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Another Smokefire is up and running!

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    Another Smokefire is up and running!

    Won't be able to do glitchy 's review justice, but just wanted to add some of my own observations and experience. Arrived yesterday morning, and I kept sneaking out to the garage as time allowed to piece a few things together here and there before I'd have to head back in to take a work call or do something else. Assembly wasn't too bad. Two people recommended but can be done by one. The only instance where an extra set of hands would have been helpful was when you're standing the grill up for the first time, and then right after that attaching the ash/grease drawer onto the bottom of the pit (from the front and the back both) once you've got it standing up.


    Finished putting her together and got her updated and fired up for the first time around 1630. Was 33 and moderately windy outside, but was happy to see her go from off to 400° in about 10 minutes. Another 5 minutes after that she was at 500° (15 min total), but then I was an idiot and opened the lid to get some pictures and she dropped 50° so I didn't get a full time of 0-600. Once she was firing at max temp I realized I should probably run to the store and throw something on (delivery caught me by surprise the day before and since it arrived early in the day I didn't have time to prep anything). Grabbed a few ribeyes for the family and seasoned those up real quick while the seasoning on the grill was finishing up.


    The meat was a quick buy and they weren't thick cut by any means so I just torched them at 600° for a total of 3-4 mins on each side (rotating and flipping often). Everyone was pleased with the result.

    Losing daylight by the end so I didn't get as many pictures later on, but here's the timeline of my day:
    Attached Files

    #2
    Very nice, congratulations!

    Comment


      #3
      Ours is due to arrive any day now. I'll slap it together and crank it up pronto!

      Comment


      • BDCarp04
        BDCarp04 commented
        Editing a comment
        Can't wait! I know you'll be MUCH more detailed than I was! I just wanted to eat!

      #4
      Awesome! Congrats and enjoy!

      Comment


        #5
        Congratulations on the new smoker. From what I have seen from glitchy, and now yourself, the SmokeFire seems to be working well for owners. Great looking first cook on it.

        Comment


          #6
          Sure looks good to me, congrats to a fun cooker!

          Comment


            #7
            Some general thoughts and likes/dislikes

            *FULL DISCLOSURE* This is my first pellet grill, so my thoughts and opinions on a lot of things aren't going to hold a ton of weight because I don't have another pellet experience to compare it to. I was in the market for a pellet smoker, and was looking at purchasing a Traeger at the end of the summer when rumblings started popping up about the Smokefire. I ended up waiting when I heard it was going to be able to sear and smoke in one pit.

            In no particular order:

            The casters seemed to hold up well in the grass for the most part. However, I don't have my cover yet so I moved it back into the garage after I was done and it was definitely a rougher time back when there are pellets in the hopper. The wheels are big, but they definitely feel like they belong on surfaces other than grass/dirt.

            I did not have the same IQ test that you mentioned glitchy . My screws were all phillips head and the ones for the chute matched.

            Was very pleased with the heat up / shut down times, especially given the cold weather and wind. I've seen a couple of other places online where folks have complained about not being able to hit max temp. To start the shut down procedure you push the knob in and hold it for a few seconds, and the screen alerts you when it's OK to cut the power. Says it can take up to 15 minutes to shut down, but I didn't experience that, even at max temps.

            It comes with one probe, so that's nice. I didn't use probes for anything yet so I'm hoping to play with them more soon. Have some new thermoworks probes that I haven't broken out of the packaging yet so I'll give those a whirl and see how they work.

            The app was a little disappointing so far. I didn't really need it for anything, since you can't control temps with it yet so maybe I should wait before I say too much about it. Everything I did was through the dash on the unit yesterday. Need more time to play with it to get a real good feel one way or the other.

            Smoke was very heavy during seasoning at lower temps. Once you get up beyond the 400-425 mark it becomes much harder to notice. Did not really have any smoke flavor on the steaks last night, but I really wasn't expecting any since I was burning pellets so fast.

            Speaking pellets, this thing chews pellets quickly if you're running at max. I know I should expect that, and I don't think I'll be cooking too much for too long at those high of temps, but be prepared that you'll probably go through 1/3 to 1/2 of your free bag of pellets for seasoning the unit and maybe your first cook if you throw on right after like I did.

            One of my screws on the side of my pellet hopper (this was assembled at the factory) was stripped and popping out when I unpacked it. See attached pic.

            Hopper is narrow and can be annoying to pour pellets into (I spilled a couple of times).

            I did have some smoke seepage on the front corner of the lid (also assembled at the factory). I'm assuming this may self correct once I get a few cooks done with her and she has a chance to build up a layer of gunk on the inside (was a similar case with Pit Barrel Cooker lids). Pic attached.

            Embers/ash - I had more ash around the unit than I was expecting, but I think the fans blowing at max probably didn't help. Definitely need a few more cooks to get a feel. Like I said, without having another pellet experience to compare it to, I don't know if it was more, less, or equal to what I should expect. I DID have several embers burning in my drawer like glitchy mentioned in his review. I did not see any hit the ground. I need to double check that my firepot grate thing is installed correctly, as it just kind of sits in there (as far as I can tell). glitchy may be able to provide more detail from his.



            Attached Files

            Comment


            • Troutman
              Troutman commented
              Editing a comment
              I'm confused by picture #2? What's happening there? Are those burning pellets in the hopper??

            • BDCarp04
              BDCarp04 commented
              Editing a comment
              Nope, that's the ash/grease drawer below the pit, that's why I'm questioning if I have the firepot grate installed correctly. Though Glitchy mentioned in his review that he saw burning embers in his drawer too.

              *edit* sorry, read too fast and didn't realize you said hopper. It is NOT in the hopper.
              Last edited by BDCarp04; February 12, 2020, 01:39 PM. Reason: Read too fast

            #8
            Thanks for the write up. I am anxious to hear your comments on long cooks.

            Comment


              #9
              BDCarp04 what piece are you talking about, can you shoot a picture? If you are talking about the heat shield with the four legs, it just sits there. Congrats on the new pit, hope you like it as much as I'm digging mine...already trying to figure out what I'm going to cook this weekend.

              Comment


              • BDCarp04
                BDCarp04 commented
                Editing a comment
                I'm talking about the grate that the glow plug sticks through that the pellets actually fall onto/through. The instructions weren't really clear about how that was supposed to fit into the hole or into the firepot that goes over the top of it. I'm wondering if maybe I'm getting extra embers and/or ash if I don't have it seated in there correctly. I can try to grab a pic later on today.

                And I am digging it too! Other than the few things mentioned above, I'm VERY happy so far!

              • glitchy
                glitchy commented
                Editing a comment
                There’s two legs that kinda sit down into the slots on the base and it just rests there. If the glow plus is through the hole in that grate and your ramp is at the edge of the pot, you should be correct. That’s one of the things that’s really different about the Weber is this slotted burn pot. It is why embers hit the ash pan, but designed that way.

              • BDCarp04
                BDCarp04 commented
                Editing a comment
                Pretty sure I have it right then. The notches are what I went with. It just didn't seem to sit very snug to me.

              #10
              First thanks for being one of the early guinea pigs, interested parties want to know !!! The more I look at the way it sears it reminds me of my Weber gasser with a propane fire below instead of pellets and the flavorizor bars shielding and providing smokey flavor. It appears to be the same solution, which makes sense knowing Weber designed this thing.

              Have fun with your new rig, treat her right and she'll make you some good 'cue !!!

              Comment


                #11
                Congrats on the new toy. I will definitely be following your adventures. Thanks or sharing.

                Comment


                  #12
                  Thanks for posting. I am living vicariously through you and glitchy on this one.

                  Comment


                    #13
                    I'm waiting to hear from you and glitchy and Max Good on how it does with the low and slow...I don't really need the hot and fast capability

                    Comment


                    • BDCarp04
                      BDCarp04 commented
                      Editing a comment
                      I'm anxious to get some smoke rolling too! Unfortunately I'm tied up this weekend and won't get a chance to get a good long smoke on something until the weekend after next most likely. Glitchy already beat me to it, and Max most likely will as well!

                    #14
                    Congrats! The only thing I remember that sounded important for you pellet folks was to use some sort of scoop with holes in it so you can shake out any dust as you put pellets into the hopper. Might help with spillage too. Enjoy your new cooker!

                    Comment


                      #15
                      BDCarp04 those pics really display all of the excitement. Congrats on the new cooker! The steaks look wonderfully juicy.

                      Comment

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