You have just finished freshly steaks on your Rec Tec and you take them off from your grill.
The smoky grilled meat tantalizes your taste buds, right?
So, you grab those mouth-watering steaks and are ready to sink your teeth without wasting the time.
But suddenly you realize, you didn’t shut down your grill.
Then the question may grapple into your mind, How to Shut Down a Rec Tec Grill? What’s the proper way of turning off the Rec Tec grill?
Like any good kitchen equipment, a pellet grill needs to be properly cared for, including letting it shut down.
Today, in this article, I am specifically going to talk about the right way of shutting down Rec Tec grill and step by step process to turn off the grill.
How to Shut Down a Rec Tec Grill?
Turning off the grill the right way is the essential process to follow.
Following are the steps to follow to shut down the Rec Tec grill.
Take out the food from the grill
Once you finished cooking and the food reached to right internal temperature, remove the food.
You can go through the shutdown process while the food is resting.
Proper shutdown process of your grill is essential after every cook.
So, follow the whole process correctly.
Run the grill for 5 minutes
For proper shut down of grill, every pellet grill manufacturer recommends running the grill for 5 minutes.
The Rec Tec grill has no any exception!
Rec Tec manufacturer also recommends running the grill for 5 minutes after every cook for shut down procedure.
The shutdown process of Rec Tec consists of stopping the auger, running the fan for 300 seconds.
Then it loads some pellets in the fire pot for quick start up on the next cook on the grill.
Open the grill lid
Once you are done cooking with the Rec Tec pellet grill, press the power button once again.
Pressing the power button again activates the shut down mode of your Rec Tec grill. Open the grill lid if it is closed.
Keeping the door open helps to cool down things faster.
If the actual temperature of your grill is reached below 160-degree F, pressing the power button automatically turns off the grill.
If you are cooking on Rec Tec at high temperature, let’s say, 400 degrees and above, remember to set the temperature of the grill to LO before hitting the OFF button.
Should You Seal Rec Tec Grill Lid? Know Here Everything About it.
Let it complete the cooling process
The Rec Tec has to pressure sensitive touch pad which is used to turn your Rec Tec Grill on and off.
Turning the grill “on” activates the automatic start up mode and illuminates the digital LED readout on your grill.
Pressing the touch pad once again activates the shut down mode of your Rec Tec Grill.
When you press the power button to shut down the grill, the Smart Grill Technology Processor will stop feeding the pellets to the fire pot.
You notice still fan is running even turning off the grill.
Because the fan will run continually to burn the leftover pellets in the fire pot.
This is called the Cooling process. During this cooling process, the LED screen will display FAN.
When your Rec Tec grill has completely burned the leftover pellets in the fire pot, the Smart Grill processor will finish shutting down the grill.
It will just take 10 minutes or so to let the pot burn all the excess pellets and settle into its minimum burn scenario.
If the grill is placed in direct sunlight, move it to a shaded place.
Because the sun will prevent it or slow down the cooling process.
Unplug Your Rec Tec grill
After the grill finishes the burn-off process and cooled down, ensure that the fan is not running.
When the fan has stopped running, unplug the grill.
Wind up the extension cord and the pellet grill cord properly to prevent them from damaging.
Store the extension cord in a safe place.
Don’t touch any part of the barrel as they are still hot.
If your grill is in the hot sun, you can use the handle on the side to roll the grill to the shade.
Cover the grill
Cover your grill with a good grill cover.
A grill cover is a good way to protect your grill from moisture and dust.
Find the grill cover that completely covers your grill and has a snug fit.
Make sure the grill is totally dry before adding the cover to it.
Then wrap the grill cover around the grill and secure it firmly on the bottom.
A grill cover is also protecting the exterior of your grill from scratches during transit and storage.
Looking For Essential Accessories for Your Rec Tec Pellet Grill? Then Head Over Here.
Store the grill in proper place
Now move and store the grill in the proper place.
Knowing how to store your grill precisely is an essential thing to its longevity.
Keeping your grill outside will leave it exposed to the outside elements.
It can lead to rust and other damage that may affect the usability of your grill.
Keep in mind, the grill should be stored in a safe place to protect it from rusting and other harmful outside elements.
Why Does Rec Tec Still Smoking After Shutdown?
Sometimes you may notice, there is smoke coming from your Rec Tec grill even after shutting down.
But did you know why this happens?
It may happen because you have still had leftover pellets in the fire pot.
If you consistently getting this issue, always make sure you are vacuuming out pellets before going to cook on the grill.
There may be another reason also that is Rec Tec shut down cycle itself.
After the shutdown fan cycle, auger dumps pellets into the fire pot for the next cooking.
Rec Tec should do that at the shutdown cycle instead of a start-up. Many Rec Tec owners feel this quite annoying.
This isn’t a problem if you are smoking but if you are grilling at high temps those pellets will ignite and burn off.
Usually setting the temperature to LO and letting the temp come down to about 250 or so will resolve this issue.
That can take even longer than just letting them burn out, but it may reduce the chances of an auger tube fire also.
Why Are You Getting Mobile Alerts When Rec Tec Grill Is Still Off?
You can control your Rec Tec grill from mobile through their app.
You can get all alerts from them all the time even opening the app not.
But some Rec Tec users get mobile alerts even the grill is OFF.
But why did this happen?
If you don’t close the app on your mobile, you’ll get alerts on your mobile when the grill is OFF.
But sometimes on busy weekends, there are delays on alerts from Rec Tec.
As per discussion in the Rec Tec Forum, So many Rec Tec owners would like to see an upgraded version of a grill that doesn’t need to be connected to their main server.
At least Rec Tec should give the option to buyers to connect to their home network via VPN to control the grill.
This would solve this issue.
Final Thoughts
Now you know how to shut down a Rec Tec grill.
Proper shut down of your grill is an essential process for the longevity of your grill.
Following the right shutdown procedure mentioned above after each very use will help keep your grill clean, pellets fresh and your grill running properly, cook after cook.
If you shut down the grill after each cook, you don’t have to worry about it the next time you turn it back on.
Once you properly shut down your grill, now it’s time to enjoy the season’s most delicious meat!
Sources:
https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/shutdown-cycle.2108/
https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/grill-shutdown-sequence.2535/
https://www.recteqforum.com/threads/shut-down-keeps-on-smoking.892/
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1363206/Rec-Tec-Grill-Rt-700.html?page=13
Related Articles:
How To Season a Rec Tec Pellet Grill?