A new Weber pellet grill - The Searwood


 
Jon Tofte

Jon Tofte

TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
On first blush does not sound like much of anything. Guess it's a wait and see. However if true and given the level the product has risen to, a very good time may be coming up for those who would like their first (or 2nd, 3rd) Smokefire. But sounds disappointing in a way for the price point they're not even including higher quality grates (hell even porcelain coated heavy gauge steel). Plated IMO is just plain el cheapo.
 
Yeah, I think this is the replacement that probably Weber is hoping will give them another shot at getting on the sales floor at the major retailers.

Too early to say what to think of the design, but this teaser is at least interesting.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Yeah, I think this is the replacement that probably Weber is hoping will give them another shot at getting on the sales floor at the major retailers.

Too early to say what to think of the design, but this teaser is at least interesting.
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I think you are right, it’s an attempt to do something to get more real estate on the sales floor.
 
There’s absolutely nothing wrong with plated grates. They work and work fine. I don’t understand the hate. Price point isn’t a valid argument IMO.

I’d hate to see Smokefire discontinued. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with it and it’s a phenomenal cooker.
 
Very interesting. With the 24" being more than three times the price I paid for my 24" camp chef I really don't think I'm in the market for one. After over a hundred cooks on the CC with no failures I really can't justify it. But I wish Weber all the best with the Searwood, hope it gets them back in the game espically with the big box retailers.
 
I used to have kettles all the time. Had to replace the grates every year. The "hate" is because I got sick of chewing on chrome plating. And before you ask, yes they were Weber OEM grates. Chrome plating is just not good stuff in a cooker (at least in my experience). At the time I was buying kettles they were pretty inexpensive < $60 so the plated grates were forgivable. But not in a $1400 piece of equipment. Sorry nothing gonna change my opinion of them because it's based on my experience with them. So call it hate or call it just bad experiences. I don't call it hate, simply experiences that did not meet expectations.
 
Bob Erdman said:
Just a rumor at this point. They would be idiots to discontinue the SmokeFire.

The SmokeFire is hands-down the best cooker in my arsenal.
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I love mine as well, but it's getting replaced. The name "Smokefire," is
still a huge negative for many folks who had a bad experience, know
someone who did or simply remembers all the bad comments and bad press.
 
I can't help but wonder if so much of the bad press came from people buying them, not understanding the quirks of the genre of pellet grills (regardless of brand), and perhaps had different expectations. I saw some of those videos about grease fires (those being a lot of the bad press) and could not help but wonder why they just did not clean the grease out once in a while. Just like a gas grill. You have open flame in the presence of something else flammable if it builds up (grease), clean it out. Issue solved. I know some of you early adopters also had some feed issues with the pellets. I watched that with interest. Not to make fun or be a hater, but to see how folks who tried actually coped. I see a lot of success here. So it looks like things worked
 
LMichaels said:
I used to have kettles all the time. Had to replace the grates every year. The "hate" is because I got sick of chewing on chrome plating. And before you ask, yes they were Weber OEM grates. Chrome plating is just not good stuff in a cooker (at least in my experience). At the time I was buying kettles they were pretty inexpensive < $60 so the plated grates were forgivable. But not in a $1400 piece of equipment. Sorry nothing gonna change my opinion of them because it's based on my experience with them. So call it hate or call it just bad experiences. I don't call it hate, simply experiences that did not meet expectations.
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Your view on the plated grates on the kettle are understandable. But I think they will fair much better on the pellet grill that tops out at 600 with no real direct flames.
 
I can't help but wonder if so much of the bad press came from people buying them, not understanding the quirks of the genre of pellet grills (regardless of brand), and perhaps had different expectations.

Tons of newbies have Traegers. Are there many complaints about those?
 
LMichaels said:
I used to have kettles all the time. Had to replace the grates every year. The "hate" is because I got sick of chewing on chrome plating. And before you ask, yes they were Weber OEM grates. Chrome plating is just not good stuff in a cooker (at least in my experience). At the time I was buying kettles they were pretty inexpensive < $60 so the plated grates were forgivable. But not in a $1400 piece of equipment. Sorry nothing gonna change my opinion of them because it's based on my experience with them. So call it hate or call it just bad experiences. I don't call it hate, simply experiences that did not meet expectations.
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That’s all fine and dandy. But, hell I have about 15 grills at the house right now all with plated grates, never been changed once. One is about two decades old. I can’t vouch for the grate on my Sequoia that’s over 50 years old…

You were also saying concrete has a chemical reaction when wet that causes rust, which flat out isn’t true. So, chalk it up to your humid environment and salt use there I suppose. The rest of the world doesn’t seem to have those issues. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Not trying to argue. But maybe there’s a cause and effect going on, that causes some of these issues
 
Jim C in Denver said:
I can't help but wonder if so much of the bad press came from people buying them, not understanding the quirks of the genre of pellet grills (regardless of brand), and perhaps had different expectations.

Tons of newbies have Traegers. Are there many complaints about those?
Click to expand...
Maybe if we followed a Traeger focused forum it might be seen. Also, Weber was the first one to really deviate from the tried and true formula of a fire pot with a flame deflector under a large grease management sheet. So sure that deviation will produce changes in behavior some may not understand how to work with.
Hard to say as I did not "sign on" to a Smokefire (early or not). Almost did, but did not. But I do appreciate them for what they are.
As for your arguments Tim, until you get the privilege of living in rusty land you will never know. Maybe one day you will. But, I know too well from having worked on cars for so many years and being puzzled by how badly rusted out I saw frames on cars NEVER driven in winter, or salt or even rain but simply parked on untreated concrete.
I am not gonna say more. I know what I know and have seen what I have seen. Life goes on and it's too short for me to argue about it. Glad for you that you don't have to live with it.
 
LMichaels said:
Maybe if we followed a Traeger focused forum it might be seen. Also, Weber was the first one to really deviate from the tried and true formula of a fire pot with a flame deflector under a large grease management sheet. So sure that deviation will produce changes in behavior some may not understand how to work with.
Hard to say as I did not "sign on" to a Smokefire (early or not). Almost did, but did not. But I do appreciate them for what they are.
As for your arguments Tim, until you get the privilege of living in rusty land you will never know. Maybe one day you will. But, I know too well from having worked on cars for so many years and being puzzled by how badly rusted out I saw frames on cars NEVER driven in winter, or salt or even rain but simply parked on untreated concrete.
I am not gonna say more. I know what I know and have seen what I have seen. Life goes on and it's too short for me to argue about it. Glad for you that you don't have to live with it.
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In the big picture of things, I would be very happy replacing a Weber kettle grate yearly at $15. I’m glad you weren’t exposed to the internal parts in the Smokefire costing 15X more than a kettle.
But I’m not going to criticize grates before we know the quality. It’s like judging stainless grates not knowing the quality grade of the stainless.
Even on the Weber Smokefire, the stock side table with control console is a noticeable better grade of stainless on my $100 add on Weber flip front shelves.
 
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