Weber SmokeFire - anyone get it yet

[AZBBQ]

Keep everyone posted if you get an email from Weber about some type retro fit kit to deal with the grease runoff issues to help prevent grease fires... Strange, You would’ve thought that would have been there first priority.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

They are still denying that the grease fires are an issue. They never denied the pellet sliding issue to me. Here is their statement from support on the grease fire, 100% BS. You notice now they "recommend a drip pan" and if you followed their promotions they claimed to design a smoker that didn't need a drip pan, hence the draining on the bottom (that do not work). This seems to be their answer of going around the true issue.

 

[RCAlan]

They are still denying that the grease fires are an issue. They never denied the pellet sliding issue to me. Here is their statement from support on the grease fire, 100% BS. You notice now they "recommend a drip pan" and if you followed their promotions they claimed to design a smoker that didn't need a drip pan, hence the draining on the bottom (that do not work). This seems to be their answer of going around the true issue.

View attachment 434168

Wow... That sounds like sorry non caring executive speak from Weber to me... Just saying. Oh and when you see an out of control fire... No Worries . It’s just a grease fire flare up... Smh. We have a built in safety shutdown mode when E5 appears on the controller screen. I guess the Misfire/SmokeFire has a built in sprinkler system that is able to put out grease fires that no one knew about either... I guess they’ll be also telling their customers to have a fire extinguisher within arms reach and never ever leave their Misfire/SmokeFire grills unattended next. Oh and now keep that drip pan handy too.
What’s sad is I’m sure that Weber has a lot of very dedicated workers and loyal customers and I’m sure they care very much. It’s like the Upper Ups within the company are doing everything to put a different spin on it.. Or whatever you read about the Misfire/SmokeFire online is Fake News. Something is truly a miss. How hard would it have been for Weber to design the Misfire/SmokeFire to direct the grease flow away from the Fire Pot? Not Very... Fortunately, there’s a lot of better options to choose from. Good luck.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[SlowmotionQue]

Wow.

They are still denying that the grease fires are an issue. They never denied the pellet sliding issue to me. Here is their statement from support on the grease fire, 100% BS. You notice now they "recommend a drip pan" and if you followed their promotions they claimed to design a smoker that didn't need a drip pan, hence the draining on the bottom (that do not work). This seems to be their answer of going around the true issue.

View attachment 434168

Wow.

 

[forktender]

Well I see a lot of folks who haven't bought 1 or cooked with 1 that have no first hand experience kicking them, you will always hear the bad of any product vs the good, there's a reason hearsay isn't reliable proof in court lol. They will get the kinks worked out or will stop making them,

The kinks should of been worked out of it by webers R&D team long before it ever him the market. The hopper deal should've been resolved it the design phase of their R&D team.

This has some pretty basic stuff going on, why weber released this unit before the basic problems is a complete failure of weders R&D department.

I love weber, but there is no excuse to the types of things that are going on with this cooker. Sad day for weber fans.

 

[Glock9x19]

Harry Soo has a follow up video up rn. Can’t yet comment, as I haven’t finished the vid.





ETA: He cooked like 65 pounds of briskets, butts, and short ribs at the same time for like 12 hours and only experienced a "flare up" at the end that he thought was nbd. He seems to be sticking with it.

 

[chef jimmyj]

Sad state of affairs when by this point Weber is unwilling to just, admit there is a problem, a fix will be determined and owners will receive the modification free of charge...JJ

 

[RCAlan]

I just finished watching the entire Harry Soo video just posted... Thanks G9x19 for sharing the link. I’m not going to judge Mr. Soo on his prospective of the Weber SF Pellet Grill. I believe most posters truly want to see the Weber SF Pellet Grill succeed. I know I do. The issues, flaws and concerns posted by Weber SF owners are not being made up and I believe they have a right and reason to be concerned about the issues they’ve encountered. Could it be that most of the issues being encountered by owners are due to a lack of understanding of the proper operation of the Weber Smoke Fire? Yes. Should Weber do a better job of communicating these things to there customers? Yes. I believe, honesty and clarity are the best supportive selling points for any company and Weber needs to do a better job of that with the SmokeFire pellet grill. The SmokeFire pellet grill has features of operation that are different from traditional pellet grills, so there will be some confusion with its proper operation from people that own pellet grills, let alone those that are new to pellet grilling as a whole. It’s a learning process that’s normal with anything new... but would have designing the grease channel runoff to exit away from the Fire Pot, instead of allowing the grease to pool up and exit right near it, possibly eliminate most grease flare up fire concerns? Yes... Would designing a more sloped hopper help eliminate the pellet flow issues of tunneling in the hopper that some owners are seeing? Yes. These are known concerns that owners and supporters of Weber are just pointing out... and are not trying to bash them to win some kind of mysterious bashing points online. Smh... I know if I saw the grease at the bottom of my grill on fire, I would be concerned too and rightfully so.... I would never just say, Oh, Grease flare up fire, no -problem and just walk away. lol... smh... Also, pointing these concerns out shouldn’t make the Owners out to be the bad guy... Again, I hope nothing but the best from Weber and their SmokeFire pellet grill... and I’m sure anyone spending up to $1200.00 for one, just wants to be happy with their investment as well.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[schlotz]

Unfortunate to read Weber's response to the owner's grease fire. That decision may end up being a nightmare for them long term in regards to their reputation and bottom line. I too was really hoping they would have taken the high road and positively addressed what appears to be an obvious design flaw that many of their competition seem to have avoided up front. Sure is starting to smell like the engineers are in denial or at least those running the company are.

 

[chef jimmyj]

The best move is not always the cheapest way out. Weber needs to get in front of this. Fix the problems and repair or replace existing owners grills, including a recall of grills in stores not yet sold. It will hurt this year's Bottom Line, but save the company from reputation damage.
Sig Sauer had a similar situation with two pistols in their line up. One, P320, was a Military Contract that cost big money to recall and repair. The problems with the second, the P365, could have destroyed Sig's reputation. They fixed the problems. Both Handguns are now their biggest sellers...JJ

 

[schlotz]

The best move is not always the cheapest way out. Weber needs to get in front of this. Fix the problems and repair or replace existing owners grills, including a recall of grills in stores not yet sold. It will hurt this year's Bottom Line, but save the company from reputation damage.
Sig Sauer had a similar situation with two pistols in their line up. One, P320, was a Military Contract that cost big money to recall and repair. The problems with the second, the P365, could have destroyed Sig's reputation. They fixed the problems. Both Handguns are now their biggest sellers...JJ

Spot on Jimmy, Sig Sauer is a company that has it's head on straight when it comes to resolving issues with its products. It's 20-20 vision after the fact to question how something got missed. The mark of a progressive company is one who goes back an analyzes the details that allowed an error to escape while at the same time positively addressing the escape with their customers.

 

[mustardsauce]

Unfortunate to read Weber's response to the owner's grease fire. That decision may end up being a nightmare for them long term in regards to their reputation and bottom line. I too was really hoping they would have taken the high road and positively addressed what appears to be an obvious design flaw that many of their competition seem to have avoided up front. Sure is starting to smell like the engineers are in denial or at least those running the company are.

I thought the same thing, that was a bad luck for them to basically tell a customer "you're wrong, what you're saying didn't really happen, this did instead".

I may be giving folks too much credit, but I think even relatively novice grillers understand the difference between a flare up and a grease fire. Flare ups happen when the food is directly above the fire, and while they can be large, they die off as soon as you move the food away and fat stops dripping directly into the fire. With a grease fire, removing the food does nothing, and in the case of pellet or gas grills, even turning the grill off will not stop them until the grease is all consumed.

 

[Glock9x19]

Recent probs with all Sigs is likely going to keep me from ever owning one again.

 

[SlowmotionQue]

I just finished watching the entire Harry Soo video just posted... Thanks G9x19 for sharing the link. I’m not going to judge Mr. Soo on his prospective of the Weber SF Pellet Grill. I believe most posters truly want to see the Weber SF Pellet Grill succeed. I know I do. The issues, flaws and concerns posted by Weber SF owners are not being made up and I believe they have a right and reason to be concerned about the issues they’ve encountered. Could it be that most of the issues being encountered by owners are due to a lack of understanding of the proper operation of the Weber Smoke Fire? Yes. Should Weber do a better job of communicating these things to there customers? Yes. I believe, honesty and clarity are the best supportive selling points for any company and Weber needs to do a better job of that with the SmokeFire pellet grill. The SmokeFire pellet grill has features of operation that are different from traditional pellet grills, so there will be some confusion with its proper operation from people that own pellet grills, let alone those that are new to pellet grilling as a whole. It’s a learning process that’s normal with anything new... but would have designing the grease channel runoff to exit away from the Fire Pot, instead of allowing the grease to pool up and exit right near it, possibly eliminate most grease flare up fire concerns? Yes... Would designing a more sloped hopper help eliminate the pellet flow issues of tunneling in the hopper that some owners are seeing? Yes. These are known concerns that owners and supporters of Weber are just pointing out... and are not trying to bash them to win some kind of mysterious bashing points online. Smh... I know if I saw the grease at the bottom of my grill on fire, I would be concerned too and rightfully so.... I would never just say, Oh, Grease flare up fire, no -problem and just walk away. lol... smh... Also, pointing these concerns out shouldn’t make the Owners out to be the bad guy... Again, I hope nothing but the best from Weber and their SmokeFire pellet grill... and I’m sure anyone spending up to $1200.00 for one, just wants to be happy with their investment as well.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

I hear ya.

I don't own a Smoke Fire grill either, but like you and many others, I want to see it succeed. If it gets a black eye, well then a company as widely known as Weber is in the outdoor BBQ grill business, suffering a setback, and having issues such as described, could adversely affect the reputations of pellet grills and pellet smokers collaterally and as a whole group, or type/class of cooker.

In other words, if Weber takes a hit to it's reputation with these issues, well, them being arguably the big fish in the backyard BBQ pond, if they abandon ship and discontinue the product, or worse yet, ignore the issues, well then they could do damage which extends beyond their own reputations.

Regardless as to whether or not you believe the above, well then I'd just throw this out there too.

Weber's failures here, arguably may or may not hurt us owners of other pellet grills, or hurt companies which make pellet grills. But Weber's failures here, are not going to do the rest of pellet grill manufacturers any favors in terms of them broadening the message to some who may be on the fence and reluctant to take the plunge and purchase one. And it's not going to help current owners convince others of the advantages of pellet grills and smokers.

 

[RCAlan]

I hear ya.

I don't own a Smoke Fire grill either, but like you and many others, I want to see it succeed. If it gets a black eye, well then a company as widely known as Weber is in the outdoor BBQ grill business, suffering a setback, and having issues such as described, could adversely affect the reputations of pellet grills and pellet smokers collaterally and as a whole group, or type/class of cooker.

In other words, if Weber takes a hit to it's reputation with these issues, well, them being arguably the big fish in the backyard BBQ pond, if they abandon ship and discontinue the product, or worse yet, ignore the issues, well then they could do damage which extends beyond their own reputations.

Regardless as to whether or not you believe the above, well then I'd just throw this out there too.

Weber's failures here, arguably may or may not hurt us owners of other pellet grills, or hurt companies which make pellet grills. But Weber's failures here, are not going to do the rest of pellet grill manufacturers any favors in terms of them broadening the message to some who may be on the fence and reluctant to take the plunge and purchase one. And it's not going to help current owners convince others of the advantages of pellet grills and smokers.

Very true... and I believe if the version 1 issues are not all resolved, there won’t be a v2. At the very least though, Weber has a retro fix for the SmokeFires hopper out now. The big question is can they fix the grease channel runoff flow issue? Im sure no one wants to see flames all over the bottom of their pellet grill, which could potentially happen.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[chef jimmyj]

I've not seen one up close but that Drawer with the grease pan looks like it covers the cook chamber width. Some steel plates angled from the bottom of the center Flavorizer to wide openings in the sides of the floor would let Grease drain to Two Pans in the drawer...JJ

 

[RCAlan]

I've not seen one up close but that Drawer with the grease pan looks like it covers the cook chamber width. Some steel plates angled from the bottom of the center Flavorizer to wide openings in the sides of the floor would let Grease drain to Two Pans in the drawer...JJ

I see what you’re thinking JJ.... and Weber would have to do some serious testing to insure that whatever retro fix kit they release to address the grease channel runoff issue actually works. Whatever they come up with, has to work... Or they can continue to stand their ground and say there are no grease runoff issues with the SmokeFire that could potentially cause a grease fire and explain why they believe there’s no problem. What was the logic to have grease channel to flow towards and exit near the Fire Pot? That’s a potential grease fire just waiting to happen... There’s so much money involved now and I’m sure they are starting to take a budget hit now with all the returns they are receiving back. Those return Freight costs can’t be good for Weber either... I just hope that eventually, they’ll get it all figured out. I hope so.

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[negolien]

Recent probs with all Sigs is likely going to keep me from ever owning one again.

Kimber and Springfield for life for me .

As for the grill /shrug. Gotta do the research before buying an item. Some things you can live with it's up to the purchaser to do their due diligence. Why I went with a charcoal burner with very few moving parts and no complaints of Controller issues.

 

[AZBBQ]

Here is the "optional" pellet slide that Weber sent me free of charge after all my back and forth with them. Initial impressions are good, it solve the slope issue. I still don't understand how they got missed in the production units but good on Weber for finally kind of admitting at least one mistake so far.

 

[negolien]

All I wish for is for each person to get decent product that they can enjoy. Best wishes....

 

[bill1]

So whatever happened with the Smokefire? The Weber website reads like time stood still. But both EX4 & 6 became out-of-stock, "unavailable" , or no longer sold on Amazon, Lowes, Home Depot, or Walmart. Now Amazon has "2nd Generation" back for the same $1000 and $1200 prices. No reviews, modest available quantities, and no description of what's different. All the pictures look the same.

Surely 100's of these were returned. Is Weber just trying to re-sell these with a new pellet insert and a couple free 99-cent aluminum pans for grease control?