What Happened?

[MGS]

HI All
new here and looking for some sort of answer as to what just happened. So I bought a RT-340 in April and I've used it quite a few times. Ribs/pulled pork/chicken..... things that didn't take too long. Well family BBQ today and I figured I'd switch it up and do a nice slow and low brisket. I cleaned my Recteq and filled up the hopper with their premium blend. Set the cook at 200. Every was running as normal. Put the brisket on at 11:30 last night. Kept an eye on it and things are running along fine and I head to bed at midnight. I wake up at 6:30 to find my cook temp at 81degrees. The fan is running( i can hear it) but no fire/smoke. The hopper is completely full. The data read out on the app said it dropped to 140 degrees at around 2am then i got a 300 degree temp spike Then it falls down to 81 degrees. I just threw away my 12plbs brisket. I will be calling rector tomorrow at 8:00am. Any thoughts as to what might have happened?

 

[Greg Jones]

I’d guess that pellets are bridged in the hopper. It’s not that uncommon when using longer pellets in the 340 and the Bullseye.

 

[MGS]

Once everyone wakes up ...I'll go inspect it.

 

[Jim6820]

I have found the Recteq Ultimate pellets to be very inconsistent in length; some measuring up to 2” in length. They can easily bridge and block pellet supply flow from the hopper. I have a half-dozen bags of them (that I got as a bundle when buying my grills) and I now only use them in my smoke tube. That should be about a two-lifetime supply.

Personally, I’m using Kingsford 100% Hickory, Bear Mountain Hickory or LumberJack Hickory pellets now. They are all more uniform in length, averaging about an inch, and I’ve had no bridging issues with them. YMMV

 

[Greg Jones]

I have found the Recteq Ultimate pellets to be very inconsistent in length; some measuring up to 2” in length. They can easily bridge and block pellet supply flow from the hopper. I have a half-dozen bags of them (that I got as a bundle when buying my grills) and I now only use them in my smoke tube. That should be about a two-lifetime supply.

Personally, I’m using Kingsford 100% Hickory, Bear Mountain Hickory or LumberJack Hickory pellets now. They are all more uniform in length, averaging about an inch, and I’ve had no bridging issues with them. YMMV

I expect that it is also dependent as to who is supplying what at any point in time. I’ve found the recteq pellets to be stellar, but I haven’t bought any recteq pellets since December 2020. On the other hand, I had the new Costco pellets bridge in both my Bullseye and 340, yet work fine in the 700. I also had the LJ charcoal pellets bridge badly in the Bullseye, but others seem to love them. I have begun to believe that the pellet vendors decide where to source pellets on a daily/weekly basis, thus the inconsistency.

 

[ol' stonebreaker]

You'd think the there'd be a wayfor the makers to to sort the pellets out by length, ie: break the long ones. I have an idea for it but it would probably fall on deaf ears.

 

[Pops]

I use the Recteq ultimate blend exclusively, and have never had an issue in the last 3 years. That being said I do pay attention to my cooks and have alarms set if temps fall. Meat is too expensive to waste!

 

[DenStinett]

Welcome to the Forum
Sorry to hear your first attempt at a Brisket had an issue
You didn't waste the Meat, just cook it another way until you get the RT issue sorted out
Yeah, check-out the Fire Pot for excess Ash or "Clinkers"
And empty the Hopper to check for any blockage there
Also, check to see if the Auger is turning

 

[matjac33]

This happened to me once. I emptied my hopper and there was a ton of dust. I vacuumed really well and now I sift my pellets really quick through a strainer to remove dust. No issue since.