What’s with Rec Tec?

[ross77]

Oh and cool down mode is what it does when you turn it off. Your photos showing the display with “Fan 288” is the fan running during shutdown. Could you have hit the power button by accident?

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I agree that from what can be seen of the drip pan, it appears to be backwards.

The angle located appears to indicate this as well.

The half moon cut in the edge of the drip pan should face the grease bucket.

The numbers showing on the display appear to indicate the cool down sequence when the grill is going through shutdown when you turn it off.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I too just recently purchased an RT-700 and may live to regret it. What happens with Customer Service is yet to be determined because I am in the middle of negotiations.

First, no matter what, the grill would not connect to my network. It recognized all of my neighbors as far as 4 houses away, but not mine even though it was 10 feet away. I later found out that they have issues connecting to the popular Netgear Router and Wireless even though it is top of the line and probably will never connect without an upgrade to the controller however how is that done if I cannot connect to the Internet, it cannot and I was not offered an upgraded replacement.

Some of the Washers in the parts pack were incorrect.

After assembly, the Lid smacked the Smoke Stack and sounded like a Bell every time I opened and closed it. Probably can be adjusted.

I set the temperature at 250 and as I was watching it, it jumped to > 300 in the blink of an eye and went into a "Cool Down" mode which is not mentioned in the documentation. Was it actually at 250 and now being cooled, or was it really at 300 and did not reflect that fact. Then after reaching set point temp the fan would cycle on and off every 5 seconds, again not mentioned in their documents as acceptable behavior. At this point I had no idea what was going on and if I was even cooking a grill full of meat.

I cleaned the grill the next day and noticed there was not even one drop of grease in the drip bucket. It was all down under the drip pan to the left, the opposite direction in which it was supposed to drain. I did everything I could to try to change the angle of the drip pan and it is not possible. I measured the angle and there was maybe a 1/2-degree difference between the shelf on the front of the grill fixed to the frame, and the drip pan. Rolled it around my patio and no change. The two level images are on the fixed shelf and the difference on the drip pan.
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There are nuts and bolts in two holes on the side of the grill in which the controller needs to be installed and instructions say nothing about removing them. They were doing nothing except sitting there in holes I needed however, I was hesitant to remove since instruction manual does not refer to them. They were not needed and had no function whatsoever.

Was supposed to get a Rec-Tec Shirt with the shipment, don't care probably would not wear it anyway however was not included. Also advertised to get a personal letter along with a business card to call day or night but that was not included as well.

Needless to say, even though I had opportunities to use, I am not going to risk the chance of ruining another meal until I trust it.
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That being said, not matter what grill I end up with, wish I would have bought the Yoder, I think it is a smart idea to buy replacement parts that tend to wear out. If you purchase a pellet grill and it stops functioning, you are out of luck finishing your meal.

I know it’s not the best pic to tell from. But I’m looking at the gap between the drip pan and the back edge of the grill and it looks awful wide. Enough to make me wonder where the left and right ends of the grease pan sit.

A wider angle shot would be great.

 

[CountyCop911]

I agree that from what can be seen of the drip pan, it appears to be backwards.

The angle located appears to indicate this as well.

The half moon cut in the edge of the drip pan should face the grease bucket.

The numbers showing on the display appear to indicate the cool down sequence when the grill is going through shutdown when you turn it off.

I installed exactly as they showed in their Video and other I found on YouTube, that is the Flange on the Right as you are facing the Smoker. There is a cut out that lines up with the square hole on the right that leads to the drip bucket. Don't think could be put in 180-Degrees out.

 

[CountyCop911]

Oh and cool down mode is what it does when you turn it off. Your photos showing the display with “Fan 288” is the fan running during shutdown. Could you have hit the power button by accident?

Was not even close to the ON/OFF button and yes the fan was running.

 

[CountyCop911]

I agree that from what can be seen of the drip pan, it appears to be backwards.

The angle located appears to indicate this as well.

The half moon cut in the edge of the drip pan should face the grease bucket.

The numbers showing on the display appear to indicate the cool down sequence when the grill is going through shutdown when you turn it off.

Cannot be installed backwards. I did not touch the Controls, during the Smoking process. I have attached a couple of pictures. One is showing the half-moon cutout lining up with the drip bucket. The other two is the way it was installed originally

and the second if I put it up on the lip of the metal on the left. It then does have an angle to it however it is very close to the Rack. I tried that the other day and thought it would prevent air from circulating properly.

 

[CountyCop911]

Judging by the photos it appears you may have the drip pan reversed. I can’t tell for sure without a wider shot but it appears the gap is getting wider on the left.

As for the WiFi, I have a Netgear router and it works with the RecTec. Are you using a 2.4ghz network? It’s not compatible with 5ghz. A mesh router can also cause issues.

Lid hitting the smokestack is just an adjustment.

RecTec should take care of all of the issues. They’ve bent over backward with any questions or issues I’ve ever had.

Problems can arise but none of this sounds typical at all.

It is a Mesh however no where was I told that and the wireless has both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz. Was told it would not connect and they are working on a solution.

 

[metsfan2152]

From the angle there it definitely looks like the drip tray is reversed. Also when its reversed the top grills will not fit correctly. Customer service should be able to walk you through everything. I work in IT and I dont see how the router does not pick it up. All routers should put out 2.4Ghz. Only reason I can see it not working is if the router has 2.4 disabled and only using 5ghz.

 

[CountyCop911]

From the angle there it definitely looks like the drip tray is reversed. Also when its reversed the top grills will not fit correctly. Customer service should be able to walk you through everything. I work in IT and I dont see how the router does not pick it up. All routers should put out 2.4Ghz. Only reason I can see it not working is if the router has 2.4 disabled and only using 5ghz.

As I mentioned in a previous post that you may not have noticed, the Drip Tray cannot be reversed and the half-moon cutout on the right aligns perfectly on the drip bucket hole. Not much light so difficult to see.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Cannot be installed backwards. I did not touch the Controls, during the Smoking process. I have attached a couple of pictures. One is showing the half-moon cutout lining up with the drip bucket. The other two is the way it was installed originally View attachment 392913 View attachment 392914 View attachment 392916 and the second if I put it up on the lip of the metal on the left. It then does have an angle to it however it is very close to the Rack. I tried that the other day and thought it would prevent air from circulating properly.

I think that I may see the issue with the grease running towards the wrong way.

The drip pan is supposed to hook on that lip near your temp probe.

If it wasn’t like that and you had several slabs of ribs on it then yeah, look at the gap at the back wall of the grill with the pan hooked over the lip and without it hooked over it.

The other two is the way it was installed

If that’s the case then look at the two pics showing the barrel of the grill.

One shows the drip pan at a clear slope towards where the bucket would be. The other shows the pan “level” at best. It should be descending towards the bucket.

 

[ross77]

Cannot be installed backwards. I did not touch the Controls, during the Smoking process. I have attached a couple of pictures. One is showing the half-moon cutout lining up with the drip bucket. The other two is the way it was installed originally View attachment 392913 View attachment 392914 View attachment 392916 and the second if I put it up on the lip of the metal on the left. It then does have an angle to it however it is very close to the Rack. I tried that the other day and thought it would prevent air from circulating properly.

Your first wide shot looks fine. It’s clearly sloping to the right. The 2nd wide shot doesn’t look correct. It’s not sloping at all. I think you may not be seating the right side fully down into the slot. Pouring some water on it will tell you right away if it’s installed correctly.

 

[metsfan2152]

That’s weird I am using a mesh network to had no problem connecting.

 

[ross77]

I think that I may see the issue with the grease running towards the wrong way.

The drip pan is supposed to hook on that lip near your temp probe.

If it wasn’t like that and you had several slabs of ribs on it then yeah, look at the gap at the back wall of the grill with the pan hooked over the lip and without it hooked over it.

You’ve got it. I just noticed that. That could also cause an issue with temp spiking as the drip pan being off the lip would mess with the airflow near the temp probe.

 

[ross77]

That’s weird I am using a mesh network to had no problem connecting.

Hard to say. Sometimes WiFi can be touchy. I know for sure that it will only connect to 2.4ghz. You have to make sure your 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks have different names. Some people use the same name for both and it can cause problems.

 

[metsfan2152]

Hard to say. Sometimes WiFi can be touchy. I know for sure that it will only connect to 2.4ghz. You have to make sure your 2.4ghz and 5ghz networks have different names. Some people use the same name for both and it can cause problems.

Yes that could definitely cause a problem. But if its a mesh network it should automatically determine that it only works with 2.4GHZ. Mesh networks only have 1 SSID. I ahve also connected cameras on my network that is also 2.4ghZ. They do this on purpose because 5ghz range is much shorter then 2.4ghz.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Cannot be installed backwards. I did not touch the Controls, during the Smoking process. I have attached a couple of pictures. One is showing the half-moon cutout lining up with the drip bucket. The other two is the way it was installed originally View attachment 392913 View attachment 392914 View attachment 392916 and the second if I put it up on the lip of the metal on the left. It then does have an angle to it however it is very close to the Rack. I tried that the other day and thought it would prevent air from circulating properly.

No, it’s supposed to be over that lip near your temp probe.

That gives the drip pan the amount of declination towards the grease port and grease bucket that you need.

Otherwise on a big pork cook with plenty of animal fat, if that pan isn’t sloping right the grease is going to pool and fall over into the barrel and cause a small to large grease fire.

It all adds up now. This likely happens, right at the bottom beneath temp probe, the grease overflowed the pan and went over into the barrel, smoke likely everywhere. Small flames may have resulted ie a grease fire, threw the temps way off, the grill overheated and shut down.

 

[CountyCop911]

Yes that could definitely cause a problem. But if its a mesh network it should automatically determine that it only works with 2.4GHZ. Mesh networks only have 1 SSID. I ahve also connected cameras on my network that is also 2.4ghZ. They do this on purpose because 5ghz range is much shorter then 2.4ghz.

 

[ross77]

You need to give 2.4 and 5 different names. You might also have to pick a channel for the 2.4 network rather than have it set to auto.

 

[metsfan2152]

You can also just try to disable the 5 ghz for now and see if can connect.

 

[CountyCop911]

You need to give 2.4 and 5 different names. You might also have to pick a channel for the 2.4 network rather than have it set to auto.

That was my next option was to set the 2.4 to a Static Port Assignment. I have not seen where the Networks can be named differently but I'll look.

You can also just try to disable the 5 ghz for now and see if can connect.

Thought about that however since it does not see the Router at all figured that would be problematic. Another odd issue is that it does recognize a Wireless node named ORBI_ext and I do not have extenders as such. I do have two Satellites but the SSID always displays the "ORBI" regardless of which unit you are actually connected to determined by signal strength.

Thanks for you Help.