Getting back in the game...

[itschris]

Some of you may remember that I had to sell my Stumps XL Baby and my Stumps Classic recently due to my divorce. That was certainly a sad day and just added to the misery of the entirety of it all.

The good news is I'm looking at new houses and will likely have a new home... on my own... in a few months. I wanted to take time to decide what, where, and how I want to live and I think I'm starting to get that settled slowly but surely. The one thing I do know is that I want to get back to grilling and smoking like I used to. I don't think I want to go back to the world of giant 600lb smokers anymore, however.

I was went to ACE hardware yesterday and the Weber guy was there talking to a couple employees going over the Smokefire EX6 Gen2. I think that's in my future. I remember dismissing it originally due to all the issue, but it seems the Gen 2 has resolved them mostly and I've read nothing but pretty good reviews. I'm gravitating towards liking the idea of simplifying things and this fits the bill. I'd like to get down to something like the Smokefire and a traditional pizza oven like the Fontana Mangiafuoco wood oven and perhaps even some sort of Santa and some sort of Santa Maria style grill. I know there's overlap... I'm sure the Smokefire will make fantastic pizza for instance, but I always wanted a pizza oven.

Step one is getting a new house... that's in the works... but close after is rebuilding the BBQ experience and I think the Smokefire Gen2 may be the way to go considering what/how I want to do things. Opinions and advice from the hive are always welcome.

 

[jzadski]

Sounds like a pretty good plan to me

 

[glitchy]

I've used a SmokeFire EX4 for the past 6-8 months (Gen 1, but with all the equivalent updates to the Gen 2 model). I probably ran 750-1000 pounds of pellets through it. The results it can produce are absolutely fantastic. It will definitely sear which most pellet grills will not do. I also ran drip pans (usually with their 'Wet Smoke' kit under the grates) whenever I did LnS cooking. So, everything from brisket, butts, ribs to meatloaf and pizza and of course reverse seared steaks.

From the end of June until the end of September I loved the grill and you would not have been able to talk me out of it. Then around that time they redesigned the iPhone app and pushed out new grill firmware. Notifications no longer worked in the app unless your phone was unlocked and the Weber connect app open. The probes on the grill had a couple cooks where they just stopped updating. They displayed on the grill and in the app, but just never moved...checked food with Thermopen and food had risen 30-50 degrees. The next cook they would seem fine, but I started using my Fireboard instead. Temps became far less stable, sometimes jumping 100 degrees over set temp for 10-15 minutes in the middle of a cook. Temp changes sometimes started immediately after setting them, sometimes seemed to take 5-10 minutes before the grill even tried to start adjusting.

My understanding is that the notifications were fixed a week or two ago and that there is new Firmware in beta and very close to release that addresses many of the concerns above.

However, my patience grew too thin and my SmokeFire is on the way back to Weber as of 9:30 yesterday morning when the hauler picked it up. They are still learning the software game and even if they fix everything tomorrow, I'm not confident they won't break it in March or April again. Hardware wise with the welded chute and hopper insert I saw no issues there. I didn't have any flameouts, no grease fires (but used caution), never burnt out the glow plug, etc.

So, a lot of it comes down to your patience in tolerating something moody. From the sounds of your recent past you may have already been through a few rounds of that. If you join one of the Fan pages on FB or check weberpelletgrills.com you'll see there's still a good mixture of love and hate with the SmokeFire. I think a lot depends on how much you use it and how much you use both high and low temps, how much you expect from their app and probes, etc. as to where you fall.

 

[jzadski]

Forgot to add...perhaps a bit bias but, you can always get a rec-tec 700:-D

 

[jsmorrow2s]

Not to change the subject, but why not a 26” kettle and a 22” wsm? Together they are still cheaper than the smoke fire, are more reliable, and cook wonderful food?

Or could just get a hunsaker drum or gateway drum.

 

[CivilTrojan]

I don’t have anything to add but wanted to say I’m glad that things are starting to look up and I wish you luck and happiness in your future endeavors.

 

[Hoss]

Good luck my friend.I personally would go with a Weber 26 kettle and a 22WSM.Upgrade later.IF there is an upgrade.

 

[Happy Hapgood]

Chris, Best of luck to you. Glad things are looking up. I'm with some of the other folks on this thread. Let all the bugs get worked out before investing in a Smokefire. Have you checked out the MAK 3? Shoot rwalters a PM. He is an authority on this pellet cooker. It seems to me to be the best on the market for the money.


Just my .02 and Good Luck with your decision.


On edit just found this post: https://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=289607

 

[Titch]

Good to see your on the rebound mate, hope it all goes well.

 

[itschris]

Thanks everyone for the good wishes. I’m not quite there yet but am starting to see a bit of a flame at the end of the tunnel. I think I’ll be able to figure out the new life a bit come mid year and should be ready to make the decisions of where I’m going to live and how with a clear head.

I still have my 22” kettle though it’s seen better days. I like the idea of the Smokefire being able to take the place of multiple coolers. While I was one who always scoffed at a pellet smoker, life has a way of softening certain positions and opinions as thing change. I’m hoping by the time I’m ready to pull the trigger... more of the last bugs will get ironed out. When the time comes, I guess I’ll do a final evaluation. I certainly appreciate all the advice as always.

 

[ModelMaker]

Baby steps my friend, baby steps.
Carry on.
Ed

 

[itschris]

Good advice. Slow and steady... day by day Smelling the smoke again will go a long way to feeling normal.

 

[pjtexas1]

No input on cooker choices. Just wanted to say congrats on getting back to your next, better chapter.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

 

[70monte]

I've been down the divorce road myself and it takes awhile to get right side up but it will eventually come.

I have a friend who has a Smokefire X4 but I'm not sure what version he has. He loves his and has not had any issues that I'm aware of. I've had food off of it and to be honest, it did not have much smoke flavor but I don't know what kind of pellets he used or what temps or settings he had it on. He used to have a Traeger and it didn't seem to have much smoke flavor either.

There are so many options out there these days that it's sometimes hard to figure out what would be the best one that does what you want it to do.

 

[itschris]

I'm not a 100% convinced either. I'm going to be downsizing quite a bit from where I was, so I'm trying to figure out a good way to get the best compromise. I thought about getting another Stumps... perhaps a Baby... but we'll see. I'll keep an eye out for a pre-owned one. I have some time. I was hoping there would be a rotisserie option for the SmokeFire. There seems to be room and that would really make it a no-brainer for me.

I've been down the divorce road myself and it takes awhile to get right side up but it will eventually come.

I have a friend who has a Smokefire X4 but I'm not sure what version he has. He loves his and has not had any issues that I'm aware of. I've had food off of it and to be honest, it did not have much smoke flavor but I don't know what kind of pellets he used or what temps or settings he had it on. He used to have a Traeger and it didn't seem to have much smoke flavor either.

There are so many options out there these days that it's sometimes hard to figure out what would be the best one that does what you want it to do.

 

[Smokin Dawg77]

Solid plan ! great cooker i hope own one myself one day

 

[itschris]

I just stopped at ACE to take a look. I didn't get to detailed in my observation, but I honestly don't see any reason you couldn't add a rotisserie. There seems to be plenty of room.

I may throw a new post out there to see what current owners think.

Solid plan ! great cooker i hope own one myself one day

 

[jkief]

I’m definitely biased. MAK. Hopefully you get the plan worked out and a cooker you’re happy with. That’s all that matters!!