SmokeFire Grease Fire: Who Has Had One? What Is One?

GriLLMaRksRseXy

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I have seen a lot of posts on our forum and even more elsewhere about grease fires and the Weber SmokeFire. It something that keeps coming back up over and over again and yet when I really try to dig in and find actual owners that have had grease fires there are very little that have posted about it or discussed it at all. Yes I have seen THE famous Youtube video and I guess the OTHER famous YouTube Video.

What I have seen A LOT of is people deciding not to purchase a SmokeFire and probably just as many deciding to return their unused or used SmokeFire due to the potential risks of a grease fire. I am totally good with that. To each their own. It is a free world and I love the fact we live in that world we can chose what we buy or not for what ever reason. That is not what this post is about. So what is this post about you ask? I want to know who has actually had a REAL grease fire in the SmokeFire. I also want to know who has had a REAL grease fire in ANY outdoor cooker. This is a forum and by definition of a forum it be a place to share our ideas, thoughts and experiences on the subject/products we are having a discussion about so ourselves and others can make educated decisions about what they are buying, cooking, etc.

So whats my ideas and thoughts?
  • I like Weber as most of you know but I am honest period and YES the design is flawed for grease mitigation on the SmokeFire. I did not engineer it but if I did did I would have went exactly opposite on the grease ports just for starters.
  • If you look at the design of most Weber gassers with flavorizer bars it is very similar around open flames and grease channels and ports. It may not be a wood fire but yes the gasser is still an open flame and that design has been with Weber for a long time. No secret they used this model again. Probably should have changed some things and "stole" some of the engineering of the cookers they bought from competitors when designing it but they did not.
  • Whats the definition of a grease fire in a grill? I think A LOT of people that do not have any experience with the SmokeFire (and maybe any grill) are posting about the risk of the SmokeFire having a grease fire are listening to others instead of making their own educated decisions. Simply Put, to me a grease fire is a fire that is caused by ignited cooking grease & fat that has pooled (and may also contain other flammable material such as dust, wood, leaves, charcoal, etc.) that lasts for a sustained period of time that causes extremely high temperatures and flames inside the grill cavity that has the real potential to destroy the food being cooked and damage the cooker. A real grease fire potentially poses a threat to life and property beyond the grill as flames may go beyond the grill and the structural integrity of the grill may fail. Even simpler definition.................IF the lid was closed the whole time and it destroyed my food or more, it was probably a grease fire. If I was opening the lid and saw the fire and close the lid and the fire extinguished before my food was destroyed and my grill was not damaged in anyway then it was not a grease fire.
  • So now I just got to ask..............How many has seen a REAL grease fire in their SmokeFire, Videos of a SmokeFire? How many has seen this in another outdoor cooker of any type?
  • My thoughts on the videos I have seen? Lets just say I like this forum and everyone here and wish to stay friends with everyone! If I am asked I would be glad to discuss... For now all I will say is there is a bunch of grills shown in one of those videos that have had grease fires from hundreds of users and the other one they really need to watch the video and question how well they applied what they did. It is clear there was some issues there to blame too if they really look at it..........
My Experiences of grease fires in grills:
  • Weber Kettles: YEP! had a few. NO damage to grills. Just shut the lid and killed the oxygen supply.
  • Genesis: YEP! My oldest one I had a real grease fire with flames shooting out of the vents on a long low and slow cook. Lessons learned.
  • Summit: YEP! Once on a low and slow and the other because of my own poor husbandry.
  • SmokeFire. Not yet and I have done general clean up just like I always do but I am def. not meticulous and have honestly just kind of let some things go just to see if it may happen. Nothing stupid. Just been purposely lazy. I think it could definitely happen though just like any other grill! I just have not had one happen yet.
  • Offset(s): YEP! Full Disclaimer.......All of them I have owned cost less than about $400 each but I have had a few small ones.
  • Charbroil/Brinkman: Had one almost burn to the ground we were using for a company cook. Seriously. I removed the propane tank as the paint on the legs of the grill was on fire. I was not the chef, I just saw what was happening on this one.
  • Kamodo: YEP! Low and Slow. Shut the lid and killed the Oxygen supply. NO damage to the grill.

SO what is YOUR Experiences?
 
I have seen a lot of posts on our forum and even more elsewhere about grease fires and the Weber SmokeFire. It something that keeps coming back up over and over again and yet when I really try to dig in and find actual owners that have had grease fires there are very little that have posted about it or discussed it at all. Yes I have seen THE famous Youtube video and I guess the OTHER famous YouTube Video.

What I have seen A LOT of is people deciding not to purchase a SmokeFire and probably just as many deciding to return their unused or used SmokeFire due to the potential risks of a grease fire. I am totally good with that. To each their own. It is a free world and I love the fact we live in that world we can chose what we buy or not for what ever reason. That is not what this post is about. So what is this post about you ask? I want to know who has actually had a REAL grease fire in the SmokeFire. I also want to know who has had a REAL grease fire in ANY outdoor cooker. This is a forum and by definition of a forum it be a place to share our ideas, thoughts and experiences on the subject/products we are having a discussion about so ourselves and others can make educated decisions about what they are buying, cooking, etc.

So whats my ideas and thoughts?
  • I like Weber as most of you know but I am honest period and YES the design is flawed for grease mitigation on the SmokeFire. I did not engineer it but if I did did I would have went exactly opposite on the grease ports just for starters.
  • If you look at the design of most Weber gassers with flavorizer bars it is very similar around open flames and grease channels and ports. It may not be a wood fire but yes the gasser is still an open flame and that design has been with Weber for a long time. No secret they used this model again. Probably should have changed some things and "stole" some of the engineering of the cookers they bought from competitors when designing it but they did not.
  • Whats the definition of a grease fire in a grill? I think A LOT of people that do not have any experience with the SmokeFire (and maybe any grill) are posting about the risk of the SmokeFire having a grease fire are listening to others instead of making their own educated decisions. Simply Put, to me a grease fire is a fire that is caused by ignited cooking grease & fat that has pooled (and may also contain other flammable material such as dust, wood, leaves, charcoal, etc.) that lasts for a sustained period of time that causes extremely high temperatures and flames inside the grill cavity that has the real potential to destroy the food being cooked and damage the cooker. A real grease fire potentially poses a threat to life and property beyond the grill as flames may go beyond the grill and the structural integrity of the grill may fail. Even simpler definition.................IF the lid was closed the whole time and it destroyed my food or more, it was probably a grease fire. If I was opening the lid and saw the fire and close the lid and the fire extinguished before my food was destroyed and my grill was not damaged in anyway then it was not a grease fire.
  • So now I just got to ask..............How many has seen a REAL grease fire in their SmokeFire, Videos of a SmokeFire? How many has seen this in another outdoor cooker of any type?
  • My thoughts on the videos I have seen? Lets just say I like this forum and everyone here and wish to stay friends with everyone! If I am asked I would be glad to discuss... For now all I will say is there is a bunch of grills shown in one of those videos that have had grease fires from hundreds of users and the other one they really need to watch the video and question how well they applied what they did. It is clear there was some issues there to blame too if they really look at it..........
My Experiences of grease fires in grills:
  • Weber Kettles: YEP! had a few. NO damage to grills. Just shut the lid and killed the oxygen supply.
  • Genesis: YEP! My oldest one I had a real grease fire with flames shooting out of the vents on a long low and slow cook. Lessons learned.
  • Summit: YEP! Once on a low and slow and the other because of my own poor husbandry.
  • SmokeFire. Not yet and I have done general clean up just like I always do but I am def. not meticulous and have honestly just kind of let some things go just to see if it may happen. Nothing stupid. Just been purposely lazy. I think it could definitely happen though just like any other grill! I just have not had one happen yet.
  • Offset(s): YEP! Full Disclaimer.......All of them I have owned cost less than about $400 each but I have had a few small ones.
  • Charbroil/Brinkman: Had one almost burn to the ground we were using for a company cook. Seriously. I removed the propane tank as the paint on the legs of the grill was on fire. I was not the chef, I just saw what was happening on this one.
  • Kamodo: YEP! Low and Slow. Shut the lid and killed the Oxygen supply. NO damage to the grill.

SO what is YOUR Experiences?
Right on point. I think the fires are avoidable and unavoidable. Understand your cooker and accommodate accordingly
 
I haven’t had a grease fire in my SmokeFire EX4. all of my cooks have been low temp but not very long. One 8 hour pork shoulder that left some grease in the cooker but not a lot. Most made it into the drip tray.

I’ve had a few small ones in the drip tray of my Genesis but small enough they burned out on their own. I moved the food over so only caused to be a little over done.

Worst grease fire l’ve seen was on a gas grill at a rental cabin that was due to the grill being in desperate need of cleaning.
 
I haven't had one either. I did use dry pans in the bottom when I did the brisket last weekend. And today I'm using water pans in the bottom under the butts and the ribs. Makes for an easier cleanup as well.
 
I did a 9 hourish pork butt in my ex-6 with no issues. Most grease made it into the trap, and the little bit in the barrel was easy to clean up afterwards.

Guess I've never had a real grease fire before. Not on an old Weber gasser, not on my wsm and not on my SmokeFire ex-6. Maybe I'm just lucky 😋
 
I think grease fires are a possibility with any smoker or gasser for that matter (I've had them on several). I also think grease fires with the Smokefire may be a little over blown. I'm aware of all the other problems, but I wonder how many satisfied customers there are compared to the unsatisfied customers. Could be like a lot of other things....the wrongs or mistakes are magnified and advertised, but when it comes to the good or happy customers, it's overlooked or under reported.
 
My approach to my EX6 is to be aware of everyone’s issues and posts, while also treating my grill like I would had I not seen/read everything bad.

With that, 6hr pork belly at 275 deg. No issues, no grease fire, no drip pan...

Grease catcher worked as designed.

and the belly was mmm mmm good!!
 

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If folks are determined to keep it (and I don't blame anyone for doing so) just watch it. Now that we are aware of the issues, just pay attention. Can't set it and forget it just yet. Stir the pellets, watch the drip pan, check temps fairly often, you'll be OK.
 
So far I have cooked at low temps some baby back ribs and pork tenderloins. At higher temps I have cooked chicken breasts, burgers, steaks, bratwurst, and veggies. Lots of grease dripping down from the steaks, burgers and brats but no grease fire!!! Also gotta say it was pretty easy to clean. So I haven’t done a pork butt or a brisket yet, but even when I do I think I will use a pan underneath, whether or not I was told to use one, past experience tells me it is easier to clean up, plus I guess it has the added benefit of no grease fire. Also one thing I have noticed is at low temps rarely do I see flames shooting out of the sides of the burn pot.... only if you leve the lid open for too long and it loses too much temp (like if someone was making a video and left it open for a few minutes) the fan will kick on to the higher speed to try and bring the temps back up. So leave the lid closed as much as possible, but even when I used the higher heat with the fan going faster and grease dripping down, so far no grease fire.
 
<snip>
SO what is YOUR Experiences?
[/QUOTE]

First pellet smoker for me. Here's my experience, so far ...
1st smoke: low & slow baby back ribs - came out GREAT, just had to push pellets into hopper feed. Subsequently cleaned grill grates & grease channels
2nd smoke: 6 Costco ready made burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out GREAT.
3rd smoke: Next day, did not clean internal grill - 6 more Costco burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out Great, but had a grease flare up that went out when I closed the lid.
For above, I used a 40 lb, ~$10 bag of pellets I found in Lowes. Note that Weber originally reported you can use any food pellet brands. This particular brand had a certain abount of wood powder.
4th smoke: low & slow boneless beef ribs - had 2-3 stop/start-up problems, possibly due to crappy peelets/wood powder. After 5 hours, ribs came out great.

It was getting toward Lowes return limit time, so I decided to document my 3 problems to Weber support. Weber is sending a hopper mod. Start/stop may be due to crappy pellets. Weber says a grease fire would generate an "error E5" on the controller display. Here's an excerpt that may be helpful here:

"Regarding your grease fires, what you are likely seeing is a momentary flare up, which is different than a sustained grease fire.
A sustained grease fire will typically raise the temperature inside of the grill to 700 degrees or more; a flare up will not raise the temperature in this manner. We take grilling safety very seriously, and we've engineered the Smoke Fire to automatically engage in a safety shut down in the rare event this were to happen. A sustained grease fire would trigger an E5 error code on your grill.
When cooking fattier foods on any type of grill, flare ups might occur as grease hits the heat source. We recommend the use of drip pans for longer cooks with all of our products, just like a smoker, charcoal, and gas grill.
Placement should be in between the flavorizer bars and the grates. This will capture excess grease and make cleaning up Smoke Fire easy.
Also, please remember to clean the grill after a low & slow cook."

I think I'll keep this thing. I just might be cautious and open to DIY mods. I'm also using drip pans because I think it's a design flaw to channel grease towards the firebox.
 
<snip>
SO what is YOUR Experiences?

First pellet smoker for me. Here's my experience, so far ...
1st smoke: low & slow baby back ribs - came out GREAT, just had to push pellets into hopper feed. Subsequently cleaned grill grates & grease channels
2nd smoke: 6 Costco ready made burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out GREAT.
3rd smoke: Next day, did not clean internal grill - 6 more Costco burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out Great, but had a grease flare up that went out when I closed the lid.
For above, I used a 40 lb, ~$10 bag of pellets I found in Lowes. Note that Weber originally reported you can use any food pellet brands. This particular brand had a certain abount of wood powder.
4th smoke: low & slow boneless beef ribs - had 2-3 stop/start-up problems, possibly due to crappy peelets/wood powder. After 5 hours, ribs came out great.

It was getting toward Lowes return limit time, so I decided to document my 3 problems to Weber support. Weber is sending a hopper mod. Start/stop may be due to crappy pellets. Weber says a grease fire would generate an "error E5" on the controller display. Here's an excerpt that may be helpful here:

"Regarding your grease fires, what you are likely seeing is a momentary flare up, which is different than a sustained grease fire.
A sustained grease fire will typically raise the temperature inside of the grill to 700 degrees or more; a flare up will not raise the temperature in this manner. We take grilling safety very seriously, and we've engineered the Smoke Fire to automatically engage in a safety shut down in the rare event this were to happen. A sustained grease fire would trigger an E5 error code on your grill.
When cooking fattier foods on any type of grill, flare ups might occur as grease hits the heat source. We recommend the use of drip pans for longer cooks with all of our products, just like a smoker, charcoal, and gas grill.
Placement should be in between the flavorizer bars and the grates. This will capture excess grease and make cleaning up Smoke Fire easy.
Also, please remember to clean the grill after a low & slow cook."

I think I'll keep this thing. I just might be cautious and open to DIY mods. I'm also using drip pans because I think it's a design flaw to channel grease towards the firebox.
[/QUOTE]

That last sentence is spot on!...channel grease towards the firebox.
 
<snip>
SO what is YOUR Experiences?

First pellet smoker for me. Here's my experience, so far ...
1st smoke: low & slow baby back ribs - came out GREAT, just had to push pellets into hopper feed. Subsequently cleaned grill grates & grease channels
2nd smoke: 6 Costco ready made burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out GREAT.
3rd smoke: Next day, did not clean internal grill - 6 more Costco burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out Great, but had a grease flare up that went out when I closed the lid.
For above, I used a 40 lb, ~$10 bag of pellets I found in Lowes. Note that Weber originally reported you can use any food pellet brands. This particular brand had a certain abount of wood powder.
4th smoke: low & slow boneless beef ribs - had 2-3 stop/start-up problems, possibly due to crappy peelets/wood powder. After 5 hours, ribs came out great.

It was getting toward Lowes return limit time, so I decided to document my 3 problems to Weber support. Weber is sending a hopper mod. Start/stop may be due to crappy pellets. Weber says a grease fire would generate an "error E5" on the controller display. Here's an excerpt that may be helpful here:

"Regarding your grease fires, what you are likely seeing is a momentary flare up, which is different than a sustained grease fire.
A sustained grease fire will typically raise the temperature inside of the grill to 700 degrees or more; a flare up will not raise the temperature in this manner. We take grilling safety very seriously, and we've engineered the Smoke Fire to automatically engage in a safety shut down in the rare event this were to happen. A sustained grease fire would trigger an E5 error code on your grill.
When cooking fattier foods on any type of grill, flare ups might occur as grease hits the heat source. We recommend the use of drip pans for longer cooks with all of our products, just like a smoker, charcoal, and gas grill.
Placement should be in between the flavorizer bars and the grates. This will capture excess grease and make cleaning up Smoke Fire easy.
Also, please remember to clean the grill after a low & slow cook."

I think I'll keep this thing. I just might be cautious and open to DIY mods. I'm also using drip pans because I think it's a design flaw to channel grease towards the firebox.
[/QUOTE]
What kind of drip pans are you using? Where are they placed?
 
First pellet smoker for me. Here's my experience, so far ...
1st smoke: low & slow baby back ribs - came out GREAT, just had to push pellets into hopper feed. Subsequently cleaned grill grates & grease channels
2nd smoke: 6 Costco ready made burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out GREAT.
3rd smoke: Next day, did not clean internal grill - 6 more Costco burgers and 8 hot dogs - came out Great, but had a grease flare up that went out when I closed the lid.
For above, I used a 40 lb, ~$10 bag of pellets I found in Lowes. Note that Weber originally reported you can use any food pellet brands. This particular brand had a certain abount of wood powder.
4th smoke: low & slow boneless beef ribs - had 2-3 stop/start-up problems, possibly due to crappy peelets/wood powder. After 5 hours, ribs came out great.

It was getting toward Lowes return limit time, so I decided to document my 3 problems to Weber support. Weber is sending a hopper mod. Start/stop may be due to crappy pellets. Weber says a grease fire would generate an "error E5" on the controller display. Here's an excerpt that may be helpful here:

"Regarding your grease fires, what you are likely seeing is a momentary flare up, which is different than a sustained grease fire.
A sustained grease fire will typically raise the temperature inside of the grill to 700 degrees or more; a flare up will not raise the temperature in this manner. We take grilling safety very seriously, and we've engineered the Smoke Fire to automatically engage in a safety shut down in the rare event this were to happen. A sustained grease fire would trigger an E5 error code on your grill.
When cooking fattier foods on any type of grill, flare ups might occur as grease hits the heat source. We recommend the use of drip pans for longer cooks with all of our products, just like a smoker, charcoal, and gas grill.
Placement should be in between the flavorizer bars and the grates. This will capture excess grease and make cleaning up Smoke Fire easy.
Also, please remember to clean the grill after a low & slow cook."

I think I'll keep this thing. I just might be cautious and open to DIY mods. I'm also using drip pans because I think it's a design flaw to channel grease towards the firebox.
What kind of drip pans are you using? Where are they placed?
[/QUOTE]
Welcome to the forum! Nice to have you here. It sounds like you had a flare up. A grease fire will definitely shoot the grill temp up past 600 if the lid is closed and it is sustained. I would not trust the engineering of the grill to throw an E5 error though....... As for the drip pans, I bought some small pans designed for cakes from walmart that were on clearance. They are steel. I think any of the cake pan ones would work well. I think they work best between the flavorizer bars and the grill grates but I have seen some people using pans below the flavorizer bars with good luck.
 

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