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[okie smokie]

After watching several You Tube videos about the problems with the SmokeFire I am really disappointed that Weber apparently did not do diligence (as they claimed) in their design and testing. Their prejudice against a drip tray and in favor of the flavorizer bars is the main thing that ruins the unit IMO.  The hopper problem is an easy fix. (without loss of volume). Diverting the grease to the side is a must, and you can't do that with flavorer bars. 
Also, a more even distribution of the flames could be done with a movable heat deflector (like many of us have found with our pits) to even out the temps across the grates.  I wondered why they did not have grease fires on their own promo videos? Bet it was because they cleaned the grill before each cook. Meanwhile fire seemed to happen to many that they sent the units to. Most of those guys sent them back. Very disappointing. 

[Canadian John]

 
 Just wondering if a  big company like Webber who's only game is cooking/BBQ would generate a  2 ND generation pit to address all these issues and restore customer confidence..They ventured too far out on a

limb and it broke.

[BigDave83]

I am not 100% sure that it is not a good product, but wonder if people that got them just assumed they were going to work like a normal pellet cooker, this thing seems to be anything but normal and hence it would have a learning curve. I have watched a guy that bought one on youtube and he was still using it the last I looked he said he was going to figure it out and seems to like it. I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

[pmillen]

I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

I think the same.  Does anyone have first-hand knowledge that meat grilled on it carries some wood fire flavor?  My REC TEC Bullseye didn't fulfill that promise.  I already have a gasser that cooks meat but doesn't add anything.

[Bar-B-Lew]

I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

I think the same.  Does anyone have first-hand knowledge that meat grilled on it carries some wood fire flavor?  My REC TEC Bullseye didn't fulfill that promise.  I already have a gasser that cooks meat but doesn't add anything.

glitchy can chime in but I recall him really liking the flavor of the grilled meat on his SmokeFire before he took it back

[hughver]

your pellet grill needs to be designed to ensure that the pellets continue to flow from the hopper to the auger without any funnels or whatever else you want to call that phenomenon when they do not.

I wonder if a vibrator mechanism would solve the problem. My coffee maker has a similar design problem but the vibration from the grinder keeps things moving until its empty.   .

[GatorDave]

I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

I think the same.  Does anyone have first-hand knowledge that meat grilled on it carries some wood fire flavor?  My REC TEC Bullseye didn't fulfill that promise.  I already have a gasser that cooks meat but doesn't add anything.

I know that you really didn't like the Bullseye.  I've had better luck with it.  I think you might really like the Masterbuilt Gravity smoker.  I talked my stepson into getting that, and it is a really nice unit.  Cleanup is surprisingly easy compared to most pellet grills, and it gets the high temps that are great for steaks, as well as the low and slow.  Plus, it can run all day on a small battery pack if you want to go that route.

[Ross77]

I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

I think the same.  Does anyone have first-hand knowledge that meat grilled on it carries some wood fire flavor?  My REC TEC Bullseye didn't fulfill that promise.  I already have a gasser that cooks meat but doesn't add anything.

I know that you really didn't like the Bullseye.  I've had better luck with it.  I think you might really like the Masterbuilt Gravity smoker.  I talked my stepson into getting that, and it is a really nice unit.  Cleanup is surprisingly easy compared to most pellet grills, and it gets the high temps that are great for steaks, as well as the low and slow.  Plus, it can run all day on a small battery pack if you want to go that route.

I have the Masterbuilt Gravity Series.  It's all that you say.  Amazing flavor.

[pmillen]

I think you might really like the Masterbuilt Gravity smoker.  t gets the high temps that are great for steaks, as well as the low and slow.

I might like it.  Does it impart some wood fire flavor when used as a grill?  Marcia and I think that charcoal does, or hot wood coals do when we use an attachment to convert our Weber kettle to a Santa Maria grill.

Sorry to move this conversation away from pellets.

[glitchy]

I also think it is set up to be a much better high temp cooker than long low slow cooker.  If I needed another cooker like this I would consider it.

I think the same.  Does anyone have first-hand knowledge that meat grilled on it carries some wood fire flavor?  My REC TEC Bullseye didn't fulfill that promise.  I already have a gasser that cooks meat but doesn't add anything.

glitchy can chime in but I recall him really liking the flavor of the grilled meat on his SmokeFire before he took it back

It definitely put the most smoke flavor on food of all the pellet grills I’ve had and was very noticeable at all temps. I cooked a frozen pizza at 425 with hickory pellets and didn’t like it because there was too much smoke. Did another one a few days later with there mix and it was still very noticeable but good. Also noticed a lot more smoke on burgers and chops in the 400-450 range. I think most of it is the flavorizer bars and some the fire pot maybe having small pieces fall through and smolder in the ash tray.

My pellet grill is my lazy grill. I don’t want to clean it every cook, mess with drip pans, etc. If that doesn’t bother you, Weber is giving everyone that requests one a hopper insert too. With those caveats, it’s a pretty good grill. They also have an auto relight update coming or already out.

[Ross77]

I think you might really like the Masterbuilt Gravity smoker.  t gets the high temps that are great for steaks, as well as the low and slow.

I might like it.  Does it impart some wood fire flavor when used as a grill?  Marcia and I think that charcoal does, or hot wood coals do when we use an attachment to convert our Weber kettle to a Santa Maria grill.

Sorry to move this conversation away from pellets.

It does.  Mix wood chunks in with the charcoal and/or add wood chunks to the ash bin.

[okie smokie]

Any news about Weber and the smoker.  Have they actually changed the configuration any, or is there an ad-on mod for preventing grease fire, or improving pellet hopper???

[Bar-B-Lew]

Looks like they have made quite a few changes to their app and controller programming, but no mention of the changes that you are asking about.

https://www.engadget.com/weber-smokefire-grills-update-smokeboost-remote-control-firmware-173014646.html

[02ebz06]

I've been away for waaaay tooooo loooong.
First commercial I've seen for it was last night.
On sale, for $999 ($200 off) until 7/13/20.

Leaving the reviews "off" their web site would probably be in their best interest.
This is on the web site:

[Ross77]

Yeah they should take a look at the RecTec website where every review is 5 stars...