Camp Chef Woodwind w/sear box

[barebear]

Since this appears to be the only Platinum rated pellet unit, I am wondering if anyone has recently bought one and whether the pellet drain chute issue mentioned by Max in his review has been fixed so that the knob doesn't have to be taped ?

Also very interested in knowing what other issues ( if any) owners of this unit may have had or are having ?

I'm in Oakland Calif, so weather related issues are not a concern.

[DavidNorcross]

I dont have any experience. But I had looked at alot of reviews on this cooker. They all appear to be very solid.

[tenphases]

I just sold mine, I loved it and it didn't need tape. Great Cooker!

[DavidNorcross]

Curious why you sold?

[tenphases]

I got a really good deal on a Fast Eddys Cook Shack. It's an upgrade but it was still hard to get rid of the CC. The Woodwind had more accessories, I loved the jerky rack for increased capacity, and most of all it always worked, whenever there was a malfunction I eventually realized it was my fault. Great cooker!

[AngryPig]

I have the Woodwind 24 with the Sear Box. I got rid of the sear box. The grill just stopped working after a few months of use. I had consistent problems with grease leaking out of the bottom and sides. Drip pan was warped. I ended up having to buy upgraded parts from smoke daddy but not it won't power on. Extremely disappointed especially since all of my Traeger friends give me the "I told you so". lol. I reached out to Camp Chef and have to run through a bunch of checks to see what is wrong. Just my .02 Cents.

[glitchy]

Welcome to the Pit! This is a bummer of a first post. Doesn’t CampChef have a 2 or 3 year warranty? I’ve had two different CampChef’s in the past including a WoodWind and never had a single issue or any leaked grease, but some of their internals are on the thinner side, so I could believe some might warp occasionally. I’d keep calling support and ask them to help, you should be covered. Hope you’re back to happy cooking soon! Don’t be afraid to start a thread with pics if we can help.

[AngryPig]

It's a great grill. Maybe I wore it out. LOL. Camp Chef has been pretty responsive so I try to fix it per their instructions.

[GolfGeezer]

There are 5 Platinum rated pellet smokers, not 1. MAK 2 Star, MAK 1 Star, Davey Crockett and Memphis Elite are also rated Platinum. When I had my Camp Chef DLX (forerunner of the Woodwind line), I never had an issue with the pellet chute - in fact, based on the design and what Max shows, I am confused by the problem he had. The handle is at the end of an internal slider plate that covers the opening that allows the pellets out of the chute. You have to pull the handle to move the slider and there is a slide-lock mechanism to hold it in place. Maybe Max Good can clarify how pulling the cover off also somehow pulled the slider plate out.

[Max Good]

GolfGeezer The Camp Chef cover had a very tight fit and the pellet chute door, at that time, had no type of latch to prevent it from sliding open. So it did and I eventually duck taped it shut. The sliding ash removal mechanism on the model we tested also had a tight fit, making it difficult to slide in and out.

[GolfGeezer]

Seems like you must have received a very early run. The ones sold now clearly have a locking plate that slips down over the pellet chute dump knob. I did have issues with the sliding ash dump on my DLX sticking. I found that vigorously sliding it in and out a few times after dumping ash help with that.

[Max Good]

The one we tested had a locking plate, but it easily slide up and unlocked when we removed the tight fitting cover.

[dubob]

I bought my Woodwind 24 w/Sear Box direct from Camp Chef in Feb 2019. At that time it was the only place to get one. There were some minor issues with metal parts that CC took care of immediately with a simple phone call and some pictures sent to them via emails. Service was great.

Last year I ordered the new WIFI upgrade direct from CC. It didn't work and they sent a replacement which didn't wok either. I returned it for an immediate refund which they promptly honored. I have cooked brisket, pulled pork, beef & pork ribs, fish, and chicken on it. I used the sear box a couple of times on sous vide steak but determined that a butter seared steak in the skillet on the stove is much better for our tastes.

The only bad thing I would say about it is the ash clean out cup is a very misleading joke and totally worthless as to function. Just like every other pellet grill out there, you still have to vacuum out the ash after every 2 or 3 cooks. Opening the chute on the ash cup will MAYBE get you a 1/4 cup of residue. The other 10 cups or more of ash are coating the rest of the inside of the cooker.

I do use an after market smoke tube to give my cooks a little more smoke flavor as most pellet smokers are notorious for not having much on their own. My bide and I are very happy with the results we get. I would say the quality of the CC is very good to excellent and their service has been 5-star IMHO. They may have fixed their very week WIFI upgrade device, but I've lived just fine without it, and have no desire to order another one.

[Max Good]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Even though you still have to vacuum ash out of the bottom periodically, I still like the ash cup which keeps the firepot clear. When a firepot fills with ash, you're dead.

[dubob]

I have gone 4 cooks without cleaning the ash out with a vacuum (they were short cooks of less than 3 hours). I never use the cup dump and there was less than a quarter cup of ashes/pellets left in the cup after those 4 cooks. That's why I still think that feature is nothing more than marketing hype. Other than that, I really do like the CC and don't hesitate to recommend it. 😊