Pellet Fan
Pit Talk -- Comments and Questions Regarding These Pellet Pits => recteq => Topic started by: sbryant24 on November 13, 2017, 04:20:48 PM
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New product on sale 11/17
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Now that’s different. How much?
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Looks to be $399 shipped. Kind of a strange offering, but it looks to be a more "open flame" grill. Interesting.
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The Weber Kettle is Icon it, so I get that. But I have never understood why you would want a circular grill from a grill area stand point? The Wood Master D 400 was one of the finest Pellet units I have ever Performance Tested, but I think the circular grill hurt it. But maybe they are looking to capitalize on a perceived market? Or if it truly is just a grill, maybe that and they are tiring to get there pricing down to compete with the GMG products!
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A round grill doesn’t make a lot of sense maybe other than cooking a pizza. Maybe it circulates the heat better.
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A round grill doesn’t make a lot of sense maybe other than cooking a pizza. Maybe it circulates the heat better.
you've obviously never owned a weber kettle !
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A round grill doesn’t make a lot of sense maybe other than cooking a pizza. Maybe it circulates the heat better.
you've obviously never owned a weber kettle !
I’m talking more about the shape for cooking, look at my signature
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I love my 680, but one thing I have had "issue" with was how long it takes to get toe max temp. 90% of my cooking is hot/fast, so I was looking at getting a mini then the discontinued.
This new setup has me really intrigued. I am hoping we get some vids soon showing how it does for sear marks and/or they will have grill grates for it.
Round has been the go to for grilling for ages, as mentioned, think Weber kettle, probably the most iconic grill around here in the US, and for simple reason they work. I am betting as mentioned it has to do with the round shape and good heat distribution. This to me combined with Lumberjack Charhickory pellets could be a real winner.
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I'm not seeing any exhaust port(s) or drip tray. Many of the 'bragging rights' don't seem too well thought out.
I'll wait for some others to beta test it. :bbq:
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I think it would be a great cooker for a brisket or pork butt or Pizza. I think I would use it a lot for that, but ribs not so much as I cook usually 6 racks at a time. If it is light enough it might be a great grill to throw in the back of the truck for camping. I’m thinking it will heat up pretty quick.
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I'm not seeing any exhaust port(s) or drip tray. Many of the 'bragging rights' don't seem too well thought out.
I'll wait for some others to beta test it. :bbq:
I watched a you tube video & there are exhaust vents in the back of the lid,looks like no drip tray that I can see, it looks like it has a heat diffuser with holes under the cooking grates. Not sure what the burn pot is like or how easy it is to clean out.
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I'm not seeing any exhaust port(s) or drip tray. Many of the 'bragging rights' don't seem too well thought out.
I'll wait for some others to beta test it. :bbq:
I watched a you tube video & there are exhaust vents in the back of the lid,looks like no drip tray that I can see, it looks like it has a heat diffuser with holes under the cooking grates. Not sure what the burn pot is like or how easy it is to clean out.
Thank you for the tip. I found a vid that shows some vents in the back, but they appear much too small for low and slow cooking. At least to my experience. I could plug 50% of the exhaust on my Jr and still have more flow that that. They'd probably work fine for grilling as the lid isn't closed for any appreciable amount of time. I could easily see trying 180 for a couple hrs and that thing flaming out or burning up.
So the conundrum is... Do you get a dedicated pellet fueled grill vs charcoal? That's gonna be a hard sell all things given. I just don't see this as a low and slow device. I've been wrong before.
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I like it. Could be a nice grill.
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Gonna assume you mean they were discontinued? If that is the case, this makes much more sense and pricing is in line with Davy Crockett, a little more, no wifi either!
...so I was looking at getting a mini then the discontinued.
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We are always looking to get data for members and do Performance Testing...so we are ready when ever RecTec is...
This new setup has me really intrigued. I am hoping we get some vids soon showing how it does for sear marks and/or they will have grill grates for it.
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That's an interesting design for a pellet grill. I wonder how well it would work for low and slow with that diffuser full of holes. I'd get it strictly for grilling I think. I'll wait for some reviews.
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I know they say this Bullseye is low-n-slow to grilling, but like others I am not sure about that given the issues already mentioned. If I were to buy one it would be as a companion to my 680 or more realistically partial replacement since most of my cooking is hot and fast grilling. I could use a propane for hot grilling but I use my 680 because we can taste a difference between propane and wood fired grilling, so we have not used the propane grill in 3yrs+.
Gonna assume you mean they were discontinued? If that is the case, this makes much more sense and pricing is in line with Davy Crockett, a little more, no wifi either!
...so I was looking at getting a mini then the discontinued.
Yes. Right now the RT300 aka RecTec Mini is discontinued and not available. Apparently they have upgrades to the mini being rolled out in the next few months.
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Same here. I haven’t touched my Weber gasser since buying the RT-680.
The Grill Grates help on the 680 but a faster initial heat up would be nice.
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depending on the amount of grilling space i would consider it for a dedicated open flame griller. My Memphis Pro open flame does a great job but it only can do 4 burger patties at a time. I'm keeping my eye on it. Is Rec tech one that has dealers or is it all direct?
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depending on the amount of grilling space i would consider it for a dedicated open flame griller. My Memphis Pro open flame does a great job but it only can do 4 burger patties at a time. I'm keeping my eye on it. Is Rec tech one that has dealers or is it all direct?
Only direct.
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They claim you can fit 25 burgers.
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depending on the amount of grilling space i would consider it for a dedicated open flame griller. My Memphis Pro open flame does a great job but it only can do 4 burger patties at a time. I'm keeping my eye on it. Is Rec tech one that has dealers or is it all direct?
I called in on that very issue. Grate is approx 20" diameter. They also have plans to eventually release grill grates for it, but sounded like that is a few months out. Apparently they have lots of new things being released in the coming months.
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Hopefully WiFi for the RT680.
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depending on the amount of grilling space i would consider it for a dedicated open flame griller. My Memphis Pro open flame does a great job but it only can do 4 burger patties at a time. I'm keeping my eye on it. Is Rec tech one that has dealers or is it all direct?
I called in on that very issue. Grate is approx 20" diameter. They also have plans to eventually release grill grates for it, but sounded like that is a few months out. Apparently they have lots of new things being released in the coming months.
Not to be nitpicking...
The 20" grate comes out to 315 sq inches of cooking area. Not the 380 they claim based on the OD of the lid. That's a substantial 17% difference. Grill Grates will make you a set for a price if they don't already have something comparable.
Competition is always a good thing for the consumer. :pig:
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The RT-680 isn't shipping until 11/27. It's not clear if they made any changes.
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I think this could be a great addition to their line up. So many folks are looking for direct flame cooking with their pellet grill, and I am betting RT didn’t want to redesign their drip tray on the 680. I almost bought the 680 a few years ago, but went with the PG 500 for direct grilling.
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It’s a solid price considering it includes shipping. The shipping cost for their Mini is what kept me from buying it.
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Very interesting. Wonder how big it is? Weight, height, etc? Can be broken down easily? I️ really want a pellet grill for the toy hauler...
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I would not consider this one easy to breakdown. there is no "quick dissasembly" built into it. consider it the size of a classic weber kettle plus a hopper hanging of the side..
That said stay tuned, they have a new unit designed around tailgating/RV use on the way. I have no details other than they have it in the works and they are releasing a number of accys and grills over the next few months..
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Looks good on Youtube. Waiting until Bentley gets one to test. Will be interesting to see how the drippings are handled without charcoal to burn them up. Are the grill grates sturdy? etc. etc. Overall tho' looks to be a popular item. :clap: :bbq:
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I'm really tempted to order one. I've never owned a Rec Tec product but those of you that do really seem to like them. The RV version also has me really intrigued since that's how our summers are spent so I don't know if I should wait to see that first or not but I brought a Weber kettle for years in the back of the truck camping.
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Looks as if it is a Weber Kettle/Rec Tec hybrid.. Weber Kettles are so iconic..
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I took a look at the user manual. Lighting and shutdown are a little less automated than the 680. Also a 1 year warranty vs 6. The controls also remind me of a Treager.
All to be expected at this price point I suppose.
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It really doesn’t make any sense to put their PID controller on a grill like this, when you consider that the lid will be open a lot of the time.
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It really doesn’t make any sense to put their PID controller on a grill like this, when you consider that the lid will be open a lot of the time.
I would think they used the same controller to save cost. Easier and cheaper to have 1 controller across multiple units. Cuts down on inventory, etc.
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It really doesn’t make any sense to put their PID controller on a grill like this, when you consider that the lid will be open a lot of the time.
I would think they used the same controller to save cost. Easier and cheaper to have 1 controller across multiple units. Cuts down on inventory, etc.
Both of you make a lot of sense. When I first saw it I was surprised/disappointed that it didn't have a more advanced controller but as mentioned the lid will be lifted often while cooking. I guess it makes more sense to have a dial that turns up the heat like a stove, simple & hopefully effective.
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I am very happy that I can grill very well without direct flame with my GS. However it is tempting. Will give it some time and see how it holds up. The grill grates look a little flimsy to me for direct grilling. ??
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If this is set up to cook like a char-griller, I'd give it serious consideration. Cookshack is the only one competing in that market segment.
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I took a look at the user manual. Lighting and shutdown are a little less automated than the 680. Also a 1 year warranty vs 6. The controls also remind me of a Treager.
All to be expected at this price point I suppose.
Yeah I have to admit I was a little.. not sure the right word for it.. dissapointed? When I saw what it was in the video and the price. Just looked a bit "light" compared to typical rectec heavy built units like my 680 and the Mini I have seen.
That said I called RT asking about it and wanting more info. During the call it was mentioned that the price on the website is the SHIPPED price. To your door. Shipping on something that big and heavy will be a solid $100. So when taking that into account the unit really is a $299 unit and what we get for that price is definitely reasonable. I even went to look at DIY and could not do it cheaper or eventhe same price. The price of a weber kettle plus the price of hopper/auger assemblies you can buy to make your own pellet grill... Those hoppers all seem to run in the $350-400 range plus Weber kettle.
My 680 is working for me for now, but I am definitely watching this unit, awaiting real world reviews and may very well add it to take over primary grilling duties and compliment the 680.
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I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on this one, can't stop thinking about it in fact but hoping maybe they do something additional for Black Friday. The one thing I really would have liked to see is a hopper clean out, considering this is portable it would be great to have all the pellets out of it during transport but at this price point I guess it didn't make sense. Still, I'm seriously in "want" over this thing with the hopes it can take over grilling duties while I camp.
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I'm almost ready to pull the trigger on this one, can't stop thinking about it in fact but hoping maybe they do something additional for Black Friday. The one thing I really would have liked to see is a hopper clean out, considering this is portable it would be great to have all the pellets out of it during transport but at this price point I guess it didn't make sense. Still, I'm seriously in "want" over this thing with the hopes it can take over grilling duties while I camp.
While it is smaller, I do not think the bullseye is meant to be their "Portable offering". The legs do not fold at all and are not easily removed.
They have more accessories and grills planned to release moving forward and have heard a few people mention rumors about a portable unit designed for travel/tailgating. One that will be 12V powered.
:cool:
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As far as I know, based on the wording of the information that's out there, the controller merely adjusts the overall feed rate of the auger... that is, I don't believe there's actually a temperature probe or anything, it just feeds pellets in a little faster , or a little slower, depending on where you have the dial set... you will have to adjust it to the point where it produces the temperature you desire, and then hope the weather doesn't change too much while your cooking.
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Sounds about right. Not sure I’d want to use it as a smoker on long cooks. Seems to be more like a grill to me.
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As far as I know, based on the wording of the information that's out there, the controller merely adjusts the overall feed rate of the auger... that is, I don't believe there's actually a temperature probe or anything, it just feeds pellets in a little faster , or a little slower, depending on where you have the dial set... you will have to adjust it to the point where it produces the temperature you desire, and then hope the weather doesn't change too much while your cooking.
Sounds about right. Not sure I’d want to use it as a smoker on long cooks. Seems to be more like a grill to me.
That is how I have understood everything they have said about it. Knob is all about fee rate/temp, just like a gas burning grill, turn dial up, more heat. No temp sensor or holding a specific temp. They did it on purpose to get the plain joe gas griller into a pellet grill without the concern on setting temps etc.
While they say it can do low n slow, as mentioned, I would not want to rely on it to hold a low temp on an overnight cook.
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I haven’t seen any new news on the Bullseye & the site is showing that units are still a few weeks out so I guess there isn’t much to hear about until people get their hands on one but I can’t wait to see a review or two. I’ve been eyeing Kamado’s but I’m tempted to cut that budget so I can order the Bullseye AND a kamado!
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I haven’t seen any new news on the Bullseye & the site is showing that units are still a few weeks out so I guess there isn’t much to hear about until people get their hands on one but I can’t wait to see a review or two. I’ve been eyeing Kamado’s but I’m tempted to cut that budget so I can order the Bullseye AND a kamado!
Last I heard they had planned to ship starting yesterday (11/27). However I recall hearing in one livestream that they were stuck in customs here in the US port, probably delaying things a bit.
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On my Traeger Junior, I had put a generic PID on it, I was never really able to get the PID to hold a temperature as well as I'd like it too, and I wound up resorting to using it as a manual feed rate adjustment device. Generally speaking, it's actually not really that big of a deal to just dial in the temperature you want, by adjusting the feed rate, then leaving it run at that feed rate. I have done many long cook with it that way. In some ways I prefer it actually over holding a set temperature... As long as don't get any drastic changes in weather during the cook , there's actually very little reason to keep adjusting the feed rate of a pellet grill. The reason , I sometimes preferred setting a feed rate and letting it go, is because what typically happens, is as the meat's internal temperature rises, the temperature inside the grill also rises... So lets say you start out at 225F, weather doesn't change much, but your big hunk of pork butt warms up inside the grill, eventually the grill temperature rises as the meat temperature rises, and by the end of the cook your grill's temperature might be up to 275F, which by that time, your meat was in a stall anyway, the additional heat helps motor through the stall...
So anyway, I actually don't see a big issue with a constant feed rate for 90% of what I cook, never been one to demand ultra tight cooking temperatures.
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Lots of reports of people having their bullseyes on the FB groups. Anyone here got one yet and have a real hand on review?
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It took all the restraint I had to not order one of these so I'm pretty jealous people have them already. Now I'll somehow continue to be patient while we wait for user review's.
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It took all the restraint I had to not order one of these so I'm pretty jealous people have them already. Now I'll somehow continue to be patient while we wait for user review's.
I am in the same boat, I held off over concerns about the build quality after seeing the assembly video. Just does not have the same heavy construction of the 680/mini. That said free shipping (nothing is ever free) which will be ~$100, makes it a $299+shipping unit. I think it is def a value when looking at it in relation to that price point.
80%+ of the cooking I do on my 680 is actually high temp grilling, so this unit would see significant use and let the 680 handle the big smoke cooks and smoking for reverse sears.
The concern I have now is that UPS has been absolutely thrashing the units that have been going out, lots of damaged units. However the incredible thing is that RECTEC with their typical customer 1st mentality has been sending people out brand new units to replace the damaged ones!
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I don't understand the whole issue of the damage, I haven't seen a photo yet of the boxes, or how it's packaged, but it's just hard to believe that UPS is mucking up a significant number of them, unless they just aren't packaged worth a darn. I can't remember the last time I had a UPS package that was damaged.
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I don't understand the whole issue of the damage, I haven't seen a photo yet of the boxes, or how it's packaged, but it's just hard to believe that UPS is mucking up a significant number of them, unless they just aren't packaged worth a darn. I can't remember the last time I had a UPS package that was damaged.
Lots and lots of pictures on FB groups of damaged grills.. In fact there are many more posts about damaged grills that about someone just saying they got their grill.. Bad news we all know tends to get posted more often, but these are groups that love their grills and post when they get a new rub to try, so seeing such high numbers of damage reports ontop of undamaged is significant.
This time of year UPS service drops bigtime due to sheer overload and I think that is compounding things.
Honestly I do not think shipping these ups was the right choice. UPS is terrible when packages get larger than about 14x14" square. We see tons of UPS damage in the company I work for once the box size gets larger, regardless of the weight or packaging. Usually things are well padded so not damage content, but with a bulky unit like a grill there is only so much padding to be done before it is so big UPS will not even take it at all... Tough thing is the grills are only supposed to weight in the 50-60# range, so just WAYY to light for truck freight which would probably have a $150min charge, require scheduled delivery, etc..
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Sounds like they need to distribute these to local retailers.
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They don't have any.
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I mean stores like Lowes or Home Depot.
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Sounds like they need to distribute these to local retailers.
In an article that The Augusta Chronicle , done on Rec Tec, they claimed this grill was designed to be sold at brick and mortar stores...
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Sounds like they need to distribute these to local retailers.
In an article that The Augusta Chronicle , done on Rec Tec, they claimed this grill was designed to be sold at brick and mortar stores...
Was that about the Matador or the bullseye? The matador is being sold thru retail chains like Rural King.
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I think I'll just stick to my webber kettle grill for hot and fast.
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Sounds like they need to distribute these to local retailers.
In an article that The Augusta Chronicle , done on Rec Tec, they claimed this grill was designed to be sold at brick and mortar stores...
Was that about the Matador or the bullseye? The matador is being sold thru retail chains like Rural King.
The article stated the following... “Bullseye,†a low-cost model designed specifically for brick-and-mortar retailers
If you want to read the article, use Google to search for the following ( title of the article ) "No Bull: Augusta company grabs pellet grill market by the horns"
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RecTec recently posted a couple videos of low and slow cooks on the Bullseye on Facebook. They had two running, with a pork shoulder on one and a packer brisket on the other. They claimed the temp held pretty steady all night. Results looked good.
Looks to be a pretty versatile cooker as they grilled a bunch of burgers in another video.
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Where does all the grease go, if your doing low and slow on a bullseye? I don't doubt you can get the temperature relatively stable, assuming weather doesn't change drastically... But I don't think there is a drip tray on the Bullseye... read somewhere that the grease is supposed to burn up when it hits the heat deflector thing. Hard to imagine how much grease could get dripped down into the bottom , if you were doing like a pork shoulder or two at 225F
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Yeah, while it "can" I def would not consider low n slow something to do often on that unit, though they did show it doing a brisket and pork shoulder last week.
The next high temp cook would result in a pretty good fire I would think. That said, Rectec did specifically address fires in the bullseye a few weeks back during a livestream. They said the fires they had, the grill was no worse for wear afterwards, they built it to take the heat/fires. I do not know if they just let them rage and burn out with top open, or closed or is they tried to douse/control the fires at all.
The grease even from only hot grilling is a concern of mine, and about the only one giving me pause on ordering one of them. I know how nasty the "diffusers" in propane rigs get from grease of of burgers etc even at high temp and then rust. I am wondering about longevity of the firebox cover in the bullseye
Lack of automated temp control and grease tray as mentioned make low-n-slow problematic at best imho. This unit was really designed to be a "gateway grill" to get gas and weber kettle guys entered into the pellet grill arena.
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I just ordered one this morning, Sunday, 5-6-18. I hope it gets here in a week. I have a crowd coming for Mother's Day steaks and I can use the grilling room.
I'll try to post some cooks and impressions.
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The 22" Weber grate fits the Bullseye.
(https://uhr2vw.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mmYRyk6ySKOEuCms4LSRQsTqsyqp4gnSCMztGH5eLz4oSu7jMu5jp6Al_xAdV8e_NL5K09BOe32obmRc6t9xFRCnbpl8l_YySf-bJIsMgUn_uisLT3Zvody9PioF_-4DEu0yVKlIyyotaAeDyvlt3ktVYY0iUssp5MyfetfZCyoQ06U8METhjnunfrdBqnaFmBVoiv14n5KXHm2QhEFPQVA?width=256&height=228&cropmode=none) Has anyone tried to put the Weber Kettle rotisserie on one? The hinged lid might be troublesome.
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Where does all the grease go, if your doing low and slow on a bullseye? I don't doubt you can get the temperature relatively stable, assuming weather doesn't change drastically... But I don't think there is a drip tray on the Bullseye... read somewhere that the grease is supposed to burn up when it hits the heat deflector thing. Hard to imagine how much grease could get dripped down into the bottom , if you were doing like a pork shoulder or two at 225F
I just received my Bullseye on Friday and did burgers and steaks on Friday and Saturday. Then Saturday night I decided to try a butt. I just put a pan below it to catch the grease and it worked really well.
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Gator,
How was the overall performance for those items you cooked?
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Gator,
How was the overall performance for those items you cooked?
It worked exactly as I hoped it would. The food came off perfectly. The butt was better (and easier) than I expected on the Bullseye, so the fact that I can use it for the low and slow was a bonus. The food was good enough that I took my gasser to the curb and gave my 23 year old Weber to my brother.
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I'm not confident that mine will be here by Mother's Day when I need the extra grill capacity. I ordered it on Sunday. The next day I had an email that it was waiting to be picked up and that I would be notified when it was. No notice yet.
Dang!
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An email notice that the Bullseye has shipped was sent to me at 4:00 PM today. It may make it here on time for the Mother's Day grilling.
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Nice. Let us know what you think of it.
I'm still debating on a Bullseye or a Weber Performer. Can't decide if I should have two pellet cookers or diversify with charcoal.
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I don't understand the whole issue of the damage, I haven't seen a photo yet of the boxes, or how it's packaged, but it's just hard to believe that UPS is mucking up a significant number of them, unless they just aren't packaged worth a darn. I can't remember the last time I had a UPS package that was damaged.
I just had a BSG bent in multilple places by them. I thought it was packaged well too.
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Nice. Let us know what you think of it.
I'm still debating on a Bullseye or a Weber Performer. Can't decide if I should have two pellet cookers or diversify with charcoal.
I keep the Performer with a Slow ‘n Sear just in case of major power outage or pellet grill breakdown. I have a tip top temp too, but honestly just use Performer for steaks and burgers so far.
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Nice. Let us know what you think of it.
I'm still debating on a Bullseye or a Weber Performer. Can't decide if I should have two pellet cookers or diversify with charcoal.
You could use the Bullseye as a charcoal grill as well. Just drop a different grate in the bottom and use the pellets underneath to get it started. :P
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An email notice that the Bullseye has shipped was sent to me at 4:00 PM today. It may make it here on time for the Mother's Day grilling.
Nope!
Mother's Day is tomorrow and the Bullseye is in Kansas City, about four hours away, but it's scheduled to be delivered Tuesday.
The tracking says they tried to contact me for a delivery appointment. I call BS! They have my email address and my residence phone number with voice mail. There's no good evidence of an attempted contact.
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Hurry up and get it so I can decide what I should get for Father’s Day. :D
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It was due today. Marcia took a phone call from a scheduler who told her that it will be delivered tomorrow, Wednesday. I'll burn it in and then probably cook some burgers as a first run.
Does anyone know–
- Lid open or closed?
- What setting simulates charcoal heat?
- Any other suggestions?
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It was due today. Marcia took a phone call from a scheduler who told her that it will be delivered tomorrow, Wednesday. I'll burn it in and then probably cook some burgers as a first run.
Does anyone know–
- Lid open or closed?
- What setting simulates charcoal heat?
- Any other suggestions?
Because of the diffuser it is not exactly like charcoal. You do not get the heat as much as you would charcoal with the lid open. At its heart it is a pellet grill and therefore needs the lid closed. That said, with the lid closed it can crank up to 500. I tend to set mine pretty much straight in the middle. I don't really pay attention to temperature and this seems to do pretty well. Sometimes it does run a little hot so I have to burp it.
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Thanks for the tips. I'm anticipating convection heat like a typical pellet pit, plus quite a bit of infrared heat radiating from the diffuser. I suspect that I can also make tall flames if I turn the "wick" up.
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Would you recommend it? Can you get some char similar to what you would get on charcoal/gas?
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If it were me, I'd crank it up to full speed, burn off any oils or whatever were on the internal parts from the factory, then slap a relatively cheap steak on there to see what it could do.
I am very curious about these. Many people report how much they like them , but few ever give any details about them... I've seen photos of grilled chicken that looked like it was baked chicken... I've seen people using grillgrates to get 'sear' marks on some steaks and such... I've seen some report 500F+ not entirely sure how they got that temperature reading, etc...
Heck, I've even seen people putting charcoal in on the diffuser , basically using the wood pellet burner part to ignite things on top of the diffuser.
In short, I've seen nothing that has definitively told me I want one, but have seen enough that I'm intrigued.
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I’m hoping it can do a better job of direct grilling than my 680 with Grill grates.
My 680 does the job but I wouldn’t mind something smaller for burgers/hotdogs that is just faster overall.
I’ve seen a few videos of flames coming through the diffuser plate. Somewhat similar to fat/grease hitting the flavorizer bars on a Weber gas grill.
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I've never been fond of the idea of running a grill with heat diffuser and full drip tray up over 400F. Too much heat buildup under the drip tray... So, I personally would never consider cranking up a grill like the RT-680 hot enough to sear on, not unless I had pulled out the drip tray... and well that gets to be a pain to pull out internals on a pellet grill just to get good sear.
Now, I do have a PG500, and that works absolutely great for cooking a couple steaks or a few burgers...
If a Bullseye works reasonably well, you should be able to cook up four or five steaks at once, and probably a dozen or more burgers... and a couple dozen chicken wings, etc...
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I’ve used my 680 many times at temps over 400. What is the issue with heat buildup? Just bad for the components of the grill?
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It arrived late this morning. My impressions.
I put it together in more than three frustrating hours (fat old guy with arthritis and a recent heart attack). The instructions seem to assume that the new owner will assemble it on the ground. That’s was an awful idea for me. I was kneeling next to the grill on its side with one hand inside the burn area and the other on the outside while trying to align two holes to thread 6mm metric machine bolts through them. I padded my pickup tailgate for a driveway workbench.
There are times when–
- The instructions are vague (small components don't match the illustration)
- I changed the process (attaching the wheeled legs)
- Holes don't align (lid hinge in particular)
- It's a two-person task
I suggest that Rec Tec management pick some people from the general public who are part of their target customer group. Give them the box and say, "Put it together." Don't coach them; just watch, note the trouble areas and make the appropriate changes.
The holes on the legs are threaded for the machine bolts but the metal appears to be only 12 gauge (about 1/10â€) or 10 gauge at best. It doesn’t seem substantial.
The instructions say to burn it in at 150° for an hour. I set the knob at 9 O'Clock and it ran steady at 210° for more than an hour (based on the lid thermometer). And it made a lot of smoke at 210°. It was mostly rather dense blue smoke that sometimes began to approach the white smoke I don't care for but I'd say it was all good smoke and a lot of it. I plan to use it mainly as a grill but I may smoke a butt or brisket just to see.
Burgers tomorrow. But before that I think I'll record (graph) the grate temperature when it's running at around 200°.
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Tell the engineer's at Exmark Zero Turn Mowers to do the same thing regarding dropping the cutting deck on their units...
I suggest that Rec Tec management pick some people from the general public who are part of their target customer group. Give them the box and say, "Put it together." Don't coach them; just watch, note the trouble areas and make the appropriate changes.
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I’ve used my 680 many times at temps over 400. What is the issue with heat buildup? Just bad for the components of the grill?
Same question for me, what is the issue?
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As promised, I set the controller at the 9:00 position and graphed the temperature at 3" above the grate. The lid thermometer probe is a bit higher than that. It consistently read 20-30° higher than my probe.
(https://xzbqhw.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mi40W8MN7H_6iUu_MRlmW0fAUIhg5x5Qfw_zOIlKzu4wLkXUtvBs-OTC0s47QSc_vwr4R5sDIsO6s3r9SxMOyLl0kZyuUxAkf_xWmy79m4gbwsatQvB55heWF6yXTeUqhSp7xX762QWnV-GbktcaakMV4q7ZTO7jtplvkweQIbjjLpSKZvCTmH3wkcQ3OAaURfxBe-QaHZj25ROtPmpFEdA?width=247&height=330&cropmode=none) (https://ku2bqg.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mSXkU0M3qT7NuUdY_uZn_alO_HbImoMoedYgcHtQmQiqwVCwRslkQHMadHpT_43XWtzqctfJJkBoOKleB5FbycQkCm-nVv1NUIlG5qRjCAcDMgV1a_vDX_XVZOXw699sQCFf0n-6ExC8f9iLSKYw_qiQtwoBg-ebiYhmhlUefb-rwQ5uyn7thlQYq1ecKvqcKAtjMxVuFF8Xl_sm5HaSvgw?width=512&height=358&cropmode=none)
After about a half-hour it chugged along around 200°. Again, it made a lot of smoke; dense but blue.
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You left the deflector plate out?
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You left the deflector plate out?
I knew someone would ask. :)
No, I had just vacuumed yesterday's ash out and was ready to light it off. I just throw a small handful of pellets in the cup and start the igniter. When I get flame I shut the igniter off, start the auger and install the deflector plate and grate.
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Excited to see some food pics
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I'm going to try to get to the burgers tonight. I'll set the controller at 12:00 O'Clock per Th3Batman's experience, close the lid and monitor grate and burger temps.
It won't be much of a loss if it's a failure.
EDIT: Ten minutes later I find out that other plans have been made for me for tonight and burgers don't fit in.
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I cooked four ¼-pounders tonight.
(https://jhdyda.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mxoVstCGakdMV4PuexMCBXEodoeF8JBGzwuWYOf8HizCBkKWNKcesJbKEU3biTxgafhbSWRoeejhNGxZZS7dKXzL13CNeyXjRhtlNxhjunPVfXIVX-Pe48n0HzzWZv_vk1L9gG2D_ooUXJAPOPbUqsX9rZPEpbEq7rL9-yjT_PVEcNKxNdyLFrHE5eGm1YK6Lfin-GcfnqAnL-IBlII6Ipg?width=256&height=225&cropmode=none) I made them with this thing so I know it's the same burger that I usually cook over charcoal.
I put a small handful of pellets in the Bullseye firepot and turned the igniter on. When the pellets flamed, I installed the diffuser and grate and set the controller at 12:00 O'Clock. The temperature went right up to 526° at the grate and 575° on the lid thermometer and held there. There was no visible smoke. I waited a half-hour and took the burgers out of the refrigerator and put them on.
The temperatures dropped because the lid had been opened but quickly climbed back to 472° at the grate and 480° on the lid thermometer. At the 3-minute point I could see grease smoke. I flipped them at four minutes as I do when grilling ¼-pounders over charcoal. They were just barely releasing from the grates.
After four minutes on side two I took them off.
They were done through but were only light brown with weak grill marks. Grill marks aren't very important to me, especially on a hamburger, but I believe that the slight sticking to the grates and the minimal sear and grill marks indicated that more heat and/or more time is required.
Flavor wise...I didn't notice a campfire-like cooked over a wood fire flavor that I was hoping for. They were good burgers but they need to be better to move me from my current charcoal preference. I'll soon try four more with the controller turned a couple of notches past straight up. I think I want the 700° that charcoal in a Weber kettle produces.
No photographs. Why bother?
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Let us know how hot it gets past 12:00. It must be close to 700 if it was 526 at 12:00.
You haven't sold me. I'm still on the fence for either a Weber Performer or Bullseye. I assume it's more convenient than charcoal? More flavorful than a gas grill?
We all want to see pics!
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I need to check to see what the upper limit is on my Rock's Stoker pit temperature probe. I don't want to burn it out.
It's definitely more convenient than charcoal even though I feel the need to vacuum it clean after every cook.
I don't get any flavor from my propane grill. But I didn't get anything from the Bullseye pellets either (hickory).
EDIT:
1. I may try mesquite. We usually don't like the flavor but at this temperature it may produce very little which we might like.
2. A stick on the diffuser might make smoke.
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Interesting. When I cook at higher temps on my RecTec 680 I feel like there is a little something extra there flavor wise.
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I probably don't have a fully-functioning palate.
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Mine are 410°f, but my unit is probably coming up on 8 years old!
I need to check to see what the upper limit is on my Rock's Stoker pit temperature probe. I don't want to burn it out.
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Mine are 410°f, but my unit is probably coming up on 8 years old!
I need to check to see what the upper limit is on my Rock's Stoker pit temperature probe. I don't want to burn it out.
How did you discover that? I looked all over the web site and didn't find anything. I sent them an email this morning but it's Saturday so I didn't expect a rapid reply.
I had it at 700° a couple of days ago and it seems to have started to melt the insulation.
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Mine are 410°f, but my unit is probably coming up on 8 years old!
I need to check to see what the upper limit is on my Rock's Stoker pit temperature probe. I don't want to burn it out.
How did you discover that? I looked all over the web site and didn't find anything. I sent them an email this morning but it's Saturday so I didn't expect a rapid reply.
I had it at 700° a couple of days ago and it seems to have started to melt the insulation.
If you go to Rock's website and click on the probes, they are rated up to 450 deg.
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If you go to Rock's website and click on the probes, they are rated up to 450 deg.
Oh! I see...if I click on the photo—nothing. If I click on the use and price line—nothing. But a quality description, including the temperature rating, comes up if I click on the line that lists the cable length.
I must just be stupid...OR...it could have been designed better.
Thanks for the tip.
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John was a member of the California BBQ Association, so had a chance to meet him a few times at Q-Fests...and I think he told me then. He donated one to Pelletheads, I guess it is 450° and not 410°. I though a few years ago he upped them to the 500° range, but maybe that was the Tappecue!
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It absolutely should be vacuumed each time. That is the biggest pain. The concave shape funnels everything back down to the firepot
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When I started my second cook, the one after the burgers, I vacuumed the firepot and examined the pellets at the auger tube end.
(https://xmfd5q.ch.files.1drv.com/y4mpTU5xjXg5kPX1EmGKqi9snnvcKGNXmnUsY4SeIkjVGYFcbePnyhcUd_1h1miKetTX-6ZNYQ7YQXUPm6S5nU-wimlvFiTiczblznoEHH7_tiruyXwzQ9BPWDVvkBPbuwuRbLbG_z1q5CpYjq3Ip-Qv1jnwVO7amf_0FMkZ-nEjleRo9Yo0LPnhYd7tZ63ngsu7PR_kuU2SnIYY7xt58xEDA?width=495&height=660&cropmode=none)
Even though some appeared to have been vacuumed away, the ones left behind were charred and had probably been glowing as Th3Batman86 pointed out in another thread.
That doesn't please me. It probably raises the hopper fire risk level.
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My RecTec 680 has the same fire pot setup and some at the end are charred. I’ve never had an issue. Just follow the shutdown procedure and you should be ok.
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The difference is on the 680 (I have one) the ashes get blown out and distributed around the grill. On the bullseye they fill up the firepot. I am worried enough buildup and the fire is at or above the level of the auger. I worry about auger fire on the bullseye and I never did on my traeger or the 680. Also even after shut down on the bullseye I have had hopper smoke. This worries me too.
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Interesting. So the shutdown mode doesn’t blow the ashes out?
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There is no shutdown mode on the bullseye. It is all toggle switches. So I turn the auger off and just let the fan blow with the lid open. But at times that has seemed to just stoke the flames. I have had multiple instances of smoldering for as long as 30minutes after the bullseye has been shut down. So far no fire, and I haven't seen any reports of them (I do not have facebook so unsure if on there) but it is worrisome.
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I’m on Facebook and joined the Bullseye owners group. I don’t recall seeing anyone mention a fire unless it was from excessive grease. They smoked a pork shoulder then did a high heat cook next without cleaning.
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The AmazingRibs website did not like the Bullseye and gave it a "Not Recommended". They think it should have a thermostatic control, the build quality is not up to par and startup/shutdown is too complicated.
They couldn't manage to sear anything without Grill Grates.
The review stated they got a lot of negative feedback on the review from Bullseye owners and even RecTec.
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I honesty would not recommend it either. It is somewhat of a fun toy but they are correct. I cannot get a great sear either. And I bought the Weber performer grate with the cast iron insert. Luckily I didn’t pay for this one. If I had I would probably return it or be disappointed. I have it, I use it, but I think it is overpriced. I wouldn’t want to pay over $250 for it for the build quality and lack of precise controls. I had the same problems as others with holes not lining up on assembly. I also have had pieces of porcelain chip off so it’s gonna rust eventually. I am tossing around keeping it or selling it. Haven’t decided. I bought accessories for it so I feel invested.
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There is no shutdown mode on the bullseye. It is all toggle switches. So I turn the auger off and just let the fan blow with the lid open. But at times that has seemed to just stoke the flames. I have had multiple instances of smoldering for as long as 30minutes after the bullseye has been shut down. So far no fire, and I haven't seen any reports of them (I do not have facebook so unsure if on there) but it is worrisome.
I had the same issue on my first cook. The way I shut down now is to turn the auger down to the lowest setting for a couple of minutes before shutting it off completely. This lets the fire in the firepot burn down before turning the auger off. I've had no issues since then.
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The lack of 'precise' control, is not a big concern for me... However I don't understand why they don't have at least a simple timer on things like the hot rod... ( like on most Traeger controllers, the hot rod comes on for a couple minutes as you start the grill, then turns itself off when the timer expires ). It would be nice to have a shutdown mode that turns the pellet feed down to a minimum level for a few minutes while the fan continues to blow, before eventually shutting everything down.
FYI - IMHO, leaving the fan running after the auger has been on high and then abruptly shut off , is probably the worst thing you can do on a pellet grill. Leaving the fan run for a short time, after you've reduced the auger feed for 5 minutes or so could be a good thing, but don't turn the auger off when it's been running on high and leave that fan blowing, that's just going to fan the flames of any burning embers at the end of the auger tube...
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The AmazingRibs website did not like the Bullseye and gave it a "Not Recommended". They think it should have a thermostatic control, the build quality is not up to par and startup/shutdown is too complicated.
They couldn't manage to sear anything without Grill Grates.
The review stated they got a lot of negative feedback on the review from Bullseye owners and even RecTec.
Just went and read the review (Thanks for pointing me to it Ross77) and it lines up with my experiences. Sadly it lines up with my experiences with the bullseye and with RecTec coming after me for a bad review. You guys may recall my initial posting in this forum being about my Bullseye experience. Ray Carnes himself called me and literally yelled at me. They did send me a bullseye no charge after I had already had to send two back and asked me to remove the review. I did pull it down from Reddit but did not take it down from here. I also tried to submit a less than 5 star review on their website and they refused to post it (told me that they had received it and they don't allow bad reviews on their website). This AmazingRibs thing really bums me out. I don't know about the rest of you folks but I have great respect for Meathead and the rest of the crew over there and what they are doing to help everyone make great BBQ. Yesterday I was on the fence about selling the bullseye but after reading about them coming after AmazingRibs I think I will be selling it. I will keep the RT680 for a couple years more until I get my Yoder but then I believe I will be done with RecTec. Coming after customers and independent reviewers for bad reviews is just not a good company policy.
Bentley and Kristin I hope this doesn't count as company bashing (I know we don't do that in this forum) and if it does please let me how I can express these thoughts without seeming to bash them.
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I like my 680 and the customer service I’ve received so far but they definitely seem to be very protective of their company. Seems like maybe the Bullseye was a misfire, no pun intended.
I would never buy anything based on reviews from the company website. RecTec or any company. I’m sure they filter them out.
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I saw the Bullseye on the Home Depot website for $599. Not in stock at this time. Looks like RecTec is going big time now.
$599 is too much though.
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I saw the Bullseye on the Home Depot website for $599. Not in stock at this time. Looks like RecTec is going big time now.
$599 is too much though.
$599!?!?! So the Depot is marking it up another $100 over what you can buy it from RecTec!! That is crazy. It is overpriced already. But moving into brick and mortar is a big move.
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$599!?!?! So the Depot is marking it up another $100 over what you can buy it from RecTec!! That is crazy. It is overpriced already. But moving into brick and mortar is a big move.
I think I paid $399 from REC TEC. Home Depot is plus $200???
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$599!?!?! So the Depot is marking it up another $100 over what you can buy it from RecTec!! That is crazy. It is overpriced already. But moving into brick and mortar is a big move.
I think I paid $399 from REC TEC. Home Depot is plus $200???
You are correct. I was thinking that RecTec does that “always on sale†thing where they say the price is $499 but today it’s $399. However since that is the price everyday it makes no sense.
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I saw the Bullseye on the Home Depot website for $599. Not in stock at this time. Looks like RecTec is going big time now.
$599 is too much though.
There was a article in the Augusta Chronicle , nearly a year ago, I think it was just before they started selling the Bullseye. In that article , they described the Bullseye as "a low-cost model designed specifically for brick-and-mortar retailers", this information apparently provided by Ray Carnes , to the Chronicle.
So, it seems they always had plans to sell at brick and mortar retailers ... But then $599 is not exactly low cost... even $400 isn't exactly low cost.