RT-1250 Does anyone feel like their 1250 is finicky?

[Buddybirddog]

So I've owned my RT-1250 for about 2 months now and approximately 20 cooks with it. I'm starting to run into a lot more issues with it recently.

For example, yesterday I was making wings, smoked at 225 for 20 minutes and cranked it to 425 to finish it off. After about 10 minutes, temperature wasn't getting higher than 275, yet there was a ton of smoke billowing out and the grill was definitely way hotter than 275. I should have taken a reading with my IR gun, but I was panicking since my wings were burning and smoke was billowing like crazy, but it felt like it was close to 500.

Also, on several occasions, when I start up the grill, temperature won't climb but I see a ton of smoke coming out of the grill. Seems this one is a common problem and is easily fixed by opening the door. Still, I can't imagine this is working as intended, otherwise what's the point of a remote start function on the app?

I'm getting grease leaking out of the cook chamber on the left side, pretty sure the high temp caulk is bad, but RT won't do anything to fix it. They just keep telling me to put ash into that corner to season it.

That joining section on the cook chamber between the stainless steel and black painted section is bubbling up with what looks like the paint or caulk bubbling. I was told this is just cosmetic.

Don't get me started on the uselessness of the app. I've already knew that it was going to suck, but I didn't realize how bad it was before I purchased it.

So I got on the phone with RT today after the wings incident yesterday. They basically ran through some troubleshooting tests and ended up turning down the auger speed (guessing this negates the "benefit" of having the upgraded auger) to address the start-up issue. They also told me to make sure my temperature probe is 3/4" away from the cook chamber (it was) and had me on my merry way. I don't feel like my problems were really addressed at all, maybe I'm just expecting too much for a grill to work without much fuss?

Are all pellet grills supposed to be this finicky? This was my first pellet and I'm contemplating selling it to get something else. It doesn't seem like Recteq thinks my issues are valid.

I owned a 680 for 9 year before handing off to my son in Dec then I bought the 1250 and the Bullseye, I never started my old 680 with the lid closed, and I don't start the 1250 or Bullseye with the lids closed. I think RecTeq should say that in their lighting instructions. I have notice that how you store your pellets and the quality of pellets makes a big difference also. As for the app I total agree with you, the RecTeq app is in need of a update.

 

[JTeje]

W

So I've owned my RT-1250 for about 2 months now and approximately 20 cooks with it. I'm starting to run into a lot more issues with it recently.

For example, yesterday I was making wings, smoked at 225 for 20 minutes and cranked it to 425 to finish it off. After about 10 minutes, temperature wasn't getting higher than 275, yet there was a ton of smoke billowing out and the grill was definitely way hotter than 275. I should have taken a reading with my IR gun, but I was panicking since my wings were burning and smoke was billowing like crazy, but it felt like it was close to 500.

Also, on several occasions, when I start up the grill, temperature won't climb but I see a ton of smoke coming out of the grill. Seems this one is a common problem and is easily fixed by opening the door. Still, I can't imagine this is working as intended, otherwise what's the point of a remote start function on the app?

I'm getting grease leaking out of the cook chamber on the left side, pretty sure the high temp caulk is bad, but RT won't do anything to fix it. They just keep telling me to put ash into that corner to season it.

That joining section on the cook chamber between the stainless steel and black painted section is bubbling up with what looks like the paint or caulk bubbling. I was told this is just cosmetic.

Don't get me started on the uselessness of the app. I've already knew that it was going to suck, but I didn't realize how bad it was before I purchased it.

So I got on the phone with RT today after the wings incident yesterday. They basically ran through some troubleshooting tests and ended up turning down the auger speed (guessing this negates the "benefit" of having the upgraded auger) to address the start-up issue. They also told me to make sure my temperature probe is 3/4" away from the cook chamber (it was) and had me on my merry way. I don't feel like my problems were really addressed at all, maybe I'm just expecting too much for a grill to work without much fuss?

Are all pellet grills supposed to be this finicky? This was my first pellet and I'm contemplating selling it to get something else. It doesn't seem like Recteq thinks my issues are valid.

So sorry to hear about your issues. I will say one time I had grease leaking out on the left side as you describe but it was because I had installed the drip tray improperly and it wasn’t sloping that much. If yours is installed correctly maybe it’s some sort of defect with the way things fit together. I had the weird startup thing once and quickly shut down but I have a 590 seems like the 1250s are having this issue a lot. Mine has worked and maintained temp well. Seems like you got a lemon and they should have maybe offered a replacement.

 

[Mozekian]

I have had the same issues with the 1250

The grease leaking around the fire box and onto the floor was my first concern. I could clearly see the bad seal job around the fire box. CS told me to build up ash. Well this was a poor solution for a brand new smoker. One thing I noticed is the high temp sealant that they use, Permatex, is only good for temps ups to "650 degrees intermittently". So if you go max on your 1250, that seal will break down. I went ahead and bought some more Permatex and resealed the chamber but I also know that I taking it to Max will break down the seal, so I dont do that. Sucks I cant use it as advertised, but this is why I have my Weber still

The bubbling on the front where the stainless meets the powder coat started around the same time. "Cosmetic" or not, should not be doing this. I have a service call in to see what their solution is. Im sure they will offer to send me a 4th cover, like they have whenever any other issue I have had pops up.

I always preheat it to 250 before going higher, seems to help with the heal deflector warping, especially in the cold months. The lid "blowing up" is my main concern. I have not had that issue but that concerns me as a huge safety issue that I wish they took more concern with


My 2 cents: These 1250s were produced at a time of serious supply chain issues at home and abroad, China where they are made, and it seems we are seeing the issues. The 1250 gets hot but the components cant handle the heat without seals melting, powder coating delaminating, and lids busting off.

 

[eric_jk]

I have had the same issues with the 1250

The grease leaking around the fire box and onto the floor was my first concern. I could clearly see the bad seal job around the fire box. CS told me to build up ash. Well this was a poor solution for a brand new smoker. One thing I noticed is the high temp sealant that they use, Permatex, is only good for temps ups to "650 degrees intermittently". So if you go max on your 1250, that seal will break down. I went ahead and bought some more Permatex and resealed the chamber but I also know that I taking it to Max will break down the seal, so I dont do that. Sucks I cant use it as advertised, but this is why I have my Weber still

The bubbling on the front where the stainless meets the powder coat started around the same time. "Cosmetic" or not, should not be doing this. I have a service call in to see what their solution is. Im sure they will offer to send me a 4th cover, like they have whenever any other issue I have had pops up.

I always preheat it to 250 before going higher, seems to help with the heal deflector warping, especially in the cold months. The lid "blowing up" is my main concern. I have not had that issue but that concerns me as a huge safety issue that I wish they took more concern with


My 2 cents: These 1250s were produced at a time of serious supply chain issues at home and abroad, China where they are made, and it seems we are seeing the issues. The 1250 gets hot but the components cant handle the heat without seals melting, powder coating delaminating, and lids busting off.

Well I ended up selling my RT-1250 and using the money to buy a Kamado Joe Big Joe 3. Definitely much more of a hassle than using a pellet grill, but holds temps just as good and the food comes out much better in my opinion. I still want another pellet grill someday, when I feel like being lazy.

 

[Mozekian]

Well I ended up selling my RT-1250 and using the money to buy a Kamado Joe Big Joe 3. Definitely much more of a hassle than using a pellet grill, but holds temps just as good and the food comes out much better in my opinion. I still want another pellet grill someday, when I feel like being lazy.

Big Joe 3 is awesome. I always wanted to buy one but I too, am lazy. One day.

 

[Mozekian]

Another issue for the 1250: getting back burn and smoke in the pellet hopper. I’ve read the old threads on it and most of those issues I can eliminate from the start.

I clean my fire pot constantly, in fact I cleaned it last night.

Today on start up It would not ignite. I heard the auger working and after some serious time of no light up, I took the heat deflector and grease tray away and observed no ignition and pellets filing up the pot. I turned it off, again cleaned out the entire fire pot, replaced all the pellets and added new pellets in (pellets I had in there were not old).

On the second start it lit off and had tons of smoke, plumes of white smoke as it rose through 150 degrees. I know it’s always dirty smoke at this temp, but it was a lot.

Got it to 425, worked fine, on shut down I brought it down to 250 to stabilize and that’s when I noticed the back burn smoke. Traeger suggests running their grills on smoke mode for if you see smoke in the hopper, so I dropped the temp to low and watched it. Once in Low mode I let the auger feed pellets on low to get any charred pellets out of the auger tube. Let it stabilize on Low for 15 minutes, no smoke in the hopper at this point. Ran normal shutdown.

Have no idea what the issue is but this will require a call to customer service as there is something going on. Fan is running, auger is running, two types of pellets, fire pot cleaned twice…something is up

This 1250 is way more finicky than my 700, that’s for sure.

 

[eric_jk]

Another issue for the 1250: getting back burn and smoke in the pellet hopper. I’ve read the old threads on it and most of those issues I can eliminate from the start.

I clean my fire pot constantly, in fact I cleaned it last night.

Today on start up It would not ignite. I heard the auger working and after some serious time of no light up, I took the heat deflector and grease tray away and observed no ignition and pellets filing up the pot. I turned it off, again cleaned out the entire fire pot, replaced all the pellets and added new pellets in (pellets I had in there were not old).

On the second start it lit off and had tons of smoke, plumes of white smoke as it rose through 150 degrees. I know it’s always dirty smoke at this temp, but it was a lot.

Got it to 425, worked fine, on shut down I brought it down to 250 to stabilize and that’s when I noticed the back burn smoke. Traeger suggests running their grills on smoke mode for if you see smoke in the hopper, so I dropped the temp to low and watched it. Once in Low mode I let the auger feed pellets on low to get any charred pellets out of the auger tube. Let it stabilize on Low for 15 minutes, no smoke in the hopper at this point. Ran normal shutdown.

Have no idea what the issue is but this will require a call to customer service as there is something going on. Fan is running, auger is running, two types of pellets, fire pot cleaned twice…something is up

This 1250 is way more finicky than my 700, that’s for sure.View attachment 15536

And here I thought that was normal… That happened probably every other cook. I always felt like my RT-1250 was on the verge of either causing a fire or breaking. It just never worked seamlessly for me.

 

[Another Joe]

If I'd read this thread before ordering about a week ago, I doubt I'd have attempted the 1250. Other threads seemed to reveal a few isolated issues but amazing support. I'm hearing a different story here. But it's on its way, so now my excitement is tempered with a bit of trepidation.

 

[sdynak]

If I'd read this thread before ordering about a week ago, I doubt I'd have attempted the 1250. Other threads seemed to reveal a few isolated issues but amazing support. I'm hearing a different story here. But it's on its way, so now my excitement is tempered with a bit of trepidation.

You'll get mixed input everywhere you look. The only way to know for sure is your own experience. All manufactures have quirks so look at it as what are you willing to settle for.

In this case an exploding grill is not so bad if it can maintain temps and look shiny. Just ask the fan people.

If you ask me.. I do not recommend but, I don't have any other recommendations other than stay away from Traeger so might as well get the 1250 and live life.

 

[Pacman]

I'm hardly a lucky guy, but my 1250 luck has so far been stellar with zero issues. Frankly I expected some quirks with a new auger, new deflector, new PID firmware, etc. I actively take to heart everything others have experienced as cautionary tales.

So far I am very happy with my 1250. It really did kick me off the fence where I was thinking about a 700 for over a year and pulled the trigger on the 1250 shortly after it was released.

I do thank those that have taken the time to draw attention to issues with all of these grills. I'm sure they have prevented me from experiencing some of the quirks that have been reported. I guess that makes me a fan boy of this forum.

 

[sdynak]

I'm hardly a lucky guy, but my 1250 luck has so far been stellar with zero issues. Frankly I expected some quirks with a new auger, new deflector, new PID firmware, etc. I actively take to heart everything others have experienced as cautionary tales.

So far I am very happy with my 1250. It really did kick me off the fence where I was thinking about a 700 for over a year and pulled the trigger on the 1250 shortly after it was released.

I do thank those that have taken the time to draw attention to issues with all of these grills. I'm sure they have prevented me from experiencing some of the quirks that have been reported. I guess that makes me a fan boy of this forum.

Really what are the options? Thousands of more $$ with unknowns? I'll take my chance with a random explosion. That makes it more valuable to have those unique features and makes me pay attention to what I'm doing. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Chevys10zr2003]

Performance-wise my 1250 has been great and I haven't had any issues except for the lack of smoke flavoring but I like a heavier smoke like from an offset. There was one time that I had extreme thick smoke that maybe would have caused an explosion and I shut it off and restarted it and it was fine. It was also below 0 degrees that time and that was before the firmware update.

 

[HowieG]

I owned a 680 for 9 year before handing off to my son in Dec then I bought the 1250 and the Bullseye, I never started my old 680 with the lid closed, and I don't start the 1250 or Bullseye with the lids closed. I think RecTeq should say that in their lighting instructions. I have notice that how you store your pellets and the quality of pellets makes a big difference also. As for the app I total agree with you, the RecTeq app is in need of a update.

I recently bought a 1250 a couple months ago (approx April, 2022). I had many issues with it: shelf bracket was defective, door was bent, smoke stack flange was bent and I also had the grease lead issue from below the chamber!. I got the same advice from customer service to do more cooks, build up ash and grease to form creosote and it will seal. What a BS response. I finally was able to push them into replacing the 1250. But, the new one came and the shelf bracket was broken, grease bucket smashed and the main blower would not work! I finally got the bracket fixed (they sent me 6 replacements until I got a good one) and they sent me a new blower. But, now the main blower is out again after only one cook with the replacement fan. I wish I never would have bought this piece of junk.

 

[HowieG]

I owned a 680 for 9 year before handing off to my son in Dec then I bought the 1250 and the Bullseye, I never started my old 680 with the lid closed, and I don't start the 1250 or Bullseye with the lids closed. I think RecTeq should say that in their lighting instructions. I have notice that how you store your pellets and the quality of pellets makes a big difference also. As for the app I total agree with you, the RecTeq app is in need of a update.

I recently bought a 1250 a couple months ago (approx April, 2022). I had many issues with it: shelf bracket was defective, door was bent, smoke stack flange was bent and I also had the grease lead issue from below the chamber!. I got the same advice from customer service to do more cooks, build up ash and grease to form creosote and it will seal. What a BS response. I finally was able to push them into replacing the 1250. But, the new one came and the shelf bracket was broken, grease bucket smashed and the main blower would not work! I finally got the bracket fixed (they sent me 6 replacements until I got a good one) and they sent me a new blower. But, now the main blower is out again after only one cook with the replacement fan. I wish I never would have bought this piece of junk.

 

[sdynak]

I recently bought a 1250 a couple months ago (approx April, 2022). I had many issues with it: shelf bracket was defective, door was bent, smoke stack flange was bent and I also had the grease lead issue from below the chamber!. I got the same advice from customer service to do more cooks, build up ash and grease to form creosote and it will seal. What a BS response. I finally was able to push them into replacing the 1250. But, the new one came and the shelf bracket was broken, grease bucket smashed and the main blower would not work! I finally got the bracket fixed (they sent me 6 replacements until I got a good one) and they sent me a new blower. But, now the main blower is out again after only one cook with the replacement fan. I wish I never would have bought this piece of junk.

Wow.. some unlucky happenings you had there. Hopefully the black cloud will roll out.

Did they offer to take it back again or did you even ask for that since you regret it?

What would you replace it with?

 

[RTFfan]

Another issue for the 1250: getting back burn and smoke in the pellet hopper. I’ve read the old threads on it and most of those issues I can eliminate from the start.

I clean my fire pot constantly, in fact I cleaned it last night.

Today on start up It would not ignite. I heard the auger working and after some serious time of no light up, I took the heat deflector and grease tray away and observed no ignition and pellets filing up the pot. I turned it off, again cleaned out the entire fire pot, replaced all the pellets and added new pellets in (pellets I had in there were not old).

On the second start it lit off and had tons of smoke, plumes of white smoke as it rose through 150 degrees. I know it’s always dirty smoke at this temp, but it was a lot.

Got it to 425, worked fine, on shut down I brought it down to 250 to stabilize and that’s when I noticed the back burn smoke. Traeger suggests running their grills on smoke mode for if you see smoke in the hopper, so I dropped the temp to low and watched it. Once in Low mode I let the auger feed pellets on low to get any charred pellets out of the auger tube. Let it stabilize on Low for 15 minutes, no smoke in the hopper at this point. Ran normal shutdown.

Have no idea what the issue is but this will require a call to customer service as there is something going on. Fan is running, auger is running, two types of pellets, fire pot cleaned twice…something is up

This 1250 is way more finicky than my 700, that’s for sure.View attachment 15536

Had this happen tonight after my cook at 425. Turned it down to 300 and the hopper filled with smoke. I panicked and turned it back to 425. After it got to about 350 I said f*ck it and just Turned it off(hopper had less than 5lbs anyway. Was still smoking when it finalized the 300 second cooldown and for once recteqs stupid auto pellet feed solved this issue. It ran the auger for 30 seconds and cleaned it out I guess. I went in and came out 10 min later and nothing was wrong. All cooled off properly. I say all this to say that your right the 1250 is different than the 700 but it still works great. Just freaked me right out. Compared to my pitboss and traeger I've had way less issues at this point.

 

[Mozekian]

Since switching pellets since April, I have not had any issues with burn back. I still clean my pot out every few cooks, nothing else changed except for the pellets. I know pellet quality/brands/issues is a popular point of contention on this forum but for me personally, zero burn back issues in the last 50+ cooks, so ill continue to do what im doing.

 

[BillsCamo]

Well I ended up selling my RT-1250 and using the money to buy a Kamado Joe Big Joe 3. Definitely much more of a hassle than using a pellet grill, but holds temps just as good and the food comes out much better in my opinion. I still want another pellet grill someday, when I feel like being lazy.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did you get for it?