I have a RecTec 630 pellet smoker. I got the smoker in July and I've done butt, chicken and turkey. All of them have taken longer than I expected; 13 hours for a 6 lb pork shoulder set at 225F to get meat temperature to 200F. Used my Maverick to track the grill temperature for my last cook and it was consistently 25F below what the grill's sensor was reporting. When I talked with a representative at RecTec, he said that the grill sensor was measuring air temperature and the Maverick was getting the cooler grate temperature averaged in and the air temperature was more important because that was what cooked the meat. I don't understand how the grate could be cooler than the air after an hour of cooking and it would seem to me the temperature at the grate was more important than higher in the cooker. I'm cooking a brisket tonight to eat tomorrow afternoon and I'm going to set the temperature at 245F to compensate for the difference. Do others agree with my analysis and plan?
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I can tell you from my experience with a GMG Daniel Boone that the cook grate temperature where the food sits runs a consistent 20-30 degrees cooler than what you set the controller to. I keep a cook log with my controller temp, and my MAV 732 temps. Trust your digital thermometer and set the grill accordingly. The cooker temp is probably accurate where it is reading temperature, but wherever it's reading is most likely not right where your food is. I don't know exactly how a Rec Tec is set up, so...
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 9698
- Smiths Grove, Ky
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Hi, my name is Darrell. I'm an OTR truck driver for over 25 years. During my off time I love doing backyard cooks. I have a 48" Lang Deluxe smoker, Rec-Tec pellet smoker,1 Weber Genesis 330, 1 Weber Performer (blue), 2 Weber kettles (1 black and 1 Copper), 1 26" Weber kettle, a WSM, 8 Maverick Redi Chek thermometers, a PartyQ, 2 SnS, Grill Grates, Cast Iron grates, 1 ThermoPop (orange) and 2 ThermoPens (pink and orange) and planning on adding more cooking accessories. Now I have an Anova sous vide, the Dragon blower and 2 Chef alarms from Thermoworks.
The RecTec thermometer is located higher than the grate which will give it a higher reading. I too have the the same problem with my RecTec and I also set my temp to 245. Sometimes after the meat as taken on smoke for 4-5 hrs I even crank it up to 275.
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- Oct 2016
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- Nebraska
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Same issue here with a Traeger. The digital temp display is spot-on when the fire-pot is spotless before cooking though.
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On my Camp Chef (with a Pellet Pro PID) I have the opposite problem, the grate is 25 - 40 degrees warmer than the set temp. I even placed a Maverick probe in the same place as the pit to test and they then matched.
I just adjust my set temp accordingly to get the grate temp I want. Have a brisket in now, set to 200 and the grate is 226.
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Not sure if this addresses your concern but my RecTec became a lot more accurate after a dozen or so cooks. I check it against a maverick located on the grate. When the cooker was brand new it was consistently 20 degrees cooler on the exhaust side. After grilling and smoking on it for several months it has evened out quite a bit. If I remember correctly my WSM held temperature a lot better after some use as well
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- Dec 2014
- 1355
- Morrill, Nebraska
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I have the mini, but I also noticed a difference in temp between the pit probe and a maverick probe placed elsewhere in the pit. When I call tech support they told me the pit probe display temp is calibrated so that it represents an average of several temps taken through out the pit rather than the actual temp where the probe is located. I don't worry about it, I just set the temp to what I want and always have fantastic food when I'm done. Did this recipe Friday night, and it turned out fantastic. Highly recommend it if you happen to have a few pounds of extra pork butt or shoulder that you want to use up. I'll be making it much more in the future!
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