New 14.5 Weber Smokey Mountain!


 

Rusty James

TVWBB Emerald Member
Hi all,

Just got an early birthday gift and quickly seasoned it yesterday.

However, as of this writing, I am doing hot & fast chicken legs, but the thermostat appears to be flaky. Unfortunately, after a call to Weber, they refuse to offer any kind of warranty on the smoker because it was purchased at less than retail (they kept asking me strange questions during the warranty registration yesterday).

I'm aghast. How are they going to build a good customer relationship if they won't even honor their own warranty??

Anyone else had an issue like this??
 
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Interesting. If it's any consolation I believe you'd simply get a replacement Weber thermometer not much better than what you have. I recommend a TelTrue replacement
 
Interesting. If it's any consolation I believe you simply get a replacement Weber thermometer. Not much better than what you have. I recommend a TelTrue replacement

But to get zero warranty on any part of the smoker is weird to say the least. Even if the unit was purchased at less than retail, Weber got their payment from the retailer. It was the retailer that took the loss - not Weber. Why would they run the risk of making an enemy over such a small item as a thermometer?

It makes no sense.
 
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Rusty, the thermometers are not worthy of the Weber name. Everything else about the smoker is top notch. I wouldn't sweat it too much, if anything else goes wrong I am pretty sure they would correct the problem. Get yourself a Maverick or something similar.
 
Understood, but to leave a customer out in the cold like that is unthinkable in today's retail world - especially for a name brand like Weber.

I like a dome thermometer; are there any that fit the dome like the original (covering all the gaps)?
 
A lot of stuff that gets sold at close out price is sold as is, no warranty, no returns.


That's true, and I have purchased items as such, but there is usually a disclaimer of some sort (most often a retailer notice of no return, or sold as is - meaning the retailer-only will not offer a refund or offer an exchange) attached to the items before the purchase is made. Even so, I can't count the times I have made such purchases, and yet the manufacturer still warranted the product - simply because it was their product.

It's not so much the quality of the Weber thermometer, it's the fact that they refused to warranty a brand new item just because it was purchased at less than retail. Granted, I'll probably never use the warranty, although this particular unit has a slight rock when nested together, but I figured a good seasoning would help seal the leak, so I never complained about it.

Again, it's not so much the quality, of lack thereof, of the part in question, it's the way I was treated, and the many *unusual* questions I was asked during the warranty registration process.

A word of advice; be careful what you tell these reps during registration, because I read an article where Weber refused to honor a warranty on a brand new leaky gas grill just because the item was purchased at less that retail (from a reputable retailer). That's bordering on corporate insanity in my opinion and could possibly open the manufacturer up to a libel suit if a less than savvy end-user suffers injury.

Again, it just doesn't make sense.
 
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In other news, the hot & fast chicken legs were sensational. This little beast is fast becoming my go-to smoker / grill. I'll order one of the better thermostats ASAP.
 
What does "less than retail" mean? Where did you buy it? Weber's warranty wouldn't have anything to do with the price you pay. It would have more to do with buying it from a non-authorized dealer or second hand. I'm not sure what's going on, but what you describe is totally the opposite of any interaction of mine with Weber. I won't go into detail, but I've contacted them with some really odd situations and they still worked something out with me. Did you get it from "some guy on the corner"?
 
What does "less than retail" mean? Where did you buy it? Weber's warranty wouldn't have anything to do with the price you pay. It would have more to do with buying it from a non-authorized dealer or second hand. I'm not sure what's going on, but what you describe is totally the opposite of any interaction of mine with Weber. I won't go into detail, but I've contacted them with some really odd situations and they still worked something out with me. Did you get it from "some guy on the corner"?


Less than retail means the retailer sold the item for less than the retail price. I should have clarified that point in my previous posts. The retailer was Walmart, and the smoker was a display item (all the boxed units were gone).

There was some missing hardware, and I called Weber to get replacements, and once they found out the smoker was a display item, they asked me how much the smoker cost and talked as if they would not honor the warranty because of the discounted price. I thought the rep was mistaken (or having a bad day), but when I talked to a different rep the following day about the flaky thermometer, I was, again, told there would be no warranty coverage for my smoker.

I don't get it.
 
I don't get it either. The warranty (below) only states that you be the original purchaser. I guess the premise might be that a floor model is a second purchase, but I sure don't see it that way and I can't understand why Weber would be giving you a hard time given their reputation for very good customer service. Sorry to hear that but hopefully you got a good enough deal on it that it was still a good deal even if you have to put a better thermometer in it. I guess you can take some solace in knowing that even a good Weber thermometer is not a good thermometer. Rather than worry about the thermometer, I would look at this:

http://www.thermoworks.com/Smoke?tw=VWB&chan=TVWBB

Chris may have a link that will benefit this board so it'd be good to check with him if you're going to buy.

WARRANTY Weber-Stephen Products LLC (Weber) hereby warrants to the ORIGINAL PURCHASER of this Weber® Smokey Mountain Cooker™ Smoker that it will be free from defects in material and workmanship from the date of purchase as follows:
 
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Thanks, Jerry. That thermometer link you posted has been on my to-order list for a while now, but income limitations have prevented me from ordering one for the time being. I do have a couple of analog probe thermometers that I use for measuring meat doneness.

The Weber dome thermometer on my 18" WSM has held up well so far, although I haven't compared it to a professional model yet. The 14" WSM thermometer worked fine the first day, but the next day it barely registered above 100 degrees at first - then the reading actually dropped to less than 100 and finally rotated counterclockwise to 275 degrees or so - where it stayed until the fire was extinguished. Never seen a thermometer of any kind go in reverse, lol - until now. :eek:

Looking forward to tomorrow. Going to smoke some country-style ribs and chicken parts on the 14.5 WSM. :smilekettle:
 
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When I had a bent center section, I was only asked for the serial number, no other purchase info was asked for. Your experience
sounds much less enjoyable than mine was.
 
When I had a bent center section, I was only asked for the serial number, no other purchase info was asked for. Your experience
sounds much less enjoyable than mine was.


Looking back, maybe I volunteered too much information saying it was a display item, but that shouldn't have made any difference in the warranty coverage unless their is a clause in the print saying so - which I haven't found yet, but lawyer-talk can be tricky.

There was some curious talk about the relevance of the serial number during the registration process as if the number belonged specifically to a display item, but it was just some fuzzy back & forth conversation that sounded irrelevant.
 
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I paid less then retail for my 14" WSM at Walmart. I registered mine online and didn't have a problem getting a part covered under warranty. As a matter of fact they sent me a second part when the first one didn't arrive when it was suppose to.
 
I got my 14.5 WSM at Walmart for way less than retail and it was an open box. Weber actually sent me the 3 missing pieces after a lengthy conversation with the service rep. She told me that they weren't really supposed to send missing parts if it was bought at a discount, especially open box. She did notice that I had 5 grills registered with them already. A couple of days after they sent the parts I received an apron and towel set from them with a nice card.
 
I actually bought my WSM used and the door leaked really bad. Registered it online and told them about the door. They sent me a door no questions asked and even included some towels. Dealing with Weber was one of the best experiences I have ever had with a company.
 
I got my 14.5 WSM at Walmart for way less than retail and it was an open box. Weber actually sent me the 3 missing pieces after a lengthy conversation with the service rep. She told me that they weren't really supposed to send missing parts if it was bought at a discount, especially open box. She did notice that I had 5 grills registered with them already. A couple of days after they sent the parts I received an apron and towel set from them with a nice card.

You're kidding me. They actually sent you the parts, extras, and nice card too??

I never would have called them to begin with (the first day), but I needed some missing hardware, and they even balked on that.

This is my third grill, but the first out-of-box unit I've ever owned. Looks like they would have bit the bullet on such trivial parts and went out of their way to assist me. At least it's good to hear the rest of you have been taken care of.
 
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Maybe weber displays are not intended to be sold as functional items so there is no warranty. Kind of like getting a black and decker drill or dermal that was a display with the cord cut off, or no internals. Yea you can fix it so it works but it was never intended to be sold as a working unit. That would explain why display models carry a different serial number.
 
Maybe weber displays are not intended to be sold as functional items so there is no warranty. Kind of like getting a black and decker drill or dermal that was a display with the cord cut off, or no internals. Yea you can fix it so it works but it was never intended to be sold as a working unit. That would explain why display models carry a different serial number.


Interesting point, JBooker, and something worth looking into. The amount I paid for the smoker and the reply I got corresponded with Pat G's experience - except they honored their warranty with Pat and not with me.
 

 

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