RT-1250 RT-1250 vs RT-1070

[maca76]

I am upgrading from a gas grill and on the market for my first pellet grill. I am seeing a lot of complaints about the 1250 on this forum.

Anyone here compared the 1250 with the 1070? Would you recommend one versus the other (or neither)? The starter bundle price is very similar.

Thanks for the help!

 

[PRC]

I am upgrading from a gas grill and on the market for my first pellet grill. I am seeing a lot of complaints about the 1250 on this forum.

Anyone here compared the 1250 with the 1070? Would you recommend one versus the other (or neither)? The starter bundle price is very similar.

Thanks for the help!

Not sure what complaints you have been seeing but mine has performed flawlessly with no problems at all. I do most low and slow smoking, ribs, poke chops, steak, brisket, chuck roasts, salmon, and plate ribs. I also do beef tenderloin roasts, start for 1-1/2 hours at 200-225 to get some smoke flavor and then crank it up to 350 to finish it off.

I have seen some complaints on all of the pellet smokers about not enough smoke flavor from some folks. I use a smoke tube if I want a heaver smoke flavor, for our taste it is great. Everyone is different on what they want for the amount of smoke on their meat.

I had one problem with a wheel, but RT customer service sent me out two replacements that I got in three days.

I have no experience with the 1070 but I am old school and prefer a smokestack vs. the smoke vents in the back of the grill. Don't have to worry about smoking when it is raining, and I can put a winter cover on it without blocking smoke vents.

I kept my Napolean gas grill with an infrared side burner for searing (use it to sear steak, chops and tenderloin after I take them off the smoker). When I am in a hurry, I cook chops and steaks from start to finish on it. I do not cook hamburgers or chicken on the smoker, I use the gas grill for poultry including on a rotisserie with the infrared back burner.

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[Pacman]

I bought my 1250 as soon as they were released as I was already kicking tires on the 700 for almost a year and by the time I added accessories, the 1250 had everything I wanted for about the same as the 700 plus the new controller and cast iron heat deflector.

The 1070 didn't exist when I got mine, but it's sort of the same form factor as the 570 (sort of), and frankly I just bought the biggest grill I could justify. I rarely use the second shelf in my 1250 so the 1070 would probably be fine for my needs. I also like the looks of the 700/1250 over the 570, but that's just subjective opinion.

I've had zero issues with my 1250 so far other than being dumb once by turning the grill off at 450 without stepping down the temp so I had a back burn and smoke coming out of the hopper. On high temp cooks (mostly pizzas), I now take that extra time to step it down to at least 250 for a bit before shutting off.

I haven't had a gas grill in years and really haven't missed it. I still have an old Weber kettle and a Blackstone. I'm thinking about retiring the kettle, but I'm not sure what I'd add.

 

[okie]

I bought my 1250 as soon as they were released as I was already kicking tires on the 700 for almost a year and by the time I added accessories, the 1250 had everything I wanted for about the same as the 700 plus the new controller and cast iron heat deflector.

The 1070 didn't exist when I got mine, but it's sort of the same form factor as the 570 (sort of), and frankly I just bought the biggest grill I could justify. I rarely use the second shelf in my 1250 so the 1070 would probably be fine for my needs. I also like the looks of the 700/1250 over the 570, but that's just subjective opinion.

I've had zero issues with my 1250 so far other than being dumb once by turning the grill off at 450 without stepping down the temp so I had a back burn and smoke coming out of the hopper. On high temp cooks (mostly pizzas), I now take that extra time to step it down to at least 250 for a bit before shutting off.

I haven't had a gas grill in years and really haven't missed it. I still have an old Weber kettle and a Blackstone. I'm thinking about retiring the kettle, but I'm not sure what I'd add.

I have the 1070 (since August, 22). After a few adjustments I am very pleased. I adjusted the "Offset" and have very accurate temps at both low and high settings. I've done the same with my previous 590. Nice thing is that RT grills allow you to make those adjustments both for the grill, and the probes. Not aware that other manufacturers provide that option. Other than that, I find the 1070 to be very stable. It is well built, and the space enclosed below is a big plus. I think the price beats any similar appearing pits by other manufacturers. I have no experience with the 1250 but assume it is a modified 700 with a second shelf. I think all the recent 590, 700, 1250, and 1070 all have nearly the same guts: 3 rpm router motor being the most prominent.
There were some concerns about the auger and fire pot being below the chamber bottom and might cause heat loss below. Forget about that--I took the control panel out to inspect the underside of the cook chamber and found that it is heavily insulated under the cooking chamber and the fire pot and auger assembly are totally covered with thick foil backed insulation. As a result the underside chamber space is not significantly heated, nor does the storage chamber below get very warm during hot cooks. You can store plastic containers and pellets below safely on the bottom of the chamber. Also nice is the concealed grease trap that will accept a standard aluminum foil bread loaf container. Good luck on your selection.

 

[okie]

Forgot to add: the 30 lb front hopper/shelf combo is a big winner. Having the hopper in front, makes the foot print much narrower than the 1250, 700, or 590.

 

[SmokeOCD]

I would have gone 1250 if it was all stainless, not knowing then - the vents do get messy/ugly. Nothing a spritz of ZEP won't clean off. I think I would prefer the stack vs vents - but the 1070 has the max capacity I thought I would need and it's all stainless. I can put 10lbs of chicken on the top rack, only use the lower for something too big(too tall) for the top rack or something needing grill grates.