First cook! No alarms though....

[SeattleDon]

Got my Stampede Wednesday, just in time for a Christmas brisket. Things going well, get notifications from the app about grill temp, but had the probe alarms set for 160F and they both blew past it with no alarms - iOS 14.3, latest App. Reset alarms to 170F, and they didn't go off again.
Anyone else have this issue or a fix?
Thanks!
Don

 

[Waterboy]

@SeattleDon i think they are having problems with that part of the app. I usually set phone alarms to remind me to check on my cook when this happens.

 

[Lager1829]

I got no notifications whatsoever today. Seems in the past few weeks they stopped.

 

[CajunSmoker]

I have to believe that this is due to the server being overwhelmed with all that are using the app at the same time. on slower days you hardly hear anything about this issue. Just my thoughts.

 

[Ostrichsak]

I'm pretty disappointed with this glaring omission as it effectively renders my RT-590 useless. I just got my smoker and did a couple of quick smokes after the break-in. Yesterday, for Christmas dinner, I threw a dry-aged prime rib on the smoker at low. The goal was to monitor it until it hit 130 degrees IT and then pull it to sear. I placed bot probes (it was a 3" behemoth so two is better than one I figured) and set the alarms to 130 degrees on both probes. I kept impatiently checking occasionally as I trying to get a sense of when it might be done so we could base the other sides and what not off of that. Fortunately I was because it never did alert me. The only way I knew was manually opening the app to check and then the last time it was a 135 degrees. Not ruined but damn near.

Up next was a Boston Butt I took out the freezer a few days prior to thaw. The plan was to kick the smoker up to 225deg and put that on for an overnight smoke so that it was done by morning and we'd have pulled pork by lunch to enjoy all weekend. I can't do that since I can't set an alarm for 165 to foil and then again at 200 for when it's done. Whenever I do this it usually hits that foil temp sometime between 2:00-5:00am so w/o an alarm I'm supposed to get up every half hour to check the temp on the smoker? So much for the convenience of a pellet smoker.

So now I'm left with a dry-aged steak for Christmas dinner that was overcooked and a thawed Boston Butt that I can't smoke plus we'll have to figure out something else for meals this weekend. I'm none too happy about this. If it's a server issue then it's most likely a capacity issue given that everyone wants to show off their toy for friends and family or (as is the case with us) just cook up a special meal for a special occasion so of course their server solution is going to see massive amounts of traffic. This isn't an excuse though. I use my smoker every holiday as I'm sure most folks do so they need to bolster their server solution to handle this much bandwidth otherwise.... time to find a new smoker.

That's sad to say because I'm new to Recteq and have been VERY positive about them to this point to friends, family and those I discuss the topic with online. This was based on my limited experience to this point but this is a massive glaring hole in Recteq's game and leaves a very sour taste in my mouth. When you don't have much sweet experience to go off of to dilute that one bitter experience it's awfully bitter.

 

[Gonefishin]

Have alarms ever worked? I've never tried them.

 

[Waterboy]

My alarms have worked when I use them. We didn’t cook this Christmas so I didn’t go through the frustration that others have. My recommendation would be for all who were frustrated by this contact Rec Teq (by email so their phones aren’t overwhelmed). Expressing frustration on this forum is understandable but won’t be productive in getting things fixed. Swamping their email with expressions of frustration and disappointment will get their attention in a positive way. They do seem to care what about their customers so let them know this is a significant problem and hopefully they will get things fixed.

 

[Ostrichsak]

Have alarms ever worked? I've never tried them.

Yes. In fact, one of my larger annoyances (before this) is the fact that with the app I seemingly have to adjust the temperature only with the + and - buttons. If I have it at say 225 degrees and want to go up to 425 degrees I have to tap the little + like eleventy-billion times and the annoying part is that the notification made each time you "set" the temp alerts on your phone that the temp is set. This means that as you try to hammer on that + key you get an audible sound with every single one. I tried to just click on the temp to get a keyboard to type in the temp I want (like my GMG DB WiFi did) but I don't see a way to do that yet. Maybe operator error in terms of not knowing how to key in the desired temp but either way the notification shouldn't alert every stinkin' time.

My alarms have worked when I use them. We didn’t cook this Christmas so I didn’t go through the frustration that others have. My recommendation would be for all who were frustrated by this contact Rec Teq (by email so their phones aren’t overwhelmed). Expressing frustration on this forum is understandable but won’t be productive in getting things fixed. Swamping their email with expressions of frustration and disappointment will get their attention in a positive way. They do seem to care what about their customers so let them know this is a significant problem and hopefully they will get things fixed.

Mine worked when I first got it (see previous post) but nothing worked at all this day. This was the day that I REALLY needed it to work too. The other times were just thin crust pizzas mostly that just got by time so temperature (other than knowing when it's preheated to temp) isn't that important. Not the grill temp set notifications that annoyed me so much above or the probe alarms... nothing.

 

[Waterboy]

@Ostrichsak I get your frustration. My point was that folks need to make sure they pass those frustrations on to Rec Teq or they won’t get fixed. No one from Rec Teq monitors this forum so they need to be contacted directly. There were several threads about notifications not working over Christmas but I didn’t see anyone say they contacted the company to let them know.

 

[Ostrichsak]

@Ostrichsak I get your frustration. My point was that folks need to make sure they pass those frustrations on to Rec Teq or they won’t get fixed. No one from Rec Teq monitors this forum so they need to be contacted directly. There were several threads about notifications not working over Christmas but I didn’t see anyone say they contacted the company to let them know.

Oh, I fully plan to when I get enough time to craft a detailed email. I just wanted to post here to vent a little bit about it and hopefully let others know they're not alone enough to want to contact Recteq. As to Recteq not monitoring these forums... I wouldn't be so sure. You'd be stupid to not have your finger on the pulse of forums and social media feedback of your products in 2020.

 

[mooncusser2k]

Yes. In fact, one of my larger annoyances (before this) is the fact that with the app I seemingly have to adjust the temperature only with the + and - buttons. If I have it at say 225 degrees and want to go up to 425 degrees I have to tap the little + like eleventy-billion times and the annoying part is that the notification made each time you "set" the temp alerts on your phone that the temp is set. This means that as you try to hammer on that + key you get an audible sound with every single one. I tried to just click on the temp to get a keyboard to type in the temp I want (like my GMG DB WiFi did) but I don't see a way to do that yet. Maybe operator error in terms of not knowing how to key in the desired temp but either way the notification shouldn't alert every stinkin' time.

Try pressing and holding the +/- buttons.

 

[Micky]

I cooked two briskets for Christmas. Set the alarm to 160. Worked as it should have. That was first time that I have set an alarm.