Recently purchased a Rec Tec 340, had a chargriller akorn forever and wanted something "easier," heard great things about Rec Tec and the 340 was in my price range.
Had a question about lower temps on the grill, mainly 225-250. If you are looking at the grill, the hotspots are on the right side and along the front and back edges... no biggie, figure the heat shield is pushing hot air to the edges and around the drip pan.
If the grill is set to 250 the far right edge is around 300-310, front edge 280ish, middle of grill around 265ish. Nothing scientific on my part, just maverick thermometer and the two that came with the grill. Several cooks verified right side cooks faster... again no biggie I can rotate the food or keep stuff on the left.
Did a brisket when I got the grill, wanted it 250 so I ran the grill at 225 to offset the fact certain parts of grill are hotter. 5 hours into the smoke, the grill just flamed out. Saw temperature was dropping well below 200 and only thing I could hear was the fan. Took everything out and saw the firepot was empty. Turned off the grill, cleaned out the interior, turned it back on and ran it at 250 rest of the way.
In a week since having the grill done several cooks around 350-500... burgers, chicken, steak... no problem.
Picked up a pork shoulder and wanted to run it lower, 225, so set the grill to run at 215 ... that kept the very middle of the grill around 215-240. 2 hours in, I see temp drop and check on the grill and can only hear the fan.
Turn grill off, take everything out, and see fire pot is empty. Clean everything out... throw some pellets in the pot and turn it back on. Auger barely spins and I can see that there are no visible pellets in the auger. Auger spins maybe a full turn and then stops, just hear the fan. Turn the grill on and off several times, still no pellets come out and the igniter rod is not getting hot at all to ignite the pellets in the pot.
Begin checking the hopper to see if there is any type of jam, but unable to check everything because of the metal grate about 3/4 of the way down.
At some point, 10-15 minutes of the grill running and just hearing the fan, the auger starts spinning and puts pellets in the pot... takes a while for the igniter rod to turn on but eventually it does. Driving me crazy, trying to troubleshoot what caused grill to flame out, why the grill did not want to start again, and then all of a sudden it decides to start working.
I was using B&B wood pellets that I grabbed at Kroger. I realize there are differences in pellets, but B&B is a big brand and I did not see any obvious obstructions and they were dry when I put them in the hopper.
Outside temp was mid 60's, a little windy, grill on a covered patio and turned it so neither the front or back is directly in the wind.
Has anyone had similar issues with the 340, if so how did you fix it? I changed the settings on the auger feeder from default of 60 to 40, will see if it helps on the next long cook.
Had the grill a total of one week, so pretty frustrated ... I realize things have issues and its a pipe dream to chase a constant temp for 12+ hours, but I want to figure out if it is something I can fix or if this grill cannot maintain 225ish for an extended amount of time. Sorry for the long initial post, just a buzzkill having some issues with brand new grill.
Had a question about lower temps on the grill, mainly 225-250. If you are looking at the grill, the hotspots are on the right side and along the front and back edges... no biggie, figure the heat shield is pushing hot air to the edges and around the drip pan.
If the grill is set to 250 the far right edge is around 300-310, front edge 280ish, middle of grill around 265ish. Nothing scientific on my part, just maverick thermometer and the two that came with the grill. Several cooks verified right side cooks faster... again no biggie I can rotate the food or keep stuff on the left.
Did a brisket when I got the grill, wanted it 250 so I ran the grill at 225 to offset the fact certain parts of grill are hotter. 5 hours into the smoke, the grill just flamed out. Saw temperature was dropping well below 200 and only thing I could hear was the fan. Took everything out and saw the firepot was empty. Turned off the grill, cleaned out the interior, turned it back on and ran it at 250 rest of the way.
In a week since having the grill done several cooks around 350-500... burgers, chicken, steak... no problem.
Picked up a pork shoulder and wanted to run it lower, 225, so set the grill to run at 215 ... that kept the very middle of the grill around 215-240. 2 hours in, I see temp drop and check on the grill and can only hear the fan.
Turn grill off, take everything out, and see fire pot is empty. Clean everything out... throw some pellets in the pot and turn it back on. Auger barely spins and I can see that there are no visible pellets in the auger. Auger spins maybe a full turn and then stops, just hear the fan. Turn the grill on and off several times, still no pellets come out and the igniter rod is not getting hot at all to ignite the pellets in the pot.
Begin checking the hopper to see if there is any type of jam, but unable to check everything because of the metal grate about 3/4 of the way down.
At some point, 10-15 minutes of the grill running and just hearing the fan, the auger starts spinning and puts pellets in the pot... takes a while for the igniter rod to turn on but eventually it does. Driving me crazy, trying to troubleshoot what caused grill to flame out, why the grill did not want to start again, and then all of a sudden it decides to start working.
I was using B&B wood pellets that I grabbed at Kroger. I realize there are differences in pellets, but B&B is a big brand and I did not see any obvious obstructions and they were dry when I put them in the hopper.
Outside temp was mid 60's, a little windy, grill on a covered patio and turned it so neither the front or back is directly in the wind.
Has anyone had similar issues with the 340, if so how did you fix it? I changed the settings on the auger feeder from default of 60 to 40, will see if it helps on the next long cook.
Had the grill a total of one week, so pretty frustrated ... I realize things have issues and its a pipe dream to chase a constant temp for 12+ hours, but I want to figure out if it is something I can fix or if this grill cannot maintain 225ish for an extended amount of time. Sorry for the long initial post, just a buzzkill having some issues with brand new grill.