Pellet Fan
Pit Talk -- Comments and Questions Regarding These Pellet Pits => All Other Pellet Manufactures. => Topic started by: Th3Batman86 on November 18, 2019, 10:13:16 AM
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AmazingRibs has an exclusive first look at the new Weber SmokeFire (that is a dumb name IMHO).
Go to their web site to see review.
Interesting design I will give them that. Flavorizers instead of drip tray would allow for more heat to come up. And I like the pellet drop instead of straight feeding and I the ash falling out of the pot design is intersting. I don't like that everything isn't stainless (deflector, grill grates). They didn't specify what type of controller though. I don't know that I have seen one with a centered temp sensor. Or one with a low pellet warning. Double walled is nice for heat retention
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It is an interesting design. I agree with you on the name, too. My GMG has a low pellet warning and it's nice, but I've never let them get that low. Guess we'll wait and see what they think about it.
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My GMG has a low pellet warning and it's nice
I didn't know that about GMG. Nice!
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This really looks like a game changer if it works as well as it's features. IMO, all the features of a MAK or Memphis for the price of a RecTec or Traeger. I like the back vents as smoke stacks are a pain when I keep my grills covered. Nice double walled construction, pellet drop delivery, etc. I also really like not having a grease can hanging on the side, but that also worries me about susceptibility to grease fires. I also feel like their flavorizor bars made food from their gas grills taste better than food from just about any other gas grill and is probably why just about every gas grill out there tries to copy that design now. I'm not saying that gas grill food tastes anywhere near as good as wood fired food, but it will be interesting to see what flavorizers do on a pellet grill, especially with steaks, chops, burgers, etc.
Obviously, this probably doesn't compare in construction quality to MAK, Memphis, Cookshack, Yoder, etc. However, I bet Traeger, RecTec, GMG, and Dansons are in a major panic this morning and pulling the secret bourbon stashes from their desks to mellow the morning. Assembled in Illinois, more features, brand presence already everywhere brick and mortar and online. This could really change the pellet grill world.
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"At long last, a pellet grill that really knows how to grill!"
Sorry, but when you make a statement like this, you lose all credibility with someone who has been cooking on pellet units since 1997. It just tells me you or your staffs depth of knowledge regarding pellet units is weak to say the least...and I will leave it at that!
But I am biased, I have never trusted sites that do "reviews" and then accept money for advertising or product placement on their site from manufactures.
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I have a PG 500 and it can grill quite well. It can also smoke quite well. Up until now, I believe it represented one of the best advances to make grilling possible on a smoker. Now I must say I have never been a big fan of how some pellet smokers "grill". It is more of a baked approach, IMO or one that required swapping grill grates for the smoker grates or doing some other adjustment to make it work. I have liked not having to adjust my smoker to grill or to fire up another grill/take patio space for it. But the downside of the PG500 is that the grilling space is limited and it is hard to see what you are grilling and tight to work in that space. To me, this new grill is clearly the best approach I have ever seen.
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I'll probably never cook on one or eat a meal from one, but I'll have to give Weber their props...the finish on their kettles would be a welcome addition to most of the pellet pits and drums I've been around. I think it's something that sets them apart from their competition yet they don't seem to emphasize it.
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I wonder if those holes in the burn pot will clog up and cause some issues.
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"At long last, a pellet grill that really knows how to grill!"
Sorry, but when you make a statement like this, you lose all credibility with someone who has been cooking on pellet units since 1997. It just tells me you or your staffs depth of knowledge regarding pellet units is weak to say the least...and I will leave it at that!
But I am biased, I have never trusted sites that do "reviews" and then accept money for advertising or product placement on their site from manufactures.
Like any 'reviews' versus the more scientific performance tests you do, they do have to be taken with a grain of salt. I usually look more to the cumulative of multiple reviews to gauge any products worth if I cannot find something like your performance tests. I've read some of that other site's stuff and they are definitely biased to direct/infrared heat for what they define as searing or grilling (as am I for steaks at least). We know here the Cookshack, MAK, Memphis and a few others can already do this and pretty well, but many people look right past these grills as they would never spend that kind of money on any cooker. I think they also mentioned that other pellet grills have direct flame inserts but the cooking space shrinks considerably with it only being effective right over the fire pot.
I am so exited to see one of these Webers that I am actually debating just pre-ordering when it opens up on Cyber Monday.
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I have no doubt, either with time or right now it is a good unit. I guess I despise "reviews".
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I have no doubt, either with time or right now it is a good unit. I guess I despise "reviews".
I agree. I think Weber will put out a quality product and support it as well or better than anyone else out there. And I’m a little disappointed that AmazingRibs would make bold statements like that based on very limited usage and not a full blown test. It’s a bit misleading at this point in time. Makes me question their whole review section.
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I don't like how the grease just drips down into the bottom. It's going to make cleaning it a bear.
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I see we have some conflicting opinions here (expert opinions). I confess I wanted to hate this pit but I'm kind of impressed.
The one thing that really bothers me is that Joe Traeger built the drip pan to eliminate any chance at a flare up. That picture on the site referenced above as promoting a nice sear? That's a huge problem of a flareup! That's what I expect from my gasser. (and cleanup looks messy to me.) I'm fine if Memphis has solved this problem, Webber looks to have exacerbated it.
So I'm a low and slow guy, no need for this to become part of my arsenal, but I'll be watching closely and if another friend takes the plunge to pellet units, this will be on the list I have them check out.
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I don't like how the grease just drips down into the bottom. It's going to make cleaning it a bear.
Looks like the grease dripping into the same pot as the pellet ash is a guarantee for grease fire. Especially on a long low-slow. :2cents:I would certainly wait and see before jumped into any commitment .
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I agree with Bent and others, when I read this earlier today I was immediately turned off by the blanket statement regarding pellet grills not being capable of a decent sear. I’ve long had a skeptical view of AmazingRibs content, Much of it has seemed to be very flavor of the day, basically whoever is sponsoring us this month has got the greatest products. That said, I am intrigued by some of the features of this new Weber and to be sure, it has had lots of R&D, it’s not like they rushed it to market. How it performs out in the wild remains to be seen once it’s in that hands of unbiased pellet enthusiasts, hopefully by some of our members. I look forward to hearing more.
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MSRP is $1150 -- pricey until proven in my book, especially with so many proven units to pick from. I was going to suggest a member funded test of it, but that price tag is too prohibitive for that.
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I am pretty sure Meathead lives in the Elmhurst, IL area which isn't terribly far from where the Weber factory is located.
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MSRP is $1150 -- pricey until proven in my book, especially with so many proven units to pick from. I was going to suggest a member funded test of it, but that price tag is too prohibitive for that.
MAP is $999 and actually what they have listed on their EX4 product page, not that it makes that much difference for a member funded review. Weber is weird like that and usually MSRP on their own site and MAP everywhere else.
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I don't like how the grease just drips down into the bottom. It's going to make cleaning it a bear.
Looks like the grease dripping into the same pot as the pellet ash is a guarantee for grease fire. Especially on a long low-slow. :2cents:I would certainly wait and see before jumped into any commitment .
That was my first thought too. I don't understand how that could work well, but I also can't imagine Weber making a serious mistake. Will wait and see I guess.
Embers falling onto the floor caught my attention too. To be fair it's not a production unit...but...yikes.
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I think a lot of it is name recognition, not so much Weber as the other site. They have the name out there everyone things they are top dog, I see so many things referenced in FB pages on recipes and such like they are the only ones that know how to do it right.
I worked in automotive area, I had many customers that used nothing but Fram filters, I would tell them mine were better an they would argue with me. I said Fram doesn't need to make a top line product they have brand recognition, people will buy it because it says Fram on the box. I would then give them 5 bucks for one of their Fram filters that was the same application as mine and we would go back in the shop and cut them open. They didn't argue with me any more and before long I was selling them filters.
The other site doesn't be have to be the most accurate or best recipes, because people see the name all the ime so they just figure they have to be the best and most knowledgeable.
I was disappointed that the hype was they got to cook on it, but the video was a commercial for the unit no actual cooking video.
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The above or below post, depending on how you have your computer set up, sums it up for me, including the statement about the oil filter I use!
So what should I be using Dave?
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My dad owned an auto parts store, he used to have cut apart filters on display. I believe a WIX salesman showed him that. Yes, Fram oil filters are cheaply made junk and they built their reputation with marketing. To this day I'll never put Fram anything in my vehicles because of that.
Weber, however, has built their reputation with good quality products over decades. No, they are not the only quality grill maker out there by a long shot, nor the best, but you can pretty much count on their products to compete on the premium side of each market they are in. Combined with their huge market presence, that makes this smoker a pretty big deal. It's a real threat to Traeger.
I love that they are making them in the US at that price, though I'd rather pay a bit more for stainless steel grates. I would guess there are more models coming.
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Let me make clear, I have no issue with Weber, I have owned their products and know their quality...my beef lies else where!
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The above or below post, depending on how you have your computer set up, sums it up for me, including the statement about the oil filter I use!
So what should I be using Dave?
I sold at the time and still use Hasting filters.
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My dad owned an auto parts store, he used to have cut apart filters on display. I believe a WIX salesman showed him that. Yes, Fram oil filters are cheaply made junk and they built their reputation with marketing. To this day I'll never put Fram anything in my vehicles because of that.
Weber, however, has built their reputation with good quality products over decades. No, they are not the only quality grill maker out there by a long shot, nor the best, but you can pretty much count on their products to compete on the premium side of each market they are in. Combined with their huge market presence, that makes this smoker a pretty big deal. It's a real threat to Traeger.
I love that they are making them in the US at that price, though I'd rather pay a bit more for stainless steel grates. I would guess there are more models coming.
I wasn't comparing to Weber but the site that did the review.
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Found this video on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcYxx6s_5s
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Found this video on youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPcYxx6s_5s
Impressive!!
Thanks for sharing.
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I know that this is completely irrational and somewhat unreasonable, but I am still going to say it.
I am just put off by someone like Weber coming to the party 20 years after pellet grills were invented -- after all the hard R&D has been done, after the field has been prepared by manufacturers like Traeger, Green Mountain, Memphis, FEC, etc to accept these pits as the real deal, the marketing, the sponsoring of teams at comps, the advertising, the getting the public use to the concept -- and then acting as if they have just discovered this new, marvelous way of cooking. Or, at least, that is how the Weber folks cooking in that video come off. Look at how it cooks this -- look at how it cooks a steak -- look at how it does a brisket. And they aren't inviting pellet cooking teams to their launch party, they are inviting Harry Soo who cooks on Weber bullets with charcoal -- and apparently paying their way to the party! (and I know and like Harry, he will tell you that Bent and I got him started in comp bbq, so nothing against him.)
I get the business model. The pellet pits have finally become main stream and you want to capture a market share. Great. I even get if you want to promote maybe your strengths, such as the finish of the pits as pmillen points out. But where were you 20, 15, even 10 years ago when the things were being developed and improved if you want to brag on how marvelous and advanced your pit is and the variety of things it has done. Sorry, lots of other pellet pit trail blazers have been there, done that way before this pit was around.
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MSRP is $1150 -- pricey until proven in my book, especially with so many proven units to pick from. I was going to suggest a member funded test of it, but that price tag is too prohibitive for that.
I would definitely be willing to pony up some $ for a member funded test on this one. You should do a poll and see if there would be enough interest to make it feasible.
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MSRP is $1150 -- pricey until proven in my book, especially with so many proven units to pick from. I was going to suggest a member funded test of it, but that price tag is too prohibitive for that.
I would definitely be willing to pony up some $ for a member funded test on this one. You should do a poll and see if there would be enough interest to make it feasible.
Challenge will be how to get it to the winner of the raffle as disassembly and boxing/palleting could be difficult. Option could be a donation to the site and then the owners donate the pellet grill to the local fire department after testing.
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Kristin, I think that feeling about Weber is completely reasonable. They are going to bully their way into the market and likely hurt a lot of companies that built what it’s become. That being said, I like Traeger products, but really think the company deserves a beat down. Joe Traeger no, the company today, yes. When I had that Pro 575 last Spring, I was never so insulted as a customer. Hours on hold, told I was an idiot, no responses to emails, weeks to get parts that didn’t fix the problem. Facebook groups and other forums were full of people with the exact same problem and getting the exact same treatment. The day after I returned mine, the released firmware to fix it, but refused to acknowledge the issue before it came out.
GMG and Memphis on the other hand have exceptional customer service from experience. It’s hard to say what impact Weber will have on Memphis, but it will probably hurt GMG, RecTec, Grilla, and most of the others in that sell pellet grills under $999.
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I don't know Kristin, does this mean they should never have joined the pellet smoking world? Mercedes joined the car manufacturing world 20 years after Ford really began the car industry in earnest. I think Mercedes has added a lot to that world. Tesla has really made the auto industry pay attention to the power of electric cars. Now every company is doing it and probably doing it better than Tesla. It's just the way of things... the ones who invent something new are rarely the ones who make the ultimate version of their invention. And if this pit is all it appears to be, Weber may have made the ultimate version of the pellet smoker. As someone who loves pellets, I am glad they did. And now it is in the court of those who launched this genre to come back with something better. I hope they do. Competition makes us all better.
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I think that is fine to join the pellet smoking world, but why not invite pellet users or pellet pit comp teams to your launch if you believe you have made a superior pellet pit? Maybe because they would go back and say that this is nothing new, just another guy jumping in because people are starting to purchase and you want a share of the market.
Again, I don't have a problem with wanting a market share or highlighting something unique you bring to the table. But brisket -- and direct flame cooking of a steak -- and making a point to say your grill gets to 600 degress? Our Memphis Pro, which is 10 years old gets to 900 degrees. As I said, it is somewhat irrational, but I hate johnny come latelys who try to act like they have just invented something new and awesome. I don't know anything about cars -- maybe Mercedes did the same thing. Sorry, but I have yet to be at all impressed by Tesla!
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Yeah, they should have invited me, I am not affiliated with any manufacture. And if they didn't know how great I am I could have told them when I got
there!
I think their only concern will be the 1st time buyer. If they are the $900 gas Weber owner, they may not have any issue. If they are the $275 Performer owner, they may find it a tougher sell.
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Looks like the grease dripping into the same pot as the pellet ash is a guarantee for grease fire. Especially on a long low-slow. :2cents:I would certainly wait and see before jumped into any commitment .
In addition to pellet grills, I also have a traditional Weber kettle charcoal grill with the ash catcher attachment. The ashes fall to the bottom of the kettle along with any grease drippings. It seems to me that the combination of powdery ashes (some still glowing) and drippings result in a somewhat dry 'easy to clean' mixture that can fall through the air vents at the bottom of the kettle. The ashes seem to absorb the grease. The manually controllable air vent control (3-vane 'spider') scrapes along the bottom of the kettle to help move the ash/drippings mixture through the air vents and into the 'ash catcher' removable pan. I've never had a grease flareup from that ash mixture at the bottom of the kettle, although I used to have a flare up when grease dripped directly onto the burning charcoal load. Since I started using GrillGrates, I haven't had any grease flareups in the Weber kettle.
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Just spoke to the Weber customer service people and asked about the ash/grease tray setup. He said that the ash is segregated from the grease so that the ash falls into one area and the grease into another. I guess the grease goes into the disposable drip pan and the ash into the bottom of the drawer or visa versa. Anyhow he said that it was carefully designed with fire avoidance in mind. If that works out well, they will have lots of orders from current Weber fans. btw the starter rod is steel gloplug. I do like the design, :clap:
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You can stay busy for the better part of a day by watching the YouTube weber pellet videos.
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I really don't see any reason to be irritated by this. They had no business reason to get into this market until pellet grills started offering the performance, reliability, and value to start cutting into their market. They didn't have some moral obligation to put their name on products that until recently weren't exactly renowned for their quality and would have cannibalized their existing grills. Inviting a bunch of YouTubers to check it out months before it hits stores was a nice move.
I think it's great that they didn't just copy what was out there. This is a genuinely innovative design with performance that's hard to believe. 0-600 degrees in 15 minutes? Made in USA? Right around $1000? Available from local merchants? Yes, yes, yes, yes, as Freddie said, I want it all! Or, I would if I were going to be in the market next spring. As it is, I'm hoping to get 10 years or more out of my RecTec.
I do have some skepticism that it will work as well as advertised, particularly cleaning and the lack of stainless steel parts. And like others I think the website review posted seems a bit hyperbolic. Looking forward to more reviews.
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And that is why I like to Performance Test a product. They have set the parameter, the Performance Test verify it. It either hit 600° in 15 minutes or it does not. It either uses X amount of pellets at Y temperature or it does not. It either holds X° when set at Y or not!
I do have some skepticism that it will work as well as advertised, particularly cleaning and the lack of stainless steel parts. And like others I think the website review posted seems a bit hyperbolic. Looking forward to more reviews.
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And that is why I like to Performance Test a product. They have set the parameter, the Performance Test verify it. It either hit 600° in 15 minutes or it does not. It either uses X amount of pellets at Y temperature or it does not. It either holds X° when set at Y or not!
That's valuable information. It beats the heck out of spending $1,000 and finding out that the pit doesn't meet the manufacturer's claims.
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And that is why I like to Performance Test a product. They have set the parameter, the Performance Test verify it. It either hit 600° in 15 minutes or it does not. It either uses X amount of pellets at Y temperature or it does not. It either holds X° when set at Y or not!
That's valuable information. It beats the heck out of spending $1,000 and finding out that the pit doesn't meet the manufacturer's claims.
Those test costs me over $5k convincing me to buy a Memphis and a MAK. ;D
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And that is why I like to Performance Test a product. They have set the parameter, the Performance Test verify it. It either hit 600° in 15 minutes or it does not. It either uses X amount of pellets at Y temperature or it does not. It either holds X° when set at Y or not!
That's valuable information. It beats the heck out of spending $1,000 and finding out that the pit doesn't meet the manufacturer's claims.
Those test costs me over $5k convincing me to buy a Memphis and a MAK. ;D
I love PF, I loved PH, but this quote is priceless. This forum has cost me many thousands of dollars. And years of great food to go along with it.
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This question is for anyone that has a pit that vents the same way as the weber does. How much grease drips down the back of the units out of these vents?
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This question is for anyone that has a pit that vents the same way as the weber does. How much grease drips down the back of the units out of these vents?
Traeger Juniors vent this way. I don't remember any grease dripping down the back of mine...but it's been a few years now.
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If any of you listen to the BBQ Central Show, Kevin Kolman from Weber does an interview during the second hour this past Tuesday night. I'm in the middle of it right now and it's a decent interview so far. He claims he has 800 hours logged on the SmokeFire prototypes and that he had 'almost every' other pellet grill in his back yard at one point doing research beforehand. They are still claiming some of the features are unique, so if that bothers you, I'd recommend passing. If you just curious about the product it's a good listen.
One thing that was interesting was the talk about some of the predictive cooking - like steak carryover to get the perfect steak by pulling it X degrees below desired based upon the cut and thinkness. Not that anyone here would ever need something like that, but would be interesting to see how accurate that could possibly be. Also, the Meater already has this too, so they aren't the first 8)
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When I watched one of the videos about the new Weber, they discussed how chimneys create uneven heating and air flow, and that the vents along the back help to create more smoke flavor and ensure even smoke/heat distribution. It made sense to me. Has anyone considered closing off the chimney exit on their GMG and cutting vents/louvers along the back? I'd be interested in seeing how this works, and if it evens out the heat across the surface area.
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When I watched one of the videos about the new Weber, they discussed how chimneys create uneven heating and air flow, and that the vents along the back help to create more smoke flavor and ensure even smoke/heat distribution. It made sense to me. Has anyone considered closing off the chimney exit on their GMG and cutting vents/louvers along the back? I'd be interested in seeing how this works, and if it evens out the heat across the surface area.
It may snuff out the firepot
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My WholeHog had vents in the back I am assuming are like what they are talking about, I have not watched any video on the unit. I dont recall it making a great difference in that area.
(https://i110.photobucket.com/albums/n90/lwnna/BBQ%20Pits/IMG_0543.jpg)
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My Traeger Select (BBQ-400) does not have a chimney, it vent across the back the same as the Weber.
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My Memphis vents out the back and my MAK vents out the sides of the hood
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I like it. Very attractive unit.
I like the fact that they are out there jumping into the pellet arena and trying some new approaches and ideas.
Market away. Join the club. Everybody pushes their own product line to the hilt.
I doubt very much that this new Weber will outperform my mighty Memphis Advantage.
But hey Weber, bring it on!
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And that is why I like to Performance Test a product. They have set the parameter, the Performance Test verify it. It either hit 600° in 15 minutes or it does not. It either uses X amount of pellets at Y temperature or it does not. It either holds X° when set at Y or not!
That's valuable information. It beats the heck out of spending $1,000 and finding out that the pit doesn't meet the manufacturer's claims.
Those test costs me over $5k convincing me to buy a Memphis and a MAK. ;D
I prefer to look at it from the point of view of how much this site has saved me in food costs and frustration level by showing me the right way to do it.
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This question is for anyone that has a pit that vents the same way as the weber does. How much grease drips down the back of the units out of these vents?
Traeger Juniors vent this way. I don't remember any grease dripping down the back of mine...but it's been a few years now.
Stampede also vents out the back, No drips seen after 6 months.