Bull FYI on Blower Fan replacement and install

[et2041]

2 weeks ago I brought my RT700 out of hibernation from this past winter. I'm in Wisconsin and it was on the deck, covered, all winter after being winterized (Pellets removed, vacuumed, cleaned up). I wanted to smoke a rack of baby backs and soon learned that my blower fan was not working. I contacted support, they asked me to spin it a couple times but this did nothing. Those blades would not spin. It seemed as though something was sticking in the motor. RecTec sent me a new fan. It arrived 4 days later and I removed the old (Guys if you have to do this make certain you put a blanket down....I did not and lost a freaking screw. They do not send ANY screws with the fan and I had to shop for a replacement...which I had to use a substitute after not finding any). So, I replaced the fan unit ....no instructions...just trial and error on positioning and today began smoking the next batch of ribs. Apparently, when you replace the fan, something messed with the auger feed which I later found out was set at 225 not the factory 65. This caused the smoker to have "runaway" heat and head north of 300. After some troubleshooting, I set it back at the factory settings and it is now all is good. Just a heads up...has anyone else sustained a blower fan failure ? My Bull is 1 year old to the month.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

Being covered on the deck all winter in Wisconsin is, to me, not a good idea. I'll bet if you take the old one apart and apply a little oil to the shaft bushings you'll find you have a replacement for later. Just make sure you get the field back in the way it came out. Otherwise the fan will run backward. I found this out the hard way on a Treager I had.

 

[et2041]

I don't know why Wisconsin winters would impact just the blower motor. I mean it had warmed into the 70's when I first tried to use it. Also, if these smokers are as good as they say, I would expect it to function after a 4-5 month lay off. Moving 300+ lbs of smoker into my already crowded garage for winter is not an option for me. Maybe a better quality fan would be in order by the manufacturer?

 

[DesertRat]

The OP sounds determined to maintain course. Hoping he lets us know how the new fan weathered the coming winter.

I leave my 590 on the covered portion of the patio year-round, sometimes covered, sometimes not. Usually with a load of pellets in it. Ahh, the advantages of living in the Mojave!

 

[C. Keeper]

The OP sounds determined to maintain course. Hoping he lets us know how the new fan weathered the coming winter.

I leave my 590 on the covered portion of the patio year-round, sometimes covered, sometimes not. Usually with a load of pellets in it. Ahh, the advantages of living in the Mojave!

A year late

 

[et2041]

The OP sounds determined to maintain course. Hoping he lets us know how the new fan weathered the coming winter.

I leave my 590 on the covered portion of the patio year-round, sometimes covered, sometimes not. Usually with a load of pellets in it. Ahh, the advantages of living in the Mojave!

Indeed it did. Just did 3 racks of Ribs today for Fathers Day.

 

[et2041]

A year late

Better late than never.