Stampede Noob here--Should I clean the built in thermometer and other questions

[kevboz]

Just got my 590 yesterday. Did the burn in yesterday. Put the handful of pellets in to prime. It took about 10 minutes for it to begin to get hot. Lots of smoke initially. Once is got up to 400 there was very little smoke. I'm assume that hotter temps will produce less smoke. After an hour I did lower it to 225 and there was a decent amount of smoke. I bought a 20 LB bag of Traeger cherry pellets at the local Ace hardware store.

Obviously the internal thermostat is going to get very dirty. Is it a good idea to clean it regularly? Any recommended cleaners or just use a little soap and water?

I'm not impressed with the vents. If you're doing a long smoke and you get some heavy rain you can get a decent amount of rain right on the food. I guess I'll just order the vents from reqteq.

I also have the grill cover. Are there any issues with smoking during a heavy rain in the electronics?

Many thanks!! Doing my first ribs tomorrow

 

[Greg Jones]

The question about cleaning the probe was discussed yesterday Here

I’ve cooked in a steady rain before, no problem with the electronics. Have not cooked it what I would call a heavy rain.

Others will need to chime in on the 590 specific questions. Congrats on your new smoker!

 

[Mike]

The electronics are not in any water tight container by no means but they are very well protected from the elements.

I think you'd be just fine in the rain, other than it would drive me crazy leaving my recteq in the rain but that's just me.

I typically clean my internal thermostat probe after every few cooks. It's probably more often than needed but it's a great way to make sure everything is working at it's optimal level. A 3M scotch brite pad works great for this job!

 

[CajunSmoker]

Vents for the 590 are back in stock.

 

[Smoker4]

Congrats. I have a 700, but it cooks in rain, sleet and snow. As far as I'm concerned it's not supposed to be inside, it's going to have to live on the patio. I do cover it when not in use.

I recommend you calibrate the probes. Mine were of quite a bit. There's a RecTec video on that.

 

[Charlie]

Hey! The electronics aren’t water proof mine quite working after a rain storm
keep it undercover in the rain the control boards are expensive.