I experienced the BOOM as well with my 1250

What was the reason you were messing with it before? Did you do the firmware update and this still happened?

It looks like something was still burning and not just a pop and done.

I like how Recteq call it a "pop" to downplay it. It is in fact an "explosion".
Pop, poop, it's all fun.
 
So a little more context…The night before I had a grease fire, and I had unplugged the grill. Yesterday I was on the phone with Recteq trying to remedy the repeated drip
Tray grease fires, which led to the check of the settings and the fire pot etc. I think the unplugging and the fire pot mixed with burned and fresh pellets may have led to that explosion. I’ll be calling recteq today.
 
So the reply from recteq was what I thought. We tested it yesterday and got the fire pot in a state that was primed for this to happen. I should have vacuumed out the fire pot. Hopefully it’s a one and done experience. I’ll be watching startups a little closer.
 
I spoke to them regarding my back flow into the hopper and mentioned that I always bring the temp down to 250'ish to stabilize before shutting off and have been starting it with the lid open to prevent the booms. The rep said that computer doest need to have the temp stabilized at 250 before turning off, that I was fine to shut to down at 400 and that they strongly recommend never starting with the door open, that doing so could cause more issues.

Dont know what to think now. I want to trust them, clearly...but after seeing some of the issues
 
It would interesting to know what issues they think will come up from starting with the lid open. Obviously you can't get to temp with the lid open but I see zero issues with starting it with the lid open until the fire is established and the explosion threat has passed.
 
It would interesting to know what issues they think will come up from starting with the lid open. Obviously you can't get to temp with the lid open but I see zero issues with starting it with the lid open until the fire is established and the explosion threat has passed.
I bet RT will say leaving the lid open will allow air to get in 🤔
 
Ok, so my 1250 is brand new and y'all scaring me lol.

If I am reading this correctly, the pop happens if smoke is absolutely nuts and the best way to avoid it is to make sure the fire bowl is clean?

And can I shut it down from 400 directly?
 
Last edited:
A couple of things I think we've sort of cobbled together. Others with "boom experience" will offer better information.
  1. The newest firmware is supposed to "address this". We'll see...
  2. Shutting things down from a higher heat appears to overload the firepot for the next cook during the shutdown process.
  3. If your firepot is checked, particularly after longer or high temp cooks, life "should be" trouble free.
Some people strongly believe starting up with the lid open is best, but Recteq says not to...and frankly I'm too lazy to make multiple trips to start and check. I kind of like the remote start button on my phone.

I've seen a lot of smoke on startup, but it only lasts for literally 1 or 2 minutes and you can see the temp climbing. I have not had a boom. I watched multiple times and never have had an issue. I did follow points 1 through 3 though.
 
Just out of curiosity, any idea what the new software does that the previous didn't?
 
Just out of curiosity, any idea what the new software does that the previous didn't?
I'm not positive, but I think the new firmware update changed the auger behavior during start up.
Before the update, I seem to recall that the auger ran constantly (or very nearly) during start up.
After the update, it seems the auger runs intermittently during start up.

Of course, I could be completely wrong...
 
So I have a 1250 and a 340. Since my explosion I’m right at the grills at start up to 150…. Ive noticed that the grill has a “tell” that is gonna blow. Thick dark smoke pours out. I’ve encountered this two times since but I think I averted any pop just by simply opening the lid. Just a few seconds of opening and closing the lid to fan out the smoke seems to avoid it. This thick smoke occurs below 100 degrees so it’s right at start Up when the pellets are starting to burn. I have current firmware. Just my observations. Pete
 
My did this after 12 hours at 225.
And it was totally cleaned out Prior to the cook.
Had to finish the wrapped brisket in the oven.
emptied everything including all the pellets. Started from cold scratch again. So far it seems to be fine again.
This has only happened to me during the final stages of a long slow cook.
Smells like a car dieseling.
 
Last edited:

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account on our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Latest posts

Back
Top