Weber SmokeFire

[normanaj]

Was out today and saw one of these for the first time.I'm not in the market for a pellet grill at the moment but my curiosity got the best me as they were on sale.I've never owned a bad Weber product but I've not seen or heard anything about these on here or anywhere else.Anyone own one?

 

[kruizer]

Don't own one. Several reviews saying there is a problem with pellet feed and grease fires. Not interested.

 

[chopsaw]

Norm , I want one myself . Here's what I know ,
The Gen 1's had huge trouble . Pellet feed from bad hopper design , and the grease trap system catches fire . Notice , " trap " not drain .
Gen 2 They fixed the pellet feed ( they say ) . Not sure they addressed the grease fire problem any more than saying " use a drip tray " I read the ash blows around and mixes with the grease . Not good .
I really like the fit and finish of the smaller one I saw . Not much to think about with grease fire as one of the problems .
A lot of negative end user reviews .
Sponsor videos are mostly positive , by design I'm guessing .
They really dropped in price , I'm guessing from low sales .
I think there is another thread on them , but this was one I looked at .

SmokeFire Ex6

Like most I saw most of the bad reviews when the SmokeFire hit the market but given recent sale decided to give the grill a try after seeing some if not all the issues are being fixed. Upon setting up it does look like I have the newest Auger that they’ve been sending people. After powering on I...

www.smokingmeatforums.com

 

[normanaj]

Thanks for the link chopsaw .

 

[chopsaw]

You bet . I was just looking around the other day . Nice unit . If it wasn't for the grease trap , I'd already own one . Still thinking on it .
I've been buying shop equipment from a place called Acme tools . Turns out they sell all kinds of stuff .
Got an email that the Ex4 was on sale for $799.00 free shipping .

 

[chef jimmyj]

Dont know if the Grease Fire issue is fixed or people found a work around, drip pans and frequent clean out of ash and grease.
I thought I heard in one of the newer videos that there were some baffle/dividers, part of the new feeder, that keep grease from getting too close to the burn pot but can't confirm that is factual...JJ

 

[rexster314]

I have had an EX6 Smokefire since November, the Gen 2 version. I've had very little problems, and NO grease fires whatsoever. I think some people are calling flareups during high temp grilling a grease fire. After every 5 cooks or so, I scrape the insides down into the ash catcher then dispose of it. Whatever I cook, steak, ribs, chicks, pizzas, sausage, comes out great tasting and my wife loves the results each and every time. For every person that has troubles with the smoker, there's 5 that has no problems at all. Plus you can't beat Weber's CS department

 

[chopsaw]

I think some people are calling flareups during high temp grilling a grease fire. After every 5 cooks or so, I scrape the insides down into the ash catcher then dispose of it.

Thanks for the input . I really like the looks of them , and I wanted the drop feed tube or whatever it's called .
Like you said , I clean out my Genesis 310 about every 4th cook . You have to , or you'll have a problem . I can see where this would be the same . I most likely wouldn't cook at the highest temps . I have other options for that .

 

[GA Tom]

I was considering one of these grills a while ago and discovered that there are forums/discussion groups that discuss only the Weber Pellet Grill. One web site is https://www.weberpelletgrills.com/threads/holy-cow.737/. There may be others.

 

[rexster314]

I was considering one of these grills a while ago and discovered that there are forums/discussion groups that discuss only the Weber Pellet Grill. One web site is https://www.weberpelletgrills.com/threads/holy-cow.737/. There may be others.

There are about half dozen groups for Smokefire cookers on Facebook some very active, some pretty dormant. IF you are on Facebook.

 

[bill1]

The $200 price cut is nice, but I wonder what spurred it. Considering it's Weber, I was somewhat surprised when there wasn't more of an initial roll-out of this product. Also when the Gen 1 took a bit of a rap, not much was done to do Formal Damage Control and Roll Out Gen 2. One could possibly argue that the Gen 2 fixes were not all that extensive and were almost "done on the cheap" making me wonder at the time if Weber was considering phasing it out of their lineup.

It could be the $200 cut is just to put it at the Traeger price point, where I think it compares favorably.

I assume this industry has independent watchers that monitor and track sales...so how is Smokefire doing against the competition, esp Traeger and PitBoss?

 

[chopsaw]

Bill , all great points and my thoughts exactly .

 

[NoCoPK360]

I've had an EX6 for about a year now. Mine was a gen 1 but I installed all the upgrades which Weber sent for free before ever firing it up. I've not had many problems with mine. You do have to clean it out regularly especially after a long cook. I use drip pans which makes that pretty easy. The thing about the Smokefire is it actually works pretty good as a grill and it puts out more smoke flavor than most pellet grills. I had a Grilla Silverback before the Smokefire and it was a nice cooker but I hated the lack of smoke flavor. I don't have that issue with the Smokefire. The software can be wonky but the last update from Weber has worked well. It's a good grill/smoker for the money especially if you get it on sale.

 

[TomCrump]

I wanted one in the worst way, but the Gen I disaster made me gun shy. Even though the Gen II was introduced, I purchased a Rec Teq RT-700 and haven't looked back.

 

[bill1]

...The thing about the Smokefire is it actually works pretty good as a grill and it puts out more smoke flavor than most pellet grills...

I think the higher temp comes from the shape of the crucible and, by letting gravity do the last leg of the pellet journey, Weber can move the auger away from the crucible.

But why is the smoke flavor better? Is it because Weber is really not combusting pellets as completely in the Smokefire (having an open-bottom crucible) so the extra ash is a feature not a bug? For those that have used both, is the pellet consumption considerably greater in the Weber?

Or is the smoke flow just a little more circuitous in the tall Weber (with the vents relativity low) so the smoke spends a little more time in the cook chamber before it exits?

 

[NoCoPK360]

I would say the pellet consumption is greater than my Grilla Silverback was. I don't know the reason for better smoke flavor but it's probably a combo of several things. The fact it has the flavorizer bars instead of a big deflector plate also plays a significant factor in my opinion.

 

[bill1]

...flavorizer bars instead of a big deflector plate also plays a significant factor in my opinion.

Fair enough...if flavorizer bars are significantly hotter than the typical pellet cooker's grease slide/deflector plate, the evaporation products of dripping fats could add a flavor similar to, or at least as desirable as, smoking wood but I doubt their shape/placement has anything to do with how the wood smoke itself gets to the meat.

I've used a large cast iron pan directly over the crucible, with a layer of pellets for extra smoke, but covered with a lightly perforated steel plate that allows smoke out slowly but captures (and burns) most of the falling fats from meat directly above it. But I can't say the endgame flavor is fundamentally different than just using the pan and cover UNDER the manufacturer's sliding grease pan.

I'd love to hear from experienced chefs on this but I've suspected that the "great smells" we associate with fat dripping on open fire is actually from the burning wood and cooking meat, not from the "cooking" of the dripping fat, but I'm open to convincing. Certainly igniting and burning any fat or oil is generally not pleasant to the senses, but it could be that just taking it to its boiling point could release good trapped flavor molecules in the air at less than combustion temps.

So do you or anyone have an IR thermometer that could measure flavorizer bar top surface temps? I can believe the large center one over the crucible may be at several hundreds of degF but I'd be surprised if the outer ones are any hotter than the ambient cook temp. I suspect the same of my oil slide/deflector plate but will measure at my next cook. An experiement is worth 1000 theories.

 

[chef jimmyj]

I'd love to hear from experienced chefs on this but I've suspected that the "great smells" we associate with fat dripping on open fire is actually from the burning wood and cooking meat, not from the "cooking" of the dripping fat, but I'm open to convincing. Certainly igniting and burning any fat or oil is generally not pleasant to the senses, but it could be that just taking it to its boiling point could release good trapped flavor molecules in the air at less than combustion temps.

Like any food or flavor components, that are cooked on or Drip on a Very Hot surface, Fats taken to their Smoke Point or even Vaporized, give off Aroma and contribute to Flavor as their Smoke molecules contact the food. A Classic example is WOK HEI, Dragons Breath, the aroma and flavor you get from a Super Heated Wok as the Oil/Fats begin to Smoke. This is the reason Chinese Restaurant food tastes different/better than the same recipe made in a Wok at home using stove temps.
Just like inefficiently burning Wood and the bitter creosote flavor it gives off. FLAMING FAT, from extended Flare Ups, will give Char-Grilled food a nasty Petroleum like Flavor. YUK! Grease Flames give off Soot as well because the burning of the Fat is inefficient and incomplete compared to Vaporized Fat on the Flavor Bars, or the Hottest portion of a Drip Plate...JJ

 

[chopsaw]

After several trips to look at one in person , I ordered it off Amazon .
I don't expect any problems , but I guess I'll see .

 

[normanaj]

After several trips to look at one in person , I ordered it off Amazon .
I don't expect any problems , but I guess I'll see .

View attachment 505249

Waiting for the review.