REC Tec Temp Issue.

[RajenCajun85]

Hello, everyone!
I just received my Rec Tec 680 and kinda have some concerns on the Temp showing off the LED digital screen.  I calibrated both my probes from my Maverick ET-733 to my Thermapen MK4.  They were just about dead on when tested.  I placed both probes inside the grill and was amazed how much different the temps from the REC TEC and my Maverick.  I called Rec Tec and talked to a staff member there and He insisted on going with the temp that the REC TEC says and not the Maverick.  OKAY...  I explain to him there should not be such a huge gap between the two.  He assured me the grill was fine.  I just don't feel like it is.  Who to trust the REC TEC or the MAVERICK?  my probe is 3/4 to 1 inch away from the wall with these temps.  Any advice or solutions would be very thankful. 

Thank You..

[RajenCajun85]

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[tomcrete1]

Oh Boy!  Well,,, been there with my Rec Tec Mini,  was off by 40 to 50 degrees called Rec Tec and was told much of the same as you were. My Rec Tec works great the temp is still off I just make the necessary adjustments and go with the flow.  Not calling them anymore they were not very polite.  It's still a great grill!  Good luck 

[TentHunteR]

First, don't obsess over this!  This is a very common concern among new pellet grill owners.

Unless you know for certain there is something wrong with the Rec-Tec temperature sensor, trust it NOT the Maverick!  The Rec-Tec probe is designed, calibrated, and positioned to give an overall temperature of the air in the grill, and NOT necessarily the temp above the grate.  There is a difference.  It's the same in any pellet grill and even your oven.

As you get to know your grill, just like any new grill or oven, you will adjust and find what temp settings work best for what you're cooking.

Use your Maverick for what it's best at, and that is monitoring the Internal Temperature of your food.

One more thing (because this is overlooked by a lot of pellet grill owners):  BE SURE to KEEP your grill's temp sensor cleaned, or it may not give accurate readings, and can cause larger than normal temp swings.  I use a Scotch Brite Pad with a little warm soapy water to keep the gunk & grease cleaned off of our MAK's probe.


Hope this makes sense and helps!

[tomcrete1]

First, don't obsess over this!  This is a very common concern among new pellet grill owners.

Unless you know for certain there is something wrong with the Rec-Tec temperature sensor, trust it NOT the Maverick!  The Rec-Tec probe is designed, calibrated, and positioned to give an overall temperature of the air in the grill, and NOT necessarily the temp above the grate.  There is a difference.  It's the same in any pellet grill and even your oven.

As you get to know your grill, just like any new grill or oven, you will adjust and find what temp settings work best for what you're cooking.

Use your Maverick for what it's best at, and that is monitoring the Internal Temperature of your food.

One more thing (because this is overlooked by a lot of pellet grill owners):  BE SURE to KEEP your grill's temp sensor cleaned, or it may not give accurate readings, and can cause larger than normal temp swings.  I use a Scotch Brite Pad with a little warm soapy water to keep the gunk & grease cleaned off of our MAK's probe.


Hope this makes sense and helps!

Good advice, Never thought of cleaning the probe,   

[RajenCajun85]

First, don't obsess over this!  This is a very common concern among new pellet grill owners.

Unless you know for certain there is something wrong with the Rec-Tec temperature sensor, trust it NOT the Maverick!  The Rec-Tec probe is designed, calibrated, and positioned to give an overall temperature of the air in the grill, and NOT necessarily the temp above the grate.  There is a difference.  It's the same in any pellet grill and even your oven.

As you get to know your grill, just like any new grill or oven, you will adjust and find what temp settings work best for what you're cooking.

Use your Maverick for what it's best at, and that is monitoring the Internal Temperature of your food.

One more thing (because this is overlooked by a lot of pellet grill owners):  BE SURE to KEEP your grill's temp sensor cleaned, or it may not give accurate readings, and can cause larger than normal temp swings.  I use a Scotch Brite Pad with a little warm soapy water to keep the gunk & grease cleaned off of our MAK's probe.


Hope this makes sense and helps!

. 
Appreciate the awesome info.  Being new to this field has task it's difficulties to trust anything or even know how to trust.   One this for sure,  it's people like yourself and Tom that help newbies as myself become much better.  I cooked some ribs last Thursday.  I did the 3-2-1 common setup with my Rec Tec @ 225F.  After accomplishing the 3-2-1 task I pulled the ribs off and prepared them to be served.  I cut one rib off and took a bit and instantly spit it out.  The meat seemed undercooked and extremely pink.  Had a nice bark, though.  End up slapping those babies in the oven for additional 2.5 hours.    With this being said it may seem I would have to start cooking my pork around 250F-275F.  Would this be a huge difference?  I'm cooking a Boston Butt this week and I have no clue on the Temp to cook it.    It can become frustrating but I'm assuming this is a way to know and trust your grill.   

Thanks for the insight..

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[tomcrete1]

Did ribs on the rec Tec mini Friday, started at 180 then bumped up to 250 in total it was almost 7 hours that was for three full racks did 6 once on the RT and was on for 10 hours.  Both times they turned out great.  It's just anew way of grilling,  you will get the hang of it eventually.  I think everyone goes through a learning process when they get a new cooker.  At least I know that I do..

[Hub]

First, don't obsess over this! 

No cooker of any kind or manufacturer is going to give the same readings on a remote thermometer as the reading on the unit.  There will always be variances caused by position, air flow, and calibration among other things. 

There is an old adage in barbeque lore:  "Know Your Pit" and it goes just as much for modern electronically controlled pits as it does for fully manual ones.  Every pit will have its cool and hot places and its "sweet spot" and every pit will challenge the cook to learn them and use them to his advantage. 

Your Rec Tec has a very good controller but it is not insulated and designed to provide exactly even temperatures in all locations.  You can cook absolutely wonderful chow on it, but you'll still need to learn it.  Watching thermometers and agonizing over the readings on them is exactly why pellet cookers were developed in the first place.  Relax, learn your cooker, and eat well 

Hub

[TMB]

When I bought my Rec-Tec I was so looking forward to low and slow cooking because I was use to fast and furious infrared cooking.

I didn't realize 4 to 5 hrs meant 4 to 5 hrs        I was thinking 225 for about 3 hrs and done but nope, so I started cooking ribs at 250 to 270 and get them done in about 4 hrs or so.  Even the YouTube videos Rec-Tec puts out will tell you to cook ribs higher then 225.

Getting use to your grill is the biggest curve you got so keep cooking and get to know that Rec-Tec your gonna love it

[muebe]

The controller in the Rec-Tec is the same as my Memphis. The reading at the controller probe displayed will not be the same as what you are getting with the Maverick probe for example. There is a reason for this. The probe is sending the controller the exact reading but the controller displays the average temp across the grill using a calculation programmed into the controller from the factory. So the reading shown is giving you an high average across the grill. This grill was tested thoroughly to come up with this calculation. A lot of R&R involved.

I can tell you that the Rec-Tec will cook more even than a majority of most home ovens. So don't obsess over the temps as Cliff mentioned.

The best way to know how even your grill cooks is with a biscuit test. Get some biscuits from the can and place them across the entire grill. As they cook snap a picture. The ones that cook faster are your hot spots. The ones that cook slower are your cold spots.

[Smokin Don]

All good advice shown above by knowledgeable members. My advice is kind of different from theirs but it's the way I cook and I get good results. I have a Traeger with a Savannah Stoker V3 controller. It holds temps well, from 180 to 225 I get about 10+- deg. swings for good smoke; 250 and above I get 5+- deg. and not much smoke.

I use a Maverick ET 732 grill temp. probe set about 2 inches from the front in the center. It will run 20 to 30 deg. hotter than the controller temps. I cook with the Maverick temps and get good results at least for me. When I do ribs I do 2 hours of smoke, controller set at 190 deg. and grill temp of 210 deg. then go to 225 deg. on the controller for a grill temp of 250 deg. and they are usually done in 5 1/2 hrs. total.

Hope this does not confuse but helps. Don

[RajenCajun85]

Let me start off first by thanking everyone for their expert opinions.  You all are truly helping me know bbq smoking more.  Thank you all for taking the time to reply.

Nothing but awesome useful information.  I called Rec Tec and talked to Ron Cundy.  He seemed more upset that I called asking questions onto why the grill was such offset. There is a spacer the slides on my probe.  He advised to take the spacer off and push the probe closer inwards towards the metal to raise the grate temp.  I took the spacer off and pushed the probe inwards a tab and magically it did help.  At 225F, my Maverick runs about 227F. Higher temps it is about 20 degrees off.  Pretty comfortable with that.   I'm putting my Maverick probe in the middle of the grill.   I'm happy with the outcome. 
I just received my grill grates and the REC TEC did a fantastic job.  I placed a small meat rack inside the grill and put my smoker tube underneath the rack and place two 1.12 lbs Ribeyes onto the rack. I didn't turn the grill on just wanted some smoke flavor. 

The biscuit tool is by far the best  knowledge to find your hot spots, med spots, and cool spots.  Thank you Muebe for that useful tip.  I was skeptical at first, didn't know what to think.  It's funny how some biscuits can help find these. 

thank you all...