I don’t know this guy and I get no benefit from sharing his video. But I think his review captures the excitement, concerns, issues and ultimate disappointment of SmokeFire ownership perfectly.
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This guy nailed it (SmokeFire Review)
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Club Member
- Nov 2017
- 7156
- Huntsville, Alabama
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Jim Morris
Cookers- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (2021)
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Baby Back Maniac is awesome, I've watched a lot of his videos, especially the ones with the SnS folks. He knows what he is doing, and unfortunately, I think he shows too many deal breakers in this first iteration of the SmokeFire. The pellet feed issue, the grease fires, and the temperature seems way off from what the grill says it is set to as well. The grease fire reminded me of some I have had in my gas grills over the years - something I haven't seen since I started cleaning the grill routinely, and installed Grillgrates.
Like Baby Back Maniac and many others, I just knew Weber had a home run on their hands, but now I am feeling bad for you guys that jumped out there and pre-ordered and have already experienced issues with it.
These issues go a long way towards convincing me to get a WSM 22" for my next smoker, and stick with charcoal for now.
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jfmorris I have this unit for temp control on the WSM 22 and has worked just fine in the past. I'm sure the party q would work just as well. https://pitmasteriq.com/collections/...products/iq110
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I don't grill on my pellet grill, even with GrillGrates to me it's just something I can do a whole lot better on something else.
The ironic thing is this Grill seems to be just the opposite.
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Administrator
- May 2014
- 19033
- Clare, Michigan area
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Follow me on Instagram, huskeesbarbecue
Smokers / Grills- Yoder loaded Wichita offset smoker
- PBC
- Grilla Silverbac pellet grill
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Accessories- Instant Pot 6qt
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- Scotch: Current favorite- The Arran (anything by them), Glenmorangie 12yr Lasanta, sherry cask finished. The Balvenie Double Wood, also like Oban 18yr, and The Glenlivet Nadurra (Oloroso sherry cask finished) among others. Neat please.
About me
Real name: Aaron
Location: Farwell, Michigan- near Clare. (dead center of lower peninsula)
Occupation:- Healthcare- Licensed & Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) at MyMichigan Health, a University of Michigan Health System.
Justin (BabyBackManiac) was a member here for a while. He's a great guy and really knows his stuff.
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He is obviously feeling duped by Weber's media launch and his invitation there. They effectively borrowed his personal brand and reputation as well as the other attendees who published something as a result of their introduction to the grill. He bolstered his reputation by speaking out quickly after the poor product release.
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Jerod - can't fault people for their hobbies. I'd be scared to tally up what I spent on woodworking machines and bbq stuff My rule for my shop is, shop income buys tools. If I if i want X, i better sell some work!
Don't forget he makes money from his videos - maybe not a tonne, but figure on average $5 per thousand views (on the low end). He has 7.2m views. That pays for a lot of BBQ, especially considering $5 is on the low end and doesn't include sponsorships, merch, affiliate links, etc.
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Club Member
- Feb 2018
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- Northshore MA
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Home:
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Up at Camp:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill
Very disappointing that Weber missed the mark.
It seems like they tried to design the grill to mimic the functionality of a gas grill rather than a smoker. It can do hot fast direct cooks reasonably well, but they didn't focus on long low and slow cooks. It can't manage the grease that builds up during those longer sessions. For me low and slow set it and forget it is why I want a pellet cooker.
Charcoal burns hotter and is more efficient for direct "grilling" not sure why they would design it this way. I want a pellet grill that I can set up and forget it and not worry about overnight cooks, temp swings, or fires. A smoker first. Possibly for reverse searing steaks at 225 or roasting chicken at 350. It seems to me that "grilling" is best left to charcoal or gas.
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While I fully agree...I think it was that unique feature that made some of us, that aren’t in the market for pellet cooker, to really take notice. And for those that can only have one, it seemed like a game changer.
After seeing some of the reviews, comments, and videos...I’m right back to, "I don’t need, or particularly want, a pellet cooker." Even if this one DID get my attention.
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I just do not understand how they did all this testing, and failed to see the grease and pellet issues. Heck, they had all those youtubers out to their headquarters for showing them off and this never happened once? Not once did the pellets stop falling? Not once did grease and ash combine and stop dripping down to the tray?
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I think the issue is longer low and slow where the ash and grease build up and cause the fires. Short hot cooks burn off the grease and the pellets are pulled from directly on top of the auger and don't have to slide down the ramp.
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Old Glory That seems to be the case. It appears they spent more time creating a pellet grill rather than a smoker. Sort of the opposite of most pellet cookers it seems, despite them being called grills. Go figure.
That, and we don’t know if there were any last minute production model design changes...perhaps having to do with vendors, manufacturing/tooling, or costs. It’ll be interesting to see Max’s review and any announcements from Weber.
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Thank you for posting this. It was worth the 35 minutes spent to watch. I have another model of pellet smoker which I love to cook on. My regret here is that this situation may turn people away from pellet smokers generally, which would be tragic. Sometimes you don’t want to spend all your time tending a cook and the fire, and many pellet smokers fill that gap better than this one.
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Founding Member & Pit Barrel Cooker Queen
- Jul 2014
- 7207
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My toys:
Weber Summit Charcoal Grilling Center (WSCGC) aka Mr. Fancypants
Pit Barrel Cooker (which rocks), named Pretty Baby
Weber Summit S650 Gas Grill, named Hot 'n Fast (used mostly for searing and griddling)
Weber Kettle Premium 22" named Kettle Kid, eager to horn in with more cooks in the future
Camp Chef Somerset IV 4-burner outdoor gas range named AfterBurner due to its 30kBTU burners
Adrenaline BBQ Company Gear:SnS Low Profile, DnG, and Large Charcoal Basket, for WSCGC
SnS Deluxe for 22" Kettle
Elevated SS Rack for WSCGC
SS Rack for DnG
Cast Iron GriddleGrill Grate for SnSGrill Grates: five 17.375 sections (retired to storage)
Grill Grates: six 19.25 panels for exact fit for Summit S650
gasser
Grill Grates for 22" Kettle
2 Grill Grate Griddles
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Fireboard Gear:Extreme BBQ Thermometer PackagePit Viper Fan (to pair with Fireboard Fan Driver Cable)
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18" drip pan for WSCGC
Ceramic Spacers for WSCGC in Kamado Mode: 2 sets each 1/2", 1", 2". The 2" spacers work best with the 18" drip pan. The 1+1/2 inch spacers work best with the 14 inch cake pan.
Two Joule Sous Vide devices
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Shun Classic Series:8" Chef Knife
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That was a great video. I don't mind that it was 35 minutes long, but I did soup up the playback speed to 1.25.
I've always liked Justin's videos. He's a real stand-up type of guy. Plus he asks the questions I would, and then some.
If you don't subscribe to Baby Back Maniac You Tube videos, you may want to. They're all excellent in content and well done.
Kathryn
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Club Member
- Aug 2017
- 10017
- Hate Less, Cook More
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It’s like buying the first roll out of a new car line. Wait and see is the best course of action.
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I'm in need of some help here, guys. While many folks are returning their units to Lowes, etc, my retailer (a well-known online retailer) is refusing to accept a return because the unit has been used. So, I've got a $1,200 grease fire waiting to happen in my backyard, and nobody wants to claim responsibility for it or provide me with any kind of solution or assistance. Any ideas? I saved up for a long time to buy a quality cooker, and now that money is all gone and I feel duped.
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I would also contact weber directly. It seems like they are going to have to figure out some way to make right by a lot of customers.
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Jordan S Man, I feel you, as I felt the exact same way. When I spoke to them last week about taking it back I conveyed the same message. I wasn’t irate, just confused. Two years in the making? Really?
It’s getting picked up this morning. Sorry to hear they’re not getting back to you. Have you tried leaving an honest review, conveying your above thoughts, on their site? You can view my review (Chris C), left before I spoke with them, and their response. Wish you the best.
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Great watch. I think he went through the same range of emotions as all of us. I think the video almost needed to be 35 minutes to see him go from "It's working great" to "My wife talked me out of returning this thing."
Still holding out a small thread of hope that Weber has an answer. Maybe a taller firebox or changes to the fan to keep everything from collecting in the bottom. I don't know. But as it stands now ash + hot grease in the bottom of these things = bad news.
Not ready to return mine yet only because I still haven't had a lot of time to play on it. However, I'm fairly certain I'll do my first low and slow on the top rack with some catch pans underneath to try avoid the greasefire (could be a new name for the thing?? ).
I still can't believe they didn't see any of this in all of the testing that they claim went into these.
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Originally posted by Jerod Broussard View PostI don't grill on my pellet grill, even with GrillGrates to me it's just something I can do a whole lot better on something else.
The ironic thing is this Grill seems to be just the opposite.
There is NO way they tested this well, though. My suspicion is that they tested it by doing shorter smokes and grilling, not by doing 8-20 hour low and slow session. OR... they tested it, found these things and shipped it anyway.
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grantgallagher 's explanation seems the most likely, based on the solid reputation Weber has always had. I don't think they would want to throw that away by selling a multitasking pellet grill that they know is garbage.
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grantgallagher That’s exactly my thoughts. Quite possibly a tooling/manufacturing change that seemed reasonable enough, but with profound consequences. That and they seem to have spent a great deal of time developing & promoting the "grill" aspect.
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I don't agree. The grease fire is due to not channeling the grease away and I can't see a tweak that could reasonably be considered minor that caused that to newly occur. It's not like there's some channeling mechanism that just isn't working... there's not one *at all*. These aren't minor tooling issue kinds of things.
Neither of these issue are hard to find. Do a single long cook and they seem to appear pretty reliably. So, yeah, I think they flat out never tested longer cooks.Last edited by rickgregory; February 19, 2020, 10:08 AM.
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