RT 700

[Tmac]

I'm new to rec teq but I have been pellet smoking for years.So far I'm very impressed with my RT700 but today I turned the smoker off after a few hours of low and slow trip tip cooking and I came back outside about an hour later and the smoker is rolling smoke like the initial start up but the smoker is turned off and no lights are on..I turned it back on and then back off and it seems to be fine now but is this common or do I have something weird going on with the controller?

 

[Jim6820]

It does seem to happen sporadically to some folks, especially when shutting the grill off after a hi-temp cook without first dropping the temp for a bit. I have had it happen once on my RT-340 as well.

Since you say you were doing a low-temp cook before shutting the grill off, that is a bit more unusual, but not unheard of. RT is aware of the problem, but doesn’t seem to be actively pursuing a solution.

I drop my grill temp to around 225 for a few minutes before shutting it off. Then, I unplug it. That seems to have stopped this unwanted behavior.

 

[Tmac]

Thanks for the quick response..now that I think back I did turn it up to 350 after smoking the tri tip to grill some boneless skinless chicken thighs right before I shut it off..in the future I'll turn it down to like 200 for a few minutes before turning it off.

 

[JGW]

The RT shutdown procedure is too quick, and dangerous. Always turn it down before shutting it off after high temp cooks.

As Jim said....they are aware and have been for years. Obviously, they don't really care if their customers burn their grill or house down.

 

[Tmac]

Thanks for the response JGW..that is a little concerning.The deciding factor for me going with a Req Teq was the customer service. I was having issues with a almost new Pit Boss and their customer service was lacking to say the least so I cut my losses.i hope I don't regret my decision. In the meantime I'll turn the temperature down and let the grill come down to 200 before I turn it off but that shouldn't be necessary I don't feel.

 

[Jim6820]

Thanks for the response JGW..that is a little concerning.The deciding factor for me going with a Req Teq was the customer service. I was having issues with a almost new Pit Boss and their customer service was lacking to say the least so I cut my losses.i hope I don't regret my decision. In the meantime I'll turn the temperature down and let the grill come down to 200 before I turn it off but that shouldn't be necessary I don't feel.

You are correct; it shouldn’t be necessary, but it really isn’t a deal breaker either. Just taking the simple shutdown precautions detailed above will keep you out of trouble. All grills have some issues and the ones RT owners experience are, for the most part, far fewer than owners of comparable price-class grill owners experience. Even with their warts, RT grills probable provide the best bang for the buck in the current marketplace.

 

[SmokeZilla]

This is an interesting discussion. I have done over 200 cooks with the RT700 and have not experienced this issue. I wonder if it was created by a particular version of the controller’s firmware? My Bull is going on 3 years old and has the single band controller with the antenna that was released in the mid 2000 time frame. The firmware has not been updated. I do high and low temperature cooks and the shutdown procedure is noisy but completes properly. Also, I am not trying to talk out of turn but I ask that everyone remind themselves that any source of fire should not be put or stored near any building, structure, overhang, or area where it can start a fire. I watch people build outdoor kitchens for thousands of dollars with the best equipment available and seem to think that their ”cost of entry” over-rides the physics and realities of fire. It never has and never will. If you have enough money to spend $40,000 on an outdoor kitchen (which isn’t uncommon where I live in Southern California), spend a little more on a halon or similar fire extinguishing system also. I don’t want to sound preachy but all it takes is for the cover to inadvertently hit the start button and turn the grill on, a software glitch (e.g., kid playing with your phone) or similar event to start today’s grills. Once started, they don’t have the ability to understand danger and turn themselves off. I was looking at a newer version of my Lynx $15,000 gas grill that is “smart” and had all the bells and whistles, and guess what? It will still set your house on fire if left unattended if there is a glitch. For those that have NG devices, please also invest the extra $300 to get an auto sensing gas shutoff to prevent unlimited fuel from causing a catastrophic condition. My neighbor is 2.25 years into having the entire back side of his house rebuilt because his outdoor kitchen designer didn’t understand the realities of fire.

I’ll get off my soap box now, pardon the interruption.

 

[Jim6820]

And, @SmokeZilla, you’ve made the discussion even more interesting! Good points on fire safety and NG precautions. In our enthusiasm for outdoor cooking and grilling, we sometimes overlook some basic safety precautions. Getting a reminder every once-in-a-while is a good thing. Thanks.

 

[matjac33]

I have cooked twice now with mine using high heat. Both times I turned it off and let it go through shut down. Both times I smelled fresh pellets burning about 5 minutes later. After the second time I took the grill apart to check the ash level and fire pot. I noticed that the pellets in the auger tube were black it is clear that the fan run time is not long enough, I understand why they dump pellets after, both to prep for the next cook and dump any burning pellets from the auger tube. I will also now turn it down before turning it off but it seems like such an easy firmware fix to extend fan time that I don't understand why they haven't done it b

 

[Tmac]

Thanks for the info matjac33..I have owned several other pellet smokers and based on the running temp at shutoff the shutdown process took longer for higher temps and it took less time for lower temps..I think the 300 second shutdown for all temps is not sufficient in certain situations.the last top of the line Pit Boss I had had issues that led me to Rec Teq but when I shut it down after a high temp cook it would take 10-15 minutes of the fan cycling off and on before it would turn completely off and I never experienced a unwanted reignition so to speak

 

[RolandS]

Interesting. I have never had a problem with my RT-700. Of course after the cooling fan shuts off I unplug every time so this issue will never occur...

 

[JGW]

Interesting. I have never had a problem with my RT-700. Of course after the cooling fan shuts off I unplug every time so this issue will never occur...

If the fire isn’t fully out and starts burning into the auger tube it doesn’t matter if it’s plugged in or not.

I’m not sure you fully understand what is being discussed.

 

[PRC]

it seems like such an easy firmware fix to extend fan time that I don't understand why they haven't done it

I installed a Savannah Stoker PID controller in my Treager 10 years ago. They have a "fan off" setting that can be set from 100-150 degrees internal temperature during shutdown. I set mine at 120 degrees (default setting) and never had any auger hopper fires or burned pellets in the auger tube. That could be a very easy programming change for RT to make to their PID and would eliminate a lot of support/warranty calls. Would be nice to shut down your smoker and not have to worry about and watch for this happening.