Almost a EX4 owner...

[JimBa]

Read hundred of posts and reviews about the Smokefire...Seems gen2 solved most issues except the occasional grease fires. I don't really mind using drip pans doing long low and slow fatty cookings. Is there enough space under the flavorizer bars to put a drip pan to catch fat drippings? Since the flavorizer bars are a key selling point of the Smokefire I would prefer to use a drip pan under the bars vs over them...

 

[Darian Hofer]

If the plan is to use drip pans for low and slows, I would say you are getting very little flavor sizzling off the flavor bars.
But I also don’t think there is enough room for a drip pan under the bars. And it would mess up the heat/smoke flow.

 

[Lew Newby]

The flavorizer bars don't add much, if any, flavor to a low and slow cook. Smoke does and the Smokefire shines in making smoke. I do my low and slow cooks on the top cooking grate with drip pans sitting on the main grate. I agree with Darian - there's room for pans below the bars. I belong to an active 6000 member Smokefire Facebook group and reports of grease fires with any generation Smokefire are rare. It's not a big problem but the myth persists. Since Weber should be releasing the 2022 version of the Smokefire, are you planning to wait to get the new version?

 

[TimA]

I do not use drip pans and haven’t seen any reason to. I typically use a water pan and have yet to do so with Smokefire.

It’s a smoke making unit! HIGHLY recommend a Smokefire

 

[Bruno]

I smoke on the top rack with drip pans on bottom grate and grill on the bottom, thanks to Lew I added a custom top rack and love it.

 

[C Lewis]

I either use the top rack for the food and a foil pan underneath on the main rack, or I use a stainless or aluminum cookie sheet with a wire rack in it for the food to sit on. The whole "grease fire" thing is quite exaggerated, as I would imagine that most people would use a drip pan of some sorts under most low and slow, if not just for ease of clean up.

 

[TimA]

Correct. The “grease fire” thing is blown WAY out of proportion. The majority are nothing really, relatively minor flare ups. And I know someone will argue otherwise, which is fine

I purposefully didn’t clean mine, with no form of collection other than as designed, and didn’t come close to plugged drain holes and no fires whatsoever.

 

[Issom]

Has anyone placed foil pans under the flavor bars? also Is there a big temp difference between top and bottom grate?

 

[Lew Newby]

Yes, but you need shallow pans. Some people use a sheet pan sitting on the flavorizer bars. The temp difference question is tricky to answer accurately. At 250 F my EX6 measured about 10 degrees hotter on the top rack and my EX4 measured about1o degrees cooler. The biggest variation was 20 degrees on the EX6. Both measured hotter on the right side. I use an ambient probe near my food, usually on the top rack, to monitor temp near the food.