Would you buy this?


 
W

Wayne Dimirsky

TVWBB Super Fan
A friend of mine has what he says is a 1st generation Smokefire EX4 even though I thought he told me it was a 2nd generation when he got it but anyway, he wants to sell it because he bought another pellet grill brand. He said he would sell it to me for $100. He said he has had some grease fire issues and I'm not sure what else. The bracket that holds the flavorizer bars is either rusted or broke. It grill still works though. Is this thing worth $100 even if it's a 1st generation. If I have to buy the 2nd generation upgrades, it might not be worth it.

I have never gone the pellet grill route, but I thought for $100 I might try it.
 
Pictures would help but it sounds like the grease fires may have done some damage. If there is no internal damage and all it needs is to be disassembled and cleaned well, I'd be all over it like white on rice
 
LMichaels said:
Pictures would help but it sounds like the grease fires may have done some damage. If there is no internal damage and all it needs is to be disassembled and cleaned well, I'd be all over it like white on rice
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He send me the part # which is 22510001 which I think is a 1st generation. He did tell me it got all new auger parts and updates to the pellet bin last year because he left pellets in it when he washed it and it jammed up the auger and burned it up. I told him I would buy it. He did register it for warranty purposes when he bought it so if there is anything that may still be under warranty, I'm sure I can get him to order it.
 
Wayne Dimirsky said:
He send me the part # which is 22510001 which I think is a 1st generation. He did tell me it got all new auger parts and updates to the pellet bin last year because he left pellets in it when he washed it and it jammed up the auger and burned it up. I told him I would buy it. He did register it for warranty purposes when he bought it so if there is anything that may still be under warranty, I'm sure I can get him to order it.
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2250001 is the model number for the Gen1 EX4. BUT, the new auger that he put in and the hopper change makes it the same as a Gen2. :D 100 bucks is a great price. Him being willing to order parts is a bonus. This is the warranty off the Weber site.
  • Cook box and all components not covered below - 5 years
  • Electrical components - 3 years
  • Cooking grates, pellet slide, burn pot, heat baffle, pellet grate, controller bezel - 3 years
If he registered it less than 3 years ago have him put in a warranty claim for those flavorizer bar supports. They are thin metal and don't hold up to regular high heat usage. If you're not adverse to using Facebook, we have a great Smokefire group with friendly helpful people and a member generated FAQ that has tons of useful info for Smokefire owners. Weber SmokeFire WoodFired Pellet Grill: Owners Group Have fun.
 
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Thanks for the information. He said he has had it for about three years so most of the warranty is probably gone but I don't have a problem buying new flavorizer bar supports. I'm going to go get it tomorrow so I will see what other things it might need. I'm not sure if he has ever updated the controller software. I will have to ask him. Do you know what the latest update numbers are for the controller? What is the name of the FB group?
 
Here are some pictures if they come through. The flavorizer bar holders are wasted and will need to be replaced. All of the other internal parts are still serviceable but do have some rust issues.
 

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LMichaels said:
In fairness to Weber, that grill seems to have been rode hard and put away wet. We other folks on here with them in the same age range not reporting those issues. Perhaps good maintenance plays a role here
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Do ”we” own and use a Smokefire?
In fairness to Weber, the V bar hangers and original pellet shoot are completely under gauge material. It’s just the truth.
And yes, there have been others on this forum complain about the same thing and having to replace them.
They might be fine over time if you only slow cook. But the Smokefire is taunted as a high temp searing machine.

added: Sorry LM, that was very snappy. But if you were able to actually hold these pieces in your hands I’m sure you would not want them in your $1500 grill.
 
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Wow. I could have sworn my flavorizer holders were stainless. I’m going to have to check in the morning. I know mine aren’t even remotely deteriorated as I’m very very dry here in WY, even with a month of rain or three feet of snow, we’re dry🤣

Not sure if Weber would warrant those or not, if you sent pics I think there’s a chance. Those are bad. New holders and new flavorizers and she should be off to the races
 
TimA said:
Wow. I could have sworn my flavorizer holders were stainless. I’m going to have to check in the morning. I know mine aren’t even remotely deteriorated as I’m very very dry here in WY, even with a month of rain or three feet of snow, we’re dry🤣

Not sure if Weber would warrant those or not, if you sent pics I think there’s a chance. Those are bad. New holders and new flavorizers and she should be off to the races
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There are many different grades of stainless and sheet metal.
The stainless side shelf on the right side in front of the control panel seems to be a fairly good grade of stainless. Much better than the accessory fold down front shelves.
I know my V bar hanger on the back side was bent very easily when I hit it with my grill brush cleaning it the first time.
Weber Customer Service has been really good handling these things. But will they continue doing so long enough that you feel like you got your money’s worth out of the grill if you spent full price on it? How many years of use should you expect out of grill in this price range?
I know I have owned a couple of my ceramic grills for over 20 year. Some of the ceramic parts have been replaced due to cracking. But they have lifetime warranty on ceramics. I owned a Weber Summit gas grill for many years. Still worked great when I sold it. We all know the Kettle grills and Smokey Mountain cookers are bulletproof.
I’m just in a loss trying to guess what to expect out of this grill and glad it’s not my only outdoor cooker.
 
Well to be honest, I bought it fully expecting it to last 20+ years, assuming electronics didn’t poop out before then.

The porcelain coating was the big draw because I know if I got a lesser one that was merely painted or powder coated, it would fade and have finish issues and I wasn’t about to do that.

I may be in the best spot on the planet for Smokefire survival honestly. Time shall tell
 
Darian Hofer said:
Do ”we” own and use a Smokefire?
In fairness to Weber, the V bar hangers and original pellet shoot are completely under gauge material. It’s just the truth.
And yes, there have been others on this forum complain about the same thing and having to replace them.
They might be fine over time if you only slow cook. But the Smokefire is taunted as a high temp searing machine.

added: Sorry LM, that was very snappy. But if you were able to actually hold these pieces in your hands I’m sure you would not want them in your $1500 grill.
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I agree wth Darian on this. In the FB group we've discussed and haven't really formed a consensus on why some people get the corrosion and some of us don't. Age seems to be a factor but regular high heat cooks may also contribute to the problem. If it were lack of a regular cleaning ritual mine would be a pile of rust. If it were just age my 3 yr. old grill should be heavily corroded. My grill has a little rust but it's not eating away at components. Since 2020 we've been saying that Weber needs to beef up some of their internal components. I don't now if that was done with the Stealth or Sear+ versions.
 
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