Performed Routine Maintenance Now My Bull Won’t ignite At All

[TheRicker]

I’m late to this thread but after cleaning my RT-700 and installing the PCS RackWorks hardware, my grill had a “hard time” starting up. I still had the deflector plate, grease pan, and all shelves out when I started it. I had a small amount of pellets in the fire pot. After 5 minutes after power-on, I had no smoke…no ignition. I powered off and unplugged the grill for 3 minutes. Plugged it back in and powered on. It still seemed to have taken more than the 3 minutes that it usually takes to get some smoldering smoke. About 2-3 minutes later, the fire finally ignited. I breathed a sigh of relief and put the deflector plate, grease pan, and shelves back in and went on with my seasoning process for the new shelves.

I thought that was the end of “that” but had a similar issue when I started the grill Sunday morning to start my ribs. I haven’t been able to get back to troubleshooting yet. I need to find the documentation about “test mode”. I’ve heard yall mention it occasionally but never investigated it. Now I’m thinking I need to. Maybe resetting the controller would be a good first step.

Oh! I just installed the RackWorks stuff this past Saturday. I cleaned the grill the day before,

 

[Gonefishin]

If you haven’t done it check the igniter possition.

 

[TheRicker]

If you haven’t done it check the igniter possition.

What is it that I’m looking for? I can check to see if it’s loose. If it’s not, then I have to wonder how it’s worked for 3 years like it is. But I will check it.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I’m late to this thread but after cleaning my RT-700 and installing the PCS RackWorks hardware, my grill had a “hard time” starting up. I still had the deflector plate, grease pan, and all shelves out when I started it. I had a small amount of pellets in the fire pot. After 5 minutes after power-on, I had no smoke…no ignition. I powered off and unplugged the grill for 3 minutes. Plugged it back in and powered on. It still seemed to have taken more than the 3 minutes that it usually takes to get some smoldering smoke. About 2-3 minutes later, the fire finally ignited. I breathed a sigh of relief and put the deflector plate, grease pan, and shelves back in and went on with my seasoning process for the new shelves.

I thought that was the end of “that” but had a similar issue when I started the grill Sunday morning to start my ribs. I haven’t been able to get back to troubleshooting yet. I need to find the documentation about “test mode”. I’ve heard yall mention it occasionally but never investigated it. Now I’m thinking I need to. Maybe resetting the controller would be a good first step.

My edumacated guess is the igniter is going. (unless you've been playing with the settings like some other people)
It'll be nice to start off spring with a totally clean smoker with a new igniter.

 

[Gonefishin]

Mine went just before the warranty ran out, RT sent me one.

I was actually thinking the igniter might need adjusting. Here’s a tshooting video on it. Igniter troubles

 

[TheRicker]

Mine went just before the warranty ran out, RT sent me one.

I was actually thinking the igniter might need adjusting. Here’s a tshooting video on it. Igniter troubles

I think I remember there are settings that can be messed with but I never have. I’ve just not had any problems before. So I went and found the RT-700 manuals and I’ve reviewed them. I looked at the igniter replacement video and it doesn’t really say how far it should stick out into the firebox. It says the base of the igniter should be even with the flange on the back of where it mounts. I’ve seen posts on this forum discussing how far it should or shouldn’t stick out. I’ll have to look at it closer to see if there’s anything obviously wrong. Otherwise, I may have to “dinker” with it. I may begin by utilizing the test mode to do some manual tests…and end with a “reset”. My gut instinct is what @SmokeOCD said…it could be going bad. . We’ll see.

 

[Roaniecowpony]

I've been lucky. In November, I cooked some ribs on my RT700. I forgot/got lazy and never put the cover back on. It had half a hopper of pellets. In December, it rained a couple times and then in January, it poured several times. I finally had a reason to go out back and cook on the RT700. So, I cleaned it up and cleaned out the pot, put some pellets in from the hopper, plugged it in and started it. To my surprise, the pellets lit and the screw pushed out some more pellets, just as it should. I had nightmares of damp swollen pellets jambing up the screw and rusting it solid. I ran a slab of Steelhead at 225F and all seemed well. Running it for a couple hours may have also dried some of the moisture content of the pellets in the hopper. But, they looked good and were hard even before that.

 

[TheRicker]

I’ve had a couple of cooks in the rain and did okay. The way the hopper lid is designed, rain should drip off and not go into the hopper. That said, there’s always some risk. I like to have the cover on for inclement weather…not for cooking.

Being in the SC Lowcountry, I worry about the humidity in the summer. I’m a bit more inclined to make sure I’ve got the cover on that time of year…even with me keeping my 700 on my screened porch.