Stampede Cold Outside Temps and trouble reaching set temp

[manderpsi]

Was 40 deg. in Atlanta last night and was trying to do Smash burgers but could not get the RT-590 up to 450 deg. for searing to save my life. Highest I could get was 375 after about 45 mins, but that didn't sear very well. Finally just had to go with what I had and leave them on longer. Any tips for getting up to higher temps when it's cold outside?

 

[Waterboy]

@manderpsi it could be several things. What brand of pellets are you using using? Some folks have reported issues with cheaper brands (others use them without issue). Also check your RTD probe to make sure it isn’t leaning too close to the barrel. If neither of those are the problem I would suggest you call customer service and let them walk you through it.

 

[manderpsi]

I'm using RecTeq pellets

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

With Pit Boss pellets I grilled 2 steaks on my 340. At 24*F outside it took a little longer to get up to 485* and had no trouble maintaining it.
maybe you need to up the auger feed rate.

 

[boogermeister]

When I cook in colder temps I throw a welding blanket over the grill, just make sure the vents are not blocked. It really keeps the smoker hot, no trouble going 400+. I got mine from Harbor Freight, it was cheap and it works well. I have used it for 5 years and other than smoke stains it is like new.

 

[C. Keeper]

When I cook in colder temps I throw a welding blanket over the grill, just make sure the vents are not blocked. It really keeps the smoker hot, no trouble going 400+. I got mine from Harbor Freight, it was cheap and it works well. I have used it for 5 years and other than smoke stains it is like new.

You gotta love Harbor Freight

 

[FastEddie]

I used a moving blanket the other day form Harbor Freight at low smoking temps.
Wish I could get the insulated cover for my bull.

 

[Lager1829]

Experiencing the same issue, Recteq ultimate pellets with outside temp in the lower 30s Takes only ~15 minutes to get up to 300 but total of ~50 minutes to get to 400 . Seems to hit a wall around 360. I'm just going to use the Weber for anything over 300.

 

[ken g]

The Harbor Freight welding blanket works well.

 

[Gonefishin]

FWIW, I permanently killed a set of magnets when used to hold the cover in place when doing a pizza at max high temp.

Don't recall the exact temp that kills them when I looked it up, but it was mid 400's somewhere.

 

[Ostrichsak]

FWIW, I permanently killed a set of magnets when used to hold the cover in place when doing a pizza at max high temp.

Don't recall the exact temp that kills them when I looked it up, but it was mid 400's somewhere.

Direct and prolonged exposure of magnets to anything above 176 degrees Fahrenheit is subjecting them to temperatures that could demagnetize them. Keep in mind that a 176 degree cooking chamber will not produce 176 degrees through the steel and an an insulation layer and at the magnet itself, obviously. Somewhere between that temperature and the temp you had set for the smoke chamber lies the limit though.

Heat + magnets = bad

 

[gwrace1]

Just a couple of suggestions. Is there anyway to adjust the pellet feed rate like on the 700. Also make sure your not storing your pellets on any surface where they can contract moisture like concrete. Like any fire dry wood burns hotter.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Is there anyway to adjust the pellet feed rate like on the 700.

Yes.

 

[sandyut]

Just a couple of suggestions. Is there anyway to adjust the pellet feed rate like on the 700. Also make sure your not storing your pellets on any surface where they can contract moisture like concrete. Like any fire dry wood burns hotter.

yeah man, its in the app - Auger Feed Rate Adjustment. whenits around freezing or less - max it out at 6.5 and that should do the trick. blankets will help with pellet consumption, but you should be able to run it hot regardless.

 

[Ostrichsak]

yeah man, its in the app - Auger Feed Rate Adjustment. whenits around freezing or less - max it out at 6.5 and that should do the trick. blankets will help with pellet consumption, but you should be able to run it hot regardless.

Recteq needs to add some code to poll the temperature of the cook chamber at startup as this will be a pretty good indication of the ambient temps and then adjust the setting automatically based on this. It would make for a far better experience for those of us who don't live in Texas.

 

[sandyut]

Recteq needs to add some code to poll the temperature of the cook chamber at startup as this will be a pretty good indication of the ambient temps and then adjust the setting automatically based on this. It would make for a far better experience for those of us who don't live in Texas.

LMAO!!! in Utah I make auger adjustments all the time. I would enjoy some automation there too.

 

[Ostrichsak]

LMAO!!! in Utah I make auger adjustments all the time. I would enjoy some automation there too.

Northern Colorado here, right at the base of the Rocky Mountains. It can be chilly at times.

 

[Greg Jones]

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.

 

[Ostrichsak]

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.

Well, there you go then. No need for fancy code changes as I suggested. I saw there was an option for adjusting the auger rate but never really felt the need to adjust it or research further how it works. You learn something every day! In this case, it looks like procrastination wins the day again!

 

[Greg Jones]

Well, there you go then. No need for fancy code changes as I suggested. I saw there was an option for adjusting the auger rate but never really felt the need to adjust it or research further how it works. You learn something every day! In this case, it looks like procrastination wins the day again!

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%.