A new Weber pellet grill - The Searwood

[TimA]

Weber hasn't offered me a position as a designer nor as a consultant but wouldn't it seem insane to abandon their revolutionary design in favor of a cook box that nearly every other pellet smoker uses?

I certainly agree and wonder as well. Because the cook chamber is what makes it different.

I wish they had done more work on the controller and software setup before they released. Some of the software is real head scratcher material.

 

[TimA]

Don’t sweat it. I value how all of us just want a decent grill to come from all of this. I wouldn‘t dare show my face around here if what I had seen was fabricated or looked questionable… and then strolled through here preaching how I know this or that.

I truly wish I would have been able to take photos and post them. I think it would have been much more interesting having the entire group trying to determine what’s what.

I’m sure in due time we’ll have a sneak peak, somehow. Always seems to happen.

 

[LMichaels]

Yeah, maybe watch Australian web site

 

[Bradley Mack]

Just spoke with our local shop owner who advised they have the new Searwoods on order for the spring. I have to think Weber will release their own photos sooner, rather than later.

 

[JimK]

Just spoke with our local shop owner who advised they have the new Searwoods on order for the spring. I have to think Weber will release their own photos sooner, rather than later.

I'm guessing a Jan/Feb announcement - just in time for spring arrivals and the 'new' grilling season. And after they've cleared out existing inventory with this sale.

 

[Todd K Wisc]

I don't own a smokefire, but if you put a drip pan over the flavorizer bars to catch drippings, are you doing essentially what the new design would do anyway?

My question is if the hopper is on the side, will the burn pot also be on the side, and without a stack to carry heat and smoke to the other side will you have a very pronounced hot side and cool side?

 

[MikeLucky]

I get the feeling this is just the pellet smoker they would have put out if they didn't rush the SmokeFire to market. It is just rebranded with a new name to lose all the stigma and bad reviews. lol. They all stay with the Smokefire models.

 

[Greg Ross-MN]

I don't own a smokefire, but if you put a drip pan over the flavorizer bars to catch drippings, are you doing essentially what the new design would do anyway?

My question is if the hopper is on the side, will the burn pot also be on the side, and without a stack to carry heat and smoke to the other side will you have a very pronounced hot side and cool side?

Yes on the drip pan and that is what I do on low/slow cooks. If they use the full drip pan like Traeger then I’m glad I got a Smokefire.

As for the hopper on the side, maybe. At higher temps the Smokefire is hotter on the right side. Some consider this a problem but I think it works for grilling purposes since you don’t have multiple burners it has its own built in zones.

 

[Lew Newby]

I don't own a smokefire, but if you put a drip pan over the flavorizer bars to catch drippings, are you doing essentially what the new design would do anyway?

My question is if the hopper is on the side, will the burn pot also be on the side, and without a stack to carry heat and smoke to the other side will you have a very pronounced hot side and cool side?

A drip pan only covers a small percentage of the cook chamber. If you had drip pans from side to side you would need 15" pans to mimic a conventional drip tray. I measured my Camp Chef and there was a total of 3 inches open space over the full length of the cook chamber. The rest was covered by the drip tray. I prefer the open cook chamber of the Smokefire. The fire pots in my RecTec and Camp Chef were centered. and pellets were delivered through an auger tube that sat on the bottom of the cook chamber. As far as temp difference this is what my journal says about the RecTec, "left side is a little hot, center right on, right side mixed." I can't comment on other brands because I've never used them.

 

[Todd K Wisc]

A drip pan only covers a small percentage of the cook chamber. If you had drip pans from side to side you would need 15" pans to mimic a conventional drip tray. I measured my Camp Chef and there was a total of 3 inches open space over the full length of the cook chamber. The rest was covered by the drip tray. I prefer the open cook chamber of the Smokefire. The fire pots in my RecTec and Camp Chef were centered. and pellets were delivered through an auger tube that sat on the bottom of the cook chamber. As far as temp difference this is what my journal says about the RecTec, "left side is a little hot, center right on, right side mixed." I can't comment on other brands because I've never used them.

That makes sense. Thank you.

 

[Bradley Mack]

This was posted by another member. Pretty much bang on to what I described previously.

 

[Jon Tofte]

On the other thread about this picture, I and some others lamented the thought that this Searwood is going to be a “me too” pellet grill with the typical solid shield grease tray. Looking at the picture, and thinking about it more, I am less convinced that is the case.

It looks to me like what Weber MAY have done is to lower the grease tray and make it removable and easy to clean without ditching the flavorizer bars. That would go along with keeping the open concept while reducing the probability of grease fires since the drip tray is now much further below the heat source. The Genesis style removable large drip tray and foil lined drip collection pan underneath will appeal to users like me who do not like the dangling pail like on my Recteq. It also makes for less excuses to not clean regularly which is important on any pellet grill.

If my hunch turns out to be right, I would be much more interested in this new Searwood. (I would have to add at least a front fold-down table, though!)

I guess we will know for sure fairly soon.

 

[BFletcher]

It looks to me like what Weber MAY have done is to lower the grease tray and make it removable and easy to clean without ditching the flavorizer bars. That would go along with keeping the open concept while reducing the probability of grease fires since the drip tray is now much further below the heat source. The Genesis style removable large drip tray and foil lined drip collection pan underneath will appeal to users like me who do not like the dangling pail like on my Recteq. It also makes for less excuses to not clean regularly which is important on any pellet grill.

That would be nice. Now you have me wanting to keep the spare change jug in the open in case friends and family want to donate some coins.

 

[Greg Ross-MN]

That would be interesting and I wonder how that would work with the burn pot?

 

[Bradley Mack]

That would be interesting and I wonder how that would work with the burn pot?

It looks like the bottom would be extend beyond the burn pot, sort of like where the ask catch pan sits now. This is what leads me to believe theirs is a slanted drip tray inside (possibly) leading to a removable tray like the Genesis and Spirit models. That would be something.