Bull Drip pan not covering outer edge/silicone/and foil.

[JohnDS]

Hey I love this pellet smoker, but a few issues I had asked rectec and never had gotten a response.

1) The outer edge of the drip pan does not fully extend past where the grates lay on the lip, allowing grease to drip past the pan. I'm sure its to allow heat to come up, but why wouldn't they make the pan slightly larger to accommodate actually catching all the drippings and still have room for heat? It's kind of annoying because I tend to lose cooking space making sure all meat is within the size of the pan so grease doesn't drip down the sides underneath pan.

2) Everything seems welded on the pellet hopper except the inside. For some reason Rectec decided to use high heat silicone to seal the inner box seams instead of welding them. The problem is the pellets dry the silicone out and it continuously flakes off and moves with the pellets and eventually burns. Anyone else have this issue?

3). This one is not an issue for Rectec, but I stopped foiling the pan because the grease somehow always works it's way underneath the foil anyway. Anyone else have this problem?

 

[Buckeye smoker]

1) are you using the Rt-700? Sounds like you really have that puppy loaded if it's running of the end of the grill Grates. If not, you may want to upgrade to a RT 700 for more space? Yes the heat has to come around the drip pan.
2) I haven't had any issue with the high temp seal, but if you are, I'd suggest calling the customer service. I'm sure they'd take care of you, and you could address your concerns too.
3) I stopped covering my drip pan also, it's not that big of a deal to me. I just use a soft scraper and clean it before most cooks. Takes about as long as refoiling it.

 

[JohnDS]

Yes I have the 700. Well when cooking a lot of chicken wings or even 3 rack of ribs, I have to Angle the ribs in a way to avoid grease dripping past the pan. I just don't understand the point of having all that grill space if it can't be used without making a mess below the drip pan. I'm sure they could've made the pan a little wider and still been able to allow for heat and smoke to come up.

Thank you for your input. Anyway I'm doing two pork shoulders today. Can't wait.

 

[sandyut]

Add a shelf or two you can nearly double to grilling space available. Or upgrade to the
RT-2500 BFG PELLET GRILL.

 

[bfletcher]

1) The outer edge of the drip pan does not fully extend past where the grates lay on the lip, allowing grease to drip past the pan. I'm sure its to allow heat to come up, but why wouldn't they make the pan slightly larger to accommodate actually catching all the drippings and still have room for heat? It's kind of annoying because I tend to lose cooking space making sure all meat is within the size of the pan so grease doesn't drip down the sides underneath pan.

On R-T's YouTube channel they advise against laying meat along the extreme edges; if I recall correctly, this is for the very reason that you cited where drippings will miss the drip pan and also because the edges can be hotter due to airflow patterns.

It's easy for us laymen to ponder questions such as "why isn't the drip pan wider?" but we didn't design nor engineer our smokers and we don't have test equipment to collect data that resulted in their final decisions

 

[okie]

Hey I love this pellet smoker, but a few issues I had asked rectec and never had gotten a response.

1) The outer edge of the drip pan does not fully extend past where the grates lay on the lip, allowing grease to drip past the pan. I'm sure its to allow heat to come up, but why wouldn't they make the pan slightly larger to accommodate actually catching all the drippings and still have room for heat? It's kind of annoying because I tend to lose cooking space making sure all meat is within the size of the pan so grease doesn't drip down the sides underneath pan.

2) Everything seems welded on the pellet hopper except the inside. For some reason Rectec decided to use high heat silicone to seal the inner box seams instead of welding them. The problem is the pellets dry the silicone out and it continuously flakes off and moves with the pellets and eventually burns. Anyone else have this issue?

3). This one is not an issue for Rectec, but I stopped foiling the pan because the grease somehow always works it's way underneath the foil anyway. Anyone else have this problem?

The the GG set for the 1070 also extends past the drip pan edges (front and back). Solution: either cut the GG's about 2 inches shorter, or buy a new set from GG's web site that are 17.5", and center them. Yes they will slide back sometimes when using a spatula to cook, but when centered, they will now drip into the drip pan instead of down the sides into the barrel. Meanwhile there's no real loss of cooking space.I am working on a mod to keep them from sliding. Will try using a small all metal spring clip on the regular grates to make a barrier. Will send a pic when I find the right clip.

 

[SmokeOCD]

With Shorty GG - the edges aren't going to get the high heat to transfer into the rest of the surface area.
Side by side comparison would be neat to see if there is actually any difference.
Why is it important that the drip pan catch 100% of the drippins? It will mix with ash and get vacuumed out, or burn off over the next couple of cooks. I am shocked how clean the inside of the grill still is; Vacuum and pizza days have helped to keep it clean.

 

[okie]

With Shorty GG - the edges aren't going to get the high heat to transfer into the rest of the surface area.
Side by side comparison would be neat to see if there is actually any difference.
Why is it important that the drip pan catch 100% of the drippins? It will mix with ash and get vacuumed out, or burn off over the next couple of cooks. I am shocked how clean the inside of the grill still is; Vacuum and pizza days have helped to keep it clean.

Good point. I have not tested, but also have not noticed a difference in performance. So happy with my 1070 since minor mods that I'm not anxious to fool with new concerns. (unless new problems arise).