Overheating and then underheating

[DavidGrillmour]

I'm still pretty new to the recteq and have used it maybe 5 or so times total including tonight. I just bought some sear plates and decided to do some strip steaks. We also decided we would try some twice baked potatoes which required a temp of 400. Because of the high temp for the potatoes I went with a recipe for the strip steaks at 450 and planned to put them on an hour after we started the potatoes. Shortly before I pulled the potatoes off to increase the heat to 450 I got notifications the grill was overheating. It was set at 400 but was getting up to about 425. It would come back down but then spike again. To put the steaks on i set it at 450 and pulled the potatoes off. It dipped down to 350 or so with the lid open and then it never got higher than 370. I even gave it a good half hour but it only hovered between 350 and 370. Has anyone encountered anything similar to this?

 

[Waterboy]

Were the GrillGrates on the left or right side of the grill? If on the left side they throw off too much heat near the RTD probe an throw the temps off.

 

[Pops]

I would tend to agree with @Waterboy. Has the grill been stable without the grates? I have a 590 and it has been extremely stable and consistent. The only other thing I have seen on this could be the pellets.

 

[sdynak]

Some good comments to start with

 

[DavidGrillmour]

Thanks for the replies guys! Plates were in the middle and I was using the recteq pellets they sent with the grill. The temperature has been very stable for me so far with the 590. I should say the overheating occurred before I put the plates on. I know I'm supposed to out them on before the grill preheat but I didnt want the potatoes being affected by them. The underheating was happening once the plates were in there.

 

[Greg Jones]

I expect you will be much happier with your results if you put the GrillGrates in when you start the grill, on the right side. Then if you are going to cook other food before searing, use the left side of the grill. The will transition nicely from 400° to 450° with the GrillGrates already in, but I suspect putting in the cold mass of the grates plus changing the grill temp caused the fluctuations that you experienced.

 

[DavidGrillmour]

That makes sense Greg! thanks for the reply! Do you just leave your plates in the grill all the time?

 

[Simarti28]

If the suggestions given for the grill grates don’t work I would try a new bag of pellets. I had the same issue and my pellets were the cause. The pellets didn’t look or feel wet, but I bought a fresh bag and it solved the problem.

 

[DavidGrillmour]

Thank you simarti! I did notice that it went through quite a few of the pellets this time and the hopper is getting close to empty. Will be refreshing them soon and hopefully that will help!

 

[Greg Jones]

That makes sense Greg! thanks for the reply! Do you just leave your plates in the grill all the time?

In the Bullseye, the GrillGrates are for all practicable purposes, in there all the time. I also have a set of GrillGrates for my RT-700 (bought before I bought the Bullseye) and they are never left in the Bull.

A little more detail on what I was suggesting above-I’d recommend always planning your cooks around the star of the meal, and adjust everything else accordingly. In your meal, the steaks were the star and I would plan on cooking them the best way possible, and make adjustments in how the potatoes were cooked. Potatoes, unlike the steak, are very forgiving so they adapt well if needed.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

I have a dumb question. How do grill grates raise the temp?

 

[C. Keeper]

I have a dumb question. How do grill grates raise the temp?

Don't know if it raises temp as much as the aluminum absorbs the heat.

 

[Greg Jones]

I have a dumb question. How do grill grates raise the temp?

TLDR: they conduct heat much more efficiently.
For a longer read.

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

TLDR: they conduct heat much more efficiently.
For a longer read.

I’m sure that the engineers here can explain it better than I can, but in a nutshell, the grates are made of aluminum. Aluminum has the distinguished honor of not only having high thermal conductivity, but fairly decent heat retention as well (per volume, as opposed to mass).

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

The site says they're anodized. With what?

 

[IPlayWithMeat]

The site says they're anodized. With what?

An acid bath and electrolyte solution, but what exactly, I don’t know.