RT-1250 Tips for taking care of your grill(s)

[Jvonberg72]

Hi all,

I received my new 1250 3 weeks ago and have been loving it. I have been spending way too much time cooking, buying meat and accessories, and reading this forum. Thanks for all the great advice on recipes and spending my $ without even knowing it. i haven’t been able to find a good thread on taking care of the new grill so if there is already one available I apologize for my lack of search skills and please point me to it.

I will be using the pellet smoker for lower temp longer cooks, so far did the requisite chicken thighs, smoked tri tip, smoked pork tenderloin, pig candy, and burgers. I chose to foil the drip pan and understand to replace often along with vacuum out the ash but what other tricks to people do to keep there “tools” in good shape? would like to learn cleaning and maintenance tips/interval to make it last so future purchases can add to the “toolbox” instead of replacing.

Cheers

 

[Motodad1776]

Oh man......now you are opening Pandora's box, the OCD folks here are gonna overwhelm you with their neurotic tendencies.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Oh man......now you are opening Pandora's box, the OCD folks here are gonna overwhelm you with their neurotic tendencies.

Hola!

Occasional pizza cooks help keep the build-up down on the inside of the grill.
Recteq covers are not great. Waterproof them with a spray from the camping store.

 

[Gonefishin]

Cleaning/maintenance habits run the gamut, everyone is different. Personally i vac the firebox roughly every 3rd long cook, at the same time i scrape the inside lid and sides above the grate with the grill wire brush. Every cook I clean the grate with the wire brush to get the crap off but never worry about getting it sparkling. I also scrape the drip pan, no foil, before every long cook, also clean out the collector groove and grease pout to some extent.

once a year I clean the outside to remove most of the creosote or whatever it is, I’m not anal about it being spotless, there is a point of diminishing returns.

Mine is out in the weather, covered. I get about 18 months out of a cover. I use a jar in the grease pot and toss it when it’s about half full.

I have no special tools other than the vac and a SS scraper for the smoker, everyth else is borrowed from the grill. A must have for me is a good instant read thermometer and a multi channel blue tooth thermometer cause I don’t trust the onboard ones.

the only other thing I can think of is I keep a minimum of pellets in the hopper to try and limit them absorbing humidity longer then needed. Which may or may not be an issue where you live.

 

[Jvonberg72]

Thanks for the replies. Sounds like basic maintenance and cleaning, don’t overthink it, have fun cooking!

 

[DesertRat]

Padlin00 pretty much covered it. I used to brag about keeping my 590 spotless, but while I still keep it clean, I'm a little less OCD about it. I do use foil in my drip pan and I do clean the fire pit second or third long cook and I clean the outside regularly. It's Undercover and we're in the desert so humidity and pellets are not a problem. That's about it. Just use it, enjoy it.

 

[We'reSmokin'Now]

I have been spending way too much time cooking, buying meat and accessories, and reading this forum

Um.....I don't believe there is such a thing as 'too much' with any of those......
Welcome and enjoy the ride!

 

[Jim6820]

I have been spending way too much time cooking…

”Way too much time cooking?” What is this “way too much time cooking” you speak of? Ain’t no such thing around here!

 

[somemayo]

Anyone use the the recteq cleaning kit ?