Bull Former Trager grill owners.

[JustCarl]

Question for former owners of Trager grills, I started with Texas pellet grill with a digital controller, and I have grown to love it, the only complaint I had was build quality. Then I got the Rec Tec 700 bull, and love the build quality, but it seems I have to learn cook times all over again before I would do baby back’s 250⁰ 4 hours maybe 4.5 on a cold windy day, and I would do it day in and day out no problem. Now with the 700 same temp same pellets, 5 to 5.75 hours, same for chicken wings 250⁰ 1 to 1.5 hours Trager 2.5 on Bull 700. I don’t know that the Trager temp fluctuated so much that it helped or hurt, but I got accustomed to it, and the cook times. Is anyone else having the same problem?

 

[spartanhuntr]

Ok. You aren't asking my opinion, but i am intrigued by your question. If you set the temp on the 700 and you have a cook time in mind... my experience is it holds that temp like a champ.

My wife just asked me when i made some country ribs whether the temp outside makes a big different. And my answer (maybe inaccurately so) was that the cooker, weather, etc. doesn't make a huge difference. And that the key was setting the temp at the right temp and then not opening the lid 20 times. if it is 20 degrees and windy or 90 degrees and still, i see mostly the same (yes will burn more pellets on the cold and windy days for sure - but temp still doesn't hugely fluctuate).

What i am getting to. If you have confidence your trager was on temp (e.g. you set it at 275 and it was at 275) and you have confidence in your RecTec the same (which i do for my 700 as i have used other probes to validate), then the times shouldn't be much different?

Sorry to stick my nose in as i am not a former Trager guy. But, it seems to me it shouldn't matter if your tragar was 275 when it said it was? Personally - when i see something on-line... or watch a malcom video and he says "i cook it at 275 for 4 hours" i do just that and knock on wood... so far never an issue?

 

[cutplug]

4.5 is about right for BB on either my old Traeger or Bull. Did 6 racks yesterday. 2 hours @ 180
1.5 at 225 and 1 at 250.
Might want to double check your Bull temp probe with another remote probe.
Also pellets could be another variable...

 

[JustCarl]

Thanks for your interest, I was not saying that the 700 temp is off, in fact when I set the temp it stays that way almost exactly, and that might be the difference between the two. And yes as I mentioned I was using the exact same pellets, because I know what kind of results I was getting with the brand of pellets I was using and just wanted to start with something that I knew. Not complaining about the the 700, just more interested in I was the only one with the same problem.

 

[bfletcher]

Here's my opinion: Spartan holds the key. Do you know your Texas and your Bull run the same pit temp as you make your comparisons? The reported temp from each controller is not going to offer that verification; it seems to me you would need one external thermometer to interchange between the two units for that verification. And then of course you may need a larger sampling of data since we know that every piece of meat cooks at its own pace (practically speaking). Plus, there are going to be temperature variances throughout the pit on each smoker. I have the Ironwood and the Bull. I made an offset adjustment on my Bull because I believe the reported pit temp was inaccurate.

 

[Buckeye smoker]

Thanks for your interest, I was not saying that the 700 temp is off, in fact when I set the temp it stays that way almost exactly, and that might be the difference between the two. And yes as I mentioned I was using the exact same pellets, because I know what kind of results I was getting with the brand of pellets I was using and just wanted to start with something that I knew. Not complaining about the the 700, just more interested in I was the only one with the same problem.

@JustCarl ..just to clarify, you synced your meat probes and then sync your chamber temp probe to those ?...
It may be holding temp but not accurate temp*

 

[JustCarl]

@JustCarl ..just to clarify, you synced your meat probes and then sync your chamber temp probe to those ?...
It may be holding temp but not accurate temp*

My bad, I should have known better, I was not interested in the fact that either one of the grills was holding exactly the same temperature, I merely said that I was not getting the same cook times as I did before.

 

[velocd]

I’ve had the same issue coming from a traeger Jr to the RT590. The only thing I can think of is the Traeger had some pretty big temp swings and the 590 is rock solid.

For example, on my traeger I’d run chicken thighs 30min on smoke, the turn up to 375 and cook each side for another 25 minutes. The 590 I will run my 30min super smoke but the next step is to go up to 400 for 20-25 minutes to get the same result.

Again, I just chalked this up to temp swings/bad temp management by the traeger.

 

[cutplug]

What was the question again???
Just kidding Just Carl.
Horns Out!

 

[Bytor]

Coming from a stick burner, I would chock it up to consistent temperatures. I would always tend to get temp swings, because I couldn't keep the fire consistent, or got distracted with other things going on.

When I got my Trailblazer, I noticed cook times tended to be longer than I expected. Staying at 225+/- a degree of two over 8 hours is definitely going to have a different outcome than 30-50 degree swings over 8 hours.

 

[JustCarl]

That's exactly what I was talking about, I don't know if allowing extra cook time or upping the temp would be a better idea?

 

[Bytor]

I just allow for more time. I don't want to give up smoke in favor of a quicker cook. Tho, that's just my 2 cents....

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I'm going to toss in another variable in addition to difference actual temperature. The amount of airflow also has a part in this. Think convection oven.

 

[JustCarl]

I'm going to toss in another variable in addition to difference actual temperature. The amount of airflow also has a part in this. Think convection oven.

Dose the Rec Tec put out more air than the Trager? They are both pellet grills after all.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Dose the Rec Tec put out more air than the Trager? They are both pellet grills after all.

I have no idea. I'd guess the fan is doing the same thing. if there is any difference in the convection, it might be in the dimensions and shapes of the pit, deflector and drip tray. Just spit-ballin here.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Anyone still have a working Traeger they can use an independent themometer to check it against a RT?

 

[GLF35]

My son in law had a month old Traeger when we went out to visit a few months ago and we decided to smoke a prime rib. I asked him if he had much of a temperature swing while smoking and he had not checked it so we decided to test it! He has a thermoworks temperature probe and after 60 minutes of checking, the thermoworks was showing temperature swings of up to 25 degrees. So it is possible your Traeger was actually running 25 degrees warmer then indicated. I use the 3-2-1 method on my baby backs and they come out fantastic! My son in law visited us in January and after looking at and using the 700 he said he definitely bought the wrong grill! His comment was it was like comparing a Chevy to a Mercedes!

 

[JustCarl]

My son in law had a month old Traeger when we went out to visit a few months ago and we decided to smoke a prime rib. I asked him if he had much of a temperature swing while smoking and he had not checked it so we decided to test it! He has a thermoworks temperature probe and after 60 minutes of checking, the thermoworks was showing temperature swings of up to 25 degrees. So it is possible your Traeger was actually running 25 degrees warmer then indicated. I use the 3-2-1 method on my baby backs and they come out fantastic! My son in law visited us in January and after looking at and using the 700 he said he definitely bought the wrong grill! His comment was it was like comparing a Chevy to a Mercedes!

I will probably agree with the temperature swing, but that's not to say that the Traeger is a bad smoker, my biggest problem was the quality, but that's not to say that the Traeger is a bad smoker, in fact I think the temperature swing gives a better smoke flavor, but I'm not saying I would trade my 700 for another Traeger.

 

[myrison]

Quite a timely post. A friend of mine who switched from Trager to RecTec about 3 months ago asked me almost exactly the same question tonight. His experience was the same as yours. His Trager fluctuated temps broadly and had a hard time holding them, but overall cooked faster for most recipes. Overall he is super happy with the change to RecTec as his family is loving the way everything is coming out, but was finding he had to relearn all of his mental cook times.

So while it sounds like you have to recalibrate your brain for RecTec, you're not alone! Hope that helps!

 

[JustCarl]

Quite a timely post. A friend of mine who switched from Trager to RecTec about 3 months ago asked me almost exactly the same question tonight. His experience was the same as yours. His Trager fluctuated temps broadly and had a hard time holding them, but overall cooked faster for most recipes. Overall he is super happy with the change to RecTec as his family is loving the way everything is coming out, but was finding he had to relearn all of his mental cook times.

So while it sounds like you have to recalibrate your brain for RecTec, you're not alone! Hope that helps!

Thank you for the information, I didn't think I was the only one having the same learning curve. And I'm sure it will be just a matter of time before I forget all about the Traeger. ?