Weber officially is entering the pellet smoker field

[mustardsauce]

Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long for them to enter the fray. Kind of reminds me of Microsoft and this little known phenomenon called the Internet.

I think they did it the right way. Rather than rush to just do a "me too" pellet like so many did, they waited, tested everything out there, found improvements to make it unique to them and only released one once they had a product that was better than other stuff out there (as a grill).

 

[sandyut]

I think they did it the right way. Rather than rush to just do a "me too" pellet like so many did, they waited, tested everything out there, found improvements to make it unique to them and only released one once they had a product that was better than other stuff out there (as a grill).

Time will tell on that. I wouldn't assume they did so well on development.

 

[mustardsauce]

Time will tell on that. I wouldn't assume they did so well on development.

Oh I agree. It's their first venture into pellets, so I assume they'll run into some QA problems (like lit ash falling onto the ground?!). But, I do think the features they've incorporated will have been well thought out and aim to fix the issues a lot of pellets have. Whether that will outweigh the potential quality issues or justify the price is yet to be seen.

 

[sandyut]

Oh I agree. It's their first venture into pellets, so I assume they'll run into some QA problems (like lit ash falling onto the ground?!). But, I do think the features they've incorporated will have been well thought out and aim to fix the issues a lot of pellets have. Whether that will outweigh the potential quality issues or justify the price is yet to be seen.

Agreed.

 

[Little-m]

Some of us were there for that...

those were the days before the internet, cell phones and bike helmets.

Sorry, I was wearing my tinfoil hat when I wrote that. I was referring to the fact that Microsoft was so slow at adopting Internet technology, they were behind the 8-ball for quite a while.

And yeah, I do kind of miss the pre tech times. Life was much easier then, especially when you could just jump on your motorcycle and go....

 

[chef jimmyj]

We had two areas we hung out in. Gasoline was under a Dollar a gallon. So for $10 or less, you filled the tank and drove around until you found the rest of the guys. Way more Fun than Texting!...JJ

 

[Little-m]

We had two areas we hung out in. Gasoline was under a Dollar a gallon. So for $10 or less, you filled the tank and drove around until you found the rest of the guys. Way more Fun than Texting!...JJ

Haha I'm probably the only human who doesn't own a cell. Which is why I find the wifi enabled smokers to be a complete waste of money.

 

[noboundaries]

There's a market for everything. I won't be buying one, but can appreciate the need for Weber moving into the tech market, much like they did with gas grills. Moving parts break, immovable parts deteriorate, but technique, heat, and edibles always find a way to play together to put food on the table whether the fuel is wood, charcoal, pellets, electricity, or gas.

As long as they keep making their Kettles, and they last as long as they do, I'll be happy.

 

[mike243]

The promo vid looked pretty dang good on cooking a steak,I enjoy them cooked on my Pitboss but it will have to die before I could upgrade, it also shows no signs of dying anytime soon lol

 

[Little-m]

The promo vid looked pretty dang good on cooking a steak,I enjoy them cooked on my Pitboss but it will have to die before I could upgrade, it also shows no signs of dying anytime soon lol

Aren't you lucky. Mine has been dying since the day I bought it.

 

[sandyut]

Aren't you lucky. Mine has been dying since the day I bought it.

I would be out of my mind mad! sorry... can you return it?

 

[mike243]

I am about 1.5 years cooking with it and has been great. lemons come along with any brand. no mods or any thing done to it, pile pellets in and let it run

 

[krj]

It's interesting to see Weber going this route, and then Masterbuilt now starting to branch into the gravity fed styles. I really wish Weber would have continued on with it's "charcoal heritage" and built a gravity fed, and left pellet cookers to other manufacturers. But I get, you have to go where the money is, and pellet cookers at the moment are a hot item, where as gravity fed is a lesser known style.

 

[Little-m]

I would be out of my mind mad! sorry... can you return it?

I am about 1.5 years cooking with it and has been great. lemons come along with any brand. no mods or any thing done to it, pile pellets in and let it run

Replaced controller, temp sensor, auger and auger motor. Nothing left to replace but the fan. My last smoke had the temps swinging as much as 60*. For me 20-30* swings is no big deal if things settle down eventually. I have a feeling if I report this I will need to do another controller replacement. Tech support is fine, but I'm getting tired of being Mr. Fixit.

So back on topic....

It seems they really did their homework on this unit. The short auger is a plus as well as the feedback of pellets in shutdown mode. If they concentrate on the controller and make it reliable and accurate, they should have a winner.

The steel skeleton looks a bit thin but so is the Traeger and they are more expensive.

 

[forktender]

 

[noboundaries]

Informative video, but I felt like I was being hypnotized...and now I have a craving to buy one! Hmmm...

 

[Little-m]

Informative video, but I felt like I was being hypnotized...and now I have a craving to buy one! Hmmm...

 

[Slow42]

I have been a fan of Weber grills for decades no more. They have continually gone down hill in quality year by year. I now consider it a disposable grill like the MES, great for a while then repairs far out way their value. They are way over priced for what you get. I do however still have my old Weber kettle grill still working and in great shape go figure. Stay away from anything Weber.

 

[eddiememphis]

Stay away from anything Weber.

Okay.

I do however still have my old Weber kettle grill still working and in great shape

Okay.

Most manufacturers make junk in addition to great products. It is up to the consumer to determine the value of the product.

 

[forktender]

I don't own anything newer than at least 15 yrs old from Weber, but I can say their customer has been great too me. I called to order new stainless steel flavorizer bars after the S.S. replacements became brittle and fell apart. And to order new handles for my 18'' and 22'' kettles and a new bottom vent for the 22''.
After talking with the lady for at least 10 minutes about how great their products have treated my family over the years and small talk about the weather. The lady asked me for my address and said I would see everything except the one of the handles that they were out of with in two days. Then she said thank you for being a faithful Weber fan and said have a great weekend. Whoa, whoa, whoa wait a minute you forgot to take my credit card info. She said no I didn't this one is on us. WOW !!! Thank you, that was really unexpected but very much appreciated. The lady said we appreciate customers that are Weber faithfuls.
Two weeks later the handle that they didn't have was on my front porch in the morning.

While I can't speak for any of their newer products, I often check out their new grills, and they look to be made much better than anything we can buy locally. And the new burner layout looks to be well though out and improved on than the older units. If I was in the market I wouldn't hesitate to buy anything from Weber.
Not as faithful as this guy but you get the point.
Weber for life!!!