Is this an Oak stair tread? I really like the look.