HOT! Ex 4 caught fire

[Bruno]

Photo of issue, Once the low fuel notice comes on and then more pellets are added, the glow plug seems to shut off, but the pellets continue to dump, then when the glow plug turns back on….Fire!

no grease. Grill was very clean. It seems to be a software issue triggered by low pellets. When new pellets are added, it dumps to many pellets in the pot without the glow plug being on. Then when the glow plug comes on, there’s too much fuel in the pot.

That sucks! I don’t like everyone making excuses for this like it’s no big deal. This should NOT be happening to an updated SF with the new welded auger. My patience with this stuff is gone so I don’t know what updates this guy did or didn’t do. If you are not 100% updated on app and SmokeFire, using Weber pellets with the new auger you are asking for trouble.
I’m just lucky like many of you I have had such limited issues it’s hard to relate to these threads.
Good luck!!

 

[traderjohnj]

I had

My smokefire sent a message that the temperature was dropping. I was cooking at 325 and it had dropped to 225. I moved the pellets around and the next time I checked the grill, it was smoking like crazy. As I approached it, there was a small explosion inside the grill and the lid lifted a bit and then slammed down. The grill was now on fire and took a fire extinguisher to put out.

I’ve got to return this Grill as this low temperature issue has now occurred 3 times, but this time it ended in a fire.

When I checked the burn pot after the fire was put out, it was full of pellets. I throughly cleaned the grill prior to this cook and had a drip pan under the salmon I was cooking.

After the fire settled, I noted that the fire pot was completely full of charred pellets and unburned pellets were outside the burn pot as well. It appears that the unit started dumping pellets faster than they could burn.

I really liked the grill and hate to start over, but I can’t trust this not to catch fire on me.

I had the exact same experience. Just upgraded with all new parts to gen 2, but I have low expectations. Plan to upgrade to Trager. Word is out on these grills. Aftermarket to sell is nonexistent.

 

[Largesensfan]

My smokefire sent a message that the temperature was dropping. I was cooking at 325 and it had dropped to 225. I moved the pellets around and the next time I checked the grill, it was smoking like crazy. As I approached it, there was a small explosion inside the grill and the lid lifted a bit and then slammed down. The grill was now on fire and took a fire extinguisher to put out.

I’ve got to return this Grill as this low temperature issue has now occurred 3 times, but this time it ended in a fire.

When I checked the burn pot after the fire was put out, it was full of pellets. I throughly cleaned the grill prior to this cook and had a drip pan under the salmon I was cooking.

After the fire settled, I noted that the fire pot was completely full of charred pellets and unburned pellets were outside the burn pot as well. It appears that the unit started dumping pellets faster than they could burn.

I really liked the grill and hate to start over, but I can’t trust this not to catch fire on me.

Get rid of it my ex6 was my worst purchase

 

[ForestDi56]

My smokefire sent a message that the temperature was dropping. I was cooking at 325 and it had dropped to 225. I moved the pellets around and the next time I checked the grill, it was smoking like crazy. As I approached it, there was a small explosion inside the grill and the lid lifted a bit and then slammed down. The grill was now on fire and took a fire extinguisher to put out.

I’ve got to return this Grill as this low temperature issue has now occurred 3 times, but this time it ended in a fire.

When I checked the burn pot after the fire was put out, it was full of pellets. I throughly cleaned the grill prior to this cook and had a drip pan under the salmon I was cooking.

After the fire settled, I noted that the fire pot was completely full of charred pellets and unburned pellets were outside the burn pot as well. It appears that the unit started dumping pellets faster than they could burn.

I really liked the grill and hate to start over, but I can’t trust this not to catch fire on me.

I’ve not had the temp cooling problem but I’ve seen the temp increase and then cool off. However, in order to get MY grill to work properly and to start each time, I have to take out the grates, the guard and clean any lingering pellets in the fire box which isn’t happening as much as it used to. Then I use a brush to dust off the glow plug and make Sure it’s seated. Then I brush the ash out of the bottom of the cook box. And THEN, if it’s cold outside, I warm the fire box and plug with a fire starter before I turn it on. And I don’t assemble anything until I see it’s smoking. If it doesn’t start to smoke when I think it should I will catch the pellets filling the firebox in a can and if it still won’t light, I do the shut down process. Which takes 20-25 min vs the 15 the book says. I do the every time. When I don’t it doesn’t work. When I do, it works just fine. A bit too finicky for what I thought I was paying for but I’m committed now so I’m just babying it.

 

[catpowered]

That sucks! I don’t like everyone making excuses for this like it’s no big deal. This should NOT be happening to an updated SF with the new welded auger. My patience with this stuff is gone so I don’t know what updates this guy did or didn’t do. If you are not 100% updated on app and SmokeFire, using Weber pellets with the new auger you are asking for trouble.
I’m just lucky like many of you I have had such limited issues it’s hard to relate to these threads.
Good luck!!

I've had similar issues as to what you have on your EX4. Mine was an EX6. I still have it but really don't use it at all now. It just hasn't been very reliable. It's been updated, new software, new parts and it's still not trust worthy of times. This year's Thanksgiving turkey is now being done on a Summit Charcoal instead of the Smokefire. We are going to have a good turkey for Thanksgiving. Weber was good to me through the process. It wasn't fun ruining cook after cook. Last years turkey on the Smokefire ended with a big fire!

 

[EasyE]

My smokefire sent a message that the temperature was dropping. I was cooking at 325 and it had dropped to 225. I moved the pellets around and the next time I checked the grill, it was smoking like crazy. As I approached it, there was a small explosion inside the grill and the lid lifted a bit and then slammed down. The grill was now on fire and took a fire extinguisher to put out.

I’ve got to return this Grill as this low temperature issue has now occurred 3 times, but this time it ended in a fire.

When I checked the burn pot after the fire was put out, it was full of pellets. I throughly cleaned the grill prior to this cook and had a drip pan under the salmon I was cooking.

After the fire settled, I noted that the fire pot was completely full of charred pellets and unburned pellets were outside the burn pot as well. It appears that the unit started dumping pellets faster than they could burn.

I really liked the grill and hate to start over, but I can’t trust this not to catch fire on me.

Had the temp drop thing happen to me once. It turned out to be a lot of pellet dust that formed into a log like piece covering the burn plate over the glow plug not allowing full pellets to burn. But it only happened once. I clean my SF6 almost everytime I do a cook just to make sure I don’t have issues. I purchased a small Shop Vac just to use on my SF. It does a great job keeping the burn cup clear as well as other parts of the smoker. Don’t give up. Also good to try to keep as much pellet dust out of the hopper when filling.

 

[Differentdrummer]

Trying to figure out what exploded? Smoldering pellets?

Fuel was starved of oxygen from over feeding after a likely void.

 

[Differentdrummer]

Photo of issue, Once the low fuel notice comes on and then more pellets are added, the glow plug seems to shut off, but the pellets continue to dump, then when the glow plug turns back on….Fire!

no grease. Grill was very clean. It seems to be a software issue triggered by low pellets. When new pellets are added, it dumps to many pellets in the pot without the glow plug being on. Then when the glow plug comes on, there’s too much fuel in the pot.

Yeah except the glow plug doesn’t come back on until the next initial start up. The glow plug is off after its initial start up sequence.

 

[PatrickB]

Yeah except the glow plug doesn’t come back on until the next initial start up. The glow plug is off after its initial start up sequence.

This makes sense. I understand how the fire started now. I had turned the temperature up after adjusting the pellets. That’s why the glow plug turned back on. Unknown to me, the pot was full of pellets.

 

[Goneincognito]

This makes sense. I understand how the fire started now. I had turned the temperature up after adjusting the pellets. That’s why the glow plug turned back on. Unknown to me, the pot was full of pellets.

It doesnt. Unless you run the shutdown process then the startup process, the glow plug will NOT come back on.... Ever.

 

[Mark.B]

My smokefire sent a message that the temperature was dropping. I was cooking at 325 and it had dropped to 225. I moved the pellets around and the next time I checked the grill, it was smoking like crazy. As I approached it, there was a small explosion inside the grill and the lid lifted a bit and then slammed down. The grill was now on fire and took a fire extinguisher to put out.

I’ve got to return this Grill as this low temperature issue has now occurred 3 times, but this time it ended in a fire.

When I checked the burn pot after the fire was put out, it was full of pellets. I throughly cleaned the grill prior to this cook and had a drip pan under the salmon I was cooking.

After the fire settled, I noted that the fire pot was completely full of charred pellets and unburned pellets were outside the burn pot as well. It appears that the unit started dumping pellets faster than they could burn.

I really liked the grill and hate to start over, but I can’t trust this not to catch fire on me.

Curious, what brand of pellets were you using? Also, you really need to clean it after each use. No joke.

 

[PatrickB]

It doesnt. Unless you run the shutdown process then the startup process, the glow plug will NOT come back on.... Ever.

 

[PatrickB]

Thanks for clarifying this. I understand the mechanics of the issue now. The hopper is the culprit in my “very uneducated”opinion. Starvation of pellets to the fire pit never ends well and the software is not responding in an appropriate manner to prevent a fire once the pellets start to flow again and there are only smoldering embers in the fire pot.

Seems if Weber would redesign the hopper, this issue could be marginalized.

 

[Goneincognito]

Thanks for clarifying this. I understand the mechanics of the issue now. The hopper is the culprit in my “very uneducated”opinion. Starvation of pellets to the fire pit never ends well and the software is not responding in an appropriate manner to prevent a fire once the pellets start to flow again and there are only smoldering embers in the fire pot.

Seems if Weber would redesign the hopper, this issue could be marginalized.

Thats about it... It is a common issue so if you do a search you may be able to get some advice. Also talk to Weber ASAP. Something is at play if it happens this early into a cook.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Fuel was starved of oxygen from over feeding after a likely void.

And it exploded under those environmental conditions? I’m just far too skeptical of internet issues. I’ve cooked on pellet grills for years and years. I’ve seen plenty of problems from a variety of brands personally and indirectly, but I have to be convinced of something reported on the internet that doesn’t make sense to me. I can see some aspects of the reported issue happening, but not all of them and not as reported. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I automatically default to a defensive posture about many of these things if they don’t quite add up.

Oh well, good luck trying to solve this one.