Temp control issue

Seanjordan20

Member
Active Military
Messages
21
Location
Augusta, GA
Grill(s) owned
  1. BFG
Anyone having issues with keeping the temp relatively close to where you have it set. I have cooked on this grill 3 times and cant keep it close to 235. It does good for the first few hours then afterwards it goes to 280 and beyond. After about 8 hours I cant keep it under 300. I have turned the minimum feed rate down to its lowest setting and turned the temp down to 210. Is the grill defective? I dont know how many times I can calibrate this thing. I am seriously thinking about returning it if I cant figure this out.

I am using Rec Tec pellets and no matter what time of day or the temperature outside this issue is happening.
 
I just got a RT-700 a few days ago and have done two cooks on it. My temps have been holding fine. That’s a strange thing yours is doing.
 
I am going to go to the company tomorrow morning to get some insight. It defeats the purpose of having the grill if I can’t control the temp.
 
My bull doesn't act this way. I have ran through well over 100 lbs of pellets and have not seen this happen.
 
I went to RECTEC today to speak with them and was told it may be something in my settings.

They wanted me to call them once I got home to go through some checks. When I got home I went through the checks and they had me change the temp calibration setting back to 0 (I had it on 5 because it was burning too hot during initial calibration). Since I have had a brisket and 4 butts on the grill.

I have the temp set at 225 with a 3 minimal feed rate. It stayed at 225 for 35 mins then raised to 245 for 20 mins. Now I’m sitting at 240 with a total cook time at 85 mins. The grill is in a location where the ambient temp is 80. It’s 90 outside of its location.

At this point I don’t know what else to do with this grill. I will keep monitoring it for another couple of hours if it rises above 250 then I will have to switch to old faithful. As I’m out side it seem as if the fan is making this weird noise that it was not making when I first got it. It just started with this cook.
 
I talked with RecTec and they wanted to replace the temp module. I swapped it out and will cook on the grill tomorrow to see if it fixes the issue.
 
So I grilled yesterday around 8 hrs. The first couple hours temp stayed at 275. The next two hours it fluctuated from 289- 298. For the first 4 hours the top was not opened by anyone. I put the ribs, Mac and cheese, and cabbage on then left for church.

Once I came home I put the chicken on. The temp was at 298 when I first opened it. Once I put the chicken on and spray the meats at my usual intervals the temp stayed closer to 275. This is me also having to take my sides out and ribs to wrap them up in peach paper to do the final cook.

At this point i do not have confidence in this grill enough to do a 16 hour smoke and know it’s keeping the right temperature. Am I the only one having a temp issue with there grill?
 
Two thoughts come to mind.

First, there aren't very many BFG owners to compare with at this time as deliveries just started earlier this month from what it looks like. If what you're seeing is teething problems with a combination of the control system and the size of the cook chamber it may take some time and patience if you're in for the long haul. I wouldn't expect that the whole field of RT owners is a relevant comparison for your particular unit.

Second, you're in a better position to ride it out than most since you're in the same town as RT headquarters. It would seem that they could work with you, if you're willing, better than with most customers to sort this out. It probably comes down to your tolerance for being a beta owner (I've done the beta thing in the past with other products and have learned I'm not the ideal subject for that process). They do have a history of standing behind their product and working to solve issues so, if you have faith, this will likely be resolved in time.
 
Your first point is spot on. I do not know how many they have sold, but I assumed it’s not many since the forum is not as active. I do know there are some out there and hope they get on so I can get reliable feedback from other BFG owners. It looks to me that the other grills are doing just fine.

I am in the best position living here in Augusta, but I will not be here for long due to being in the military. I am relaying the information to RT and right now it seems as if they do not know how to address the issue. The thought of it being one of the bigger grills has come to mind. I think they would have accounted for that in the firmware/algorithm they use. What I don’t want is to have a grill that I paid $3000 for not to work as intended. I only made this purchase to avoid being up all night while grilling. I do a lot of grilling for others which if working correctly, can save me some long nights.

RT last resort is changing out the RTD which I will try to get tomorrow. I’m hoping it will work, but honestly, I think it’s software related. RT has been very helpful and they are a great company with great products.
 
Hopefully Mike will see your reference to being active duty military and hang the appropriate sticker on your header. (y)
 
I am in the best position living here in Augusta, but I will not be here for long due to being in the military.

Thank you for your service @Seanjordan20.

I am relaying the information to RT and right now it seems as if they do not know how to address the issue.

Glad that you are here sharing the information as it's sure to be a great help to others as well. If for nothing else the forum does a great job getting indexed by search engines so even those that are not members might very likely be helped by any info you're able to share.
 
I talked with RecTec on Thursday and apparently someone else is having the same issue as I am. I was told they are trying a few things and will get back with me. At the worst they will make a house call.

Come the 3rd I am just going to return it if they have not figured it out. I have too many events to do this summer starting in 2 weeks. Old faithful will have to do since it keeps temperatures better.
 
@Seanjordan20 it's unfortunate RecTec is having these issues with the BFG, but it's good to hear they are working on it at least (unlike some other company I've been hearing about lately with temp issues).

I really hope Rec Tec can get this resolved soon.
 
I’m new to the group, pellet grills and a BFG owner in Las Vegas, NV that is having temperature issues. I chose a RECTEC for their rock solid temperatures, customer service the BFG because I cook for large groups. My temperature problems are a little different. I have been cooking on It almost every day for three weeks now. The first long over night cook it stayed within 2 degrees for a total of 18 hours at 225. I was on cloud 9 over how well it did. Then the outside temperature climbed into the 80s+ and can’t maintain anything lower than 250. I have been working for 10 days with RECTEC to figure out what the problem is. The feed rate is all the way down, we have tried raising the rain caps, propping the lid open a couple of inches with a ball of foil and I have run three brands of pallets and all are the same result. On low today I was at 220 in 15 minutes then at 275 and climbing fast at 75 minutes. I hope they can find a solution soon!
 
Hello All,

I just found this post and wanted to chime in as I'm having the same problem maintaining low temps. I have the stampede (RT580), its only 3 months old and I've cooked about 8 things on 225ish, including long cooks like pork shoulder and recently a beef brisket. The first few times it was flawless at holding temp. The last 3 or 4 it starts out great, stays at the temp until I open the lid to mop or baste a few hours in, then it goes up at least 50-60 degrees after I close the lid and stays there. In one instance (see photo) it shot up to 345 with a 225 setting!! The last time I tested it and it stayed up there for over an hour. Even when I lower the grill temp it doesn't come down, so I find myself having to turn off the grill for 30 mins... for the brisket I had to shut it off at least 5 times!! I've reached out to RT but have heard nothing yet (in fairness I just called and left a VM today, however didn't get a response from my feedback submittal last week).

Important to note I live in Arizona, so obviously outside temps could be a problem, but was told that is what sets the RT's apart, that they are built to counter outside elements. My friend down the street has an newer Traeger and it holds temps just fine. Thanks for any input...

Frustrated in AZ!
 

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It has been a couple weeks since an update. I finally got a chance to grill today. Last week I went to RT because they have supposedly found the issue with the temp. I was told there are 2 different manufacturers of there pellets and one was burning too hot. I went and picked up 2 bags of the “not burning so hot” pellets. I only smoked 200 wings today at 230 for 2.5 hrs. During that time everything was fine it held temp pretty well almost always at its mark. It went 10 degrees too hot for about 5 mins but I’m putting that on me opening the grill to do a spray down.

I have 10 butts and 20 slabs to due in 2 weeks so that will be the real test (16hrs). My problem was mostly happening after 3 hrs. Although the cook today seemed to be great I am hoping it is a fix to this saga.
 
A post of the wings that came out perfect. I always through them on a charcoal flame for 10 after smoking to get them crispy.
 

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It has been a couple weeks since an update. I finally got a chance to grill today. Last week I went to RT because they have supposedly found the issue with the temp. I was told there are 2 different manufacturers of there pellets and one was burning too hot. I went and picked up 2 bags of the “not burning so hot” pellets. I only smoked 200 wings today at 230 for 2.5 hrs. During that time everything was fine it held temp pretty well almost always at its mark. It went 10 degrees too hot for about 5 mins but I’m putting that on me opening the grill to do a spray down.

I have 10 butts and 20 slabs to due in 2 weeks so that will be the real test (16hrs). My problem was mostly happening after 3 hrs. Although the cook today seemed to be great I am hoping it is a fix to this saga.
Hi, Me and a Buddy each bought a BFG, He got his first (mine will arrive this Wednesday 19th because of shipping problems with Estes Co., they actually lost my BFG.....Called Rec-tec and they replaced my lost BFG) and is also having TEMP control issues. His actually goes almost 100 degrees ABOVE HIS SET TEMP! He called Rec Tec and they had him lower the FEED RATE down. When he gets a chance hes gonna try to smoke something again. After reading your post, I really hope that the PELLETS are the problem. If that doesnt fix the issue, Im not even going to unpack my BFG, Im sending it straight back and getting a refund.
 
I feel his pain. From the beginning my feed rate was at the lowest temp and always burned too high. If he smokes before I do post the results. I have been through everything and still get the same results. Hopefully these pellets do the trick. They no long give or sell the other pellets with the BFG since this is the only grill having the issues. ??our fingers because I hate to have to return it since it’s such a great concept.
 

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