Best Pellets for the Weber SmokeFire

[AlexJ]

Get out to your local Lowes I just picked up 7 bags at $10 each, last year I bought 20 at 1/2 off. Weber grillmaster blend is GREAT stuff!!View attachment 4639

Whattttttttt? Why on sale??

 

[AlexJ]

Lowe's Union City, CA , will deliver for free. Not sure what minimum order is though.

Dang, not on sale anymore!!!

 

[MrPhilGrillTX]

I've used Weber, B&B (from Academy), and am working on a bag of Sam's Club pellets (noticeably larger diameter, but shorter in length). Have had no issues with any of them. Next time I am buying, I intend to try some of the lumberjack.

The Weber aren't on sale at the local Lowe's here, and I'm not sure I've ever seen them on sale here. The closest store seems to not have many of that brand.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Hard to believe its a controller issue on two separate grills 80 miles apart?

I assume you removed the stupid wire guard that is really the only reason you’d have an issue. If you start with plenty of pellets, the thing works just fine. If you are experiencing constant bridging with the wire guard removed I’m a bit confused. Either you keep an unusually small amount of pellets in the hopper or you have the wire guard still in place. Huh. Good luck.

 

[Craig Lares]

I assume you removed the stupid wire guard that is really the only reason you’d have an issue. If you start with plenty of pellets, the thing works just fine. If you are experiencing constant bridging with the wire guard removed I’m a bit confused. Either you keep an unusually small amount of pellets in the hopper or you have the wire guard still in place. Huh. Good luck.

The wire guards have been removed on both units since soon after I bought them. I keep the hopper pretty full. It's not either of those reasons.

 

[rexster314]

After two years with my TWO EX6 units (one at home, one at the cabin) I continue to experience pellet starvation from time to time. I exclusively use Weber pellets. I'm doing a cook, then part of the way through the grill temperature goes down far below where I've set it at and won't recover for a long time- even with me stirring the pellets by hand in the hopper. Instead of cooking something in 15 minutes at 450, I end up having to cook it at 360 for longer and it doesn't turn out like it would at 450. AND, the timing of the meal is screwed up- the veggies and sides are done and waiting for the delayed meat on the grill. Has Weber ever owned up to this defect and provided a REAL solution? My wife keeps telling me to toss both units and buy something that works every time.

Have you removed the finger guard wire from the pellet hopper?

 

[JpsBBQ]

Have you removed the finger guard wire from the pellet hopper?

I see from earlier comments that he’s replaced an extraordinary amount of glow plugs too. I’m gonna assume his issues are assembly related or user error of some sort. If not he should have returned them long ago and just bought two different ones. Makes no sense at all.

 

[Goneincognito]

Agreed.. something is seriously wrong if a 15min cook fails. To me that sounds like incorrect assembly or hardware (possible seal) failure which given there age is where I would be looking.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Or we aren’t really getting the whole or real story. It is the internet and I know from in person problem solving, getting the proper information is very difficult. Multiply that times 1000 on the web. No offense meant to OP, just a general observation of life.

 

[Goneincognito]

Or we aren’t really getting the whole or real story. It is the internet and I know from in person problem solving, getting the proper information is very difficult. Multiply that times 1000 on the web. No offense meant to OP, just a general observation of life.

I just went back through the OP's message history and this was what I was able to surmise...
Gen1 units (going from time of purchase)
Assembled by store
Issues upon delivery (incorrect assembly or part movement in transit suspected but not confirmed which)
Prior issues maintaining temp with inferior pellets
Some issues experienced after unit exposed to rain
No mention of Gen2 parts installed
No mention of seeking guidance from Weber
No mention of maintenance routine
100+ cooks between the units as of Nov 2020

Given all that, my previous comment about incorrect assembly or age / usage degradation stands.
Especially if they are Gen1 and have not had the upgraded parts installed.
For example...
Gen1 auger assembly failure.
The seal between the firebox and ash draw has failed due to usage and age.
The glow plug failure could and is most likely (given how many) a bad connection which can be resolved with a hose clamp.

 

[Differentdrummer]

After two years with my TWO EX6 units (one at home, one at the cabin) I continue to experience pellet starvation from time to time. I exclusively use Weber pellets. I'm doing a cook, then part of the way through the grill temperature goes down far below where I've set it at and won't recover for a long time- even with me stirring the pellets by hand in the hopper. Instead of cooking something in 15 minutes at 450, I end up having to cook it at 360 for longer and it doesn't turn out like it would at 450. AND, the timing of the meal is screwed up- the veggies and sides are done and waiting for the delayed meat on the grill. Has Weber ever owned up to this defect and provided a REAL solution? My wife keeps telling me to toss both units and buy something that works every time.

The REAL solution? Pull the motor/auger and clear all of the pellet dust that has compacted on the auger.
Not totally preventable but vacuuming the hopper when empty, down to the auger does decrease frequency of pulling and cleaning.

 

[JpsBBQ]

The REAL solution? Pull the motor/auger and clear all of the pellet dust that has compacted on the auger.
Not totally preventable but vacuuming the hopper when empty, down to the auger does decrease frequency of pulling and cleaning.

I have vacuumed mine out once. When I changed the auger out to the gen 2 welded auger. Easily 200-300 cooks. I wonder how everyone starts up their Smokefire. I leave the lid open until I get some decent smoke billowing and then I close the lid. What does everyone else do?

 

[MrPhilGrillTX]

I have vacuumed mine out once. When I changed the auger out to the gen 2 welded auger. Easily 200-300 cooks. I wonder how everyone starts up their Smokefire. I leave the lid open until I get some decent smoke billowing and then I close the lid. What does everyone else do?

I set the temp and clean the nugget from the firebox, and then scrape excess ash and such into the tray, sometimes before I start it, but lately after. I generally close the lid when I'm done cleaning tho.

 

[Craig Lares]

The REAL solution? Pull the motor/auger and clear all of the pellet dust that has compacted on the auger.
Not totally preventable but vacuuming the hopper when empty, down to the auger does decrease frequency of pulling and cleaning.

I'll give that a try. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Goneincognito]

The REAL solution? Pull the motor/auger and clear all of the pellet dust that has compacted on the auger.
Not totally preventable but vacuuming the hopper when empty, down to the auger does decrease frequency of pulling and cleaning.

I wouldn't go as far as saying that it is the solution to the problem but it is defiantly something to throw into your maintenance routine.
Takes about 5min take out, clean and replace the auger.
I go it every couple of weeks.