What does everyone think of their Smoke Fire now

[Corners]

I canceled my order back last winter because of all the problems they were having. Now over a year later I was wondering are all the bugs worked out? For the one’s that have owned theirs a while, are they worth it or should I look elsewhere for a smoker. I still notice some people are having problems.

My EX6: had problems with the first one. Weber sent me a new one. It has been THE BEST pellet grill I have ever used. I’ll never use anything else. Any temperature I set it on, it stays there. Anything I cook, it is done to almost perfection. I have absolutely no complaints about this grill. Buy one, use it, enjoy it.

 

[Goneincognito]

My EX6: had problems with the first one. Weber sent me a new one. It has been THE BEST pellet grill I have ever used. I’ll never use anything else. Any temperature I set it on, it stays there. Anything I cook, it is done to almost perfection. I have absolutely no complaints about this grill. Buy one, use it, enjoy it.

My.... How your tune has changed.
Glad this one is working out for you.

 

[Tim G]

I canceled my order back last winter because of all the problems they were having. Now over a year later I was wondering are all the bugs worked out? For the one’s that have owned theirs a while, are they worth it or should I look elsewhere for a smoker. I still notice some people are having problems.

Look elsewhere. When it works it great, but I am currently waiting for Weber to send me a new motor. This is the 3rd time in less than a year that I have been shutdown waiting for a replacement part.

 

[richfleek]

I bought the EX6 shortly after the release (ver 1) and had some issues at first, Weber sent me all the updated parts and $200 plus a couple of bags of pellets for the inconvenience. The EX6 has worked flawlessly since. I love it so much I will be buying the IPO when they go public LOL

 

[Craig Lares]

Corners- I've had two EX6 units (one at the cabin and one at home) for 18 months. I've had to replace 8-10 glow plugs between the two units (5 minute exercise and they are inexpensive) and that's a little annoying that it eats them so fast. Both units are working ok now except every once in a while the pellets get jammed flowing to the auger (I use Smokefire brand) and you have to stir them around with your hand and you lose 10 minutes at lower temperature and your wife's part of the meal is done and yours is not! (very frustrating). It happened to me again last night the first cook after a complete cleaning. I think the fundamental design flaw on the Smokefire units is that the pellet hopper is wide and shallow compared to other brands that have higher narrower hoppers (like my old Green Mountain, which NEVER lost temperature). Weber did this to make the unit sleek I assume and it looks cool but its problematic. Overall I want my $1,200 BBQ to maintain cook temp every time (if I've maintained it properly) and not require frequent parts replacements (glow plug). Until the hopper is redesigned I'd tell my best friend to go elsewhere.

 

[dyandell]

I canceled my order back last winter because of all the problems they were having. Now over a year later I was wondering are all the bugs worked out? For the one’s that have owned theirs a while, are they worth it or should I look elsewhere for a smoker. I still notice some people are having problems.

I have had mine for almost a year. My experience is there is a little bit of a learning curve. What I have found is you have to be careful with the pellets you use. Almost every problem I have had is because I did not use a compatible pellet. I now use the Weber pellets or Kingsford pellets. There are probably other brands that work but if I need pellets and those two are not available, I will take a few minutes and Google the brand available.
The second thing I have started doing is starting my smoker at 200. Once it gets there and stabilizes a minute, I adjust it to the temperature I need.
The last problem I have seen is it takes a while for the smoker to get to 500 or above. Once there it seems to hold well for me.
I am not a competition smoker. I use it to cook everything from beef jerky to steaks and it works great for me

 

[SouthWestConnecticut]

I bought mine for fathers day 2020. Used it a bunch of times but with COVID and isolation never did a bug cook. Cleaned it up and put it away in the shed for winter. Took it out filled it up with new fuel in Early June and started to do some ribs. Well everything was going well until I saw that it had connected to my phone and was downloading new firmware and software. Well to cut to the chase it hasn’t worked since. Weber sent me all manner of new parts which I replaced same problem, they sent a guy to my house who checked out everything and verified my work and my problems. Then they sent me a new display control unit replaced that and still doesn’t work. We verified the integrity of the new auger attach hole and the positioning/orientation of the burn pot and pellet chute. And now I wait until they get back to me again. Usually I’ll get a confirmation of a parts shipment without hearing anything from them. I’ve got a shit ton of Weber pint glasses out of the deal but mine is a lemon. I want a new one or my $1200 hondo back. Fifth Weber I’ve owned in 30 years. Might be my last.

 

[KevinD]

Agree with all the positive comments. Mine is 1st Gen with all the upgrades.

 

[rexster314]

I'm on my second EX6 as I lost the first one in a house fire; no, not the Smokefire's fault. We love it. Low/slow to high temps grilling, it does it all

 

[Bluesmoke]

I have had mine since July of last year and absolutely love it. Weber's customer service was great in getting me the upgrade augur, and pellet chute, it was easy to swap these parts out and have not had a problem since. I use my Smokefire at least three times a week.

 

[Bill E.]

I've had my EX6 for over a year now. Gen1 with the replaced parts. Use it almost everyday, only one glow plug replacement, only one problem with pellets (only use Weber). I love it and would completely recommend it.

 

[Brad S]

I'm still waiting on the warranty request (3 years, <2 to go), I submitted Monday. Was going to make a brisket this weekend, but guess I won't be doing that!

Just feel like i shouldn't be replacing all the parts multiple times on my $1k grill within a year and a half. So far i've replaced the main board once, control panel 2x, auger/chute once, sheered off the cotter pin, and had to replace the pot shield and flavorizer bar racks.

Sucks you are having those issues. Seems like there are a few lemons out there where it just keeps on giving problems. Mine has been rock solid (after doing all the upgrades) knock on wood.

 

[rwhapham]

... For the one’s that have owned theirs a while, are they worth it or should I look elsewhere for a smoker. ...

I think when it comes to any outdoor cooking contraption, you need to identify your needs first. You said "smoker", but I'm not going to assume what you meant by that. Is the SF the best low-and-slow pit out there? No. Is it the best hot-and-fast griller out there? No. Does it impart the flavor of a true stick-burner? No. Is it as convenient as a gasser? Almost, but not quite. Do I love and recommend my EX4? A resounding yes. But that's because it suits my needs perfectly. I love cooking outside no matter the outside temp or the grill temp, but I wasn't doing it as much as I wanted. I gave up on gas many, many years ago (not knocking gassers, just not my personal preference) so the effort to get charcoal/wood fires going for my grill and my WSM really relegated them to weekend use. And I never had the confidence to do anything longer than a pork butt on the WSM. So having one unit to replace everything else, plus the convenience of self-starting and self-maintaining fires, plus the historical reliability of the Weber brand, plus the "gadget" aspect of it (Wi-Fi monitoring, probes, etc.) made it easy to overlook the fact that the SF wasn't the best in any category. Except maybe for being the best all-in-one. I've had mine since just before Thanksgiving last year (right when Gen2 came out), probably average a cook or two a week, and have had very few problems. But I'm also not going to say that, because I haven't had problems, there aren't quality control issues with it. Because it's easy to see that there are. If you are willing to be a student of the pit and not expect it to perform miracles, then I say jump in and join the community. But if you are expecting miracles from something that, at its core, is doing its best to burn and maintain an unpredictable and chaotic wood fire, then I would say look elsewhere because you are setting the SF up for failure.

 

[WikkedKid]

I have had mine for almost a year. My experience is there is a little bit of a learning curve. What I have found is you have to be careful with the pellets you use. Almost every problem I have had is because I did not use a compatible pellet. I now use the Weber pellets or Kingsford pellets. There are probably other brands that work but if I need pellets and those two are not available, I will take a few minutes and Google the brand available.
The second thing I have started doing is starting my smoker at 200. Once it gets there and stabilizes a minute, I adjust it to the temperature I need.
The last problem I have seen is it takes a while for the smoker to get to 500 or above. Once there it seems to hold well for me.
I am not a competition smoker. I use it to cook everything from beef jerky to steaks and it works great for me

What issues do you see using these other pellets?

 

[LS2008]

I canceled my order back last winter because of all the problems they were having. Now over a year later I was wondering are all the bugs worked out? For the one’s that have owned theirs a while, are they worth it or should I look elsewhere for a smoker. I still notice some people are having problems.

I got mine near end of 2020 and love it!!