Looking Into A New Smoker....

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apn73

Fire Starter
Original poster
May 23, 2020
50
39
Suffolk, VA
Hello All,

I've been lurking and am not super active, but I've got a question about the "pellet poopers." The allure of "set-it-and-forget-it" with computerized pellet feeders has drawn me in and I'm researching what to buy. I've done quite a bit of research over to amazingribs.com and the Camp Chef Woodwinds, probably a 24 for me, are what I had settled on. They gave it a platinum metal and called the top value in that highest group, so it sounded pretty good. That and CC seems to have a lot of fans over here as well. Speaking of "over here," I've seen lot of forum members talking about how good the Recteqs are and hadn't really seen much about them over to ar.com. They definitely cost less than the CCs, sound like they're built very well, and they're website is very well done and informative Here's the question, why should I buy an RT-590 over a CC Woodwind 24?

I know all about the MAKs and the Pitts & Spitts smokers, and I also know all about they're pricing and I really don't want to spend that much money for a grill/smoker if I can get away with it. I've seen the threads about the MB vertical charcoal feeders, and that has just confused me. I went to their website and some reviewers are talking about reliability and build quality issues, so not to sure about those yet.

Anyway, thank you in advance for any thoughts you can share on the Recteq vs. CC question.

Best,

Adam.
 
Coin toss. . .
590 owner ( love it ) so have no experience with CC, and I would venture to say vice versa with CC owners
Not too long ago I would have supported this post. Now, I can't.

As much as I wanted to love this Recteq RT-590 I can no longer recommend Recteq in good conscience. I really really liked this thing when I first got it and I saw what all of the rave reviews were about. It was the significant step up from my GMG DB WiFi in just about every category and metric. Exactly what I wanted. So I thought...

Unfortunately all Recteq WiFi smokers have a fatal flaw: The notifications will fail to work during high-demand times like holidays. These also tend to be the time when you MOST need your grills notifications to work. If I ruin meat on a random Tuesday when it's just the wife and I that sucks but at least I'm not letting a dozen family members, friends or both down. That's basically what happens. The notifications just quit working w/o warning. No alerts when your smoker hits the set temperature, no alerts if your temp strays to a temperature far from your set temp and (maybe most importantly) any temperature alerts you set for the meat probes also will not work.

This is a fundamental pillar to the WiFi experience and w/o it you might as well just buy something w/o WiFi because... what's the point? At least then you'd KNOW to use some other method for temperature measuring and save a boat load of money on features that you pay for that don't work. The first time this happened (Super Bowl weekend) I thought it was a one-time thing. RecTeq even told me that they were aware of the issue and would correct it. They told me not to worry because it wouldn't happen again.

Wrong.

The very next high-traffic weekend it occurred again resulting in nearly the same thing for me: ruined food and hungry guests.

RecTeq has a real problem on theirs hands and they don't seem to care. Had I known about this before I bought mine I would have kept looking. If this is important to you I would advise looking elsewhere. If you aren't concerned about this flaw and like paying for features you don't actually get.... Recteq is your grill! Maybe they'll get their poop in a group (I use hope so since I've got about a grand wrapped up in this solution) but I wouldn't reward the bad behavior until they do. Maybe if the hit were significant enough to affect their bottom line they'd give it a little bit more urgency but I'm not convinced that anyone who can enact change even knows about this let alone cares.

At least I've done my part and people can make informed decisions rather than going in blind like I did thinking they were the greatest thing ever based on the things I read on this and other forums online.
 
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Not too long ago I would have supported this post. Now, I can't.
Feeling like you wasted a grand is very bad thing, sorry that you've gone through that. Good information though, thanks for sharing, have you bumped into other folks that are having the same issues with their Recteqs?
 
I can't say anything about the 590 but I would not trade my Camp Chef Woodwind for anything. It is a workhorse and does a fine job of cooking all the foods I put in it.
I've read the complaints about the smoke flavor not being strong enough for some, and that's with pellet smokers generally, how's that going for you?
 
I've read the complaints about the smoke flavor not being strong enough for some, and that's with pellet smokers generally, how's that going for you?
There is a lighter smoke flavor but that can be overcome with the addition of a smoke tube in the cook chamber. I kind of like the lighter smoke.
 
Feeling like you wasted a grand is very bad thing, sorry that you've gone through that. Good information though, thanks for sharing, have you bumped into other folks that are having the same issues with their Recteqs?
Thank you. A good feeling it is not.

There's been quite a few over on the Recteq forum with similar experiences so it's definitely not an isolated incident. The first time it happened & they told me it was a one-off I wanted to believe them. It's clearly an ongoing issue though & one they don't seem to think is a big deal. For me this is tragic since I genuinely felt like I finally found my perfect smoker.

Sadly, the search continues....
 
I can say that the MB Gravity Flow 1050 has served me well. No issues with multiple cooks every week ! Love the smoke flavor , controls and all that comes with it.
And welcome from SE Ga .
Keith
 
If money isn’t an issue Recteq over CC every time. That’s not a dig on the CC but rather a vote for excellence of the Recteq products and customer service. Disclaimer I don’t own a pellet grill but lmow tons of folks satisfied with their Recteqs
 
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Tossing in another coin.
I have a Masterbuilt (MB) pooper that is a knockoff of the Traeger design.
It does fine , but I have to monitor as the temps are roller coaster.
Probably why this model was discounted and disappeared.

My wife prefers the lighter smoke on a grilled item from my pooper.
I'm still working the balance between grilling on the grates versus adding a cast iron grill.

912smoker 912smoker
Your're mixing apples and oranges by comparing a charcoal unit versus a pellet unit.
Based on fuel consumption alone, I'll stick with a pooper over the MB gravity,
 
Personally, still kicking around the idea of adding a gravity flow charcoal to the arsenal. Not keen on the fuel consumption though compared to the pooper or using the electric. :emoji_thinking:
 
Gosh, whatever happened to having a good old stick burner, and spending time with it tending the fire & drinking a few beers, or mowing the lawn. I get the set & forget idea I have a WSM/Guru setup that will run all night & never vary more than a degree or two, but for me there is nothing more relaxing than hanging around the Lang & having a few beers with friends while we wait to eat. Of course you have to have some appetizers in there too!
Al
 
If money isn’t an issue Recteq over CC every time. That’s not a dig on the CC but rather a vote for excellence of the Recteq products and customer service. Disclaimer I don’t own a pellet grill but lmow tons of folks satisfied with their Recteqs
Read more recent posts before you parrot what was a strong vote in the past. They've got a deal breaking issue occurring more recently and their response to fix it has been very subpar to say the least. Excellent customer service my Boston Butt.
 
Gosh, whatever happened to having a good old stick burner, and spending time with it tending the fire & drinking a few beers, or mowing the lawn. I get the set & forget idea I have a WSM/Guru setup that will run all night & never vary more than a degree or two, but for me there is nothing more relaxing than hanging around the Lang & having a few beers with friends while we wait to eat. Of course you have to have some appetizers in there too!
Al
Making cheese is a relatively simple process too but my guess is you buy your cheese from the store due to time and convenience. Same concept.

Nobody says I can't still drink a beer and eat some apps though but now I can focus more of my attention to those critical tasks.
 
Tossing in another coin.
I have a Masterbuilt (MB) pooper that is a knockoff of the Traeger design.
It does fine , but I have to monitor as the temps are roller coaster.
Probably why this model was discounted and disappeared.

My wife prefers the lighter smoke on a grilled item from my pooper.
I'm still working the balance between grilling on the grates versus adding a cast iron grill.

912smoker 912smoker
Your're mixing apples and oranges by comparing a charcoal unit versus a pellet unit.
Based on fuel consumption alone, I'll stick with a pooper over the MB gravity,
Agreed. I have never owned a pellet pooper just sharing my experience with the GF as it was mentioned in his post. And as you said, stay away if fuel consumption is an issue as it burns thru charcoal like my granddaughter and chiclets lol.
 
Read more recent posts before you parrot what was a strong vote in the past. They've got a deal breaking issue occurring more recently and their response to fix it has been very subpar to say the least. Excellent customer service my Boston Butt.
Listen buddyI didn’t parrot anything and I sure didn’t base my comments on reading posts. I have multiple friends with Rec Tec grills that are VERY satisfied with both the performance of their grill and customer service. If you want to point out more recent info and your personal experience please do so but do not lay that BS accusatory tone on me. You could have simply shared your experience with the temp alert issues in a positive manner. We don’t roll like that on this forum.
 
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Making cheese is a relatively simple process too but my guess is you buy your cheese from the store due to time and convenience. Same concept.

Nobody says I can't still drink a beer and eat some apps though but now I can focus more of my attention to those critical tasks.

Well once again your wrong, I do make my own cheese, so don’t assume things you know nothing about! As far as I’m concerned you can cook your meat in your oven with liquid smoke, if that is more convienent for you. You may like it better!
Al
 
Gosh, whatever happened to having a good old stick burner, and spending time with it tending the fire & drinking a few beers, or mowing the lawn.
Al, I for one would certainly like to play around with a stick burner. Lack of quality wood in my area is the reason I haven't. Ash, cottonwood, and poplar are about it. And ND only has about 38 trees to start with. :emoji_laughing:
 
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Listen buddyI didn’t parrot anything and I sure didn’t base my comments on reading posts. I have multiple friends with Rec Tec grills that are VERY satisfied with both the performance of their grill and customer service. If you want to point out more recent info and your personal experience please do so but do not lay that BS accusatory tone on me. You could have simply shared your experience with the temp alert issues in a positive manner. We don’t roll like that on this forum.
Or how 'bout you read my post again w/o the negative tone you decided to add to it for whatever reason and address me with the same level of respect you're demanding when I never accused you of anything. Maybe that's just "how you roll on this forum" huh?
 
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