Rec Tec Arrived! (But does not agree with Maverick?) Pic Heavy

[smokin218r]

Hi all, My Rec Tec arrived last Thurs. I had it shipped to work and brought it home that afternoon. Of course I had to start the assembly right away. I found it fairly easy to assemble and very well built. I think there has been some upgrades to the bottom of the control panel that are not updated in the instructions yet. Had me scratching my head for a second, but figured it out. Anyhow, here are some pics of that.

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

So I decided to do the burn in procedure that night, this is where my concern come in.

As I was letting it burn I figured I would play the Maverick ET 732 that came with the bundle we purchased.

I was disappointed to see such different readings from the Rec Tec reading and the Maverick.

IMG_20150507_223540601.jpg

• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

You can see the BBQ temp is 40 to 50 degrees off. I realized my ice water test was not accurate with the lack of ice in that glass.

So, I boil tested all three probes today. (Also got the PT100)  All were good.

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

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• smokin218r
• May 11, 2015

So my questions are:

Has anyone else found this?

Is it where Rectec places their probe?

Is it where I place my "BBQ" probe? (I did try multiple locations)

I know I can run off of the maverick now, but if something is wrong with my control panel I would like to fix the problem.

It would be nice to set the grill at 225 and have it be close, not 50 degrees off.

That being said, I did do a lot of cooking on it this weekend (will post that in another thread) and had 20 to 30 mph winds, rain, and 50 degree weather. No matter what temp I was cooking at, it held it perfectly. Overall I am very happy with it, just need to nail down the temps.

Thank you all!!

 

[timtimmay]

Got mine recently as well. I'll put the probes to it next time. I've seen several reviews that day the temp is spot on. Did you make sure there is a 1" gap between the rec tec temp probe and the side wall? They mention that it's important a few times in the instructional video. If it's to close to the side it sends a false high reading to the controller.

 

[smokin218r]

Thanks Tim! I did check the probe location. The "holder" for it keeps it away from the wall of the chamber.

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• smokin218r
• May 12, 2015

 

[westby]

1) Make sure the RT probe is not too close to the side wall.

2) Make sure you let the temps stabilize for a while before checking grate temp.

3) I put 20 lbs of fullers earth (floor dry) in the bottom of my chamber.  I think it helps even out temps, recover quicker after opening and absorbs any fat/grease that gets past the drip pan.

4) I put a 90 degree 3" elbow in it to act as a downdraft hood and pull from grate level, rather than above the grates.  I think this helped a lot and there has been data posted that shows more even temps across the grill as well.

IMAG0889.jpg

• westby
• Feb 4, 2015

Post with downdraft mod data:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/188233/downdraft-mod-affect-on-grate-temps-some-data

Post about grate temps over duration of cook:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/177637/consistency-across-the-smoking-chamber-simple-mods

 

[smokin218r]

Great info Westby. Thank You! Was yours that far off out of the box?

I assume much of the difference is due to the fact that the rt probe is high in the chamber, and the maverick probe is on the grate.

I did give it about 20 min for the temps to level out.

Love the snow covered RT!!

 

[westby]

It was off a by a good bit, but I can't recall the exact difference.  Don't quote me, but the difference at 225 - 250 was about 15 degrees and when I got up to 350 - 400, it was closer to 40 degrees.  These mods seemed to get everything close enough for me.

I hope you can get it close enough for your liking, but what others say is true - you can just compensate by turning up the grill temp a bit (but it admittedly bothered the anal side of me).

Good luck and let us know if you get it sorted out.

Lance

 

[smokin218r]

 
1) Make sure the RT probe is not too close to the side wall.

2) Make sure you let the temps stabilize for a while before checking grate temp.

3) I put 20 lbs of fullers earth (floor dry) in the bottom of my chamber.  I think it helps even out temps, recover quicker after opening and absorbs any fat/grease that gets past the drip pan.

4) I put a 90 degree 3" elbow in it to act as a downdraft hood and pull from grate level, rather than above the grates.  I think this helped a lot and there has been data posted that shows more even temps across the grill as well.

IMAG0889.jpg

• westby
• Feb 4, 2015

Post with downdraft mod data:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/188233/downdraft-mod-affect-on-grate-temps-some-data

Post about grate temps over duration of cook:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/177637/consistency-across-the-smoking-chamber-simple-mods

Just checked out those links. WOW What a difference. Looks like I am gonna run to the hardware store. The FB link with data chart works for me.

 Thanks Lance

 

[westby]

You bet!  I have to give props to up_with_pellets.  He had posted these ideas months ago and I decided to try them out.

 

[smokin218r]

 
1) Make sure the RT probe is not too close to the side wall.

2) Make sure you let the temps stabilize for a while before checking grate temp.

3) I put 20 lbs of fullers earth (floor dry) in the bottom of my chamber.  I think it helps even out temps, recover quicker after opening and absorbs any fat/grease that gets past the drip pan.

4) I put a 90 degree 3" elbow in it to act as a downdraft hood and pull from grate level, rather than above the grates.  I think this helped a lot and there has been data posted that shows more even temps across the grill as well.

IMAG0889.jpg

• westby
• Feb 4, 2015

Post with downdraft mod data:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/188233/downdraft-mod-affect-on-grate-temps-some-data

Post about grate temps over duration of cook:  http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/177637/consistency-across-the-smoking-chamber-simple-mods

Howdy, had a question. Did you just set that 90 in there? Did yours fit snug?

I picked one up yesterday and it is too loose to fit inside and too small to fit outside.

I can flare it or find an adapter, just wondering what you did.

Thanks

 

[steve knight]

My rec-tec mini arrived today, and I'm having similar issues, but there's only a 15-20 degree difference between the Maverick & the grill I wonder if probe placement might the problem..

Also, for you Rec-tec owners, something I noticed during the burn-in I noticed what sounded like  intermittent stopping & starting,(even though the unit was on the whole time) is this just the way the Rec-tec maintains it's temp?

 

[smokin218r]

 
My rec-tec mini arrived today, and I'm having similar issues, but there's only a 15-20 degree difference between the Maverick & the grill I wonder if probe placement might the problem..

Also, for you Rec-tec owners, something I noticed during the burn-in I noticed what sounded like  intermittent stopping & starting,(even though the unit was on the whole time) is this just the way the Rec-tec maintains it's temp?

I'm not positive on the mini, but I would guess it is made the same way.

What you are hearing is either the fan or the auger. Both are used to regulate temps.

On mine you can only hear the auger when the fan slows down. The auger run is like 1-2 sec. long.

 

[westby]

 
Howdy, had a question. Did you just set that 90 in there? Did yours fit snug?

I picked one up yesterday and it is too loose to fit inside and too small to fit outside.

I can flare it or find an adapter, just wondering what you did.

Thanks

Mine just sits in there and it has just a bit of play, but it still sits in there ok.  It's just a standard 3" elbow, so I'm not sure why yours wouldn't fit.

 

[vmastros]

You can call RT and they will try to help you. My advice is, don't waste time chasing the temp. Just go by the Maverick and set the RT where it needs to be to get the desired temp. Otherwise, you'll go crazy. I have an amazing smoke tube that I use on the RT. You can smoke anywhere between 225 and 300. The lower the temp, the more smoke the RT will produce. The most critical thing about bbq is to know when the meat is done. It is not at a certain

time or temp. It is when the meat is probe tender. For ribs it is the bend test.

Don't obsess over cooker. Pay attention to the product. Enjoy the RT. It is a nice cooker.

 

[steve knight]

The maiden voyage was a success,..did a couple of sirloins, which I did at 450..they turned out nicely(even if there wasn't much of a sear) but next time, I'm gonna run it wide open

 

[smokin218r]

You can call RT and they will try to help you. My advice is, don't waste time chasing the temp. Just go by the Maverick and set the RT where it needs to be to get the desired temp. Otherwise, you'll go crazy. I have an amazing smoke tube that I use on the RT. You can smoke anywhere between 225 and 300. The lower the temp, the more smoke the RT will produce. The most critical thing about bbq is to know when the meat is done. It is not at a certain

time or temp. It is when the meat is probe tender. For ribs it is the bend test.

Don't obsess over cooker. Pay attention to the product. Enjoy the RT. It is a nice cooker.

Thank You! I have noticed the difference in smoke at those temps as well.

Where do you put your smoke tube? There is another thread on smoke tubes in a RT.

 

[smokin218r]

 
The maiden voyage was a success,..did a couple of sirloins, which I did at 450..they turned out nicely(even if there wasn't much of a sear) but next time, I'm gonna run it wide open

Awesome Steve! I am to do the same on the next steaks as well. Do you have the searing grates?

Where's the pics??

 

[vmastros]

I place the tube at the back of the grill.

 

[smokin218r]

I place the tube at the back of the grill.

Gotcha. Back left corner was the consensus on the other thread.