RT-1070 1070 Pellet Hopper Lid warp and discolor?

[kennethk]

Has anyone seen this on theirs?
Normal?
It starts to warp around 400 then at 500 its fully warped.
It almost seems like its venting from the front?
THX

 

[SmokeOCD]

I feel like I have a lot of experience with the dysfunctional 1070. She's pretty - but she pisses me off a lot too.
A little warp is pretty normal - it pops right back and doesn't affect anything. You can still even use it as a surface for your takeoff tray. The big warp happens (to me) either on full blast - or when the back vents are a blocked with soot/grease/whatever. It could also be you have food blocking the path to vent out the back so it takes the alternate way out the front. That always wipes up nice and easy with a clorox wipe or even just a damp paper towel.
Mine got rained on again (oh no!!!) and I'm drying it out with a manual fire and a desk fan blowing in it. Pops the circuit breaker, can't do anything until it's dried out.

 

[kennethk]

I feel like I have a lot of experience with the dysfunctional 1070. She's pretty - but she pisses me off a lot too.
A little warp is pretty normal - it pops right back and doesn't affect anything. You can still even use it as a surface for your takeoff tray. The big warp happens (to me) either on full blast - or when the back vents are a blocked with soot/grease/whatever. It could also be you have food blocking the path to vent out the back so it takes the alternate way out the front. That always wipes up nice and easy with a clorox wipe or even just a damp paper towel.
Mine got rained on again (oh no!!!) and I'm drying it out with a manual fire and a desk fan blowing in it. Pops the circuit breaker, can't do anything until it's dried out.

Thanks for the information

 

[SmokeOCD]

You want a second one? I'm growing weary of mine. As stated earlier - my OUTDOOR appliance got rained on so it's F@#$D for a while now until it dries out or until I get a new part. Still figuring out how bad the situation is.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Guess I'll just post here instead of start a new thread. Big cook on the 2nd - nine racks, everything done 30 minutes before company is to show up. Everything went great, it got late, no cover on the grill. Rain next day. We start off with the igniter popping the circuit until it's dried out via manual fire built in the pot and one of those desktop fans to keep the fire going.
So now I'm past the igniter - now the auger isn't moving. I took off the motor, and sent a video of it NOT working to Recteq (new motor on the way). The auger was stuck - I used a pair of vise-grips to grab the shaft and spin it backwards and it fed itself back out. Now there's a pellet jam to get rid of. Luckily on a pickup truck there's this really long crank bar to lower your spare tire with (and I happen to have a pickup truck). I used that with maybe 10 forceful jabs thru the feed tube and busted through. We're all cleaned up, vacuumed out, waiting for the motor to come, grill is sitting with the cover on because it may rain again tonight.

 

[kennethk]

Guess I'll just post here instead of start a new thread. Big cook on the 2nd - nine racks, everything done 30 minutes before company is to show up. Everything went great, it got late, no cover on the grill. Rain next day. We start off with the igniter popping the circuit until it's dried out via manual fire built in the pot and one of those desktop fans to keep the fire going.
So now I'm past the igniter - now the auger isn't moving. I took off the motor, and sent a video of it NOT working to Recteq (new motor on the way). The auger was stuck - I used a pair of vise-grips to grab the shaft and spin it backwards and it fed itself back out. Now there's a pellet jam to get rid of. Luckily on a pickup truck there's this really long crank bar to lower your spare tire with (and I happen to have a pickup truck). I used that with maybe 10 forceful jabs thru the feed tube and busted through. We're all cleaned up, vacuumed out, waiting for the motor to come, grill is sitting with the cover on because it may rain again tonight.

Not a good story - my lid warped more using it at 430 yesterday.
Sent pictures to RT, waiting on a reply.

 

[Waterboy]

Not a good story - my lid warped more using it at 430 yesterday.
Sent pictures to RT, waiting on a reply.

You’ll probably get a faster response if you call them then send the picture to the customer service rep helping you. They are slow with email customer service.

 

[SmokeOCD]

@kennethk What do your back vents look like? I mean are they clean? Is the pellet hopper full? I think that would stop some heat escaping and maybe result in a little less warp. I really don't get that much warp anymore.

 

[okie]

Not sure I have any useful info, but since I sealed the top of the hopper with 1/8"/ 1/2" Lava Lok, have not had smoke or heat backup into hopper. Lid has been warm at times but not hot enough to warp on hot cooks.If you get a new lid, I would apply the seal before testing it out and make sure back vents are clean.

 

[Greg Jones]

Not sure I have any useful info, but since I sealed the top of the hopper with 1/8"/ 1/2" Lava Lok, have not had smoke or heat backup into hopper. Lid has been warm at times but not hot enough to warp on hot cooks.If you get a new lid, I would apply the seal before testing it out and make sure back vents are clean.
View attachment 19573
View attachment 19574

IMO, sealing the hopper lid is more important than sealing the grill lid. Sealing the grill lid gives one a cleaner grill, sealing the hopper lid can be a true performance improvement.

 

[Pacman]

I agree with @Greg Jones. I sealed my hopper lid out of vanity because I instantly liked the soft close of the grill lid and I had leftover Lavalock. In practical application it has prevented backburn into the auger and added a level of moisture barrier from the elements impacting the pellets in the hopper.

 

[kennethk]

Thanks for the lid ideas!!!

@kennethk What do your back vents look like? I mean are they clean? Is the pellet hopper full? I think that would stop some heat escaping and maybe result in a little less warp. I really don't get that much warp anymore.

Back vents look ~90% clear.
I will clean to 100%

 

[SmokeOCD]

Thanks for the lid ideas!!!

Back vents look ~90% clear.
I will clean to 100%

Sure give it a try, I was way worse then 90% when I noticed the warps. Other thing is to stop it breathing through the pellet hopper. I just try to keep it full of pellets as much as possible.

 

[wakeboarder3780]

I'll add another "me too" to this thread. My hopper warps at about 430+. Has anyone who called RT gotten a good resolution? I'm a bit concerned because as I see it, the hopper lid simply doesn't seem sturdy enough for the heat. I plan to call tomorrow but am concerned the root issue is simply the hopper lid is too weakly designed. Won't be fixing that unless RT redesigns it in heavier ga. and sends out a retro.

Edit: I'd love to seal my hopper like that, but with the current warp issue, no amount of sealing will help If i can get resolution i'll use that idea.

 

[okie]

When did you buy the 1070? I have had mine since Aug '22. I have seen somewhere that RT commented that it had a redesigned hopper lid and shelf. I have had mine up to 700 once and above 500 many times with no lid warp. Perhaps that was corrected before I purchased? Greg, when did you buy yours?

 

[kennethk]

Bought my 1070 in March 2023.
Lid warped various times.
Asked RT for a refund to get a 1250. Said no.
Sent me a new lid. Got yesterday.
Have not installed yet.
IMHO the lid has a design flaw. No reason it should warp at any temperature the grill can maintain.
Still have my 700 in reserve. Debating on whether I want to sell or not.
Bought 1070 for a future built in outdoor grill idea.

 

[SmokeOCD]

Bought my 1070 in March 2023.
Lid warped various times.
Asked RT for a refund to get a 1250. Said no.
Sent me a new lid. Got yesterday.
Have not installed yet.
IMHO the lid has a design flaw. No reason it should warp at any temperature the grill can maintain.
Still have my 700 in reserve. Debating on whether I want to sell or not.
Bought 1070 for a future built in outdoor grill idea.

The lid is just too thin and the heat warps it. I bet some flat bar stock tacked in there would stop it.
Of course bar stock isn't free, welding is not free - so there's that.

 

[kennethk]

The replacement lid is the same as the original. I weighed it and measured the metal thickness.

 

[okie]

I called RT yesterday and asked a "live" person about two things.
1. Hopper lid warping on 1070. Has there been such complaints? Were there modifications to the lid and if so when? He was only aware of some change in the lid early on but not sure as to details. i.e. no help.
2. Was he aware that although the grates are advertised as 1/4", they are actually 3/16" in diameter. I have had no problems in this regard, but wanted to complain about false advertising. He was unaware of this but said he would inquire about it. Not really an issue.

I noted that there is significant soot on the front of your 1070 where the lid rests, indicating lots of heat loss at that point. Perhaps that is source of much heat being applied to the hopper lid at that point. Perhaps uneven heating of the lid causes the warp to occur? My lid does get hot but not enough to cause warping. I don't believe backdraft thru the auger would create enough heat to cause the warp unless there was a auger/hopper fire. You might want to use infrared temp meter to test the actual temp of the lid during a hot cook.. Esp at that leak area.

 

[Freedom Forged]

For what it's worth.....
I have 12 cooks totaling 64 hours on my 1070. I have had no warping or discoloration on the lid. However, I did install a lid gasket when I was putting it together and I have never had the temp above 300. I also tend to keep the hopper mostly full. Whether any of this makes a difference or not IDK.

It is hard for me to understand that the heat could get to a level that could cause lid warping and discoloration with a full hopper. Having said that I understand that you can't maintain a full hopper all the time nor should we have to. Not sure how RT could have missed this in testing/engineering.
David