I give you the EPX (Stealth) Gen2..

[Goneincognito]

Weber updates its SmokeFire smart grill for better searing | Engadget

Weber's 2023 grill lineup includes a retooled SmokeFire smart grill, flat-top griddles and a new compact electric model..

www.engadget.com

 

[MackeyC34]

Sounds more like some new accessories rather than a fundamental enhancement to the EX itself. Am I missing something? If they improved the software, I hope at least some of those improvements will retrofit. Glad I bought my EX4 Gen 2 at $800 back when they put it on sale for a short time. $1,400 now? Hard to justify.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Still a deal. They gave them away for a while.

 

[rexster314]

Weber is putting a flat top griddle on the SF, it looks

 

[Goneincognito]

It's the EPX (Stealth) with a black side table (non folding it would appear) included, folding top rack so you can make it larger, hooks to hang the rack when hot in use (similar to the hooks for this purpose that were on the front shelf) and a "two-sided porcelain enamel searing grate" which is just the one from the CRAFTED series.
The only "new" things are the side shelf and top rack.

$100 more than the current EPX6 and $300 more than the EX6.
Still cheaper than getting an EPX or EX and then adding the extra bits.

The software will be no different.

 

[whoareya]

I got the Weber Genesis 335 with the Crafted frame last year and was so impressed with the crafted accessories I got for it to use on the Genesis, I bought the Crafted frame for my Smokefire EX4.

The half size crafted plancha/griddle on the Smokefire is a brilliant addition for it and is an ideal size for just the 2 of us (but will probably look at the full sized one if it fits both the Genesis and Smokefire Ex4?

I also have the Crafted sear grate, the new glazed pizza stone and the rotisserie skewer set (Genesis only) in the crafted series so far and all my old GBS accessories, I previously owned are compatible with the Crafted frame

The only problem is my EX4 came with the GBS grates which are centred and the crafted frame sits either to the far left or right of the grill making my current grates incompatible with it, so having to look at buying a new full set of specific crafted grates for it, which don't come cheap. It's a shame they don't just sell the smaller of the 2 crafted grates separately, as that's all I'd need to have a full working surface really with the frame and the small grate and then just put the old GBS grates back on when I don't need the Crafted part.

So currently just use the crafted frame with the accessory on my Smokefire at the moment with a gap where the smaller of the 2 grates would go

Weber know what they're doing though and can make extra money by only selling the full grate set up

If I'd bought a new Spirit with the Crafted grates rather than Genesis then the crafted grates and frame would have been interchangeable with the EX4, but didn't buy it at the time for the Crafted side of it, I wanted that Genesis model as it was on a massive misprice (which they honoured) Sells for £1600 over here but they missed the 1 off so got it for £600 and Weber were offering a free Rotisserie for the Genesis with purchases at the same time

But all in all I love the idea and implementation of the Crafted set up and they work really well on the Smokefire and Genesis set up. Hopefully Weber continue to add accessories in the Crafted series, looking at getting the crisping basket for the rotisserie on the Genesis next for chicken wings etc

 

[Black Run 350]

I'm a huge fan of the Grill Grates and use the flat side to sear everything pretty much. I have Grill Grates on all my Webers. So I'm excited to have a true flat top without having to dive into the Blackstone griddle...My wife would kill me if I drug another one home...

 

[MackeyC34]

One thing that would really move me to consider a new SF would be if Weber figured out how to rig it with a rotisserie.

 

[MackeyC34]

I'm a huge fan of the Grill Grates and use the flat side to sear everything pretty much. I have Grill Grates on all my Webers. So I'm excited to have a true flat top without having to dive into the Blackstone griddle...My wife would kill me if I drug another one home...

Agree - use my Grill Grates all the time. Turn them over and - presto - a griddle that drains fat when you cook.

 

[Goneincognito]

One thing that would really move me to consider a new SF would be if Weber figured out how to rig it with a rotisserie.

People have done it.

 

[mwes63]

From the limited information that I've seen, it looks like the Smokefire Sear+ is essentially an updated Smokefire Stealth with a couple "nice to have" add ons, such as:

1. Porcelain Enameled Searing grate from the Weber Crafted Line.
2. An additional, removable, top grilling grate that adds more capacity. I am guessing this would be good for additional smoking capacity, but wouldn't serve for searing.
3. A new side shelf on the left of the cooktop.

Smokefire Stealth vs. EX6: Here's the thing, though, the Smokefire Stealth costs $1499 compared the EX6 at $1299. For the extra $200, you get a Stealth that has different wheels, an internal light, and the blacked out look. There are also important internal changes between the Stealth and the EX6, such as a new heatshield, redesigned burn pot and glow plug hardware, stronger burn pot material, crafted grate system (but not the enameled grates) and redesigned hopper internals. Apparently the internals on the Stealth make a huge difference in prevent flareups, and pellet jams. What isn't clear to me is whether the updated internals are unique to the Stealth, or whether Weber will update the internals across the EX6 line across the board to fix some very common issues. In my opinion, it wouldn't make sense for Weber to maintain two different sets of internals for such similar models, so my assumption is that they'll fix the issues with newer EX6s that come out, but I haven't seen any articles to confirm. Does anyone here know if the new internals have shipped with recently manufactured EX6s?

Is the Sear+ worth it? If the new Sear+ keeps the $1499 price tag that the Stealth has, then I think it'll be an amazing deal (the Crafted grill system plus the enameled grates retails for $172 for the EX4, and I am guessing it'd be more expensive for the larger EX6/Stealth, but can't find a price online). I am worried, though, that they are going to tack on another $200 or so on top of the price of the Stealth bringing the price tag closer to $1799, at which point I am not sure it'd be worth the cost compared to the EX6 (assuming the EX6 has the updated internals I mention above).

Curious if anyone else has been tracking/researching this? Apologies for the long comment, but I figured I'd write it out and hopefully benefit someone else that may be looking into this!

EDIT: AmazingRibs.com just posted a "sneak peek" of the Sear+. Not a ton of new information, but it does note an MSRP of $1399. It's going to be a great spring if the Sear+ comes with all the features of the Stealth and it's $100 cheaper!

 

[JpsBBQ]

I got the Weber Genesis 335 with the Crafted frame last year and was so impressed with the crafted accessories I got for it to use on the Genesis, I bought the Crafted frame for my Smokefire EX4.

The half size crafted plancha/griddle on the Smokefire is a brilliant addition for it and is an ideal size for just the 2 of us (but will probably look at the full sized one if it fits both the Genesis and Smokefire Ex4?

I also have the Crafted sear grate, the new glazed pizza stone and the rotisserie skewer set (Genesis only) in the crafted series so far and all my old GBS accessories, I previously owned are compatible with the Crafted frame

The only problem is my EX4 came with the GBS grates which are centred and the crafted frame sits either to the far left or right of the grill making my current grates incompatible with it, so having to look at buying a new full set of specific crafted grates for it, which don't come cheap. It's a shame they don't just sell the smaller of the 2 crafted grates separately, as that's all I'd need to have a full working surface really with the frame and the small grate and then just put the old GBS grates back on when I don't need the Crafted part.

So currently just use the crafted frame with the accessory on my Smokefire at the moment with a gap where the smaller of the 2 grates would go

Weber know what they're doing though and can make extra money by only selling the full grate set up

If I'd bought a new Spirit with the Crafted grates rather than Genesis then the crafted grates and frame would have been interchangeable with the EX4, but didn't buy it at the time for the Crafted side of it, I wanted that Genesis model as it was on a massive misprice (which they honoured) Sells for £1600 over here but they missed the 1 off so got it for £600 and Weber were offering a free Rotisserie for the Genesis with purchases at the same time

But all in all I love the idea and implementation of the Crafted set up and they work really well on the Smokefire and Genesis set up. Hopefully Weber continue to add accessories in the Crafted series, looking at getting the crisping basket for the rotisserie on the Genesis next for chicken wings etc

Is it possible to take a grinder and cut the grates into three pieces so one of them would coordinate with the other system?

 

[whoareya]

Is it possible to take a grinder and cut the grates into three pieces so one of them would coordinate with the other system?

Unfortunately not these are the GBS grates originally supplied with my EX4 are a 50/50 split, so the GBS accessory fits in the middle of the Grill

These are the new crafted frame and grate set up for the EX4 (have the frame kit already) but the grates cost around equivalent of $200 here in the UK at the moment. more of a 33/66 split with straight edges as well

I used the new Weber Crafted Pizza Stone for the first time last night on the Genesis at 475F and what a difference, best pizza I have done on the Weber, crispiest base and fluffed up dough in the middle, cheese melted beautifully. Will try it on the Smokefire next, when it warms up a bit, but it was -3 Degrees Celsius and I trust the Genesis more when it's that cold to maintain temp rather than the Smokefire

They also do an equivalent full sized Crafted Baking Stone for biscuits, cakes, pizzas etc, but this Pizza Stone was suffice for my needs

 

[whoareya]

Have to say after grilling 4 different pizzas on the Genesis and Smokefire now this Crafted Glazed Pizza stone cooks an excellent pizza, much better than the cordierite stoes I have been battling with the last 2 years.

On both machines I preheat the machine to 450F and once reached leave it for 10 minutes to settle, then add the pizza stone and heat that for another 10-15 minutes and put the pizza on the machines then.

The Genesis cooks it in 6-8 minutes and the Smokefire in 8-10 minutes, but this glazed stone has giving me far more crispier bases, than a cordierite ever has.

This is the crafted frame for the EX4 in the grill (still waiting to purchase the grills to go with it, but can still use it without, just have to remove the frame to use the old grills in the meantime

Grill up to 450F and heating the stone for 10-15 minutes before putting the pizza on

I like cheesy pizzas, so excuse the amount of cheese, but basically this is a sourdough base, sauce, couple of slices of serrano ham, part cooked mushroom slices, couple of slices of Gouda cheese and some grated Mozarella and cheddar

I use baking paper to slide the pizza on and off (old habit with the old type of stone), not sure necessary with this glazed one.

Very decent crispy base and crust and cheese not dry and overcooked in the time it takes to cook the crust, very different to some of my past efforts on the old type stones

I am sure any decent glazed pizza/baking stone will work, just sat on the grates, bought the Weber one as I have the crafted set up on my Genesis and Smokefire and have other Crafted accessories as mentioned earlier to go with it

 

[patmcpsu]

I'm curious on how much woodfired flavor was present on the Smokefire pizza as opposed to the Genesis pizza.

Pizza will definitely be one of the first things I do when I get a Smokefire. However, I'll probably use the GBS pizza stone since it will be compatible with the Crafted frame on the Genesis and Smokefire, as well as the GBS frame on the Kettle.

I already ordered both the GBS and Crafted pizza stones recently (couldn't make up my mind - will return the Crafted one) and the Crafted stone definitely feels nicer, but it should be since it's double the price.