Bullseye Don’t pay attention to the manual

[Txgringo]

I bought a Bullseye 380 about 6 weeks ago. After a few sessions, I think I’ve got the hang of it. Just want to share my story for those who are struggling, or those who may be thinking about buying one.

First smoke, decided to go big and do a pork shoulder. Read the section in the manual about the auger settings, and how it should stay between 3.5 and 6, and should never go above 6. Thought it was strange that they would program it to be able to go up to 25, but tell me not to set it above 6. But whatever, they built it, I'll do what they say. Put the shoulder in, set it to 225 and walked away. Poked my head out about 15 min later, the temperature gauge said `150. Listened to the fan run constantly and watched as it fired back up to 300+, then slowly settle back down. Got to 225, the fan started to run intermittently. Sure enough, just a minute or two later, the temperature started dropping again and no smoke was coming out. \

I'll cut to the chase. The fire pot was burning out. The auger wasn't pushing pellets in fast enough to keep it going. It would burn out, overreact and shoot up to 300+, then try to settle at 225. Rinse and repeat. Needless to say, the shoulder didn't turn out great.

In the shooting community, there's something called DOPE. Data On Previous Engagements. You get a zero, you shoot at various ranges, various temperatures, various wind effects, collect the data and record it. When it comes to do something for real, you can observe what's going on in your environment, adjust your scope and your hold accordingly.

Play with your auger, and record the data. And screw the 6 setting. I tried a shoulder again a couple weeks later. It was 50 degrees outside and I wanted to cook at 225. I started the auger at 9, and I sat and watched it. Didn't take long for the temperature to drop. So I bumped the setting up to 11. Temperature settled, then dropped. BUT, this time it didn't drop as low. Almost like it was able to recover faster. So I put it at 13. The temperature settled AND held around 225 for longer. It eventually dropped, but again it didn't drop quite as low as the time before. So I set it to 14. Temperature settled at 225. Then it dropped to 224. 222. 221. 220.... 220.... 221... Couple minutes later it was up to 230. 229. 227. 225.... 225..... Found the sweet spot.

Did baby back ribs yesterday, again at 225. It was 65 out, but a little windy. Started at 10, but it eventually dropped on me. Set it to 11.5 and it settled. I left the house for 6 hours. When I came back, the temperature gauge said 224 and the ribs came out wonderfully. Did chicken drumsticks and split chicken breasts today. 55 degrees out, cooking at 275, set the auger to 13 and it held 272-280 for 90 minutes straight. Chicken was awesome.

This smoker is wonderful. But you have to play with it and get a feel for it. And don't listen to the manual when it comes to the auger setting.

 

[Greg Jones]

I’d suggest you contact recteq support and share your experience, because what you describe is not normal behavior for changing the auger feed rate. The purpose of changing the feed rate is when you want low to be i.e 180° and instead it is running 225°.

 

[Jim6820]

What he said!

 

[Gonefishin]

I agree with Greg but just wanted to say welcome to the forum.

 

[kwalker201]

Once you found the right feed rate setting should it not be set for all temps?

 

[Greg Jones]

Once you found the right feed rate setting should it not be set for all temps?

Feed rate is for the minimum temp only. It does not affect the feed rate in a linear function over the entire range of temps for the grill.

It’s perhaps important to note that calibration of the probes does not work the same. That applies a change (+/- percentage) that applies over all grill settings.

 

[kwalker201]

Feed rate is for the minimum temp only. It does not affect the feed rate in a linear function over the entire range of temps for the grill.

It’s perhaps important to note that calibration of the probes does not work the same. That applies a change (+/- percentage) that applies over all grill settings.

Nick from Recteq support once told me that all Bullseye have a sweet spot on the Auger Feed settings. Some may be at 3.0, 6.5, 8.5 etc. He said you just have to find the right number and its set. Because I was having the same issues as he was posting. Nick assured me nothing was wrong with the grill other than finding the right setting.

 

[Greg Jones]

Nick from Recteq support once told me that all Bullseye have a sweet spot on the Auger Feed settings. Some may be at 3.0, 6.5, 8.5 etc. He said you just have to find the right number and its set. Because I was having the same issues as he was posting. Nick assured me nothing was wrong with the grill other than finding the right setting.

My experience exactly, so we are on the same page. What I thought you were asking is if ‘changing the feed rate from a setting that lowers the minimum temp 25°, does that mean the temp is 25° less at all controller settings?’ The answer to that is no. Only the grill offset setting changes the temps over a range of temp settings.

 

[Motodad1776]

Programming should be programming, only thing that changes is ambient temp......should mostly be set it and forget it, that's how my 590 is at least.

 

[Txgringo]

Once you found the right feed rate setting should it not be set for all temps?

as others have noted, not necessarily. My experience has been that outside temperature and wind conditions matter. If it’s colder outside, the smoker will transfer heat to the outside air at a faster rate, requiring more heat to be applied from the burn box to maintain the temp inside the smoker. Same with higher winds. If the auger can’t keep up with what the programming is asking for, the temperature drops and then it has to over correct.

I live in the Fort Bragg area. I fully expect when the summer rolls around that I will be setting the auger much closer to the recommended settings.

I can appreciate the recommendations to talk to RecTec, but I’m good for now. Through trial and error I think I’ve gotten the hang of it, and have not had to push the auger anywhere near the max setting. As far as I’m concerned, the smoker works as it should.

Just wanted to share in order to balance the negative reports I’ve read regarding temperature fluctuation.

 

[Greg Jones]

as others have noted, not necessarily. My experience has been that outside temperature and wind conditions matter. If it’s colder outside, the smoker will transfer heat to the outside air at a faster rate, requiring more heat to be applied from the burn box to maintain the temp inside the smoker. Same with higher winds. If the auger can’t keep up with what the programming is asking for, the temperature drops and then it has to over correct.

I live in the Fort Bragg area. I fully expect when the summer rolls around that I will be setting the auger much closer to the recommended settings.

I can appreciate the recommendations to talk to RecTec, but I’m good for now. Through trial and error I think I’ve gotten the hang of it, and have not had to push the auger anywhere near the max setting. As far as I’m concerned, the smoker works as it should.

Just wanted to share in order to balance the negative reports I’ve read regarding temperature fluctuation.

What you say about outside temps and other weather is true-more fuel to the grill may be required to maintain the desired temp. But what you suggest about adjusting this with the minimum feed rate setting is just not how the grill functions. It’s literally the minimum feed rate-not a ceiling on a maximum feed rate. I don’t understand your reluctance to call recteq or perhaps acknowledge that some, if not most, of the people offering the ‘negative reports’ to you have used these grills for years and have learned a couple of things over the years.

 

[Txgringo]

What you say about outside temps and other weather is true-more fuel to the grill may be required to maintain the desired temp. But what you suggest about adjusting this with the minimum feed rate setting is just not how the grill functions. It’s literally the minimum feed rate-not a ceiling on a maximum feed rate. I don’t understand your reluctance to call recteq or perhaps acknowledge that some, if not most, of the people offering the ‘negative reports’ to you have used these grills for years and have learned a couple of things over the years.

Ok.

When I left the “minimum feed rate” at the highest setting the factory recommended, my smoker consistently flamed out at 225. When I adjusted it higher, my smoker stopped flaming out. Same story at 250, and 300.

I take that to mean that when I set the minimum feed rate higher, more pellets get to the fire box when needed. The required setting appears to fluctuate with environmental conditions.

That’s all I know, and all I wanted to share.

FWIW, smoked a pork tenderloin yesterday. It was in the mid-80s. I tested my theory again by setting the auger to 4.5. Right in the middle of factory recommended settings. It almost held. Had to bump it up to 7. Tenderloin came out perfectly.

 

[Greg Jones]

I take that to mean that when I set the minimum feed rate higher, more pellets get to the fire box when needed. The required setting appears to fluctuate with environmental conditions.

Thanks for the additional info, and with that I will recommend that you reach out to recteq support as that is not a scenario that is explained by minimum feed rate. MFR is best explained by some of the variables you mention in your particular scenario. I’m suggesting that if it is summer in Fort Bragg and you want to smoke at i.e. 225° at at your grill’s LO setting, and it is running 250°, you should try lowering the minimum feed rate. If you lower the minimum feed rate and you have flame outs, it’s possibly due to inferior pellet quality so you will want to try different pellets and/or bumping the feed rate to compensate. These two suggested actions have a different outcome. A higher quality pellet could mean you can smoke at 225° in higher ambient temps at the current feed rate, while bumping the minimum feed rate means that you can still use a lesser quality pellet and still smoke at 225°.

Having said that, if you are in a cooler climate/cooler time of year, the PID controller will increase the auger feed and/or fan cycles so that you may maintain the minimum temps. What is a possibility still, is that at extremely cold conditions, the controller cannot run at full temp and fans to maintain the desired set temp. The only option then is to get a heat/welding blanket to wrap the grill, or cook indoors!

 

[Greg Jones]

Let me also add, that there are mixed recteq support reviews on this forum. I don’t question anyone’s less than positive review, but I’ve always found my experiences with support to be stellar. Don’t hesitate to give them a call. You can literally call them, be put on hold, you hang up, and someone will still call you back. They will not avoid you.

 

[JimB]

Sounds like you've made intelligent and astute observations. Something doesn't sound right to me though. I've had my RT-340 for a couple of years now and have smoked year round - from ambient temps under 20F and snowing in February to 95F and sunny in July. In the cold, I've never used a welding blanket or similar for insulation.
Through all of this, I've never altered any factory controller settings. I typically turn the grill on with the temp control set to Low (~180F). Initial warm-up typically overshoots to around 230-250, then settles down to 180 fairly asymptotically. This process takes 20-30 minutes. When it's really cold (15-20F), it will drop below set temp by 10 degrees or so, then overshoot by 10 degrees or so, but only once or twice at most. When I adjust temperature, it's usually no more than 30 degrees - i.e. 180 to 210, then 210 to 225. Usually, once the grill is warm and the fire pot is going, there minimal overshoot on these adjustments. From there on, any serious temperature spikes correlate with me opening the lid.

 

[Grilltreats]

I bought a Bullseye 380 about 6 weeks ago. After a few sessions, I think I’ve got the hang of it. Just want to share my story for those who are struggling, or those who may be thinking about buying one.

First smoke, decided to go big and do a pork shoulder. Read the section in the manual about the auger settings, and how it should stay between 3.5 and 6, and should never go above 6. Thought it was strange that they would program it to be able to go up to 25, but tell me not to set it above 6. But whatever, they built it, I'll do what they say. Put the shoulder in, set it to 225 and walked away. Poked my head out about 15 min later, the temperature gauge said `150. Listened to the fan run constantly and watched as it fired back up to 300+, then slowly settle back down. Got to 225, the fan started to run intermittently. Sure enough, just a minute or two later, the temperature started dropping again and no smoke was coming out. \

I'll cut to the chase. The fire pot was burning out. The auger wasn't pushing pellets in fast enough to keep it going. It would burn out, overreact and shoot up to 300+, then try to settle at 225. Rinse and repeat. Needless to say, the shoulder didn't turn out great.

In the shooting community, there's something called DOPE. Data On Previous Engagements. You get a zero, you shoot at various ranges, various temperatures, various wind effects, collect the data and record it. When it comes to do something for real, you can observe what's going on in your environment, adjust your scope and your hold accordingly.

Play with your auger, and record the data. And screw the 6 setting. I tried a shoulder again a couple weeks later. It was 50 degrees outside and I wanted to cook at 225. I started the auger at 9, and I sat and watched it. Didn't take long for the temperature to drop. So I bumped the setting up to 11. Temperature settled, then dropped. BUT, this time it didn't drop as low. Almost like it was able to recover faster. So I put it at 13. The temperature settled AND held around 225 for longer. It eventually dropped, but again it didn't drop quite as low as the time before. So I set it to 14. Temperature settled at 225. Then it dropped to 224. 222. 221. 220.... 220.... 221... Couple minutes later it was up to 230. 229. 227. 225.... 225..... Found the sweet spot.

Did baby back ribs yesterday, again at 225. It was 65 out, but a little windy. Started at 10, but it eventually dropped on me. Set it to 11.5 and it settled. I left the house for 6 hours. When I came back, the temperature gauge said 224 and the ribs came out wonderfully. Did chicken drumsticks and split chicken breasts today. 55 degrees out, cooking at 275, set the auger to 13 and it held 272-280 for 90 minutes straight. Chicken was awesome.

This smoker is wonderful. But you have to play with it and get a feel for it. And don't listen to the manual when it comes to the auger setting.

Awesome! Experience trumps opinions every time. I have the original Bullseye with the one auger speed knob, so I don't have to fiddle with the minimum settings but do have to fiddle with the knob.

 

[cobb]

I bought a Bullseye 380 about 6 weeks ago. After a few sessions, I think I’ve got the hang of it. Just want to share my story for those who are struggling, or those who may be thinking about buying one.

First smoke, decided to go big and do a pork shoulder. Read the section in the manual about the auger settings, and how it should stay between 3.5 and 6, and should never go above 6. Thought it was strange that they would program it to be able to go up to 25, but tell me not to set it above 6. But whatever, they built it, I'll do what they say. Put the shoulder in, set it to 225 and walked away. Poked my head out about 15 min later, the temperature gauge said `150. Listened to the fan run constantly and watched as it fired back up to 300+, then slowly settle back down. Got to 225, the fan started to run intermittently. Sure enough, just a minute or two later, the temperature started dropping again and no smoke was coming out. \

I'll cut to the chase. The fire pot was burning out. The auger wasn't pushing pellets in fast enough to keep it going. It would burn out, overreact and shoot up to 300+, then try to settle at 225. Rinse and repeat. Needless to say, the shoulder didn't turn out great.

In the shooting community, there's something called DOPE. Data On Previous Engagements. You get a zero, you shoot at various ranges, various temperatures, various wind effects, collect the data and record it. When it comes to do something for real, you can observe what's going on in your environment, adjust your scope and your hold accordingly.

Play with your auger, and record the data. And screw the 6 setting. I tried a shoulder again a couple weeks later. It was 50 degrees outside and I wanted to cook at 225. I started the auger at 9, and I sat and watched it. Didn't take long for the temperature to drop. So I bumped the setting up to 11. Temperature settled, then dropped. BUT, this time it didn't drop as low. Almost like it was able to recover faster. So I put it at 13. The temperature settled AND held around 225 for longer. It eventually dropped, but again it didn't drop quite as low as the time before. So I set it to 14. Temperature settled at 225. Then it dropped to 224. 222. 221. 220.... 220.... 221... Couple minutes later it was up to 230. 229. 227. 225.... 225..... Found the sweet spot.

Did baby back ribs yesterday, again at 225. It was 65 out, but a little windy. Started at 10, but it eventually dropped on me. Set it to 11.5 and it settled. I left the house for 6 hours. When I came back, the temperature gauge said 224 and the ribs came out wonderfully. Did chicken drumsticks and split chicken breasts today. 55 degrees out, cooking at 275, set the auger to 13 and it held 272-280 for 90 minutes straight. Chicken was awesome.

This smoker is wonderful. But you have to play with it and get a feel for it. And don't listen to the manual when it comes to the auger setting.

I bought a Bullseye 380 about 6 weeks ago. After a few sessions, I think I’ve got the hang of it. Just want to share my story for those who are struggling, or those who may be thinking about buying one.

First smoke, decided to go big and do a pork shoulder. Read the section in the manual about the auger settings, and how it should stay between 3.5 and 6, and should never go above 6. Thought it was strange that they would program it to be able to go up to 25, but tell me not to set it above 6. But whatever, they built it, I'll do what they say. Put the shoulder in, set it to 225 and walked away. Poked my head out about 15 min later, the temperature gauge said `150. Listened to the fan run constantly and watched as it fired back up to 300+, then slowly settle back down. Got to 225, the fan started to run intermittently. Sure enough, just a minute or two later, the temperature started dropping again and no smoke was coming out. \

I'll cut to the chase. The fire pot was burning out. The auger wasn't pushing pellets in fast enough to keep it going. It would burn out, overreact and shoot up to 300+, then try to settle at 225. Rinse and repeat. Needless to say, the shoulder didn't turn out great.

In the shooting community, there's something called DOPE. Data On Previous Engagements. You get a zero, you shoot at various ranges, various temperatures, various wind effects, collect the data and record it. When it comes to do something for real, you can observe what's going on in your environment, adjust your scope and your hold accordingly.

Play with your auger, and record the data. And screw the 6 setting. I tried a shoulder again a couple weeks later. It was 50 degrees outside and I wanted to cook at 225. I started the auger at 9, and I sat and watched it. Didn't take long for the temperature to drop. So I bumped the setting up to 11. Temperature settled, then dropped. BUT, this time it didn't drop as low. Almost like it was able to recover faster. So I put it at 13. The temperature settled AND held around 225 for longer. It eventually dropped, but again it didn't drop quite as low as the time before. So I set it to 14. Temperature settled at 225. Then it dropped to 224. 222. 221. 220.... 220.... 221... Couple minutes later it was up to 230. 229. 227. 225.... 225..... Found the sweet spot.

Did baby back ribs yesterday, again at 225. It was 65 out, but a little windy. Started at 10, but it eventually dropped on me. Set it to 11.5 and it settled. I left the house for 6 hours. When I came back, the temperature gauge said 224 and the ribs came out wonderfully. Did chicken drumsticks and split chicken breasts today. 55 degrees out, cooking at 275, set the auger to 13 and it held 272-280 for 90 minutes straight. Chicken was awesome.

This smoker is wonderful. But you have to play with it and get a feel for it. And don't listen to the manual when it comes to the auger setting.

Thank you for this post! I got my bullseye last week and was having serious buyers remorse after my first cook. I had the same experience of the temperature yo-yoing between 170 and 400 while trying to cook at 250.

I bumped the feed level up to 6.5 and the temperatures have been holding strong without the crazy dips and peaks. Looking forward to steady temps!

 

[Ruslan124]

I had identical issues after upgrading my rt680 to the 3 RPM Auger motor.

The symptoms of wide temperature swings are directly related to minimum feed rate. If you set it too high, the auger dumps too many pellets into the pot and causes a large rise in Temps (as much as 100 degrees above for me) because it has lots of fuel in the pot. Only when the pellets have been mostly burnt does the temperature fall. Typically it will fall below the set temp (20 to 30 degrees for me) before more pellets are dumped and the cycle is repeated.

It appears that because it drops by 30 ish degrees it dumps even more pellets Because the gap to the set temp is reasonably large. I.e. per suport, the controller will use the minimum feed rate to make small temp increases. It uses a larger rate when closing a larger gap. Watch what happens when you set max temp to see what i mean. Listen to the fan on the auger to get a sense of how long the auger is running each time it kicks in.

The secret is to find the lowest setting for the Auger that does not result in a burn out. Once you find it you will only need to change it if the temperature outside has a large swing.

I had it set at 10 and it still didn't help, Today I spoke with support and found out it was possible to set 5 (I couldn't go lower than 10 in the app). Once set at 5 it performed flawlessly.

This setting however is also related to the speed of the auger, obviosly 3 rpm dumps more pellets every minute the auger turns than the 1.6 rpm originally installed. The higher the rpm the lower the minimum feed rate you need.

Again this information came from support.

Results, initial set temp is reached within plus 2 or 3 degrees. Temp drops when cooking are less than 10 degrees before adjusting back to set point.

P.S. I thought I heard support say there was an internall setting related to the auger 3 RPM. It would make sense but I am not 100% sure.

 

[kstone113]

I had identical issues after upgrading my rt680 to the 3 RPM Auger motor.

The symptoms of wide temperature swings are directly related to minimum feed rate. If you set it too high, the auger dumps too many pellets into the pot and causes a large rise in Temps (as much as 100 degrees above for me) because it has lots of fuel in the pot. Only when the pellets have been mostly burnt does the temperature fall. Typically it will fall below the set temp (20 to 30 degrees for me) before more pellets are dumped and the cycle is repeated.

It appears that because it drops by 30 ish degrees it dumps even more pellets Because the gap to the set temp is reasonably large. I.e. per suport, the controller will use the minimum feed rate to make small temp increases. It uses a larger rate when closing a larger gap. Watch what happens when you set max temp to see what i mean. Listen to the fan on the auger to get a sense of how long the auger is running each time it kicks in.

The secret is to find the lowest setting for the Auger that does not result in a burn out. Once you find it you will only need to change it if the temperature outside has a large swing.

I had it set at 10 and it still didn't help, Today I spoke with support and found out it was possible to set 5 (I couldn't go lower than 10 in the app). Once set at 5 it performed flawlessly.

This setting however is also related to the speed of the auger, obviosly 3 rpm dumps more pellets every minute the auger turns than the 1.6 rpm originally installed. The higher the rpm the lower the minimum feed rate you need.

Again this information came from support.

Results, initial set temp is reached within plus 2 or 3 degrees. Temp drops when cooking are less than 10 degrees before adjusting back to set point.

P.S. I thought I heard support say there was an internall setting related to the auger 3 RPM. It would make sense but I am not 100% sure.

Thanks for the info. I have a 3 rpm motor (from RecTeq) I need to install in my Bull. I've had it awhile and just haven't made time to install. I knew I would have to change the minimum feed rate once installing but always good to give someone's experience before I do that.

 

[Ruslan124]

Thanks for the info. I have a 3 rpm motor (from RecTeq) I need to install in my Bull. I've had it awhile and just haven't made time to install. I knew I would have to change the minimum feed rate once installing but always good to give someone's experience before I do that.

I get over 700 degrees (previously 500 degrees) in about 15 minutes (previously it took forever) with the 3 rpm with amazing temperature holding stability. Put the install on your priority list,