Larry , I'm right about 9 days in , and have cooked on it everyday . Sometimes twice in the same day .
Actually just put a pork cushion roast on 20 minutes ago .
When I first saw them I was interested . Never thought I would have a pellet grill , but I really liked the look of it . The floor model I saw had a nice fit and finish to it .
Some nice features also . One important one to me was the drop pellet feed .
At that time they were still $999.00 for the EX4 . I read some of the reviews , and wasn't really in the market for one , so I just let it go .
Time went by , the price on the Gen 2 dropped , and they added a temp probe and 2 igniters . Came equipped with the " fixed " parts . Had some unexpected money hit the bank account , so I ordered one .
At this point the only trouble I had was 2 of the wheels had sloppy threads and did not fit . E mailed Weber . Got an automated reply , but still no wheels from them . I need to call .
I was going to upgrade to a better wheel anyway , so that's what I did . Got the grill on Saturday , and Found a link to the wheels from another site on Sunday morning . They showed up Sunday afternoon . Great set of wheels .
The problems people called out on the Gen 1 were
Pellet hopper design
Something with the auger
Software glitch or short comings
Worst of all ,, grease fires .
So mine has the pellet ramp " fix "
It seems to crater pellets quite a bit . I let it get pretty low at that point . Still plenty of pellets in the hopper . I just pushed them over to even it out . I have no issues with doing that . I don't cook over night or unattended . Non of my kettles add charcoal to themselves , and my old stick burner never stocked it's own fire . So this for me is not a problem .
No auger issues for me . Gen 2 has a different set of parts .
Software
I did read the book before I started it up . Not something I do most times .
I followed the directions . When I turned it on , it connected to my phone using Blue tooth and did the firm ware update right away .
I had downloaded the app ahead of time . You need to do that before you fire up the grill . I did the burn in , but could not get it connected to the wi-fi .
I noticed it doing another update . After that it connected to the wi-fi and works great .
So I have had no issues with the software or the operation of this . It responds right now when you change temps or tell it to shut down .
I was worried about the grease fire issue . The recommended fix is to use a drip pan , and keep it clean .
Seems people got all twisted up by that . Whatever .
If I cook indirect on any of my kettles I use a drip pan .
If I don't keep my Genesis 310 gas grill clean , it will catch fire . Talk about a grease fire , that damn thing will go up if you're not keeping it clean .
I have an extra broiler pan from my oven that I've been using , and it works great . I've cleaned it after every cook , and don't let grease run all over it .
So again for me , this is a non issue .
I don't usually get so long winded , but that kind of sums it up so far .
For me , I absolutely love it . I'm not real big on buying stuff for myself , but I'm glad I did .
Been using B&B pellets . I'm not hung up on 100 % flavor wood pellets for this .
So far I have had great clean smoke flavor no jams or let downs . Only negative was the wheels .
I really like the upgraded wheels . Dual locking , and quick release . Non skid , non marking .
Any questions just ask .
View attachment 506526 View attachment 506527