Worst experience

[Unhappycustomer]

I purchased a smoke chef pellet grill some time ago worked fine for awhile then the auger jammed due to a pellet getting stuck behind the auger the auger broke. I called customer service number and got a message referring me to web site for parts and went to the web site and couldn't find an auger, couldn't get a person on the phone to speak too, so I went to the store that I bought it from to speak he to the manager to see if he had any contact info. he gave me a number for the sales rep. I called numerous times and left messages never got any replies. I recommend never buying a smoke hollow or smoke chef product I will never again buy anything from this company and would not recommend it to anyone.

 

[smokin peachey]

Bummer

 

[paprika pal]

Sorry to hear that. Hoe it didn’t ruin your meat.

 

[paprika pal]

* Hope* sorry for the typo
That’s what fat finger on a small phone gets you.

 

[normanaj]

Smoke chef...let me guess you bought it at Bi-Mart?Exactly what were you expecting for the price you paid...hopefully not much more than a 30 day warranty!

You get what you pay for.

 

[bill1]

I don't know how handy you are but it usually isn't too hard to get to the auger motor on a pellet grill and from there to the auger itself. The cheap Chinese units like Smoke Chef have (at least to me) the clear advantage of pretty much all using interchangeable parts and uniform diameter augers. Amazon sells replacements for under $40. 18" seems to be the most common length. Most have good pictures so you can verify the attachment method to the motor matches yours, and if not, decide if you can do the drilling or grinding required to make it work.

Granted, breaking an auger is pretty uncommon with $1000 units. The gears strip in the auger motor reducer instead. And it's not likely you'll then find replacement auger motors for $40 either that you can order any time of day or night, regardless of whether Smoke Chef is still in business or not.

To make a car analogy, I've had German models and I've had Japanese. At 100+mph, the German high-priced units definitely have their charms. But the maintenance penalty for them is huge, both in price and in time. Maybe I'm just cheap, but over the life of the appliance, you can't beat the overall satisfaction of the Japanese product. And I'd say the Chinese, Korean, and North American manufacturers are shooting for the Japanese model.

Ultimately this site is a hobby site. It's all about satisfaction. Not what you pay, or how often you have to tinker with the device. (In fact, some us enjoy the tinkering.) And like other hobbyist sites, a large part of the value is in sharing where to get parts for a beloved, but wounded or aging model. Good luck with your Camp Chef.

 

[noboundaries]

Interesting. This guy joined, posted this thread, and hasn't been on SMF since.

 

[bill1]

Interesting. This guy joined, posted this thread, and hasn't been on SMF since.

We didn't exactly give him real helpful advice either.

 

[mike243]

He didn't come here looking for advice as there's not a single ? in his post, he came hoping to hurt the company sales imo, Hate he had problems but you cant help folks that don't want help.