New Searwood Owner

Mvogelsang · Jan 24, 2025

Just purchased a brand new Searwood XL.. I have always been a big proponent of Weber.

I was so excited to get home after it delivered already assembled from Ace Hardware. I was planning some great meal prep cooks for my pregnant wife and I. I was able to get the cooker into position and plugged it in.

Then the controller blinked a few errors, I got connected to my phone and was thinking it just needed to get filled with pellets. The controlled screen then went out and only the back light would light up.

I tried to reset it, I unplugged it, I took off the controller and unplugged it also. None of this fixed it. I then called customer service and we went through their steps to fix.

In the end, I have to get parts replaced they said. They will reach back out in a few days. This is so disheartening as I was so excited to get this unit. I am hoping it doesn't take to long to work through the issues and get up and going. I also hope that my experiences with the Searwood are much better going forward.

Tommy614 · Jan 25, 2025

Well, that’s a buzzkill. You may want to call Ace to see if they have a Searwood XL assembled on the floor. Ask them to exchange it. Once you get this issue sorted out you will love the grill. Good luck!

jharry33 · Jan 25, 2025

My Ace guy told me that Weber offered a 100 day "take it back period" mainly due to all the problems they had with Smoke Fire. I agree with Tommy614 - you shouldn't have to start off with a repaired unit

BeardedRetroGuy · Jan 25, 2025

Honestly, this is one of the reasons why I specifically asked my guys at Lowes to get me a unit IN THE BOX from the back. I took it home and put it together myself. I don't know how good the guys at Lowes are at following all directions and who knows how many people have put their hands on the display unit.
But if I have to open the box myself, I know everything inside is how Weber packaged it. And mine worked flawlessly from jump. I'm still learning how to cook stuff on it and learning how to clean the thing. I'm definitely taking a "it's clean enough now" attitude instead of spending hours scrubbing every square inch free of grease inside.

Mvogelsang · Jan 26, 2025

Alright guys!
Actually Ace Hardware was great. This unit, wasn't a floor unit but they came and took it back and fixed it. The controller was pad on the unit, they replaced with a new one and brought the grill back.

I did my first cook today with some pork butt's for pulled pork. Ran a little hot at 275F for 9 hours. I also wrapped them at 170 or so.

The smoke flavor was very mild, though the cook was great.

Next time I'll try the smokeboost feature, drop my temps to 225-250 range, maybe wrap a little later (if at all) to get better bark. This should all help improve the cook. Oh and need to inject my bigger pork butt's to get better flavor penetration.

Tommy614 · Jan 26, 2025

Well, that’s a buzzkill. You may want to call Ace to see if they have a Searwood XL assembled on the floor. Ask them to exchange it. Once you get this issue sorted out you will love the grill. Good luck

Mvogelsang said:
Alright guys!
Actually Ace Hardware was great. This unit, wasn't a floor unit but they came and took it back and fixed it. The controller was pad on the unit, they replaced with a new one and brought the grill back.

I did my first cook today with some pork butt's for pulled pork. Ran a little hot at 275F for 9 hours. I also wrapped them at 170 or so.

The smoke flavor was very mild, though the cook was great.

Next time I'll try the smokeboost feature, drop my temps to 225-250 range, maybe wrap a little later (if at all) to get better bark. This should all help improve the cook. Oh and need to inject my bigger pork butt's to get better flavor penetration.