Poor performance and reliability. Not good for cold weather so far.

[JpsBBQ]

So, because of the legs of my smoker being frozen onto my deck (feet are encased in snow/ice until spring), I don't really want to change the thermocouple I recieved from Weber out until spring. What I have noticed, is that sometime since the last software upgrade, the machine powers down the display sometime after shutdown without having to flick the switch on the bottom of the unit. I'm not sure how long after shutdown it turns off the panel display, but it does, and this behaviour is new. After living with the software upgrades for a few more cooks, I'm somewhat convinced it is just sampling the temps more often after a temp change has been entered. Seems common to drop up to 100 degrees before it starts working its way back up to the new called for higher temperature.

I’m not sure but you might be in to something. Mine has continued to improve with each subsequent cook since the update.

 

[MackeyC34]

Yeah, mine looks like that. I’m pretty sure everyone will see theirs in this condition soon enough. That one should last another few years though. I’d save the new one until you have to change it.

So, I'm going out on a limb here and bring this up for conversation. Rust-Oleum makes a Ceramic Coating High Heat spray paint good for up to 2000 degrees F. It seems to be targeted for automobile exhaust system application, but I wonder if it might be something we could use. The curing instructions are quite involved and require high heat but well within what SF can deliver. Clearly we don't want to do anything that would void the warranty but looking at resinears picture I thought I'd toss this out for consideration.

 

[Goneincognito]

View attachment 5030

Hit it with a wire brush and will come up almost as good as new.
Apart from that one leg, it looks to be mostly surface rust.
Keep using it and save the other one.

 

[Bruno]

So, I'm going out on a limb here and bring this up for conversation. Rust-Oleum makes a Ceramic Coating High Heat spray paint good for up to 2000 degrees F. It seems to be targeted for automobile exhaust system application, but I wonder if it might be something we could use. The curing instructions are quite involved and require high heat but well within what SF can deliver. Clearly we don't want to do anything that would void the warranty but looking at resinears picture I thought I'd toss this out for consideration.

I wouldn’t cook over a painted surface like that.

 

[MackeyC34]

I wouldn’t cook over a painted surface like that.

You have a point but if it were a true ceramic then would it be anything different than cooking on a porcelain coated grill grate -yes? Perhaps if Weber were to porcelain coat those burner parts like the do the flavorizers (some models) and the grill grates. Anyway was just a brain fart.

 

[MackeyC34]

Ok - GRRRRRRRRR!
SF let me down tonight. I am committed to SF but tonight it threw me a curve. No issues whatsoever for the past several months. Tonight - went out to fire it up for a simple cook on a stuffed chicken breast. Dialed in 350 and waited. No heat but pellets starting to pile up. I put it in shut down mode and fired up my E-330. SF Pellets continued to pile up while in shutdown (I truly don't understand the 'shutdown mode' logic - why shove more pellets in????).
Anyway - I suspect a failed igniter and I have 2 spares that came with the unit (a subtle message perhaps?) so I'll look into that tomorrow But when you announce, "the food will be ready at X-o'clock", it's not fun to go back and say "oops - might be a little longer".
As far as I know I'm up to date on the software and I'll check that out as part of trying to figure out how to get back to the SF that was working so well. Disappointing especially when others are depending on the result. Not giving up on SF but I would like to know WTF happened.

 

[Bruno]

Ok - GRRRRRRRRR!
SF let me down tonight. I am committed to SF but tonight it threw me a curve. No issues whatsoever for the past several months. Tonight - went out to fire it up for a simple cook on a stuffed chicken breast. Dialed in 350 and waited. No heat but pellets starting to pile up. I put it in shut down mode and fired up my E-330. SF Pellets continued to pile up while in shutdown (I truly don't understand the 'shutdown mode' logic - why shove more pellets in????).
Anyway - I suspect a failed igniter and I have 2 spares that came with the unit (a subtle message perhaps?) so I'll look into that tomorrow But when you announce, "the food will be ready at X-o'clock", it's not fun to go back and say "oops - might be a little longer".
As far as I know I'm up to date on the software and I'll check that out as part of trying to figure out how to get back to the SF that was working so well. Disappointing especially when others are depending on the result. Not giving up on SF but I would like to know WTF happened.

Definitely no fun when people want to eat.

 

[MackeyC34]

A little update on my GRRRRR post. I vacuumed out all the pellets from the pot. Pulled and replaced the glow plug and it fired right up. Not sure what the problem was (which is a little concerning) but I'm back in business for the time being. Is there a way to test these plugs?

 

[JpsBBQ]

A little update on my GRRRRR post. I vacuumed out all the pellets from the pot. Pulled and replaced the glow plug and it fired right up. Not sure what the problem was (which is a little concerning) but I'm back in business for the time being. Is there a way to test these plugs?

Really make sure the glow plug is properly seated. It’s fairly difficult to get it fully seated and snapped into place. If it’s not fully seated it may still work for a while until it shorts out or disengages completely. I’ve never changed mine in two years but I distinctly remember telling my wife how I thought this connection could be an issue for people. I remember initially thinking it was seated but rechecking it to find out it wasn’t. It took me considerable effort and pressure for me to get it in place. I think they are also adjustable but I felt mine was protruding properly. Good luck. Just my 2cents. Probably only worth a penny though.

 

[MackeyC34]

Really make sure the glow plug is properly seated. It’s fairly difficult to get it fully seated and snapped into place. If it’s not fully seated it may still work for a while until it shorts out or disengages completely. I’ve never changed mine in two years but I distinctly remember telling my wife how I thought this connection could be an issue for people. I remember initially thinking it was seated but rechecking it to find out it wasn’t. It took me considerable effort and pressure for me to get it in place. I think they are also adjustable but I felt mine was protruding properly. Good luck. Just my 2cents. Probably only worth a penny though.

Hmmm - good info. It 'seemed' to snap into place rather easily but since you mentioned it took some effort I wonder if I actually did get it completely seated. Easy enough to pull out and check. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

[Dalwhinnie]

Really make sure the glow plug is properly seated. It’s fairly difficult to get it fully seated and snapped into place. If it’s not fully seated it may still work for a while until it shorts out or disengages completely. I’ve never changed mine in two years but I distinctly remember telling my wife how I thought this connection could be an issue for people. I remember initially thinking it was seated but rechecking it to find out it wasn’t. It took me considerable effort and pressure for me to get it in place. I think they are also adjustable but I felt mine was protruding properly. Good luck. Just my 2cents. Probably only worth a penny though.

I agree after 2 months if use my SF did the same thing during a cook. I changed the glow plug and everything was back to normal then the next day I thought I'd try the old plug and lo and behold it worked and has been working ever since

 

[hshim]

I had a similar issue with the fluctuating temps in the cold. They sent me out a new thermocoupler and , fingers crossed, the last couple of cooks were better. We’ll see

 

[abmet]

I put a SS hose clamp like this pic on mine based on another users idea.

 

[hshim]

Hi folks, looking for some advice and find information on whether or not the performance of my EX4 ver2 is normal.

This is my 3rd smoker: 1st being a small Traegar, 2nd a much larger Louisiana Grills, and now the Weber. I've owned it for 4 months, and initially was very impressed with it's wireless control and ability to quickly reach temperature and maintain a pretty stable low and slow profile. I also like to do a reverse sear on my steaks, and therefore want to be able to fire the smoker up to high temperatures.

The weather has turned cold here, (minus 25 C) and I barbecue or smoke all year around. Prior to the cold snap, I received fan errors, and the unit would shut down prior to lighting, even though the existing fan appeared to be working fine. Weber customer service sent me a new fan which I installed, and that issue appears to have been solved. Two nights ago, I wanted to do a bull beef tenderloin, doing a reverse sear. I fired up the Weber and did a preheat to 250 degrees. Sometime after putting the whole tenderloin on the smoker, I received a message via my phone that the smoker was shutting down due to a firmware update. This effectively put my cook schedule way behind, but oh well. After removing the roast, the machine cycled a number of times where I received messages that the update was complete. I did, however, have to restart the whole process several times and on the last attempt (where I was attempting to get the grill to max temperature), the unit seemed stalled at 180 degrees, even though the controller was calling for a temperature of 600. It was bloody cold out, but not windy. I can't understand why the unit would not be feeding pellets to the lit firebox in response to the higher heat request. I did a shut down and re-start of the system and had similar issues, where it never did reach the called temperature, while feeding of pellets had stopped. Fresh pellets, clean firebox, no probes attached.

Any suggestions?

Had a similar issue with fluctuating temps in the cold weather. Not sure I believe the size thing with the pellets; the main players, Pit Boss, Traeger and Weber all seem to have about the same quality pellets to me. They sent me a new thermocoupler and after install, fingers crossed, the last couple of cooks seemed better. I'm wondering if it's necessary to keep the thermocoupler clean of soot for it to work properly. Anyways, I hope this solves my problem for now. You may consider this for yours.

 

[hshim]

Hi folks, looking for some advice and find information on whether or not the performance of my EX4 ver2 is normal.

This is my 3rd smoker: 1st being a small Traegar, 2nd a much larger Louisiana Grills, and now the Weber. I've owned it for 4 months, and initially was very impressed with it's wireless control and ability to quickly reach temperature and maintain a pretty stable low and slow profile. I also like to do a reverse sear on my steaks, and therefore want to be able to fire the smoker up to high temperatures.

The weather has turned cold here, (minus 25 C) and I barbecue or smoke all year around. Prior to the cold snap, I received fan errors, and the unit would shut down prior to lighting, even though the existing fan appeared to be working fine. Weber customer service sent me a new fan which I installed, and that issue appears to have been solved. Two nights ago, I wanted to do a bull beef tenderloin, doing a reverse sear. I fired up the Weber and did a preheat to 250 degrees. Sometime after putting the whole tenderloin on the smoker, I received a message via my phone that the smoker was shutting down due to a firmware update. This effectively put my cook schedule way behind, but oh well. After removing the roast, the machine cycled a number of times where I received messages that the update was complete. I did, however, have to restart the whole process several times and on the last attempt (where I was attempting to get the grill to max temperature), the unit seemed stalled at 180 degrees, even though the controller was calling for a temperature of 600. It was bloody cold out, but not windy. I can't understand why the unit would not be feeding pellets to the lit firebox in response to the higher heat request. I did a shut down and re-start of the system and had similar issues, where it never did reach the called temperature, while feeding of pellets had stopped. Fresh pellets, clean firebox, no probes attached.

Any suggestions?