EX6 Major Problems

[Dassman5]

Thanks for the heads up. looks like the screwdrivers are coming out again

But it is also a bit of fun.

 

[Bruno]

It made a huge difference for me! Like Dman I love that stuff, I have a nice set of tools and it was a snap. Don’t take of the hopper lid I don’t see what the point of that would be. I set mine on a table next to SF and it was easy.

 

[abmet]

The upside is also knowing more about how the grill is assembled and will make it easier to diagnose or repair anything in the future.

 

[Bruno]

The upside is also knowing more about how the grill is assembled and will make it easier to diagnose or repair anything in the future.

Exactly!

 

[Dassman5]

The upside is also knowing more about how the grill is assembled and will make it easier to diagnose or repair anything in the future.

Amen! It is quite interesting reading posts from other web sites regarding the issues owners are having with various pellet grill manufacturers units...most of which are either due to operator error or failure to service and upgrade their units.

 

[Stone]

Amen! It is quite interesting reading posts from other web sites regarding the issues owners are having with various pellet grill manufacturers units...most of which are either due to operator error or failure to service and upgrade their units.

Absolutely, but, the maintenance is also the oart that may keep me from becoming an SF owner. My physical condition and macular degeneration prevents my ability to get down on my knees as well as to see well enough to do this uff myself. A friend would help me with original assembly and setup, but replacing an igniter, or other issues involving assembly have me concerned.

I'm really wanting an EX 4, because of the convenience it offfers over my Weber kettle. Of course my kettle has no maintenance beyond cleaning. and my sight is up to that. SF is the only pellet frill that can sear a steak the way we want them, and it's easier to control temps for longer cooks than it is on my kettle, considering my age an d condition.

 

[Brad S]

Absolutely, but, the maintenance is also the oart that may keep me from becoming an SF owner. My physical condition and macular degeneration prevents my ability to get down on my knees as well as to see well enough to do this uff myself. A friend would help me with original assembly and setup, but replacing an igniter, or other issues involving assembly have me concerned.

I'm really wanting an EX 4, because of the convenience it offfers over my Weber kettle. Of course my kettle has no maintenance beyond cleaning. and my sight is up to that. SF is the only pellet frill that can sear a steak the way we want them, and it's easier to control temps for longer cooks than it is on my kettle, considering my age an d condition.

If you get one with all the upgrades already done, you shouldn't need to do anything until the glow plug needs replacing. That's maybe once or twice a year depending on use. If you can find someone to help during for that, I think you'll be super happy with your smokefire. After upgrades, mine has been rock solid. Last week I started it, put it in smoke mode, loaded the hopper, put in some jerky, and left town for about 5 hours. When I came back, the smokefire was happily smoking on. Heck, it even told me it didn't even notice I had left. Yes my grill talks to me ***

***Disclaimer Notice- No my grill doesn't actually talk to me. Don't send me to the nut house.

 

[Stone]

I do have a SIL as well as a grandson that could help, as long as I don't care how long it might take them to show up.

The Gen 2 is the one I'm mulling over since it has the latest updates.

 

[JpsBBQ]

The SF has easy or no maintenance and the glow plug is probably the easiest to chance on the market.

 

[Stone]

The SF has easy or no maintenance and the glow plug is probably the easiest to chance on the market.

My guess is that you don't have AMD.

 

[Bruno]

Stone,
I would not recommend a SF to you unless it has the one piece welded auger. It wouldn’t be a fun swap for you.
I can say that with the app upgrades, firmware upgrades and the auger, the SF is working better than ever.
I’ve recommended a few RT-700 but I know what you mean about the grilling steak part. The SF is impressive.

 

[sntwilliams]

I had a pretty crappy weekend with my EX6. It struggled to reach temp and after a restart, it was set at 150oc which it did manage to reach. Suddenly out of nowhere, I got a temp drop warning and it was sat 85oc and didn't budge until I changed the temp to 250oc and it started to rise.

I plugged a weber ambient probe into port 4 to see what was going on. It was set at 150 again on the pit temp, but I saw the ambient temp probe slowly dropping and it reached 85oc before the pit temp suddenly changed from 150 to 85.

I set it to 250oc again to try and get it to increase temp from 85. When it reached 100, I set it to 150 as I didn't want it to actually reach 250 and burn the food. The controller instantly told me it was at temperature, but the ambient probe was at 105 and I watched it rise all the way up to 260. The pit temp was...you guessed it, 150!

Cleaned it all out the following day, made sure to clean the pit probe, and did a factory reset for good measure. Still can't get the thing to hold temperature.

Having removed the firebox cover, I can't see any pellet feed issue either...

Latest firmware and iOS app.
Welded Auger chute.
Finger Guard removed.
Fresh bag of pellets.

On the plus side, the Weber kettle did a great job of the Beef top rump for Sunday lunch!

 

[Stone]

Stone,
I would not recommend a SF to you unless it has the one piece welded auger. It wouldn’t be a fun swap for you.
I can say that with the app upgrades, firmware upgrades and the auger, the SF is working better than ever.
I’ve recommended a few RT-700 but I know what you mean about the grilling steak part. The SF is impressive.

The SF Gen 2 models have all of the current upgrades already installed with the exception of any late breaking firmware/software upgrtades.

 

[JpsBBQ]

My guess is that you don't have AMD.

Not sure what AMD is but I probably don’t have it. I just don’t sweat the small stuff any longer. Having said that, even if I were to clean the thing thoroughly every cook, it’s far easier than most. There is no heavy full size grease/ heat deflector pan to remove.

 

[Stone]

Not sure what AMD is but I probably don’t have it. I just don’t sweat the small stuff any longer. Having said that, even if I were to clean the thing thoroughly every cook, it’s far easier than most. There is no heavy full size grease/ heat deflector pan to remove.

AMMD = Age Related Macular Degeneration, which I mentioned earlier in thsi thred. If you van't see the slots in the screws, the small holes that they fit into, or get down on your knees to get at them, then it's not likely that you'd consider this "small stuff".