How’s inside of your SmokeFire?

[MeBuff8Fan]

I have a version 1 EX6 that I received on 2/11/20. As I was cleaning it yesterday, I noticed that the flavoriser hangers and main heat deflector had rusted badly. Weber's CS has been great and has already sent replacements, but I'm a little worried about overall durability here..

Just found this forum and happy to be here. I was an early adopter and received my EX6 at the beginning of Feb 2020. I just sent a warranty request for the same rusting issue. I haven't heard back yet but he part that supports the flavor bars has almost rusted to the point that the big, center bar won't stay up. I use my SF a few times a week generally. It's covered when not in use and it gets scraped after every 5-10 hours of cooking (depending on ash buildup in the bottom). Hopefully the replacement parts are made differently.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Mine are also rusted

 

[Dassman5]

Just found this forum and happy to be here. I was an early adopter and received my EX6 at the beginning of Feb 2020. I just sent a warranty request for the same rusting issue. I haven't heard back yet but he part that supports the flavor bars has almost rusted to the point that the big, center bar won't stay up. I use my SF a few times a week generally. It's covered when not in use and it gets scraped after every 5-10 hours of cooking (depending on ash buildup in the bottom). Hopefully the replacement parts are made differently.

Following…mine shows only minimal rust, but Weber’s response is of interest.

 

[MeBuff8Fan]

Over the weekend I finally heard back from Weber. They requested photos of the affected parts so I sent photos of all four parts. On Monday I received this:

"Thank you for your reply. I've got the needed parts on the way. We typically recommend replacing them when they rust through or burn through."

I haven't received a shipping notification but at least I know they're being replaced.

 

[abmet]

Weber replaced my front flavorizer shelf few months ago and now the back one has started to flake off chucks of rusted metal. They are shipping out replacement as well just waiting in on shipment notificaiton.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Filed a warranty claim with pics on weber web page. 5 days later they replied and and are sending all new parts. All flavorizer bars, the flavorizer support brackets and the box that sits over the firepit. Kinda concerning that all internals need replaced in 1.5yr.

 

[JpsBBQ]

Filed a warranty claim with pics on weber web page. 5 days later they replied and and are sending all new parts. All flavorizer bars, the flavorizer support brackets and the box that sits over the firepit. Kinda concerning that all internals need replaced in 1.5yr.

Do they really need replaced or are they just rusty or used? Let me know when they actually rust through.

 

[SillyRabbit]

Do they really need replaced or are they just rusty or used? Let me know when they actually rust through

They are not in dire need of replacement. Worse damage is the flavorizer holder brackets. The have rusted though and the ends of that support the large flavorizer have rusted away. I imagine all of these item could make it another 3-6 month before "needing" replacement. I was already contacting them about a controller issue (grill quite feeding pellets and turned off fan twice during a brisket cook with no warning or signs of an issue), so I threw in the pic and asked about replacement.

The majority of my cooking on this grill has been reverse searing. I wonder if the high temps are the cause of the problem. I do smoke ribs, shoulder, briskets.... low and slow also, but find 1-3 time a week I use it for reverse searing steak.

The large flavorized bar lost it's coating and has large patches of rust, but it hasn't rusted through. I sent them this pic and they sent me the large one and the 4 small ones. The small ones are fine though.

The box that sets directly over the fire is warped and failing. The feet are thin and brittle and about to fall off.

 

[vckiter]

They are stainless per mfg, yes, but there is a small amount of ferrous content for them to have rusted. Try taking a magnet to them? If it barely sticks, low iron. If it sticks tight, they are low grade SS.
FWIW, True (surgical and food grade) Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat compared to, say, cast iron or mild steel.

As a CNC guy, Chinese stainless steel is shit. Word to your momma.