Pellet Fan
Pit Talk -- Comments and Questions Regarding These Pellet Pits => Firecraft => Topic started by: bucky919 on October 12, 2018, 12:34:56 PM
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Pretty Straight Forward, Wires are all labeled on the boards move them from one board to the other, order is alittle different. Q450 controller on the top
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Fit isn't great, have some work to do there but did have much time to come up with anything yet. Just wanted to make sure every worked before I start cutting.
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Turned it on to 325 for an hour with no issues. Connected it to my wifi to calibrate it closer. So far so good.
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Some great input right here!
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I'm surprised the fit isn't better. I'd have thought for sure those would have been the exact same size.
Since it works as it should, i don't think it would be too difficult to tweak the opening to make it fit a bit better, but then it is stainless and that stuff's not super easy to work with.
By the way, at least on the Rec Tec grills, that antenna isn't even outside of the hopper assembly... they seem to work fine with the antenna inside. That thing dangling out , is probably the main thing I'd not want if it was mine, it's very likely to get ripped off the way it is now.
Glad to hear it works, that's the main thing.
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From the pics on the back, it looks like the logic boards are the same size. If you fully committed, you might be able to move the RecTech stuff over to the Firecraft face plate and get a factory fit.
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Did some ribs yesterday and noticed, it has a hard time getting under 250 degrees, I had it set to 225 and it just stayed at ~250. Didn't have time to play with the minimum feed rate, to see if that would change anything. Other than that no major issues, this is the first time ive tried a cook under 300.
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Definitely tweak the minimum feed rate. Let us know if it helps and/or how much. On my Stampede, it gets down to 180F pretty easily... but I've not seen any big changes related to adjustments to the minimum feed rate, but then I haven't played with it much either.
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The controller I ordered from RecTech was shipped today. I'll update when I get it installed.
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Hello,
I received my RecTec controller on Wednesday, and the weather was good today so I got it installed in my FireCraft today. The controller swap out was pretty easy, and to be honest, it got much easier when I removed the side panel. I even wasted time emptying the pellets from the hopper. I really should have tried those two large screws on the side panel first.
After connecting the new controller and sort of installing it into the FireCraft (the mounting holes don't line up well), I took it for a test drive. It started up great, although it seemed like the fire took a bit long to get started. That could be my fault for not getting the vacuum into the burn pot before starting it though.
I then ran it at 225 for about 45 minutes. It held that temperature very well.
I dropped the temperature to 180. Again, it settled into that temperature and then held it for about 45 minutes.
Then I took the temperature up to 275. It came up to temperature and held it for about 10 minutes. Then my wife was giving me that look that said, "we were supposed to be out of here already. Quite fooling around with that." So, I shut down.
I need to add that I made all of these temperature adjustments using the RecTec WiFi app. Wow! I have been missing out on supreme laziness! I just need a robot now to actually vacuum out the machine and load pellets into the hopper, and I wouldn't need to go into the backyard again. The app is extremely easy to setup and use. I'm not sure if I have ever used any IT type of tool that was this well done (and this comment comes from an IT professional with 24 years of industry work).
Here is a screen shot of the operating temperatures. You can see where I changed the temperature and how the smoker reacted.
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Which Rec Tec controller did you order? There appear to be five different choices.
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Which Rec Tec controller did you order? There appear to be five different choices.
I bought the Wi-Pellet WiFi Controller with Dual Meat Probes. The website asked me to confirm which model RecTec pit I had, so I figured a "white lie" was ok, and said I had the Bull. The sale price tonight still says $99 (marked down from $199), and shipping looks like it could be as early as this week.
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Which Rec Tec controller did you order? There appear to be five different choices.
I bought the Wi-Pellet WiFi Controller with Dual Meat Probes. The website asked me to confirm which model RecTec pit I had, so I figured a "white lie" was ok, and said I had the Bull. The sale price tonight still says $99 (marked down from $199), and shipping looks like it could be as early as this week.
Great, Thanks!
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It's funny, for years GMG owners who had WiFi would sing it's praises, and others, like Rec Tec would suggest it's just a novelty.. Yet, nearly anyone I ever met who's actually used WiFi and/or had the ability to monitor and adjust their pellet grill remotely, has seen the value in it. While, it may not be something that's a absolute necessity, WiFi controllers, sure do make life easier.. and I know you thought pellet grilling was easy already. WiFi, is really a wonderful thing on a pellet grill controller.
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I would tend to agree that a WiFi controller is more of a novelty than a need. I only have it because of a controller failure that is coupled with the inability to replace with the same controller. I do like it now that I have gotten around to using it.
Back to the main subject of controlling a FireCraft machine with a RecTec controller. I've never seen anything controller temperatures so tightly, and I'm somewhat skeptical. One day this week (maybe Wednesday) I'll burn through some pellets in a test to verify that it holds temperature so closely. I intend to let it run for several hours at different temperatures. I will also use my iGrill temperature probe for a secondary temperature reading. After several hours I'll compare the two temperature charts to see if my test on Saturday was accurate.
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I believe I ended up at 11% on a correction on the temp probe to get it close to grate temp. I still haven't had time to play with the minimum feed rate, to get my temps lower.
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Pretty awesome you guys have found a work-around! I would venture to say one can take a controller from any grill and put it on another grill and it will function just fine within reason. Don't obsess too much about temps on an empty grill - once food is introduced everything changes anyway. It basically comes down to put a heat source underneath food and it will get cooked.
Al
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Hello,
I had a feeling there was something fishy about the how even the temperature was in the FireCraft with the RecTec controller. I ran my test on Wednesday using the iGrill as a second measurement.
First I ran the smoker at 180, next 225, and finally at 350. Here are the results.
RecTec Report/iGrill Report
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So, I was correct that the RecTec does not show the temperature swings. The iGrill showed that to be the case. Anyway, temperature swings make sense. Pellets are fed to the fire, and it gets hotter. Over time it cools down, and the cycle is repeated. What doesn't make sense is the temperature difference between the two. The iGrill always measured a temperature much lower than the RecTec. I realized at the conclusion of my test that the tip of the temperature probe attached to the iGrill was in contact with the side wall, and that could be why the reading was consistenly low.
I don't know if I will repeat the whole test. I have moved onto cooking with the FireCraft again. Chicken was great on Wednesday after I ran the test, and pork loin tonight!
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Seems like it runs a little low of the set point? Not bad swings over time...
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I had the FireCraft running this weekend, and decided to work on securing the RecTec controller. The original controller was mounted using two nut and bolt combinations. The RecTec controller is about 1/2 an inch shorter, so you are unable to secure the right and left sides of the controller without additional effort. I decided to use the nut and bolt on the left side because that's where the side cover comes off providing access. I considered building a bracket out of plastic or metal to hold the right side, but then it occurred to me that I should follow the KISS principle.
I grabbed a small block of wood, and two small pan head screws. I didn't do any measuring, so the block of wood might be 4 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 1 inch thick. I held the block of wood in place inside the mechanical area of the smoker. The first screw went into the screw hole in the side plate of the smoker, and into the wood block. This secured the wood to the FireCraft. The second screw went through the hole in the controller and then into the wood block.
It's not perfect, but it cost me no additional money, and seems to be more that adequate. Here is the finished picture. I have a feeling I am done with this project unless some problem comes up that needs to be fixed.
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Looks like some simple engineering to overcome your mounting issue. What's up with the LCD panel above the left-most 225?
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Looks like some simple engineering to overcome your mounting issue. What's up with the LCD panel above the left-most 225?
I think there is a protective strip of plastic covering the faceplate. I need to confirm that, and remove it if that's all it is.
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I own a Rec Tec Trailblazer with the wifi controller...and I own an Akorn which have written code to control temperature with an Arduino type chip and PID algorithms.
Two things:
1. Yes...that is a protective plastic coating...it just peels off.
2. There is a HUGE difference between monitoring a temperature and controlling a temperature. In order to control a process temperature as noisy as a pellet system has with both fire and fan control....you have to filter the input temperature, so your PID controller does not swing, or else you will have to dampen your control to the point of sluggishness. I believe, based on my experience with the Akorn and at work (EE here) that the Rec Tec does a fantastic job of controlling a very difficult process, while still reporting a reasonable and reliable temperature measurement. You can tell I am impressed with it for sure...!! LoL....I just could not get this control on low temps due to burning lump charcoal....it liked to be about 275 or higher for sure.
Anyway....Just my thoughts on why the iGrill might seem more attentive to an exact temperature...vs a more filtered control signal. But am glad you got the Rec Tec....it should serve you well.!
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Anyway....Just my thoughts on why the iGrill might seem more attentive to an exact temperature...vs a more filtered control signal. But am glad you got the Rec Tec....it should serve you well.!
Thanks for the additional information. I'm fairly novice with temperature controls, but a long history with IT systems. I just didn't find the stable temperature control very believable because there wasn't much variation at all. Hence the test with the second temperature probe connected to a separate device.
For my long-term needs I don't care about temperature variance. I know a lot of people on the old site seemed bothered by temperature swings, but I have never been bothered by it. In my opinion, the machine is a smoker and a smoker needs to have temperature swings to produce more smoke.
I am thrilled that the RecTec controller was that easy to install and get working in the FireCraft machine. When the FireCraft controller failed, I had a sick feeling in my stomach about the $800 I had spent being lost in less than a year. With the RecTec controller, I believe the life span of this machine was greatly expanded. Honestly, if the RecTec (or other manufacturers controllers) couldn't bring this FireCraft to life, I would have been hauling the FireCraft to the dump and replacing it with another unit. Thankfully I don't need to have that conversation with my wife.
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Just curious if you repeated your test for a short while with a relocated iGrill probe. I recall you mentioning in your first test it was in contact with the side wall, and you suspected that impacted your measurements. Was wondering if you now find the reported temps more closely aligned with the iGrill or still offset by some factor.
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just went to start my Q450 up and the controller went nuts. I cannot adjust temp at all. and flashing then stops. Sounds like time to find a new one. From this thread it sounds like the REctec contoller will work??? Do I need to change the RTD for a Rectec RTd or will the Q450 RTD work.
MK
edited to add: ordered mine Black Friday deal , $89.19 shipped
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edited to add: ordered mine Black Friday deal , $89.19 shipped
Is that price for the latest one with Wi-Fi? If so, that’s a great deal I think!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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edited to add: ordered mine Black Friday deal , $89.19 shipped
Is that price for the latest one with Wi-Fi? If so, that’s a great deal I think!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
yeppers, wifi and 2 meat probes
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just went to start my Q450 up and the controller went nuts. I cannot adjust temp at all. and flashing then stops. Sounds like time to find a new one. From this thread it sounds like the REctec contoller will work??? Do I need to change the RTD for a Rectec RTd or will the Q450 RTD work.
Sorry to hear that your controller went kaput. I guess the controller is proving to be a weakness of these machines. I did not replace the RTD when I installed the RecTec controller.
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Thank you for taking the time to share very valuable info!
I did not replace the RTD when I installed the RecTec controller.
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just went to start my Q450 up and the controller went nuts. I cannot adjust temp at all. and flashing then stops. Sounds like time to find a new one. From this thread it sounds like the REctec contoller will work??? Do I need to change the RTD for a Rectec RTd or will the Q450 RTD work.
Sorry to hear that your controller went kaput. I guess the controller is proving to be a weakness of these machines. I did not replace the RTD when I installed the RecTec controller.
Thanks JG for that info. Mine just arrived today. Unfortunately, It will be a while before I can install it. I have a severe back problem and surgery in 12 days. Hopefully my Son-in-law has better luck with his Q450 and no problems
Thank you again.
MK
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Did some ribs yesterday and noticed, it has a hard time getting under 250 degrees, I had it set to 225 and it just stayed at ~250. Didn't have time to play with the minimum feed rate, to see if that would change anything. Other than that no major issues, this is the first time ive tried a cook under 300.
I finally had time to play with the minimum feed, it was only 20 degree outside today, but did a bunch of deer summer sausage, yesterday ran it in low for 18 hours+ and ran at 180 the whole time, no issues.