Weber smokefire shipped

[Metron]

Meathead went off on Twitter aswell yesterday I believe on someone who was questioning Weber's testing of the SF. And perhaps Amazing Ribs testing too IIRC. Seemed quite touchy.

Glad to see people reveal themselves.

I'm wondering if Traeger or Camp Chef will jump on this with a jab ad or something?

 

[Dweverett]

Meathead was definitely, as the kids say, "in his feelings" tonight. Is the fallout from the SmokeFire's initial release turning into the most controversial event in BBQ? I can't recall anything else being this polarizing in BBQ.

I can't think of anything, though (at least in the US) I'm not sure there is anyone but Weber that is relevant enough to pull it off. There are plenty of other companies with almost cult like followings but they are more niche products that would never stir things like this.

Wild to see arguments over technical issues in the design devolve into "your mama ...."

Is it wrong that I almost want to buy one so I can join in more fully? :wacko:

 

[sudsandswine]

Meathead went off on Twitter aswell yesterday I believe on someone who was questioning Weber's testing of the SF. And perhaps Amazing Ribs testing too IIRC. Seemed quite touchy.

Glad to see people reveal themselves.

I'm wondering if Traeger or Camp Chef will jump on this with a jab ad or something?

I look at what people who are likely on Weber’s payroll are saying and compare that to what people who have no financial interest in their review of the product are saying, then draw all the conclusions I need...

 

[bschoen]

Wow. Passions are running high.
Btw, if you are not considered an a-hole by at least 50%+1, you don't really have your heart in it.

 

[WBDubya]

Did you guys see this review from BBQ guys?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhnPzoDgnDE

just to name a few items:

1.Water pan
2. Manually push the pellets towards the auger
3. Hot ash falling on your deck, need a tray to protect.
4. Don't use an extension cord

 

[sudsandswine]

Amazingwhatever... What an A hole!



Im siding with Justin...

Where's my gun? :roll: :wacko:

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I watched that BBQ Guys review and not using an extension cord is really a strange request. MOST people (I would expect anyways) would want to use an extension cord so their grill / smoker which is a controlled fire isn't within striking distance of their home.

Do we have an electrician or electrical engineer on the forum who might be able to discuss why not using an extension cord would make the system work better?

 

[ebijack]

Do we have an electrician or electrical engineer on the forum who might be able to discuss why not using an extension cord would make the system work better?

I'm not an electrician or engineer. Though I have wired buildings, cars, homes, electric vehicles etc.
IMHO, if you use an extension cord. You are restricting full amperage/current that the weber diesel glow plug requires for their full amp grilling requirement. If that makes sense. A heavier cord should help. But the restriction might be weber. I have not seen the gauge wire they use.

 

[4ever3]

Seems strange, I run an extension chord on the GMG all the time.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I'm not an electrician or engineer. Though I have wired buildings, cars, homes, electric vehicles etc.
IMHO, if you use an extension cord. You are restricting full amperage/current that the weber diesel glow plug requires for their full amp grilling requirement. If that makes sense. A heavier cord should help. But the restriction might be weber. I have not seen the gauge wire they use.

I didn't think of the amp draw from the glow plug and that makes a lot of sense. Would that glow plug need to be active the entire time during cooking, or just during the initial firing up each time?

 

[ebijack]

I didn't think of the amp draw from the glow plug and that makes a lot of sense. Would that glow plug need to be active the entire time during cooking, or just during the initial firing up each time?

A glow plug requires amps to burn the pellets. But more amps to reach the higher temps. More amps, hotter plug if that makes sense.

 

[ebijack]

Seems strange, I run an extension chord on the GMG all the time.

That is not a weber. You might not be able to reach the higher temps of the weber. Your factory cord could have a heavier gauge cord from the get go when compared to weber.
Don't know. I'm not a pellet guy. And have no experience with pellet grills/smokers. Only what is talked about here.
And after this, I don't think I will become a pellet guy.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

A glow plug requires amps to burn the pellets. But more amps to reach the higher temps. More amps, hotter plug if that makes sense.

I understand the extra power draw for a glow plug, but will it need to be on during the entire time you're cooking, or just during the startup?

I looked at the manual and it does recommend a short extension cord of 14 gauge wire.

"This appliance should only be
connected to a grounded outlet. Do not use
plug adapters. If an extension cord is needed,
only use a 14-gauge cable with a grounded
plug, suitable for use with outdoor appliances.
The maximum length for the extension cord
is 13 feet (4 meters). Keep the extension cord
as short as possible. Examine the extension
cord before use and replace if damaged. To
minimize the risk of property damage and/
or personal injury, do not use an extension
power-supply cable unless it conforms to the
specifications listed in this manual."

I'm curious if this might be the problem for some people.

 

[ebijack]

The BBO guys stated they could not reach the higher temps. And coming up to temp took longer using an extension cord.
That is my reasoning for why needing a smaller gauge wire which is a heavier gauge cord.

From the uneven grilling, all that dust, firmware problems, not working properly in colder climates. Are reasons enough for me to forget about this grill.

 

[jstrand]

No, the hot rod does not stay on all the time, it's only to start the pellets, after that the fan blows on the pellets and it just dumps more in faster to reach higher temps.

Think of it as those electric starters for charcoal, once the charcoal is started it's no longer needed. Then you open the vents on the bottom and top to keep air moving over the charcoal in order for it to stay lit and reach higher temps.

Pellet grills don't have a bottom vent, instead it's a fan blowing air into the fire pot. Some units the fan is one speed, others it varies the speed.

Turn the temp up and it just dumps pellets in at a faster rate and if it has a variable speed fan it will probably kick into high gear.

Hot rod only stays on for a set amount of time when you first start it, after that it's just fan and auger.

I've used extension cords on both my units and never an issue, not saying the Weber unit couldn't have an issue with extension cords but that seems like a lame excuse to me. Pellet units don't use that much power, remember people can run them off of car batteries for a really long time.

My .02

 

[bschoen]

Get a short, 12-15 foot, 12 gauge extension cord, you should not have any problems. The cheap 100 foot 16 gauge cords will give you problems.

 

[gtsum]

I used extension cords on my yoder and my Memphis elite and had no issues hitting 700 degrees which is far higher than the weber. The ignition rod not stays kit a certain amount of time, so I’m not sure how that could affect the higher temps?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[RCAlan]

No, the hot rod does not stay on all the time, it's only to start the pellets, after that the fan blows on the pellets and it just dumps more in faster to reach higher temps.

Think of it as those electric starters for charcoal, once the charcoal is started it's no longer needed. Then you open the vents on the bottom and top to keep air moving over the charcoal in order for it to stay lit and reach higher temps.

Pellet grills don't have a bottom vent, instead it's a fan blowing air into the fire pot. Some units the fan is one speed, others it varies the speed.

Turn the temp up and it just dumps pellets in at a faster rate and if it has a variable speed fan it will probably kick into high gear.

Hot rod only stays on for a set amount of time when you first start it, after that it's just fan and auger.

I've used extension cords on both my units and never an issue, not saying the Weber unit couldn't have an issue with extension cords but that seems like a lame excuse to me. Pellet units don't use that much power, remember people can run them off of car batteries for a really long time.

My .02

You are 100% correct. Also another example is if the glow igniter is not working, you can still do a manual ignition of the pellets in the fire pot to get your cook going. Once the pellets are burning, there is no need for the igniter after the initial start up... So it seems to me that the bbq Guy has no clue, but is reaching into outer space for his logic behind the extension cord excuse. The reason the Weber SF can’t get to 600* degrees for some users is completely a hardware/controller issue and not because the diesel glow plug igniter requires some special amperage at start up. Weber should be the one explaining the fixes/corrections and not some reviewer that didn’t design the grill themselves. Just saying.

 

[4ever3]

So I ordered a SmokeFire, before I got it, problems started arising, then I get the call mine was in and I turned it down. I just didn’t see a reason to pay to be a crash test dummy!

My thought was version 2.0 would be ready to cook on and I’d buy one then.

After the way the problems of the grill were handled, or not handled, however you wanna look at it, pretty sure I wouldn’t buy version 2.0 no matter what.

Back to pondering between MAK and Yoder, but for now the GMG just keeps puffin’.

 

[Shadowdog500]

Did anyone else see these briskets that Kevin Kolman (Weber’s Grill Master) smoked on his Smokefire for this past Sunday’s Super Bowl? He posted them on FB. Man, these new Smokefires turn brisket to gold... [emoji39][emoji39]

Where’s the drip pan??