Another help choose a smoker thread

[metsfan2152]

I really like the rec tec to but i cant justify spending 400 dollars more i feel like.

 

[hardhead]

There is no doubt I would buy the REC Tec over the camp chef, but I have a had a bad experience with camp chef, youdont hear of to many people with a bad rec tec.

 

[hardhead]

mets fan? you must be close to me come take my POS.

 

[metsfan2152]

mets fan? you must be close to me come take my POS.

Lol im on long island.

 

[jcam222]

Lot of convo around controller issues. I see posts on controller and electronics issues on pretty much any device that has one. For me the way out of all that was to go with a kamado grill and also my main smoker with charcoal, wood chunks and airflow. May have a little more learning curve than any of the theoretical "set it and forget it" electronic set ups but for me way more reliable very long term.

 

[dubob]

Lot of convo around controller issues. I see posts on controller and electronics issues on pretty much any device that has one. For me the way out of all that was to go with a kamado grill and also my main smoker with charcoal, wood chunks and airflow. May have a little more learning curve than any of the theoretical "set it and forget it" electronic set ups but for me way more reliable very long term.

That's what I absolutely LOVE about this country. We are all free to buy and use those things that work for us. But having been an electronic repairman/engineer for the better part of 45 years, I like all the wizardry associated with today's latest and greatest. And its great that people like you are around to keep the rest of us with our feet firmly planted on the ground. The simple processes also have a place in this great land of ours. I respect and applaud that. Kudos!

 

[metsfan2152]

I love electronics. I am an IT Manager and love tinkering with electronics. So for me, it breaks I fix it haha.

 

[hardhead]

$250 with cover, winter cover, sear box and jerky racks, come on and get it. New controller be here tomorrow I am done with it

 

[hardhead]

I pick up my new pit on Sunday done with the camp chef

 

[metsfan2152]

I pick up my new pit on Sunday done with the camp chef

What did you end up with.

 

[hardhead]

I am picking up a pitts and spitts maverick 1250 on Sunday. Sticking the camp chef on craigslist, i will lose money but I threw out more money in meat then I will lose on it from he damn thing turning off on me

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I am picking up a pitts and spitts maverick 1250 on Sunday. Sticking the camp chef on craigslist, i will lose money but I threw out more money in meat then I will lose on it from he damn thing turning off on me

At the end of the day, you have to be happy.

I wouldn't look at it as "lost" money, but rather money spent on a lesson.

 

[retfr8flyr]

I am picking up a pitts and spitts maverick 1250 on Sunday. Sticking the camp chef on craigslist, i will lose money but I threw out more money in meat then I will lose on it from he damn thing turning off on me

You should really be dazzled by the Maverick, great choice.

 

[dubob]

I am picking up a pitts and spitts maverick 1250 on Sunday. Sticking the camp chef on craigslist, i will lose money but I threw out more money in meat then I will lose on it from he damn thing turning off on me

We're all rooting for you H on your M1250. Keep the faith and may all your future cooks be bodacious.

 

[sweetride95]

I am picking up a pitts and spitts maverick 1250 on Sunday. Sticking the camp chef on craigslist, i will lose money but I threw out more money in meat then I will lose on it from he damn thing turning off on me

Sounds great man!
I still surprised you had repeat failures on the CC. I guess life's a journey.
I haven't happened to see much on this grill here, so please keep us posted.

 

[metsfan2152]

Got some new developments. My dad is actually going to pitch in so I uped my price range to 1000. So now i been looking at the rec tec RT-590. Anyone have an opinions on that?

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Got some new developments. My dad is actually going to pitch in so I uped my price range to 1000. So now i been looking at the rec tec RT-590. Anyone have an opinions on that?

I have the RT 590 Stampede. For the money, $899 shipped, it is very tough to beat. I can honestly say that there is nothing that I do not like about it, and I am very critical.

The RT 590 Stampede uses the same PID WiFi controller as the RT 700 Bull. The WiFi of course allowing the owner to start, monitor or stop the grill from a smart phone if desired.

The Bull has a 6yr warranty, as it is their flagship. However Rec Tec's customer service and support is second to none. I have no worries about my Stampede being any less reliable than the product that Rec Tec is willing to warranty for 6 years.

The 590 has a 30lb hopper, as opposed to the 700 Bull's 40lb hopper, heavy gauge stainless construction, WiFi, and it's easy to assemble. Like the 700 Bull, the 590 Stampede comes with not one, but two built in food temperature probes. It also has a low setting for Extreme Smoke at below 200°F, can be raised in increments of 5°F, and can get up and over 500°F.

I have found the 590 Stampede to be extremely accurate in relationship to my Thermoworks Smoke, right out of the box. And my Thermoworks Smoke is accurate to within ±1.8°F (±1.0°C) from -4 up to 248°F. The RT 590 holds steady temperature like a champ due to it's PID controller.

In the below pic, I'm using 3 probes on the same cook. A brisket, the three probes in three different positions in the same piece of meat.

The two Rec Tec 590 Stampede probes, and the third probe in use is the Thermowork Smoke's probe. The food probes read 124°F, 128°F, 117.3°F respectively. The probe reading 117.3°F is in the thickest portion of the meat.

The Smoke shows that the cooking chamber's temp which was set at 225°F, never got above 230°F, likely due to a rebound from my opening the grill's lid at one point, and it had been running for a good while. Long enough to get a brisket taken from the fridge after it was seasoned and sitting in the fridge, to an internal temp of 117.3°F at it's coolest and thickest point. In other words, cooking chamber temp held solid for a good while, and while I have no pics to show it, held steady throughout the entire 9:30AM to about 6:00PM cook. Solid as a rock at a setting of 225°F.

Furthermore, the RecTec temp probes and pit probe can be calibrated with any other device of your choice, be it a Thermoworks Smoke, as I am using here, or any other manufacturer's thermometer and temp probes you might want to use.

The next pic was taken after I placed a Rec Tec emblem on it, and was taken while getting the 590 Stampede up to 425°F for grilling chicken, with the three temp probes, 2 from the Rec Tec, one from the Thermoworks Smoke in an ice water bath to test their accuracy, hence they are reading in the 33°F° range.

As for the cooking chamber temperature, I'll take 0.4°F of difference between what the Rec Tec's chamber probe is reading and what the Thermowork's probe is reading.

The final pic is taken demonstrating where the Thermowork's Smoke probe is in relationship to where the Rec Tec's probe is for the purposes of these pictures. Cork is used as opposed to a metal mounting bracket in order to get a more accurate temp for the Thermoworks Smoke's cooking chamber probe.

.

 

[metsfan2152]

I have the RT 590 Stampede. For the money, $899 shipped, it is very tough to beat. I can honestly say that there is nothing that I do not like about it, and I am very critical.

The RT 590 Stampede uses the same PID WiFi controller as the RT 700 Bull. The WiFi of course allowing the owner to start, monitor or stop the grill from a smart phone if desired.

The Bull has a 6yr warranty, as it is their flagship. However Rec Tec's customer service and support is second to none. I have no worries about my Stampede being any less reliable than the product that Rec Tec is willing to warranty for 6 years.

The 590 has a 30lb hopper, as opposed to the 700 Bull's 40lb hopper, heavy gauge stainless construction, WiFi, and it's easy to assemble. Like the 700 Bull, the 590 Stampede comes with not one, but two built in food temperature probes. It also has a low setting for Extreme Smoke at below 200°F, can be raised in increments of 5°F, and can get up and over 500°F.

I have found the 590 Stampede to be extremely accurate in relationship to my Thermoworks Smoke, right out of the box. And my Thermoworks Smoke is accurate to within ±1.8°F (±1.0°C) from -4 up to 248°F. The RT 590 holds steady temperature like a champ due to it's PID controller.

In the below pic, I'm using 3 probes on the same cook. A brisket, the three probes in three different positions in the same piece of meat.

View attachment 391417

The two Rec Tec 590 Stampede probes, and the third probe in use is the Thermowork Smoke's probe. The food probes read 124°F, 128°F, 117.3°F respectively. The probe reading 117.3°F is in the thickest portion of the meat.

The Smoke shows that the cooking chamber's temp which was set at 225°F, never got above 230°F, likely due to a rebound from my opening the grill's lid at one point, and it had been running for a good while. Long enough to get a brisket taken from the fridge after it was seasoned and sitting in the fridge, to an internal temp of 117.3°F at it's coolest and thickest point. In other words, cooking chamber temp held solid for a good while, and while I have no pics to show it, held steady throughout the entire 9:30AM to about 6:00PM cook. Solid as a rock at a setting of 225°F.

Furthermore, the RecTec temp probes and pit probe can be calibrated with any other device of your choice, be it a Thermoworks Smoke, as I am using here, or any other manufacturer's thermometer and temp probes you might want to use.

The next pic was taken after I placed a Rec Tec emblem on it, and was taken while getting the 590 Stampede up to 425°F for grilling chicken, with the three temp probes, 2 from the Rec Tec, one from the Thermoworks Smoke in an ice water bath to test their accuracy, hence they are reading in the 33°F° range.

As for the cooking chamber temperature, I'll take 0.4°F of difference between what the Rec Tec's chamber probe is reading and what the Thermowork's probe is reading.

View attachment 391418

The final pic is taken demonstrating where the Thermowork's Smoke probe is in relationship to where the Rec Tec's probe is for the purposes of these pictures. Cork is used as opposed to a metal mounting bracket in order to get a more accurate temp for the Thermoworks Smoke's cooking chamber probe.



View attachment 391420 .

Thank you for the detailed pictures and response. I also have the smoke and I love it always use it for all my smokes. Do you usually run both the smoke and the rev Tex probes? I really like the idea with the cork. I will need to try that. Do you normally empty pellets out of the hopper after every cook? I did notice it does not have hopper easy access.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Thank you for the detailed pictures and response. I also have the smoke and I love it always use it for all my smokes. Do you usually run both the smoke and the rev Tex probes? I really like the idea with the cork. I will need to try that. Do you normally empty pellets out of the hopper after every cook? I did notice it does not have hopper easy access.

If I need three meat probes, I'll run the Smoke using it's meat probe as a third meat probe and it's temp probe to double check my cooking chamber temps.

If I don't need three food probes, then I'm confident in the RecTec's chamber and 2 food probes and won't run the Smoke.

I don't feel a need to empty the hopper because I have found a pellet that I like, CookinPellets Perfect Mix, and it's all I use, and all that I put into it. So no need to empty the hopper to switch pellets.

IMO, hopper dumps are a "feature" which will get little use if you find a pellet that you like.

However I have emptied the hopper before and quickly, to try Rec Tec's own Ultimate Blend pellets, and using nothing more than a small salad bowl and scooping the pellets out. I also have one of these in the link below if I just want to get every last pellet out of it.

But really, any remaining pellets left in the auger after you scoop the other one's out of the bin, are going to be burned up some time between the time you fire the grill up again and bring it up to temp, and the next few minutes of your next cook. So really what is the reason to get every last pellet out using a hopper dump feature as is found on some of the competing grills? Many of the remaining old pellets are going to be gone soon after you get your food on for your next cook anyway, if not before you get your food on.

I prefer the 30lb capacity, but that's just me. Someone else might prefer less capacity, but the pellet dump.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-Gal-1-75-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-BH0100/202017218

I didn't particularly care for the Rec Tec Ultimate Blend pellets. Not enough smoke flavor for me.

 

[metsfan2152]

If I need three meat probes, I'll run the Smoke using it's meat probe as a third meat probe and it's temp probe to double check my cooking chamber temps.

If I don't need three food probes, then I'm confident in the RecTec's chamber and 2 food probes and won't run the Smoke.

I don't feel a need to empty the hopper because I have found a pellet that I like, CookinPellets Perfect Mix, and it's all I use, and all that I put into it. So no need to empty the hopper to switch pellets.

IMO, hopper dumps are a "feature" which will get little use if you find a pellet that you like.

However I have emptied the hopper before and quickly, to try Rec Tec's own Ultimate Blend pellets, and using nothing more than a small salad bowl and scooping the pellets out. I also have one of these in the link below if I just want to get every last pellet out of it.

But really, any remaining pellets left in the auger after you scoop the other one's out of the bin, are going to be burned up some time between the time you fire the grill up again and bring it up to temp, and the next few minutes of your next cook. So really what is the reason to get every last pellet out using a hopper dump feature as is found on some of the competing grills? Many of the remaining old pellets are going to be gone soon after you get your food on for your next cook anyway, if not before you get your food on.

I prefer the 30lb capacity, but that's just me. Someone else might prefer less capacity, but the pellet dump.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Bucket-Head-5-Gal-1-75-Peak-HP-Wet-Dry-Vac-BH0100/202017218

I didn't particularly care for the Rec Tec Ultimate Blend pellets. Not enough smoke flavor for me.

Great, thank you for all the info. I might have to pull the trigger on this one then.
Any other mods you think need to be done with this model? Have you tried any other pellets that you like?