RT-1070 Tripping GFCI….

[Cal1319]

So I have had my 1070 for more than a year and use it all the time. Started my ribs and went over and found the smoker was off. Tripped GFCI was the issue. Reset and ten minutes later same thing. Reset again this time 2 minutes till tripped. Tried an other outlet. 15 minutes and it trips. Reset and this time got around an hour before tripping. Tried third outlet (all different GFCI) and got 4 minutes before it tripped. At this stage the ribs were wrapped and now in the oven. What’s going? Couldn’t find any water anywhere, removed the panel and it was bone dry. I’m so confused.

 

[Jim6820]

So I have had my 1070 for more than a year and use it all the time. Started my ribs and went over and found the smoker was off. Tripped GFCI was the issue. Reset and ten minutes later same thing. Reset again this time 2 minutes till tripped. Tried an other outlet. 15 minutes and it trips. Reset and this time got around an hour before tripping. Tried third outlet (all different GFCI) and got 4 minutes before it tripped. At this stage the ribs were wrapped and now in the oven. What’s going? Couldn’t find any water anywhere, removed the panel and it was bone dry. I’m so confused.

Are you using an extension cord between the 1070 cord and the outlet? If so, try (a) plugging directly into the outlet, or (b) using a different extension cord. Sometimes, extension cords have enough "leakage" to trip a GFCI.

 

[Gonefishin]

Has anything changed for this go round? Moved the smoker, different extension, cord in the rain, added another device on the circuit, anything like that?

 

[Greg Jones]

GFCI outlets, and AFCI, degrade over time. Might be time to replace it.

 

[Cal1319]

tried two different cords. And three GFCI outlets all on their own circuits. No change. The smoker plugged in hooked up to WiFi is fine, it’s when it’s running there is an issue. And it’s random, between 3min and 1.5 hours between trips. Maybe the igniter is starting to mess up?

 

[Cal1319]

Here you can see how it was spread out. Worked for an hour or so before all the issues and then sometime after for a bit and then more issues. Dark red lines showing when it turned on again.

 

[Jim6820]

Has there been any damage to the cord that may have loosened a connection or abraided the insulation? Check the electrical connections at the control board end for any looseness, corrosion, etc.

GFCIs sense an electrical imbalance in the circuit and a loose or dirty connection can cause that. Do make sure the grill is unplugged before you check the connections.

 

[Cal1319]

I took the front off and inspected everything and nothing jumped out me that looked worn or out of place. Not sure where else to look, or what to test. I can try running the smoker with the ignition unplugged and see if that might be the culprit

 

[C. Keeper]

Give RT a call, I suspect igniter is failing or wet.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Dear @Cal1319 , sorry you made the same mistake I did. Pull the red wire ( igniter) and see if everything works. It’s usually a wet igniter, ultimately it burns itself out. I’ve lost 2 igniters and an auger motor so far in about 18 months.

 

[Cal1319]

Dear @Cal1319 , sorry you made the same mistake I did. Pull the red wire ( igniter) and see if everything works. It’s usually a wet igniter, ultimately it burns itself out. I’ve lost 2 igniters and an auger motor so far in about 18 months.

Oh great hahah. I watched the video on replacing the igniter, seems easy enough. I hope the auger motor is easy enough to replace as well. I called them yesterday but no answer and no call back. Hopefully I can get ahold of them soon so I can get a replacement. I’ll unplug it today and see if the 1070 runs fine. Much appreciated everyone.

 

[Cal1319]

Alright so pretty sure it’s the igniter. Started it up 4 min in tripped the breaker. It was fired up already so unplugged the igniter and started up again. Ran for around 2hours no issues. However I did notice giant temp swings… I thought the igniter only comes on in the beginning. Does it turn on and off throughout the cooks to keep things stable? I have never seen temp swings like this before.

 

[Gonefishin]

It does not go on and off repeatedly during a cook, just at startup.

I’ve seen swings that high, but never so drawn out. How’s the fire pot look?

 

[Gonefishin]

On 2nd thought, I can’t really say it does or doesn’t go on and off repeatedly, its not something one can see in operation.

 

[Greg Jones]

On 2nd thought, I can’t really say it does or doesn’t go on and off repeatedly, its not something one can see in operation.

You were correct in your initial observstion. The igniter is only for the initial ignition, unless there is an additional problem that snuffs the power out.

 

[Cal1319]

The only other change was that the front panel was removed, possibly that was causing the PID to freak out? Hopefully it’s not a sign of something else going on. As for the fire pot it looks normal to me. I clean it out weekly. Two weeks ago I cleaned out the hopper and all looked well enough in there as well.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Alright so pretty sure it’s the igniter. Started it up 4 min in tripped the breaker. It was fired up already so unplugged the igniter and started up again. Ran for around 2hours no issues. However I did notice giant temp swings… I thought the igniter only comes on in the beginning. Does it turn on and off throughout the cooks to keep things stable? I have never seen temp swings like this before. View attachment 20930

See if it will hold 300 steadily. If so, then you should probably adjust the minimum feed rate to feed more pellets when trying to run low temps.

 

[Gonefishin]

Could you have pinched a wire reinstalling the panel? I’ve not removed one.

 

[Cal1319]

No I don’t think so. Hopefully the RT is open tomorrow. Left two messages no call back as of yet.

 

[Cal1319]

New igniter on the way…. I’ll keep you all posted