Paint Peeling on Rec-Tec

[jmardock]

I love my Rec-Tec, but have had a lot of paint peeling issues after a grease fire several months ago. Anyone else have problems with paint peeling issues? I've been told Rec-Tec will send me some high heat paint for free, but haven't had time for this project yet. This is a project I'm not looking forward to it, so I keep putting it off. There is also paint peeling on the inside (not creosote).

Any suggestions to avoid future grease fires? How do you clean your smoker? How often? How can I also brighten up the red paint on the lid? I've been avoiding cooking over 350 ever since this started, but I don't want to stop high heat cooking on my Rec-Tec forever.

Picture was taken a couple months ago. Much worse now.

 

[BKING!]

I do burn off’s . Meaning after a greasy smoke at say 225 deg I’ll increase the temp to 275 deg for 15 minutes. Then 325 deg, then 375 deg. It should all be carbonized by then

 

[ross77]

Make sure grease isn’t getting past the drip tray. If you have food all the way to the edge of the grates, grease will drip down into the barrel.
Make sure your smoker is level and grease will run to the bucket. I had to raise the left side of mine as my patio slopes away from my house.

Clean your smoker more often. Take out the drip tray and wipe up any spilled grease on the walls of the barrel.