Bull Just purchased the Bull

[derocknc]

The eagle has landed.. I'm pretty impressed by this so far. Granted, I haven't put it together yet but the packaging looks great and it came so fast. One of the hinges was slightly poking through the box but it doesn't appear damaged or anything. Looking good so far. Going to finish up some work and get started putting it together.

 

[Motodad1776]

I was indeed fully clothed, but most certainly not sober when I put my Stampede together.....congrats to the OP and welcome to the collective.

 

[RolandS]

I finally pulled the trigger yesterday on a the RT-700 and I'm really pumped about it. I went with the advice of some on here and am waiting to use it until I purchase any mods. I did go ahead and grab the cover and 100lbs of pellets. The coolers were tempting but even at a discount those things are pricey. I got this notification today that it has been 'shipped' but that seems awful quick, plus its so close to me. Are they based in South Carolina?
View attachment 15442
I'm in Charlotte, NC if you cant tell from my great penmanship, so I gotta think it'll be here in no time? There hasn't been a shipping update so maybe 'shipped' just means they assigned it to that service and a label has been created. I won't blame them if it ends up taking a while with all the nonsense. I was hoping to show off the results of this new smoker during Easter but I'm probably cutting it close to get this thing in, learn how to use it/ruin some meat before I can create a viable end product.

I've read through the forums a bit so don't have any real specific questions other than if anyone has any tips/tricks on assembly/what to look out for. Just came here to say hello since I plan on posting some food if I happen to end up proud of it.

Follow the directions. It may not be manly to follow directions but the proper assembly order does matter ; ) I have the RT-700 and love it. I would recommend the optional front folding shelf. Attached photo has front shelf folded down.

I'll be making Tri-Tip today in the snow... Welcome to Spring in Cleveland OH!

 

[derocknc]

That looks awesome. I've been a little delayed due to March Madness and also not being able to find my tools so if I can't dig through and find it unpacking I'll be heading to Home Depot in a bit to get the 17mm socket wrench. I feel like I could maybe pull off what's needed with pliers but it'd probably be annoying.

 

[derocknc]

Update: had to bite the bullet and assemble it myself since nieghbor buddies were out of town. Wasn't so bad but I probably took longer than an hour. One thing thats a little bit of a bummer is I can't connect to the app because my router only has on band (5.0ghz) set up. I may be able to mess around with the settings and also its not a huge deal because I don't mind walking out to check it.

My only real concern is I started the burn in about 35 minutes ago and its been a bit slow to get going. I maybe should have added more pellets to the box. It did start to heat up a bit but then after checking it at 361 I went back out maybe 3-4 mins later and it had gone down to 360, is that normal? I also only saw a little bit of smoke come out one time and there hasnt really been any smoke since.

 

[Beach Bum]

There will be minimal smoke at 360, so no worries with that issue. Do make sure you have plenty of pellets in the hopper, keep the lid closed and give it a bit longer on temperature

 

[derocknc]

There will be minimal smoke at 360, so no worries with that issue. Do make sure you have plenty of pellets in the hopper, keep the lid closed and give it a bit longer on temperature

Right after I posted that I checked and it had gotten to 397 so looking good. So at higher temps you get less smoke? Interesting.

 

[Beach Bum]

Right after I posted that I checked and it had gotten to 397 so looking good. So at higher temps you get less smoke? Interesting.

Yes. After you do your hour, reset the temperature to 200, let the smoker naturally get there and you will see lots of smoke.

At high temperature you have an efficient burn and limited smoke. At the low end the burn is purposely inefficient, so more smoldering pellets with more smoke.

 

[derocknc]

First 'seasoning' cook was a success. Apologies, no pics, because the camera on my phone is messed up and I'm too stubborn to buy a new one (other pics were from wife's phone). I'm so impressed so far. I went with 10 bone-in chicken thighs just because I watched the recteq video on burn-in/first cook and thats what they used. I was really only doing it as a formality (and for lunches during the week) so I could start a 'real' cook tomorrow but I just ate one of them and it was phenomenal. I couldn't be happier with the outcome on the day. Other than the app not working, which is not a huge deal to me.

I did find that either a) 400 degrees for 45 minutes is a conservative measure to make sure its done, or b) my probes are off, because at about 40 minutes the probes were reading 185, even upwards of 190s when we were shooting for 170-175. Maybe its warmer here in NC than wherever they conduct their videos. I also used a Smartpro ST49 to check as well and it was pretty consistent with the probes, but it's temperature kept rising so I'm not sure how useful that is during a cook. I suppose those are more for after you pull it?

Either way, I have a lot to learn but I was shocked at how juicy and tasty that chicken was.

 

[Motodad1776]

You can calibrate the probes, I did such and checked with a trusted external probe and they are now more than accurate enough for consistent readings.

 

[Harry]

Ah that's good to know.. guess I'll put it on Sadie's pee spot in the grass then. Also, the eagle has landed.. I'm too impatient to wait for my neighbors help so we'll see how this goes. May get a hand from my wife.

Mine arrived Friday, put it together after watching a YouTube video (I’m a visual learner), really simple. My daughter helped me flip it over. Doesn’t take much. It’s just bulky. Did the burn in Friday night. Pork butt went on Saturday morning. Came out amazing. Did smoked wings today, fabulous. Cranked up the heat to crisp the wings, went from 225 to 500 in minutes. Enjoy!