Caulking around EX4 EX6 pellet hopper


 
In Weber's defense (and not having laid eyes personally on these,) [high temp] caulk may be the preferrred method to seal those joints, thin sheet to thin sheet welding has a variety of issues.
 
Caulking in pellet grills isn't all that uncommon. My Traeger pro had high temp stuff inside the chamber and I think I remember some under the barrel and in the hopper seams too.

Pellets swell when they get wet and this will jam your auger, so it might be in attempt to keep moisture from getting in those seams...even though the lid itself isn't air tight.
 
I don't have a problem with caulking on thin sheet metal or non-structural parts. It's easy to repair and likely facilitated a cheaper price point versus a fully formed hopper assembly. It's out of sight in normal operation, so as long as it doesn't leak sawdust, I wouldn't be worried about it.
 
Was the Twitter user complaining about the use of caulking, or about the integrity of it? I've seen it at certain seams on Traeger and Rec Tec pellet smokers.
 
Saw them today at Ace yes both models have caulking. Seems a bit weird they did not find another solution. The hopper box looked to be galvanized but not sure. Top lid and cookbox are porcelain coated. There are lots of exposed bolt heads. It might have been just the demo but the grates have serious side to side movement, definitely loose that hotdog. The tube feet i dont like. It makes it look like a run of the mill cheap smoker. Overall looked like a unfinished and unpolished product.
Will see how it does in the long run. Hopefully it cooks good.
 
Last edited:
The grates do move side to side a bit more than I'd like, though I don't think in practice this would cause much of a problem. The Timberline 1300 I have has nicer build quality IMO than the EX6. With that said, the versatility of the EX6 will likely be more appealing to me.
 
Was the Twitter user complaining about the use of caulking, or about the integrity of it?
He was complaining about the use of caulking and what appeared to be the quick application of it. I don't want to say it was sloppy, but it looked like it could have been done with more care, at least in his photos.
 
I think the expectation for Weber's new pellet grill was this is going to set the pellet grill industry on it's ear. With all it's new features it would revolutionize the way pellet grills would be made. Just like the kettle and their first gassers.
Why they let these out without the app up and hardware missing and possibly some quality issues is beyond me.
You can only make a first impression once and I don't see that as being what Weber would want right now.
 

 

Back
Top