I'm Back!

GriLLMaRksRseXy · Jul 6, 2020

Hi My fellow Forum Members! 2020 has been a real crap show for me. First Covid 19; Being an essential worker put my work over everything.....Family, Friends, Grilling, everything. Then my house was hit by a tornado here in Florida and devastated our home. Then I had a freak accident and shattered my left arm ( I am left handed) and had immediate emergency surgery and have been in and out of cast for 2 months. Cast is now off but the only thing holding one of the bones together is a plate and 4 screws. Hopefully the bone will fill in and heal over the next 6 weeks but now that I am out of the cast I can actually Type so I am back!

My replacement Smokefire ex6 that I got back in early March, while it has not tried to catch on fire, it has been plagued with other issues and as of tonight will not even fire up after 5 attempts. I have a replacement welded auger and motor assembly but will need my wife to help me install it due to a 5lb weight limit on my arm and I still cannot twist my wrist at all. Once installed I will follow up and let you all know how it is going. Weber has been helpful, though a little slow and the first time they sent out the new auger and motor assembly, someone hilariously messed up and sent a small bag of wood chips instead of the replacement parts. They got it right the second time but I was not able to install it due to my arm being in a cast.

I look forward to getting everything up and running again and chatting with everyone!

Stay Safe and Smoke on!

abmet · Jul 6, 2020

Holy crap, you’ve had a rough one sorry to hear about your home and arm! Hopefully that EX6 will run smooth once you get the parts replaced and all firmware/software updates installed. Welcome back and hope the rest of the year is a lot better.

Dassman5 · Jul 7, 2020

What a trooper to fight through all of that and still serve as an essential worker during the pandemic.

Hopefully once the new parts are installed you will have nothing but clear sailing/smoking in your future. I was fortunate enough to have just purchased a new EX4, and during assembly discovered that all of the “fixes” you and others with early models fought for had already been supplied, including the stainless steel ramp and new revision F auger system.

So far after 5 sessions it has worked flawlessly, as I trust your unit will after the mods.!

Bluesmoke · Jul 7, 2020

I hope you have speedy recovery, sorry to hear the trouble you are having with your Smokefire. I just received on July 1 and knock on wood, the only issue I have had is the pellet ramp is too shallow, but I have to say Weber's customer service has been outstanding. The smoker has worked great for all my cooks so far.
Hopefully once you get the new auger installed you will be back up and running with no issues.

bbqking · Jul 7, 2020

Well that sounds like you have really been through the ringer this year...that being said, good luck with your SmokeFire. Once you get that baby up and going, it’s an easy and convenient way to grill/bbq with. Prayers for a speedy recovery.

GriLLMaRksRseXy · Jul 7, 2020

Thank You All for the good wishes! I appreciate that. As for the Smokefire, You guys know I am in it for the long haul. I am pretty sure the new auger and motor assembly will fix the ignition and temp drop/temp fail issues. You can literally hear the motor grinding around when it is actually working and since the update I can get to 600 again but then the motor quits turning completely. I am sure the auger will fix those issues. Then since I never got around to checking on any temperature fluctuations I am going to work on that and do what I can to mitigate.

On an other note....Anyone have a good recommendation on grill gazebo? The one that got DESTROYED in the tornado was an Aleko brand hard top 5x8 grill gazebo (though I do have to thank it for saving my Smokefires Life. Not a SINGLE scratch or dent on it!) It served its purpose but honestly for the money its parts alignment/quality and a bunch of bent parts makes me not really want to deal with it again. I keep looking at the SunJoy because it is cheap but the non hardtop and the fact the whole thing only weighs 87 pounds makes me a little nervous.

GriLLMaRksRseXy · Jul 7, 2020

abmet said:
Holy crap, you’ve had a rough one sorry to hear about your home and arm! Hopefully that EX6 will run smooth once you get the parts replaced and all firmware/software updates installed. Welcome back and hope the rest of the year is a lot better.

Thanks Man! And really though????????? I have been gone a few months and your tearing up the board with 440 posts!!!! J/K! Good Job Sir!

abmet · Jul 8, 2020

GriLLMaRksRseXy said:
Thanks Man! And really though????????? I have been gone a few months and your tearing up the board with 440 posts!!!! J/K! Good Job Sir!

I was just trying to make up for your absence with volume