Weber Smokefire: Great Grill - Still Learning


 
B

Bob Moreno

New member
I'm on my 2nd week with my Gen2 EX6. I went for the additional front and side shelves and Weber cover (oh yeah, and three shiny new 9930 grates from RCplanebuyer). Cooked pork ribs, flanken beef ribs, beef short ribs, some veggies, and a turkey. All came out great! There is a learning curve and I'm still figuring out best way to cook with this thing. Under 300 degrees F, Temps are fairly even across all three grates. Above 350, the right side starts to heat above the left side. Cooking the Turkey at 325F, the right side averaged a full 90F above the left, However, this did not affect the results which was a GREAT bird. I monitor grate temps using my Thermoworks Signals and a couple of High-Temp ambient probes. Today, I ran the EX6 empty with two probes (Left and Right grates) for a couple hours, adjusting the WSF temperature and recording the results. The EX6 lid remained closed through the entire exercise. I graphed the Left and Right grates, and the WSF "set temp". See the attached JPG for WSF setting Vs actual grate temps. Prior to above exercise, I cleaned the fire pot, grease channel, and made sure the EX6 was level, and that all the parts were installed correctly and well centered. The left grate temp seemed to match the WSF setting at each temp, 200F through 500F. The right side however ran hotter at settings above 300F and the difference (error) increased as the WSF temp setting increased. At 500F setting, the right side exceeded the Thermoworks probe limits (560?) and stopped recording. As the grill cooled, the right side probe starting reporting again. I've attached a graph of today's exercise. Like i said, still learning and will post any new observations / ideas as I have time.
 

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Bob Moreno said:
He has a presence on eBay, but wasn't listing grates. Then I checked again and he was listing on eBay. On further investigation, I found his presence on CraigsList: https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/for/d/weber-flavor-bars-and-grates/7677728121.html . You can "save" ~$5 per grate on Craigslist... Ordered the three grates on Friday, Had them in the EX6 on Saturday! We are nearby to each other so UPS Ground worked for "Overnight" shipping.
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Well I will have to ask him about doing some for my pellet cookers
 
LMichaels said:
I thought he was out of the grate business
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He was for a while when raw materials cost and supply were a problem. His CL ads started appearing again locally a while back, so I figured those problems must have solved themselves. Not sure if he's back to making everything he used to or not. His shop is only about 3 mi from my house.

R
 
Bob Moreno said:
I'm on my 2nd week with my Gen2 EX6. I went for the additional front and side shelves and Weber cover (oh yeah, and three shiny new 9930 grates from RCplanebuyer). Cooked pork ribs, flanken beef ribs, beef short ribs, some veggies, and a turkey. All came out great! There is a learning curve and I'm still figuring out best way to cook with this thing. Under 300 degrees F, Temps are fairly even across all three grates. Above 350, the right side starts to heat above the left side. Cooking the Turkey at 325F, the right side averaged a full 90F above the left, However, this did not affect the results which was a GREAT bird. I monitor grate temps using my Thermoworks Signals and a couple of High-Temp ambient probes. Today, I ran the EX6 empty with two probes (Left and Right grates) for a couple hours, adjusting the WSF temperature and recording the results. The EX6 lid remained closed through the entire exercise. I graphed the Left and Right grates, and the WSF "set temp". See the attached JPG for WSF setting Vs actual grate temps. Prior to above exercise, I cleaned the fire pot, grease channel, and made sure the EX6 was level, and that all the parts were installed correctly and well centered. The left grate temp seemed to match the WSF setting at each temp, 200F through 500F. The right side however ran hotter at settings above 300F and the difference (error) increased as the WSF temp setting increased. At 500F setting, the right side exceeded the Thermoworks probe limits (560?) and stopped recording. As the grill cooled, the right side probe starting reporting again. I've attached a graph of today's exercise. Like i said, still learning and will post any new observations / ideas as I have time.
Click to expand...
I think the fan has something to do with the temp variation
 
If you don't mind sharing, can you let us know what Dave's grates are going for now? You are getting three; a regular older Genesis 1000 or Silver/Gold/Platinum would use two of the same kind.

I saw where Dave put on his eBay ad that he would be discontinuing selling on eBay. So, you will have to contact him through Craigslist. That saves him and us! You are lucky to be able to just drop in to his shop :coolkettle: .
 
Jon Tofte said:
If you don't mind sharing, can you let us know what Dave's grates are going for now? You are getting three; a regular older Genesis 1000 or Silver/Gold/Platinum would use two of the same kind.

I saw where Dave put on his eBay ad that he would be discontinuing selling on eBay. So, you will have to contact him through Craigslist. That saves him and us! You are lucky to be able to just drop in to his shop :coolkettle: .
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Keep in mind that Stainless Steel Bars are a commodity, and the cost of materials can change over short periods of time. That said, my 1st set of grates in 2014 went for $60 a grate. 2nd set in 2017 was the same. Now in 2023, my price was $80 a grate plus shipping. As for size/application of the grates... better to refer to the grate by dimensions and make sure they are a direct replacement of the grates you have... the specs on the 9930 grates are "11. 75 x 17. 25 solid 3/8" stainless steel rod". Hope this helps.
 
Bob Moreno said:
Keep in mind that Stainless Steel Bars are a commodity, and the cost of materials can change over short periods of time. That said, my 1st set of grates in 2014 went for $60 a grate. 2nd set in 2017 was the same. Now in 2023, my price was $80 a grate plus shipping. As for size/application of the grates... better to refer to the grate by dimensions and make sure they are a direct replacement of the grates you have... the specs on the 9930 grates are "11. 75 x 17. 25 solid 3/8" stainless steel rod". Hope this helps.
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Sounds like a set of two that size, which is correct for the older Genesis grills (as well as Spirit 300 and 1st generation Summits), would go for ~$160 plus shipping. That's getting higher but much more realistic than when Dave was saying they would have to be priced at $250 a set. I hope he can keep making them.
 
I would really like a set of those for my Big Z. They used 7mm porcelain grates spaced a little further than I would like. Still WAY better than many other grills I see like Traegers which use grate bars not much larger than 12ga wire and wide enough to put my whole thumb through. At least the Z's are about twice the thickness of Traeger and many others and they're porcelain coated so clean up pretty easy
The Member's Mark has 9mm rods and MUCH tighter spacing than the Z, though porcelain coated. I can live with that until they're worn out and then determine whether I proceed with new different ones or replace the grill. But, yeah if I have one minor gripe on the Z is that they kinda "cheaped out" on grates.
 
Stainless steel grates are okay but I prefer CI grates. They look better too in the SmokeFire imo. I love cooking on CI, plus I think they help retain heat better.

Comparison pics, stock grate far left before I replaced with CI.

IMG_2282.JPGIMG_2349.JPG
 
I prefer a nice beefy 8-9mm stainless rod grate. But I have to agree with you that the cast iron grates you put on look better than the thin, stock grates.
 
My Z is larger front to back than Weber grills so unlike SF I cannot use my Weber grates in it :( Wish I could. I tried the Wolf grates but they're bigger than the Z. In any case I would if I could.
 
Welcome to the Forum and congrats on the EX6. I've been running one for 40 months and not giving it up. Did you remove the finger guard from the pellet hopper?
 
Lew Newby said:
Welcome to the Forum and congrats on the EX6. I've been running one for 40 months and not giving it up. Did you remove the finger guard from the pellet hopper?
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Hi Lew, Not yet, but that's on my list. I'm using Cabela's pellets $9.99/20lbs, plus I get a 10% Veterans discount, plus free shipping. I've burned through 60 lbs so far and have another 320 lbs in the mail (how do they do that?). Cabela's pellets are smaller in diameter and I'm hoping jams won't be an issue (haven't yet). I'll probably remove them next time the pellets are low enough while I have a screwdriver handy. Both have to happen at the same time ;-).
 
Bob Moreno said:
Hi Lew, Not yet, but that's on my list. I'm using Cabela's pellets $9.99/20lbs, plus I get a 10% Veterans discount, plus free shipping. I've burned through 60 lbs so far and have another 320 lbs in the mail (how do they do that?). Cabela's pellets are smaller in diameter and I'm hoping jams won't be an issue (haven't yet). I'll probably remove them next time the pellets are low enough while I have a screwdriver handy. Both have to happen at the same time ;-).
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After using many brands successfully I settled on Cabelas. They’re made by Lumberjack in the the same factory where they make Weber pellets.
 
Lew, I think that’s a sound choice. I have Rural King not too far from me. After a disastrous roll out of their own house brand that got poor reviews, RK has brought back Lumberjack at great prices.
 
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