I must have received a lemon! Last straw for me.

[DanaM]

Well, today I tried a low and slow of two slabs of ribs. Started the grill at 225 and it got there in about 20 mins. I added an aluminum drip pan, some beer for moisture and away we go. First two hours went flawlessly, stayed at 225 no problem. Since these are baby back I wrapPed at 2 hours and put them back in for what was to be another 2 hours. I kept the lid shut between the 2 wraps to maintain as much temp as possible. Went out and mowed my lawn weeds. Checked the temp after about 30 mins mins and the temp dropped to 110?? I put the ribs in the oven and pulled the grates and heat deflectors and look what I found (2nd pic below). Had I not looked and just rebooted to restart I would probably of had a major fire in the belly, much like GrillMarksAreSexy had also. The grill is going back to Lowe’s tonight! I will wait for version 2 as conceptually this is the grill I want. This happened after I installed a new controller, which took care of my WiFi issue,

 

[abmet]

That’s too bad can’t blame you for returning with all those issues. Hoped the new controller was your answer. Wonder if you have bad auger too?

 

[Brian Vallotton]

Well, today I tried a low and slow of two slabs of ribs. Started the grill at 225 and it got there in about 20 mins. I added an aluminum drip pan, some beer for moisture and away we go. First two hours went flawlessly, stayed at 225 no problem. Since these are baby back I wrapPed at 2 hours and put them back in for what was to be another 2 hours. I kept the lid shut between the 2 wraps to maintain as much temp as possible. Went out and mowed my lawn weeds. Checked the temp after about 30 mins mins and the temp dropped to 110?? I put the ribs in the oven and pulled the grates and heat deflectors and look what I found (2nd pic below). Had I not looked and just rebooted to restart I would probably of had a major fire in the belly, much like GrillMarksAreSexy had also. The grill is going back to Lowe’s tonight! I will wait for version 2 as conceptually this is the grill I want. This happened after I installed a new controller, which took care of my WiFi issue, View attachment 336View attachment 337

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It does make me glad that I was spared the indignity of having to deal with these kind of issues by being able to refuse shipment on mine. IF you have any kind of issues or resistance please remember as a consumer you are protected and do not hesitate to call your credit card company and file a dispute charge. I am not a Weber hater. But this is nonsense. As a consumer you should not have to deal with these kind of issues. Peace to you and I hope you can get a quick resolution. I will not go into where I think you can get a better suited product right now, but they are out there for the same price point. Okay, couldn't resist... RT700 or Camp Chefs...

 

[Smysmy2]

I am having the same problem with my EX4. I have not had the filled slide happen yet but even thought the smokefire worked flawlessly for two weeks and about 40 lbs of pellets, last Thursday my chicken cook was doing really well, holding at 350 for the first 15 min. All of a sudden it dropped to 125 without the lid ever being opened. It did finally climb back up but took 45 minutes. Then the next day I was cooking a potato at 390 and for the first 30 min it was fine and then dropped to 200. After poking around and restarting twice it got back up to 350 while I tried to reverse sear my steak. That took an hour. Then I tried to sear the steak but it only got to 540 and quickly dropped off to 450. I noticed that the glow plug goes off after about 10-15 min. Is that normal?does it cycle back on 15-30 later? Is that why the recovery is so slow?

I called support on Friday. Weber was great on the phone (but took 45 minutes of holding). They will be sending me a new auger assembly on Monday. I sure hope it works. I really like the smokefire. If this fixes it then I will be a very happy customer. I don't mind the trouble, it goes with early adopter territory. At least Weber has great customer service and is standing behind their product.

 

[DanaM]

I am so sorry you are dealing with this. It does make me glad that I was spared the indignity of having to deal with these kind of issues by being able to refuse shipment on mine. IF you have any kind of issues or resistance please remember as a consumer you are protected and do not hesitate to call your credit card company and file a dispute charge. I am not a Weber hater. But this is nonsense. As a consumer you should not have to deal with these kind of issues. Peace to you and I hope you can get a quick resolution. I will not go into where I think you can get a better suited product right now, but they are out there for the same price point. Okay, couldn't resist... RT700 or Camp Chefs...

 

[DanaM]

Lowe’s took the grill back and refunded my money. They asked what problems I had and I said “where do I begin”. Anyway, I will not be buying another brand pellet grill because I really like the Smokefire concept of open flame grilling and slow cook smoking. No other pellet grill offers this really, instead they just have gimmicks to sear like using expensive Grill Grates or sliding drip pan trays with slots. Those sliders must get gummed up from the grease drippings, so that has to be a mess to clean up. I will wait for version 2 of the Smokefire. When v1 worked there is no comparison at that price.
I will stay active on this forum to cheer you guys and gals on!!
Happy grilling!!!

 

[Brian Vallotton]

Lowe’s took the grill back and refunded my money. They asked what problems I had and I said “where do I begin”. Anyway, I will not be buying another brand pellet grill because I really like the Smokefire concept of open flame grilling and slow cook smoking. No other pellet grill offers this really, instead they just have gimmicks to sear like using expensive Grill Grates or sliding drip pan trays with slots. Those sliders must get gummed up from the grease drippings, so that has to be a mess to clean up. I will wait for version 2 of the Smokefire. When v1 worked there is no comparison at that price.
I will stay active on this forum to cheer you guys and gals on!!
Happy grilling!!!

During my time in between pellet grills I fell in love again with the simplicity and elegance of my 21 year old Weber Kettle 18". Charcoal is a beautiful thing! There will always be a place for for charcoal cooking at our house! Look ma! No cords! Glad to hear that you were treated well.

 

[Blues1]

Lowe’s took the grill back and refunded my money. They asked what problems I had and I said “where do I begin”. Anyway, I will not be buying another brand pellet grill because I really like the Smokefire concept of open flame grilling and slow cook smoking. No other pellet grill offers this really, instead they just have gimmicks to sear like using expensive Grill Grates or sliding drip pan trays with slots. Those sliders must get gummed up from the grease drippings, so that has to be a mess to clean up. I will wait for version 2 of the Smokefire. When v1 worked there is no comparison at that price.
I will stay active on this forum to cheer you guys and gals on!!
Happy grilling!!!

When Weber gets it right, it'll be a great smoker. The sear factor might be worth it. If you have to wait for version 2 and have a gas grill, a smoke tube can get you by. I know, I know, it's nowhere as good, but I've had pretty good success with the Amazin' Pellet Tube on my Geneis 2. It will get you by...

 

[Brian Vallotton]

When Weber gets it right, it'll be a great smoker. The sear factor might be worth it. If you have to wait for version 2 and have a gas grill, a smoke tube can get you by. I know, I know, it's nowhere as good, but I've had pretty good success with the Amazin' Pellet Tube on my Geneis 2. It will get you by...

I just bought a nice smoke tube from Amazon. Stainless and it is beautiful. Question: How do you get them to light really well? I seen where someone uses a propane torch?

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

During my time in between pellet grills I fell in love again with the simplicity and elegance of my 21 year old Weber Kettle 18". Charcoal is a beautiful thing! There will always be a place for for charcoal cooking at our house! Look ma! No cords! Glad to hear that you were treated well.

TOTALLY AGREE!
A few material things I would take to the grave with me If I could use it:
My WEBER KETTLE!! My Macbook. I am an Android phone guy but you will have to pry my Macbooks from my cold dead hands. One of my Walthers. There maybe Zombies....My Weber lighter cubes and my Weber Charcoal Chimney. Oh....and Maybe some Texas SPG rub. Probably go good with Zombie Meat....

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

I just bought a nice smoke tube from Amazon. Stainless and it is beautiful. Question: How do you get them to light really well? I seen where someone uses a propane torch?

I like to stuff a Weber Lighter Cube about a half inch into one end of my A Mazin Tube and put a few pellets in front of it. Works pretty well. The propane torch would probably work just as good though! Seems like every time I buy a new torch though some friend or family borrows it and it does not make it back to the house!

 

[Brian Vallotton]

TOTALLY AGREE!
A few material things I would take to the grave with me If I could use it:
My WEBER KETTLE!! My Macbook. I am an Android phone guy but you will have to pry my Macbooks from my cold dead hands. One of my Walthers. There maybe Zombies....My Weber lighter cubes and my Weber Charcoal Chimney. Oh....and Maybe some Texas SPG rub. Probably go good with Zombie Meat....

No pyramid? How are you going to protect all that stuff?

 

[Blues1]

I just bought a nice smoke tube from Amazon. Stainless and it is beautiful. Question: How do you get them to light really well? I seen where someone uses a propane torch?

Propane torch is absolutely the way to go. I've tried other ways without success. Put the torch to it for 45 seconds or so. It does take a hot flame to get it started, but once started correctly, it'll continue to burn and smoke really well. For me, nothing else would get hot enough for a good start.

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

No pyramid? How are you going to protect all that stuff?

IDK.....The Walther??

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

Propane torch is absolutely the way to go. I've tried other ways without success. Put the torch to it for 45 seconds or so. It does take a hot flame to get it started, but once started correctly, it'll continue to burn and smoke really well. For me, nothing else would get hot enough for a good start.

Thanks for Sharing! Looks Like Im getting a new one from Amazon very very soon!