# Rec Tec Igniter Rod & Customer Service



## smokin218r (Nov 2, 2017)

Hi all, about a week ago my Rec Tec failed to light.
I have owned it for about two years and haven't had to replace the rod yet.
Pretty good from what I've heard about hot rods going out.
Two days ago I was pretty sure the rod was the problem and manually lit the fire pot to test it out.
When I had the smoker up and running, I put everything back together.
My temp wouldn't hold at all. It was about 28 degrees out and gusting wind.
I have cooked on it in these weather conditions before with little to no problem.
Now I was wondering if it was something with my pellets. It has been pretty rainy and cold here and I though maybe the pellets in the hopper absorbed to much moisture.

So.... Last night I was going to replace the hot rod and clean out all of the pellets from the hopper and auger. There is a code to punch in on the display to make the auger run without the fan or heat. A test mode. I called Rec Tec customer service around 9:30pm to get said code. (I had the code at one time but lost it.) My call went to voice mail and I left a message.

In the meantime, I was going to try to do a mini step by step on replacing the hot rod on a Rec Tec and do a post on here with the info. Started to take pics and get to work.
BTW, my RT shipped with a spare hot rod and fuse...

Then, I got a call from Chris with Rec Tec. This was 10pm.
I told him what I was doing and what I had called them for.
Said "all I really need was the code for the auger".
Chris said "[email protected]#$ That!" "Im going to walk you through replacing the hot rod and get you up and running tonight". I thought, "wow, this is awesome!".
He stayed on the phone with me the entire time to replace the hot rod, run tests on the auger, the blower fan, and new hot rod. He had me fire up the smoker and make sure everything was running. While waiting for the smoker to come to temp, we had some fun talking about shooting and optics. After another 20-30 min my smoker was not up to temp yet. (Set at 225 and 28 degrees outside) After some discussion, Chris figured that my fan was probably starting to fail. It did ultimately get to 225 and hold. Took a little longer then normal.

Chris said he was going to send out a new fan and a spare hot rod. All he needed was the name or number from the original order. I snapped a photo of my order and text it to him with an immediate text reply that he had me all taken care of. I already have an email this morning from Rec Tec with the order!

We were on the phone for an hour and twenty minutes!
The hot rod replacement only took 10-15 and was really easy. If you have any questions, give me a shout. 

I cant begin to tell you how impressed I am with this service.
He was nice, we had some fun, and got my smoker going.
Hard to find any place that will call you back at 10pm, speak English, and be willing to take the time to make sure everything is working and the customer is satisfied.
This is why I went with Rec Tec over other grills.

I've only had one other issue with the grill and it was my fault.
It has always performed great and I really enjoy cooking on it.
Wanted to share this kinda long story with you for anyone interested in getting a Rec Tec.
Thanks!


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## tropics (Nov 2, 2017)

Always good to hear a company is on the ball
Richie


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## lwestby (Nov 2, 2017)

They do have exceptional service.  I went through a few of the old style heat rods and they ended up sending me the new ceramic rod and burnpot at no charge (typically would be an upgrade charge).


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## smokin218r (Nov 14, 2017)

tropics said:


> Always good to hear a company is on the ball
> Richie



Yeah, they are really good. Thanks!



lwestby said:


> They do have exceptional service.  I went through a few of the old style heat rods and they ended up sending me the new ceramic rod and burnpot at no charge (typically would be an upgrade charge).



I was looking at the upgraded pot and rod.
Might have to order the kit.


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