My SmokeFire EX6 Journey Updated: Contacted Weber

[FredSC]

I agree. I am pretty sure your right on point!

My Auger is REV D. I know this because it was easy to see the stickers when I assembled the grill and inserted the glow plug. So it is the old one. So weird I got to temp twice. I will tell you that on both of those times my temp did drop a lot and then came back up on the initial burn but on the second burn it dropped to around 575 for a few minutes but I didn't think much of it because I was just doing a quick burn off. It was the last time I saw 600...

I am waiting on Weber to contact me. I would assume and hope they send me the whole new auger assembly. I saw a post on here with a vid that clearly showed they got to 600 and there was no flame thrower to right....

I'm going to look at my auger today to see what revision it is. When it's in the 30s here I can't to get to 600 either. What was your outside temperature when you had the issues with getting to 600?

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

I'm going to look at my auger today to see what revision it is. When it's in the 30s here I can't to get to 600 either. What was your outside temperature when you had the issues with getting to 600?

I'm in Tallahassee, FL. It was 55 and dropping when I did my initial burn in and got to 600.
Yesterday it was 71 at lunch. I couldn't get past 525.

My controller did freeze up at initial burn in. I'm sure it got to 600 but I wonder if that was just the oils and residues burning off and the temp dropped but wasnt registering because I have never gotten to 600 again.

 

[MJP]

I have put in a few cooks since my weekend Rib Fest. USDA Prime Burgers, some Brats, Barbecue Chicken thighs (with skin of course! ) and I am doing some pork tenderloins tonight with smoked corn on the cob.

I did put a list together of real issues that I am having with my Smoke Fire and emailed Weber Support 2 days ago. I still have not had even an acknowledgment of receiving my email. I am sure they are busy but that has not been the course in the past. I will update my thread when they do.

A few new wrinkles:
-I have had a reoccurring issue of not being able to get the grill above the 525 range consistently. I originally thought my fire pot needed to be cleaned out but when I tore it all down it was almost completely empty. Even after cleaning everything up and wiping down the glow plug the best I can get within a 45 minute time frame in North Florida weather is about 540-550 regardless of which brand of pellet I use so something is going on. I was able to get to 600 during initial burn off and one other time the next day before I started test cooking but have had no luck since and I have checked everything.

-I have noticed partially unburned pellets sitting at the bottom of the auger assembly right before the pellet chute the last 2 times I tore the grill grill down for cleaning. I have always done the shut down procedure so something must be up with the controller since that should not be happening based on what I have seen the shut down procedure does. I have seen another post with pictures on here with the same issue.

-The fire pot heat deflector table.......Sorry I forgot to discuss this or post the pic after my initial burn in. As I stated in my OP, I completely cleaned all of the standard metal parts with brake cleaner to remove all oils and grease before burn in. There has been several posts from users commenting with pics above the "scale" type residue flaking off after using the cooker. One OP states they contacted Weber and were told this was oil and would continue to do this until it is all cooked off. Sorry everyone.. I call BS on this one! My pic is almost the same as everyone elses and I removed every speck of oil and grease from it. The scale is CLEARLY a silver metallic paint product period after inspecting it. Not a big deal but It pisses me off when any company states information that is totally inaccurate. Honestly, in my opinion, it should never had been on there because it burning off is just fine....whats not is when the flakes potentially clog up the grease mitigation ports of other customers grills that do not pay attention.
View attachment 295

The same thing happened with my firepot heat deflector. I removed the oil with brake cleaner as well (was that a mistake?). Now I have a "hole" top of the reflector .

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

The same thing happened with my firepot heat deflector. I removed the oil with brake cleaner as well (was that a mistake?). Now I have a "hole" top of the reflector .

I did NOT use the brake cleaner on my second one. It looks the same now as the one I did use the brake cleaner on. Exactly the same. I am not sure you got a hole but taking off the oil did not do it any harm.

 

[MJP]

I did NOT use the brake cleaner on my second one. It looks the same now as the one I did use the brake cleaner on. Exactly the same. I am not sure you got a hole but taking off the oil did not do it any harm.

I meant by "hole" that I got around 2" round area where the surface material peeled off. I hope it does not harm the fire pot on a long run (e.g. rust more easily)

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

I meant by "hole" that I got around 2" round area where the surface material peeled off. I hope it does not harm the fire pot on a long run (e.g. rust more easily)

Gotcha! I see what your saying now. I can tell you that once what ever they sprayed over the metal (and I am not talking about the oil. It is very obvious something was sprayed or baked onto the metal of that part) They will both rust the exact same.

 

[laketater]

My EX6 arrived in Tallahassee last night and R&L Delivered it early for me! I have couple of important work days so I wont be assembling for a day or so but I wanted to let everyone know I fully plan complete a series of posts regarding my initial performance findings and moving up to attempting to tackle each shortfall we have seen so far on the grill.

I plan on keeping mine. Why? 1. Full disclosure. I believe in Weber. If they do not make things right then I will jump ship and I am sure there will be other actionable courses to take in the future......... 2. I love to modify stuff and solve problems (Our wives probably call this "accessorizing.......")

Initial Thoughts So Far:
BBQGuys: WOW. Amazing. Shipped next day. Shipment was palletized, strapped and shrink wrapped better than any freight shipment I have received in awhile! Great job on chat and completed a very large order accurately.

R&L Carriers: Absolutely Perfect. Contacted me upon shipment on Valentines day from BBQGuys and estimated it would arrive after midnight last night and wanted to know if I wanted to have an early delivery instead of scheduling it for tomorrow if it really did arrive then. I said yes and they said they would call me within 30 minutes of delivery if they could get the shipment in when they thought would. I got a phone call today and within 30 minutes my grill was being unloaded into my garage from a very long driveway from a lift truck that I didn't have to pay for. Pallet was perfect. Not a dent, ding or tear to the boxes or even the shrink wrap.

My EX6:
Production Date: 11/12/2019 She was born on a Tuesday..............After Monday and well before Friday!
Serial Number: UD0046556. Oh Dear...... I was reading some posts about "early" production models having a bad controller that wont update and the serial numbers started with 8. Either Im looking at that info wrong or I have preproduction unit that is flawless like the ones demoed in Chicago!

Immediate plans during assembly:
Clean that grease of a mess heat deflector with brake cleaner. Those pics are pretty disgusting you guys. Will find out for sure if it is oil or something else...Stay tuned folks....
Apply UHMW "slick tape" to the metal surfaces of the pellet chute slopes and remove the "lawyer guard"
Level it completely. Because I am a little OCD but I really want a "level" playing field as I experiment with everything..

I, like you, really like Weber but this grill is really a POS. Had mine a couple months and have had a ton of problems. Sticking with it because I'm to stubborn to go elsewhere. Good luck!

 

[GriLLMaRksRseXy]

I, like you, really like Weber but this grill is really a POS. Had mine a couple months and have had a ton of problems. Sticking with it because I'm to stubborn to go elsewhere. Good luck!

Tater, You truly have caught me at a bad moment and I really need to vent and I am just as stubborn as you! Not at you though. I am trying SOOOO hard to stick with my 2nd SmokeFIre EX6 (My first one was obviously replaced.)
- I was told the 2nd one would operate "as the engineers designed it to." It came with a REV F Auger assembly and the pellet slide "enhancement" was shipped to me before I got my replacement and I installed it. It got to 600 degrees TWICE and thats it...Let alone the issues I have had since then.

I just got to say maybe this whole COVID 19 thing has me irritated but I am considered an "essential worker" and I am in upper management in my City for a very large company that deals with essential goods. There is no sit at home for me. Everyday for over a month going to work for me is a 14+ hour day, a 7 day work week and an unbelievable workload. It is literally like going to war or preparing for a tropical hurricane to hit daily and even when I am done for the day/night, the emails, texts and phone calls are non stop. I am not complaining about that at ALL. I love my job and what I do and my ability to serve my people and the community and the state of Florida & Georgia. What I AM saying is that I did not have much free time BEFORE all of this and now I have NO TIME hardly for anything but work, work, work. Lately I feel like Weber is wasting and taking away what little time I have outside of work for a couple of reasons.
-Obviously the issues we all have with our grills working.....Like tonight....I had failures to ignite TWICE in a row with Weber pellets on a CLEANED OUT Grill! I have now been waiting for 1:15 hours to get to 600 degrees to cook $80 worth of steaks for my family and I am currently at 470 degrees AND the APP FROZE so I have to walk to my grill just to see the actual temp. Also, last night and the night before I had issues starting my grill a couple of ways. BUT....What is REALLY a waste of my time that does not have to be is my latest request to Weber for a replacement part......................................Here is my issues with this:
-With ALL of my issues that I had been having with ignition, getting to temp, staying at temp with my old SmokeFire I was surprised to see that over a VERY short time (like I said above....I have been more busy than usual.) that I have been experiencing more issues with my new SmokeFire. I recently (2 days ago)I posted that I wanted the new Auger welded chute because I was not having issues but I felt that a totally new engineered part was what I should have for my SmokeFire so I sent a simple email on my ticket from my original SmokeFire Issues. As of those 2 days ago, I am having the same problems as before or worse so now I really need the part BUT here is what I was told by Weber:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

In order to verify if your grill would require a new chute, I would need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell me exactly what issues have you been having?

Have you received any error codes during the failed attempts?

What Firmware and Software version is currently installed on the grill?

Can you tell me approximately how many times have you been cooking on the grill?

What type of pellets are you using and are they evenly distributed in the hopper?

Can you empty the hopper and send a clear photo of the auger gasket, viewed from the hopper?

Can you also send a photo of the burn pot?

Thanks!





Sophie M

Weber Consumer Care Team

Weber-Stephen Products LLC

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To me that is TOTALLY BS. I do not have time to trouble shoot if I need the part or not. It is a brand new redesigned part to fix know problem(s) with your grill so you should send it to EVERYONE and NOBODY should have to jump through hoops to prove their problems! I did not have the time before and I definitely do not have the time now. I do not have the Luxury of sitting on my butt and having nothing but time on my hands to ask others to do things for me to make my job easier.

 

[Bruno]

Tater, You truly have caught me at a bad moment and I really need to vent and I am just as stubborn as you! Not at you though. I am trying SOOOO hard to stick with my 2nd SmokeFIre EX6 (My first one was obviously replaced.)
- I was told the 2nd one would operate "as the engineers designed it to." It came with a REV F Auger assembly and the pellet slide "enhancement" was shipped to me before I got my replacement and I installed it. It got to 600 degrees TWICE and thats it...Let alone the issues I have had since then.

I just got to say maybe this whole COVID 19 thing has me irritated but I am considered an "essential worker" and I am in upper management in my City for a very large company that deals with essential goods. There is no sit at home for me. Everyday for over a month going to work for me is a 14+ hour day, a 7 day work week and an unbelievable workload. It is literally like going to war or preparing for a tropical hurricane to hit daily and even when I am done for the day/night, the emails, texts and phone calls are non stop. I am not complaining about that at ALL. I love my job and what I do and my ability to serve my people and the community and the state of Florida & Georgia. What I AM saying is that I did not have much free time BEFORE all of this and now I have NO TIME hardly for anything but work, work, work. Lately I feel like Weber is wasting and taking away what little time I have outside of work for a couple of reasons.
-Obviously the issues we all have with our grills working.....Like tonight....I had failures to ignite TWICE in a row with Weber pellets on a CLEANED OUT Grill! I have now been waiting for 1:15 hours to get to 600 degrees to cook $80 worth of steaks for my family and I am currently at 470 degrees AND the APP FROZE so I have to walk to my grill just to see the actual temp. Also, last night and the night before I had issues starting my grill a couple of ways. BUT....What is REALLY a waste of my time that does not have to be is my latest request to Weber for a replacement part......................................Here is my issues with this:
-With ALL of my issues that I had been having with ignition, getting to temp, staying at temp with my old SmokeFire I was surprised to see that over a VERY short time (like I said above....I have been more busy than usual.) that I have been experiencing more issues with my new SmokeFire. I recently (2 days ago)I posted that I wanted the new Auger welded chute because I was not having issues but I felt that a totally new engineered part was what I should have for my SmokeFire so I sent a simple email on my ticket from my original SmokeFire Issues. As of those 2 days ago, I am having the same problems as before or worse so now I really need the part BUT here is what I was told by Weber:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,

Thank you for reaching out to us.

In order to verify if your grill would require a new chute, I would need to ask you a few questions. Can you tell me exactly what issues have you been having?

Have you received any error codes during the failed attempts?

What Firmware and Software version is currently installed on the grill?

Can you tell me approximately how many times have you been cooking on the grill?

What type of pellets are you using and are they evenly distributed in the hopper?

Can you empty the hopper and send a clear photo of the auger gasket, viewed from the hopper?

Can you also send a photo of the burn pot?

Thanks!





Sophie M

Weber Consumer Care Team

Weber-Stephen Products LLC

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

To me that is TOTALLY BS. I do not have time to trouble shoot if I need the part or not. It is a brand new redesigned part to fix know problem(s) with your grill so you should send it to EVERYONE and NOBODY should have to jump through hoops to prove their problems! I did not have the time before and I definitely do not have the time now. I do not have the Luxury of sitting on my butt and having nothing but time on my hands to ask others to do things for me to make my job easier.

Jesus man I can relate!! I work a tough job and spend good money on food for the family, it’s something I enjoy and makes it all worth it.
I haven’t had any disasters yet where I had to fire up a different grill but that is obviously my fear! That’s just unacceptable!
Thanks a lot for doing what your doing! I can’t defend Weber when meat goes to waist.

 

[abmet]

That sucks, they should be sending the welded chute to anyone that owns a SmokeFire and asks for it. I only had to reply to one of the emails I had from them asking for it and they sent out the same day. Not sure why they wouldn’t be consistent with that especially with the issues you’ve had already.

 

[JYD-BBQ]

I sent an email to Weber last week, they responded asking for some pictures of the chute and auger. The new parts arrived yesterday, hoping to install them over the weekend.