RT-1070 Ok. May be a little paranoid

[Walnutz]

So I’m doing my first burn, clearing out anything that may have stuck on during mfg, etc. I ran at 400 for an hour. I have since run it down to LOW to see the smoke output. Smoke seems to be heavily coming through the hopper and through pellets but not in the main cooking chamber. Thoughts?

 

[Waterboy]

Did you turn it down from 400 to Lo in stages or just drop it? If you just dropped it basically the auger will turn off (and occasionally on) to lower the pellet feed until the temp drops. But you have a HOT burn going in the burn pot with a full auger just sitting there. That can lead to a burn back. Try dropping the temps in about 50 degree increments when going from a hot burn to lower or when turning it off after a hot cook.

 

[Gonefishin]

Never tried going from a hot cook to LO, I have however had burn back when going from a hot, like 450, right to off. I agree With waterboy about the cause and cure except for going down 50 degrees at a time. I’d try something more like from 400 to 225 or 250 before either shutting down or like you, going to LO. Play around, see what works for you.

fwiw, whenI had a burn back and it finally went out, I had to go into manual auger feed to clear all the burned pellets out. If you don’t have one, a small dedicated vac for the ash comes in handy.

 

[Smagnus]

After hanging round here for a bit Ive picked up a few pointers. When I cook pizzas I start at 425 then got to 500. No reason that I know of but I have noticed it helps stabilize the higher temp faster then going straight to 500. On pizza shut down I go from 500 to 350 with the lid open for 20 minute and let it stabilize at 350 then I’ll turn it off completely. No science behind my methods just how I have come to run my hot cooks on the bull. Last time I cooked steaks on high heat with sear kit I did a similar shut down process. Play with it and review the app for temps to see how your grill runs.

 

[okie]

Ditto all the above. I have not had any burn back problems since following my "hot cook" shutdown process.
1. Let it stabilize at the set hot temp first, (after you open it for a while at the end of a cook, it will over compensate on pellet release in order to make up for lost heat and you will have a "bonfire".) So let it stabilize to the set temp. Then:
2. Turn down to about 250 and let it drift down to that point on its own. (We just eat dinner during this time)
3. Then turn it off, or go to Low for smoking if desired. There should be no burn back.

In low temp smoke mode it's ok to just shut off after a cook. Let us know how subsequent use works for you. I find my 1070 very stable. Hope yours is the same.

 

[SmokeZilla]

I’m a simple person so I try not to over complicate things. If I start high, I open the lid to let it cool naturally until it is about 50F above my target, then close the lid. This keeps the smoker from hunting for a temperature and minimizes the probability of overshooting the temp profile. It also minimizes wear for the controller and fan assembly. Maybe it is all the years I tended to a stick burner chasing temps all over the map but I don’t think it hurts to assist the “set it and forget it” characteristics of the RTs with a little help. As a newbie to your device, always remember to do the toast test and don’t be afraid to supplement your cooks with your existing knowledge.