# Ordered a new REC TEC today!



## deuce (Mar 12, 2014)

After careful consideration and much comparison I decided to go with the REC TEC pellet grill. Much Thanks to SeenRed for all of his help and for answering all of my questions about Rec Tec when I sent him a PM!

I liked the Yoder YS640 also and it was one of my top 2 choices. I just didn't care for the front and side shelf design on the Yoder, its real roomy, just too roomy for the area I will have it when stored and dont want to have to pull shelves off each time to make enough space, not a huge issue at all, but for me just would be a pain. I will get a fold down shelf for the REC TEC. I could not find much bad to say about either grill so I am sure I will not regret my choice! This is my first pellet grill and will be getting rid of my trusty brinkmann LP grill. I ordered the Searing Grates, 240# of pellets and a cover along with the grill. Ronald said there will be a thermal blanket coming out for the REC TEC by the end of summer and I will buy one then.

 I was very impressed when I got a phone call from Jamie after sending an email with questions, he answered everything I could think of to ask. I came up with more questions later and emailed them again and got an email from Ronald. Real great guys to talk to and deal with! Jamie even saved me $57 more on shipping when I called to order it. 

It will be delivered when we get back from Florida the first week in April, will be something to look forward to coming home for! I will post pics when it arrives and I get it put together. They could have sent it out today, but I would not be here when it would be set to arrive so Jamie looked at the UPS schedule to pick a day to ship it it so I will have it will be delivered when I get home.


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## bear55 (Mar 12, 2014)

You will not be sorry with your purchase.  I own one.


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## seenred (Mar 12, 2014)

Congrats Deuce!  Glad I could help answer your questions.  I bet you'll love that pit.  Ron, Jamie, Ray and all the guys at Rec Tec are great guys.  They'll work hard to make sure you are happy with your new Rec Tec.

Looking forward to seeing some of your cooks on that new toy!

Red


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## chestnutbloom (Mar 12, 2014)

Hi, I'm hoping an owner of one of these can tell me if they add smoke when they use it. Do the burning pellets create enough smoke or do you need to add an AMNPS? Would one stay lit on this grill?  Thanks -Rich


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## seenred (Mar 13, 2014)

chestnutbloom said:


> Hi, I'm hoping an owner of one of these can tell me if they add smoke when they use it. Do the burning pellets create enough smoke or do you need to add an AMNPS? Would one stay lit on this grill?  Thanks -Rich


Hi Rich.  Depends on how heavy you like your smoke taste.  At temps from 180* to around 275*, my Rec Tec makes good smoke.  The higher the set temp, the less smoke it produces.  Many BBQ eaters like a subtle, light smoke flavor in their food...and for those people, food smoked on the RT is just about perfect.  For me, I like a little heavier smoke flavor, so I will usually supplement the smoke with an AMNTS (Todd's tube smoker) for some extra smoke flavor...especially for those times when I cook at temps of 300* or more.

When I first got my RT, I tried using the AMNPS a couple times, and it didn't perform very well.  I read where Todd recommended the tubes for pellet pits, so I got one...and it performs very well in my pellet rig.

Red


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## deuce (Apr 26, 2014)

I have had my Rec Tec now for a little over 2 weeks and have done a few cooks on it. Thanks much again to SeenRed for answering my numerous messages on the Rec Tec!! Also have to say thanks to the guys at Rec Tec who probably will stop answering my phone calls when they see who is calling soon. It took me awhile to figure this pit out, well not really the cooking part, that was no problem. The issues I thought I was having was with the temp difference at the grate vs actual Rec Tec probe, with the help of SeenRed and the Rec Tec guys I finally realized there is no problem at all. Ron had me move the fan up a bit higher in the opening to try to smooth out temps, didnt really help. It cooked fine with no issues just a cooler temp at the grates with the difference in temps more noticeable at higher temps. At 250, they both matched (Rec Tec probe and Maverick ET-732) at the grate, at 350 there was a 15-20 degree difference, at 450 it was 30 and higher difference at times. The Rec Tec probe temp stayed rock solid. It was windy at times and that could play a factor. 

Being as I never had a pellet burner and had little to no understanding on how they cooked I was worried that something was wrong or off and it was driving me insane trying to figure it out. Finally after a great explanation from Ray yesterday I finally realized its time to stop worrying about the temp at the grate so much. He says there will be a difference due the the convection currents and the best test of all would be to take something and cook it that requires a specified temp and time for example 1 hour at 350 and see if it is cooked perfectly or not. He said that is the real test and he was pretty sure it would be just fine, but said if it isn't they will make it right. That's when the light bulb went on in my head finally 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






, the stuff I have been cooking at the temps and times listed have turned out fine and perhaps I should spend more time letting the grill cook while I enjoy a few adult beverages and stop staring at the temp probes. Ray gave me a great sounding chicken wing recipe to try and gave me a temp and time setting to see if they are cooked perfectly. I know without a doubt that if something is not right now or down the road they will make it right.

I also had a question on ash build up, again I received excellent advice from SeenRed. I didn't know what to expect on quantity of ash or frequency of cleaning. This is something that there are a few different opinions on, some leave the build up and clean it just  couple times a year and some after every few cooks. I am with SeenRed on this one, I will clean it after every few cooks. I was very happy with how easy cleanup is. When all was cooled down, a shop vac and less than 5 minutes of my time had the job all done. 

I used mequires spray wax on the entire outside surface of the grill to give it a little shine and protection. I mounted a shelf for a traeger texas and a bottle opener on it.

SO after all that. I couldn't be happier with the grill and the quality of food it makes! I got a 6" A-MAZE-N tube smoker that works perfect for ribs, when thats empty its time to foil. I get plenty of smoke from the Rec Tec up to about 300ish but like extra smokey so I use the tube smoker. I got the 12" tube smoker that works perfect for the longer smokes like the rack of pork I made at a little higher temp the smoke ring was awesome. The searing grates work well also. I am still on my first bag of pellets after all my testing and cooks and I am pretty impressed with that!

I wasn't able to get great pictures as all of my cooks went past dark but will post all of the pics that I have taken. I will try to get better pics in the future. There are a few cooks I have no pics of like the ribeyes and rack of pork 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Summary: If you Buy a REC TEC, you wont be dissapointed!!













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## seenred (Apr 26, 2014)

Hey Deuce, great post!  All that Qview looks delicious...nice going!   Thanks for the kind words...it's good to see you're getting that pit dialed in!  Agree 100% about Ray and Ron at Rec Tec...they're great guys and go out of their way to help their customers.  Not many company owners would give so much direct and personal attention to every customer who calls.  Bottom line for me is Rec Tec is a great product and a great company.  

Happy smoking!

Red


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## chupa dave (Jun 21, 2014)

Hey Deuce!!!

Just got my Rec Tec yesterday evening. Put it together. Broke it in. Put a small 5# boneless butt on this morning at 4am. Thought id be eating it for lunch.  wellllll.....13 hours later I'm at 183 internal and my target is 197-205. I guess it'll be ready for dinner. But damn! I'm used to 2hrs per pd max. No wind. Florida summer means humid and 75-90ambient. Told my mom to come by for lunch and now everybody is buzzed and starving. Including my kids. Damn sangria! Nothing wrong with that, but I'm running out of wine! if the temps are that much off at low temps, that is a problem. Haven't called Rec Tec but I dont want waste time with a to do list that doesnt fix the temp problem. Convection is supposed to speed cooking. Maybe I have to stick a water pan in to speed it up. Do I have to make a conversion chart to adjust for the temp discrepancy? Btw, love the hat. We just don't see those down here enough. Also... thanks for the cheese.


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## chupa dave (Jun 21, 2014)

Update..... getting close....195 internal... out of sangria.... children became violent.... gave them a bottle of peach schnapps... they seem ok for now....but I dont know if I will survive the "rest" period...  used over 20 #s of pellets...WOW... didn't expect that either...I planned on ending world hunger with my Rec Tec, but I don't think I can afford the pellets.... must go now to search for beer... maybe its in the fridge...


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## chupa dave (Jun 21, 2014)

Interesting note... the top of the meat is consistently cooler than the middle? Not because the lid was up. Its 6:30. I'm pulling the meat. Cooked for 14.5 hrs.   Thermapen says 192. Cooked for 14.5 hours. Not to my desired temp.But I expect it will be delicious  looks and feels right. But damn! Too long. I don't cook that slow. Looking for anyones experienced input. This was a 5# boneless?????













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## chupa dave (Jun 22, 2014)

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Ok. Pretty damn amazing looking. But... outside was a bit overcooked. Inside was very good but slightly dry. Wow, what a gorgeous smoke ring! Mild smoke flavor, which is what I like. Fyi, I wrapped in foil at 155 and unwrapped at 175. I should have rewrapped when I realized that the cook time was going way long.  I don't always wrap, but it seems that most pellet smokers do. I like a good dark thick bark. Clearly, having to raise the temp higher than desired to finish the cook, and not having it wrapped,  had an adverse effect on the majority of the butt. Also....a weird thing happened. When I pulled the butt, I was so obsessed with it that I hit the off button, which started the  cool down. A few minutes later, I realized that I still had a brisket on that I was going to smoke all night! So I ran hit the on button and set it for 220. A few minutes later smoke was billowing out of the Rec Tec. I was actually happy to see it. The Rec Tec temp was about 200. I went inside for a bit. When I came out the grill was up to 460! Freaked me out! I opened the hood for a few, then closed it. It took a little while but it dialed itself in. I felt sorry for the little brisket, so I wrapped it, and lowered the temp to 180. I  let it stay there til early morning, unwrapped it and increased temp to 250 for an hour to firm up the bark. The family ate it for breakfast. Gorgeous and delicious.


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## deuce (Jul 4, 2014)

Chupa Dave said:


> Hey Deuce!!!
> 
> Just got my Rec Tec yesterday evening. Put it together. Broke it in. Put a small 5# boneless butt on this morning at 4am. Thought id be eating it for lunch.  wellllll.....13 hours later I'm at 183 internal and my target is 197-205. I guess it'll be ready for dinner. But damn! I'm used to 2hrs per pd max. No wind. Florida summer means humid and 75-90ambient. Told my mom to come by for lunch and now everybody is buzzed and starving. Including my kids. Damn sangria! Nothing wrong with that, but I'm running out of wine! if the temps are that much off at low temps, that is a problem. Haven't called Rec Tec but I dont want waste time with a to do list that doesnt fix the temp problem. Convection is supposed to speed cooking. Maybe I have to stick a water pan in to speed it up. Do I have to make a conversion chart to adjust for the temp discrepancy? Btw, love the hat. We just don't see those down here enough. Also... thanks for the cheese.


It takes a little getting used to at first using a pellet grill if switching from something else, but after a few cooks you will get the hang of it. Dont hesitate to ask the guys at Rec Tec either by phone, email or ext message any questions and they will help you out! I dont think you would benefit from a water pan. I was driving myself nuts the first week with temp variances from the Rec Tec probe vs my Maverick at the grate. Finally after a call to Rec Tec I stopped worrying about it and now only use my Maverick for meat temps. Gotta have a few of these hats for the winter up here :-) 

I have absolutely no regrets on buying the Rec Tec! I use the CookinPellets Perfect Mix and CookinPellets Hickory and they work excellent and give great flavor. I now buy pellets 600# at a time. I really love cooking on this pit! The oven never gets used anymore.


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## frog1369 (Jul 11, 2014)

Deuce said:


> It takes a little getting used to at first using a pellet grill if switching from something else, but after a few cooks you will get the hang of it. Dont hesitate to ask the guys at Rec Tec either by phone, email or ext message any questions and they will help you out! I dont think you would benefit from a water pan. I was driving myself nuts the first week with temp variances from the Rec Tec probe vs my Maverick at the grate. Finally after a call to Rec Tec I stopped worrying about it and now only use my Maverick for meat temps. Gotta have a few of these hats for the winter up here :-)
> 
> I have absolutely no regrets on buying the Rec Tec! I use the CookinPellets Perfect Mix and CookinPellets Hickory and they work excellent and give great flavor. I now buy pellets 600# at a time. I really love cooking on this pit! The oven never gets used anymore.


I so agree, I went crazy over the temps for a while, too, now I just cook.  I use the Maverick meat probe for the meat  and I still run the grate probe on overnight cooks, not for actual grate temps, but to have the alarm in case something goes wrong.  I set the alarm about 30 degrees above and below the Rec Tec setting.  I figure if something goes wrong like tripping the GFI it will tell me it's too cold, something like a grease fire, well, then it lets me know it's too hot.  So far, all it does is hum along all night, I wake up in the morning, check my temps and start my day.  Going to do a big brisket all night either this weekend or next, planning on letting it cook low and slow for the night.


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## vmastros (Jul 12, 2014)

After you wrap, there is no benefit to leaving the meat on the RT. Wrap it and put it in the oven until you reach you desired temp.  You can save pellets this way The probe method for doness might be a better way.


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## rtl (Jul 29, 2014)

Deuce how did you mount Traeger shelf I have on also from the Traeger I returned. I was the fold down one.. I also love my Rec Tec.


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## dodger9 (Sep 23, 2014)

Just ordered my Rec Tec on Friday and received notification that it has shipped today, Tuesday.  Really looking forward to its arrival.  I did a lot of research on pellet smoker/grill and determined that the Rec Tec is the best option for me.


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