I have the RT-700 and I am noticing the temperature is not consistent at all. Using the recteq temperature probes I place one in the middle of the grill and discovered there was a 50 degree temperature between the setpoint and what the temperature actually ways. Tried smoking ribs the other day and the temperature again was all over the place. I have tried cleaning the grill calling recteq. I am using lumber jack competition blend pellets. Attached is the temperature graph from the last smoke
Bull Temperature fluctuations
- Thread starter pccomp
- Start date
I also did this to make sure my probe was reading accurately
The last time I called them they told me to burn my pellets completely out and clean the auger. Still did not help my temperature issue
Number 1, DO NOT use the meat probe to check the ambient temperature of the chamber.
Number 2, the center of the grill above the fire pot will be the hottest area of the grill.
The burn looks pretty steady except for that one area, did you open the grill? It seems to have dipped a bit and then spiked and returned to being steady.
One small fluctuation like that is nothing to be alarmed about as 97% of the cook looked fine.
Imagine if you will a stick burner, every time that you add a piece of wood to the chamber, you will get a drop and then a spike, if you do this 15 times throughout a 15 hour cook, you will see many spikes, no one complains about that, it is the nature of the tool.
Number 2, the center of the grill above the fire pot will be the hottest area of the grill.
The burn looks pretty steady except for that one area, did you open the grill? It seems to have dipped a bit and then spiked and returned to being steady.
One small fluctuation like that is nothing to be alarmed about as 97% of the cook looked fine.
Imagine if you will a stick burner, every time that you add a piece of wood to the chamber, you will get a drop and then a spike, if you do this 15 times throughout a 15 hour cook, you will see many spikes, no one complains about that, it is the nature of the tool.
Snorebaby
Well-known member
I agree with @Thor8594 of not using the meat probe. They are not designed to measure air temp. They need constant contact to read correctly. Get a calibrated air probe, I suggest getting a Thermoworks product, and follow RT's procedure.
I found that the RT readout (I have a 700 also) gets to setpoint before the actual temp gets there. I set my 700 to 400* and it took about 45minutes for the actual temp to reach the setpoint and was pretty good at holding the temp with only a +-5* swing. That is well within tolerance. RT suggests to do it at 250* but I decided to check it while I was doing my initial oil burnoff.
Hope this helps.
I found that the RT readout (I have a 700 also) gets to setpoint before the actual temp gets there. I set my 700 to 400* and it took about 45minutes for the actual temp to reach the setpoint and was pretty good at holding the temp with only a +-5* swing. That is well within tolerance. RT suggests to do it at 250* but I decided to check it while I was doing my initial oil burnoff.
Hope this helps.
Incorrect, I use mine right along side my ink bird to verify temps all the time. 1-2° discrepancy is all.
Snorebaby
Well-known member
Interesting.....I would think that the thermocouple would need constant contact that moving air can't provide. Thanks for the insight.
SmokeZilla
Well-known member
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From discussions I had with RecTeq several years ago regarding their probes and temperature fluctuations the posters above are correct. Their probes are not designed to measure ambient temperatures. Further, the internal probe may not be measuring the same temps as a grill level probe(s). They claim their proprietary algorithm compensates for their probe versus the controller’s temperatures to anticipate fluctuations in the temps and to keep from having over and under-runs/shoots in the temperature‘s profiles during cooks. I didn’t want to debate their software/firmware tech on how they built AI into their grills and I am still trying to build it into military aircraft, but I took them at their word as I’ve outfitted my RT700 with 12 probes from three manufacturers (inkBird, Meater 4, and Taylor) and they were within a reasonable proximity to each other. Note: I also calibrated them before my thermal cycling tests and selected temps from the 180F-525F range using a step-up cycle with stabilization periods after each new temp was achieved on the way up and subsequently, on the way back down (think thermal cycling 180-525-180 over a period of 5 hours with several interim steps in the thermal profile during testing). Keeping mindful that each device will have its own “hotspots” and cool areas but at the end of the day, the Bull can turn out consistently great results, especially if you have ever had to babysit a smokehouse or stick burner for 20 hours to get similar results. For isolated temperature spikes (sorry OP, I took the circuitous route to your question), are you using the same pellets, similar ambient temperatures for your cooks and using calibrated probes? I have found fuel sources vary considerably as does altitude. You can tell by listening at how often you grill cycles the fan’s speed and feeds pellets and ambient temperatures can make a difference along with altitude (Denver versus California). If that is ruled out, RecTeq is great at giving you guidance on changing feed rates to keep everything stable. Good luck.
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Don
t know about the bull but my 340 is hotter on the right side than on the left. I learned that grilling bacon.
t know about the bull but my 340 is hotter on the right side than on the left. I learned that grilling bacon.
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