New brand on the market

[RHEINLEIN]

We all know the name.
So glad we made the decision to own a Rec Tec.
Brand W is a mess by all accounts.
A pellet grill is mechanical and takes a special owner or a support team.
That said,
So thankful for the design, forethought and SUPPORT we receive from our brothers in Georgia.
REC TEC IS SIMPLY THE BEST !!!

 

[Brian Vallotton]

We all know the name.
So glad we made the decision to own a Rec Tec.
Brand W is a mess by all accounts.
A pellet grill is mechanical and takes a special owner or a support team.
That said,
So thankful for the design, forethought and SUPPORT we receive from our brothers in Georgia.
REC TEC IS SIMPLY THE BEST !!!

I ordered a W and after the weekend disaster refused shipment. I never did hear from Weber after 4 emails. So I went to VISA and disputed the order got my money back and ordered The Bull! Coming next week. Sorry for all the W people that got misled. Happy to be a new Rex Tec owner soon!

 

[ken g]

Amen Rheinlein! I am thankful for choosing the Stampede and so is my spouse!
I wonder how many they sold simply cuz it's a Weber? Building a kettle and a pellet grill are different disciplines.

 

[Brian Vallotton]

I bought in to the Weber name and the many videos which were out there touting how they overcame all the current issues with pellet grills. It did not take but a few days after they got out into the wild to see that they had not overcome many of the issues facing pellet grills in general. So that being said, I am guessing it is in upwards of 50 to100K units all together. Just a guess.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

I ordered a W and after the weekend disaster refused shipment. I never did hear from Weber after 4 emails. So I went to VISA and disputed the order got my money back and ordered The Bull! Coming next week. Sorry for all the W people that got misled. Happy to be a new Rex Tec owner soon!

Brian- the Bull is my second rec tec, I’ve had the MINI for several years and it’s still going strong.
Enjoy yours sir !

 

[pbison]

I could not believe a company with their reputation and resources released such a poor product.

For those of you not up to date, this was supposed to be a near-revolutionary pellet grill. Gets up to 600 degrees in about 20 minutes, capable of real grilling while producing more smoke than current designs. They claimed they spent years testing and developing it. Truckloads of pellets run through them they said.

Well, they got this performance by removing the drip pan and putting in the flavorizer bars that they have been using for decades in their gas grills. As if that thought had never crossed the mind of any other pellet grill manufacturer. The grease then falls to the bottom of the pit where it drains to a tray that's under the fire pot. Predictably, in real life ash and grease mix to produce a sludge which clogs the drains and starts on fire.

In addition to that serious safety concern, it spews ash all over the place, inside and out. The pellet hopper has a shallow slope so the pellets stop flowing to the auger. The controller is unreliable and if you have trouble, the shutdown cycle takes 15-20 minutes before it can re-fire. Heat distribution is poor. Pretty much every reviewer out there ran into most of these problems. Reputable guys who gave it more than a fair chance.

To top it off, Big W was silent most of the week before their head chef came out on Instagram essentially calling out the reviewers as not knowing what they are doing, that even his 6 year old daughter knows more than them. They also said you should now put a drip pan on top of the flavorizer bars when doing long slow smokes, something they were insisting for months was not necessary. Not a good look from them.

On the bright side, it does work well for hot and fast cooks and appears to infuse more smoke than traditional pellet grills. Harry Soo did a good job of showing its strengths, even if he did ignore the issues others have been having.

Judging from Reddit and YouTube comments, I am betting RecTec had a huge surge in orders last week. Deservedly so. My RT-590 isn't perfect by any means, but it does work consistently well.

 

[Brian Vallotton]

I could not believe a company with their reputation and resources released such a poor product.

For those of you not up to date, this was supposed to be a near-revolutionary pellet grill. Gets up to 600 degrees in about 20 minutes, capable of real grilling while producing more smoke than current designs. They claimed they spent years testing and developing it. Truckloads of pellets run through them they said.

Well, they got this performance by removing the drip pan and putting in the flavorizer bars that they have been using for decades in their gas grills. As if that thought had never crossed the mind of any other pellet grill manufacturer. The grease then falls to the bottom of the pit where it drains to a tray that's under the fire pot. Predictably, in real life ash and grease mix to produce a sludge which clogs the drains and starts on fire.

In addition to that serious safety concern, it spews ash all over the place, inside and out. The pellet hopper has a shallow slope so the pellets stop flowing to the auger. The controller is unreliable and if you have trouble, the shutdown cycle takes 15-20 minutes before it can re-fire. Heat distribution is poor. Pretty much every reviewer out there ran into most of these problems. Reputable guys who gave it more than a fair chance.

To top it off, Big W was silent most of the week before their head chef came out on Instagram essentially calling out the reviewers as not knowing what they are doing, that even his 6 year old daughter knows more than them. They also said you should now put a drip pan on top of the flavorizer bars when doing long slow smokes, something they were insisting for months was not necessary. Not a good look from them.

On the bright side, it does work well for hot and fast cooks and appears to infuse more smoke than traditional pellet grills. Harry Soo did a good job of showing its strengths, even if he did ignore the issues others have been having.

Judging from Reddit and YouTube comments, I am betting RecTec had a huge surge in orders last week. Deservedly so. My RT-590 isn't perfect by any means, but it does work consistently well.

That is a very good capsulation of how things have went. Thanks for posting.

 

[wfcook]

I just order my RT-700. My 16-year old Vermont Castings propane grill finally gave up and rusted through the burner mounts, so it's finished. I had been considering a traditional offset smoker but finally decided to go with a pellet grill because I figured that with pellets I'd make a lot of brisket and pulled pork, but with an offset smoker I wouldn't have time and would mostly end up making rust. That's what my neighbor seems to make with his, anyway.

Then I decided to wait until brand W came out with their entry, and it rapidly became clear that there are just too many issues there for it to be a viable option any time soon. They make many fine grills, but it just looks like maybe this isn't one of those. The final straw, after the more serious grease fires and uneven heat, was the fact that the hopper on the W doesn't feed right. That shows an unsettling lack of attention to detail. Even the W fanboi types on YouTube are sending theirs back, so... REC TEC it is.

I am very excited and looking forward to getting the bull set up in the back yard. I can't wait!

B. Cook

P.S. I also walked passed a cheap-as-dirt 5-burner propane grill at the Big Box Store just as they were marking it down to $129, and I couldn't get out of the way of it. If I get a year out of quick cooks and high-temperature searing, it won't ow me a thing. That'll complement the setup and give me something to cook on if snow knocks out the power or something.

 

[flh69]

I don't know anything about the other pellet grill manufacturers but I've had the Trailblazer for a year and I love it. I've needed advice several times and these people were right here to help either by phone or email. I have used it quite a few times in the past year and it has performed flawlessly. I highly recommend the Rec Tec to anyone thinking of purchasing a pellet grill.

 

[Brian Vallotton]

I just order my RT-700. My 16-year old Vermont Castings propane grill finally gave up and rusted through the burner mounts, so it's finished. I had been considering a traditional offset smoker but finally decided to go with a pellet grill because I figured that with pellets I'd make a lot of brisket and pulled pork, but with an offset smoker I wouldn't have time and would mostly end up making rust. That's what my neighbor seems to make with his, anyway.

Then I decided to wait until brand W came out with their entry, and it rapidly became clear that there are just too many issues there for it to be a viable option any time soon. They make many fine grills, but it just looks like maybe this isn't one of those. The final straw, after the more serious grease fires and uneven heat, was the fact that the hopper on the W doesn't feed right. That shows an unsettling lack of attention to detail. Even the W fanboi types on YouTube are sending theirs back, so... REC TEC it is.

I am very excited and looking forward to getting the bull set up in the back yard. I can't wait!

B. Cook

P.S. I also walked passed a cheap-as-dirt 5-burner propane grill at the Big Box Store just as they were marking it down to $129, and I couldn't get out of the way of it. If I get a year out of quick cooks and high-temperature searing, it won't ow me a thing. That'll complement the setup and give me something to cook on if snow knocks out the power or something.

Mine shipped out today. Should have it by first of next week. I am glad to be a part of the newby Bull owners class of 2020 with you! God bless and happy grilling!

 

[RicReed]

I ordered a W and after the weekend disaster refused shipment. I never did hear from Weber after 4 emails. So I went to VISA and disputed the order got my money back and ordered The Bull! Coming next week. Sorry for all the W people that got misled. Happy to be a new Rex Tec owner soon!

I, too, was going to order a W, and changed my mind and went with the Bull! Can't wait to get it, assemble it, and enjoy for many years.

 

[RHEINLEIN]

Congrats!
Accept no substitute for The Bull

 

[Gonefishin]

I was waiting for this trip to GA to look at the RT'S when the buzz started about the W's. Figured I'd look at both brands before deciding. Chances of going with a W seem less now that some reviews are.coming out. I want something reliable.

 

[Blues1]

Add me to the mix. Didn't pre order it thank goodness! Didn't have to go through the hassle and frustration of it not working, with no real solutions, and packing it up and returning it. Had it been as advertised, I'd own one now, but well, we know the answer to that....Rec Tec it is!

 

[Roaniecowpony]

Bummer. Weber is gonna take a bath on these. Seems like they "grill" ok, but the grease management was a flop. Frankly, I didn't buy my (RecTec Bull) pellet "grill" to actually grill. I bought it to BBQ, A.K.A. "smoke". I like how it does that very much. But I think a pellet grill is a poor device for direct heat grilling. It's like taking a Jeep road racing. I'll take my cheap 20 year old rebuilt gas grill over my pellet grill for that job, or better yet, one of my charcoal komados.

 

[SmokeMeister]

Well, I for one bought the SmokeFire - and now the Bull - because they are able to both grill and smoke. When the WSF was working, it actually did a great job at both. I'm not expecting miracles, but from everything I've read the RT will be able to do a fine job with most grilling tasks. When I come home from work and it's dark and 20 degrees outside, the last thing I want to do is fool around with charcoal and I've never been a fan of gas grills. If I can warm it up while sitting inside and throw on some chicken or brats or burgers, I'll be a happy camper.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Saw my first WSF for sale "used" on FB Marketplace today, the ask was $600, half what it cost new. Looked like it might have been fired once. No comment by the seller on issues, just the offer. Also stumbled across the Weber offer on Amazon. Man the feedback section was brutal, high percentage of one star ratings and some nasty comments in reply. Quite the s#^t storm.

 

[Blues1]

Rode over to Rec Tec today....I live only an hour or so away. I had already been to their online store and my cart was filled. waiting for me to press the buy button. wanted to take advantage of their 29% off accessory sale. I liked what I saw. Nice folks over there. I immediately pressed the "buy" button when I got home. I'm lickin' my chops!

 

[HatchetMan]

Preordered EX4. After watching all the YouTube reviews it went back to Amazon unopened. Stampede is in my future. Tracking number is being checked way more often than it should be ?

Saw that used EX6 $600 on Facebook Marketplace too... what a bummer for people. Lost lots of nerve cells and $700 in a very short period of time.

 

[brnytruk]

To put it simply, the Bull ain’t no bull