First Low and Slow, and First Major Issue

[Jordan S]

UPDATE 2: I completely cleaned the grill, scraped all the grease from the bottom and vacuumed out the ash. I also mixed up the pellets to make sure they were settled and there were no caves or bridging. Then I turned it on to 600 degrees to get it good and hot again. It made it to about 515-520 degrees and then started cooling off. I checked the grill and sure enough - another pellet issue. (Video: https://youtu.be/U5RV1ngaWZ0)

I settled the pellets again and the temperature climbed to 505 degrees and then stalled. I check the pellets - there was a pile of them that hadn't slid down the chute so again - no fuel to the fire. I pushed them down myself and the smoker finally and slowly climbed to 600 degrees. The entire process took over an hour, and would have stalled completely if I was not watching the pellets.

So my frustration is building a bit now that I've got a smoker that won't even preheat without a pellet issue and poses a potential grease fire hazard.

[Jerod Broussard]

With your video earlier they should have called it the smokeFIRE! That is a long and gradual slide to feed pellets. My hopper is just that, a hopper that drops straight down.

[Steve R.]

It could have been worse. You could have been like this guy and his momma: The grill is on far!!! (NSFW language)

[Randy-Phx]

Do you have this issue when the hopper is full of pellets?

[Jordan S]

Based on my limited testing, I’d say that the chances of pellet issues probably increase as the hopper empties, but the big issue I had yesterday occurred when the hopper was at least 1/2 full.

[glitchy]

Mine bridge with an almost completely full hopper.

[BulletStopper]

I'm also an early adopter and have experienced the pellet cave. I think I'm going to remove the wire crossbars at the intake to see if it helps.

[Jordan S]

Hadn’t thought of that - let me know!

[Jordan S]

The vendor that sold me the SmokeFire just told me they are not accepting returns and have been instructed by Weber to direct all customers with defective SmokeFire units to their (Weber’s) Customer Service number. I still have not heard back from Weber.

[divisionbell77]

That sounds like it's a rather large issue.

[texastweeter]

maybe one of those motorized wobble balls would be a temporary fix. Sounds like they need a hopper agitator of some kind like on higher end paintball guns.

[rickgregory]

The vendor that sold me the SmokeFire just told me they are not accepting returns and have been instructed by Weber to direct all customers with defective SmokeFire units to their (Weber’s) Customer Service number. I still have not heard back from Weber.

If Weber doesn't give satisfaction, talk to your credit card company presuming you paid with a card. And out the vendor. That's BS.

[Jerod Broussard]

​​​​​​If the grill was placed on an oscillator, that might solve the problem of pellets not sliding.

[texastweeter]

haha

[dshaffes]

For big cuts like brisket and pork butts, I always use some sort of drip pan. This design is so different than the "Traeger" design of most pellet grills, I think it merits consideration to avoid the grease buildup and potential fire.

[Jerod Broussard]

I didn't realize it didn't have a drip pan. That is A LOT of grease.

[SpaceCoyote]

They actually mention a drip/water pan for low and slow cooks, in the manual... surprised that doesn't get more mention. I think people aren't doing it because based on the marketing they feel like it's not supposed to be necessary, and the manual isn't very direct in saying why you should consider it. It says something to the effect of "consider using one", not "is recommended as a way to prevent grease fires"