Rec Tec Trailblazer

[buckbros]

I did the initial break in @ 400º & it had some pretty wild temperature swings while that was in process.
A couple of days later I did my first cook on the Trailblazer. Outside temperature was 60º. I did ribs with the 3/2/1 cook. Cooked @ 250º for 3 hours. Opened the lid to foil the ribs & the temperature held pretty well, did not vary a lot after I opened and shut the lid. After the 2 hour cook & removing the foil the temperature fluctuated greatly. It went up to 320º for a couple of minutes. The fan & auger started cycling on & off. It took 15 minutes for it to get back to 250º then kept on going down to 218º. It then went back up to 250º rapidly & kept going to 285º. The fan & auger started cycling on & off again. It then came back down to 250º & stabilized. It took approx. 30 minutes for the grill to stabilize @ 250 after opening the lid to remove the foil. Is this normal on a Rec tec?

 

[SonnyE]

Don't know about a Rec Tec, but I think the moisture of the meat has quite a bit to do with how any cooker behaves.
Maybe I've become more patient, or complacent, but I just let my equipment work and it settles down without me messing with it.
My 3,2,1 ribs are done at 225° for the entire time in my MES. I remove the ribs, close the smoker back up, and take the ribs inside to foil.
Then slide the rack back in and let'er roll.
Do the same senerio after the 2 hour steam bake.
The last hour is to dry the sauce on them and finish.

You'll get it. Just let it work.
And have plenty of cold beer on hand. It's a safety item!

 

[buckbros]

Don't know about a Rec Tec, but I think the moisture of the meat has quite a bit to do with how any cooker behaves.

And have plenty of cold beer on hand. It's a safety item!

Ribs came out great. I was just wondering about the temperature swings. All the reviews I've read about the Rec Tec stated about how well it held the temperature. I believe you may be right about the moisture. The temperature did not vary much at all when I opened the lid to do the foil, it was after I opened it to remove the foil that the temperature fluctuated wildly. But then the meat had a lot more moisture.
I did have plenty of beer & the fridge is not far from the grill!!!!!!

 

[SonnyE]

Ribs came out great. I was just wondering about the temperature swings. All the reviews I've read about the Rec Tec stated about how well it held the temperature. I believe you may be right about the moisture. The temperature did not vary much at all when I opened the lid to do the foil, it was after I opened it to remove the foil that the temperature fluctuated wildly. But then the meat had a lot more moisture.
I did have plenty of beer & the fridge is not far from the grill!!!!!!

I love 3,2,1 ribs! But because I love fall off'a da Bone.
Maybe if you put your ribs (meat, chicken, whatever...) on a rack you can remove to work on it, then close the grill while you foil, unfoil, sauce, etc.
So the grill stays as closed as possible, and holds it's temp as best as it can. Might help with the Pogo'ing.

When the meat gets unwrapped from the foil it's at it's wettest point of the entire cook, in my experience. I just put it in and let the oven settle back down for it's last hour.
At that point, I go in and cut up some cabin fries and put them in the Air Fryer.
Because I'm a Meat and Tators guy.

You've got you a Cadillac there. No surprise you are going to worry some about it.
Have fun! And yep, Beer is a Safety Item for Bar-B-Quein. You need a cold one within immediate reach.
In case you burn a finger. The cold of the beer cools the burn.
Drinking the beer works to pre-anesthetize your fingers, too.

Beer! It's not just for breakfast anymore....
Grab that Cadillac by the Horns!

 

[buckbros]

I love 3,2,1 ribs! But because I love fall off'a da Bone.
Maybe if you put your ribs (meat, chicken, whatever...) on a rack you can remove to work on it, then close the grill while you foil, unfoil, sauce, etc.
So the grill stays as closed as possible, and holds it's temp as best as it can. Might help with the Pogo'ing.

When the meat gets unwrapped from the foil it's at it's wettest point of the entire cook, in my experience. I just put it in and let the oven settle back down for it's last hour.
At that point, I go in and cut up some cabin fries and put them in the Air Fryer.
Because I'm a Meat and Tators guy.

You've got you a Cadillac there. No surprise you are going to worry some about it.
Have fun! And yep, Beer is a Safety Item for Bar-B-Quein. You need a cold one within immediate reach.
In case you burn a finger. The cold of the beer cools the burn.
Drinking the beer works to pre-anesthetize your fingers, too.

Beer! It's not just for breakfast anymore....
Grab that Cadillac by the Horns!

I did close the lid as I wrapped the ribs. it was not left open. I too like the fall of "da" bone ribs and my wife fixed the fries just as you did. She also made some killer coleslaw and let's not forget the beer. Sounds as though we have some things in common.

 

[InThePittBBQ]

You guys are making me hungry! Some ribs and fries sound really good right about now.

 

[SonnyE]

I did close the lid as I wrapped the ribs. it was not left open. I too like the fall of "da" bone ribs and my wife fixed the fries just as you did. She also made some killer coleslaw and let's not forget the beer. Sounds as though we have some things in common.

Oh, Coleslaw! Yeah, that sure sounds good!
Think she might share her recipe with an old coot?

All I can say is....

 

[buckbros]

Oh, Coleslaw! Yeah, that sure sounds good!
Think she might share her recipe with an old coot?

All I can say is....

This is from two old coots.Here you go. Hope you like it.
Let me know what you think.

COLE SLAW

1 cup of Kraft Mayo

¾ cup of sugar

½ teaspoon of milk

1 Tabl. apple cider vinegar

Whisk together

Taste to your liking (add more or less of each ingredient)

Add to shredded cabbage

 

[SonnyE]

This is from two old coots.Here you go. Hope you like it.
Let me know what you think.

COLE SLAW

1 cup of Kraft Mayo

¾ cup of sugar

½ teaspoon of milk

1 Tabl. apple cider vinegar

Whisk together

Taste to your liking (add more or less of each ingredient)

Add to shredded cabbage

I think even I might be able to do that.
Thank You!
Give her a big warm hug for me!
And tell her Thank You!

 

[pbft]

So - my Trailblazer will overshoot if it's making a big change, like from 40 to 450 all at once. If it overshoots by enough it will do the fan and auger cycling thing. I haven't run it with a large load yet, but I can imagine that it might make that behavior more likely.

It's a characteristic of the PID algorithm that they use. If it's colder than the setpoint for a long time, it will get pretty aggressive about pouring on the heat. That will cause it to overshoot. If it's above the setpoint for a long time, it will jam on the brakes and undershoot. It will eventually even out and it should hold the setpoint dead-on after that.

There's a trade-off between getting up to temperature quickly vs. minimizing overshoot. In this application, a bit of overshoot is not a problem. If it's getting stable after a cycle or two, I'd just relax and have a beer.

 

[buckbros]

I had sent an email to REC TEC about the temperature fluctuations. I just received a phone call from REC TEC and he explained a few things to me. Their customer service is seems to be top notch.

 

[Preacher Man]

I had sent an email to REC TEC about the temperature fluctuations. I just received a phone call from REC TEC and he explained a few things to me. Their customer service is seems to be top notch.

Care to share what you found out?

 

[buckbros]

Care to share what you found out?

Not really an abnormal thing to happen. He suggested to lower the feed rate of the auger. He even wanted to help me thru the process by turning the grill on and he would walk me thru it. At that time it was not convenient so he explained how to to it. The grill comes with the setting at 65 & he suggested to lower it to 35. It is explained in their manual so I will try that. I am going to do another cook on the grill before I change any thing. He also said to call any time if I was still had questions. He also said to call any time if I was not satisfied. I thought it was great that they called me. Seems like they are sincere about helping.