Dave's Camp Chef Woodwind 36 WIFI Experiences


 
I would say if you want an easy, set and forget mostly smoker, go Woodwind, If you want to grill and bake pizzas, go SmokeFire. The SF gets hotter and produces more smoke flavor, especially plus 300 degrees. After they sort the issues out, I might dump my gasser and have both. SF for grilling, WW for smoking.
 
BrunoK said:
I’ve read through the thread, and I’m looking for advice on a pellet smoker from Dave or others that have used the Weber and/or Camp Chef Woodwind. I want to purchase a pellet smoker and I’m torn between the Weber and Camp Chef. Should I go ahead purchase the Camp Chef or wait to see if Weber can resolve the issues with their smoker? Any advice would be appreciate.
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I'm in a similar boat. I've had a WSM 22 for a long time and have great luck with it. I've been looking at pellet poopers for a couple of years now and was 99% ready to get a Rec Tec RT-700, then the Smokefire announcement came. With that being the case I held off buying anything. When the SF came out and all the issues started popping up I decided to wait a couple of more months to see how Weber sorts things out. I've always been a Weber fan, grew up watching my Dad cook and smoke on an OG kettle that is probably close to as old, 50, as I am.

Still waiting and hoping Weber gets it nailed down. While I really like the Rec Tec I can't help but want another Weber in the stable.
 
I thought I'd post a brief update that today I received the new lid, handle and trim from Camp Chef. I'm checking to make sure I got the $200 refund as well. I'll throw up some pics when I install the parts, but my job has taken hold as priority right now. I have a team of about 65 people and I'm having to shift operations to remote. As a result, my posting here is going to be a bit limited until the dust settles.
 
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I thought I'd post an update on the Woodwind 36 WIFI. I have to say this thing runs like a top and I've had no issues with it from an operational standpoint. However, if you read through the early parts of this thread, you did notice I had some issues during assembly. I opened an inquiry to Camp Chef and at first they said some of my issues were normal with the fitment of the main door, they ended up changing direction on that for no apparent reason. I received a replacement door assembly this week, along with a new handle. They also included new stainless hinges, to replace the black painted or powder coated versions that shipped with the Woodwind.

The door assembly looks the same, but it has been updated. It now has an embossed flame logo on the left side, but otherwise looks the same as the original version. Upon installing the replacement door, I immediately noticed how much better it fit the chamber than the original door. The original door had a huge gap at the bottom edge all the way across. If you followed the thread you saw I bent the door using some wood blocking to improve the fitment. This new door requires none of that. While the door still fits a bit crooked on the chamber body (I believe my chamber body is a little tweaked), it seals pretty well all the way around. I removed any mods I had installed and am happy with it just as it would have arrived. Either Camp Chef improved the forming of this part or they had a defective batch of doors.

The replacement handle was also manufactured correctly and resolved the aesthetic issue I had previously mentioned.

New Door, Hinges and Handle Installed:
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Old Pics:
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In the end they refunded me $200 and sent me the parts. Pretty happy with the outcome!
 
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Dave, I use my pellet grill for a lot of Jerky. The Woodwind low setting of 160 is very appealing. Have you run that grill at really low temp and how reliable is it down there? Do you get great smoke at that temp.?
 
Lew Newby said:
Dave, I use my pellet grill for a lot of Jerky. The Woodwind low setting of 160 is very appealing. Have you run that grill at really low temp and how reliable is it down there? Do you get great smoke at that temp.?
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Lew - I have not run the Camp Chef at that low of a temperature yet, but I can one of these days and report back.
 
Thanks Dave. If I used a pellet grill for a lot of searing then Weber seems the way to go but I don't do it much and have a Performer for that. Don't make a special run but if you have a good reason to run low I would be interested in the results. No hurry at all.
 
Dave (or anyone who is reading this and has relevant knowledge or experience),

How does this unit compare to the GMG Jim Bowie? I'm really torn between the two, and I'm going to give my reasons why I prefer each below.

GMG:
- Much less expensive
- Inexpensive Pizza Oven attachment

CC:
- Intrigued by the 'smoke' settings in the controller
- slide'n'grill

I am hoping to find something that does everything I want. I know I can buy a PizzaHack for the CC, but I'd have to buy the grill hack and the pizza hack, with a combined cost of $279.98 as opposed to $129.95 for the GMG comparable item. I make a lot of pizza in my house, and I'd love to do it with wood instead. However, I smoke a lot more meat, and would love to not have to use a pellet tube to get more smoke flavor, which has me leaning towards the CC more, if the high smoke settings actually do create a better smoke flavor. And of course, reliability is important too :D

With the GMG JB Prime, I'm looking at $947 all in, with the pizza stuff and a cover. With the CC WW 36, I'm over $1300..just trying to determine if the new controller and smoke intensity settings of the CC are worth the extra $300+.

Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this!!
 
I think you can't go wrong with either. GMG has awesome customer service as well. I think it just comes down to what you're looking for. The controller on the CC is more advanced and I really like it. The build quality is decent (I'd say in the ballpark of GMG). I liked the Sidekick on the CC since you can add accessories and also use it for griddle cooking, pizza oven and as a burner to fry outside. It's clear which direction I went, but I did give GMG a look. I've also recommended GMG's to a number of folks as I've owned them in the past. Heck I tested out their WIFI controllers before they were released just because they knew I was a tech guy. Never had Weber, Camp Chef, or anyone else offer that. They sent me so many new and updated parts for my smoker, even after it was well outside of the warranty period. They upgraded me to WIFI three times, from pre-production units to the final production version. They took my feedback to make firmware adjustments. In terms of interaction, they were a great company to work with. With that said, I liked the flexibility the Woodwind offered, so I went that direction. I doubt you'd regret your decision whichever way you choose.
 
Hey yall! I've read through this entire thread yesterday bc I'm about to buy the Woodwind 36 (I believe, haha) at any rate, I was curious where you suggest to get a better grate, and the right size? I think through this entire thread, that is the thing that has concerned me the most. I'm not going to be doing any heavy duty cooking but some parties and family/friends over, that sort of thing....Just want to make sure I'm set up!! THanks in advance!
 
Been a while since I've posted but I have not been doing much outdoor cooking lately. Today that's all changing and I just put some baby back ribs on the Woodwind 36 to smoke for a couple of hours after 26 hours of Sous Vide.


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I also bought a little cutting board from Amazon to sit on the Sidekick to give me some additional shelf space while cooking.

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I'll post back when they're done smoking.
 
Dave - Unixadm said:
Ribs came out tasty.

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The Woodwind 36 is really set it and forget it. Runs like a top.
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Looks great!! I just bought the Woodwind 36, I was curious where you suggest to get a better grate, and the right size? I think through this entire thread, that is the thing that has concerned me the most. I'm not going to be doing any heavy duty cooking but some parties and family/friends over, that sort of thing....Just want to make sure I'm set up!! THanks in advance!
 
Ed Rod said:
Looks great!! I just bought the Woodwind 36, I was curious where you suggest to get a better grate, and the right size? I think through this entire thread, that is the thing that has concerned me the most. I'm not going to be doing any heavy duty cooking but some parties and family/friends over, that sort of thing....Just want to make sure I'm set up!! THanks in advance!
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I'm not really sure on this one. I'd measure the factory grates and see what you can find online. By complete dumb luck, the Grand Turbo gas grill that I got used came with a full second set of heavy duty 3/8" grates. I grabbed one just to see if it would fit and it did. They fit almost perfectly, so it didn't cost me a dime. I do agree that the stock grates are pretty bad, but they'll work fine, especially for smoking. The most important aspect is the depth of the grates. You can always cut most down from a width standpoint to make it fit. Happy hunting!
 
Dave - Unixadm said:
I'm not really sure on this one. I'd measure the factory grates and see what you can find online. By complete dumb luck, the Grand Turbo gas grill that I got used came with a full second set of heavy duty 3/8" grates. I grabbed one just to see if it would fit and it did. They fit almost perfectly, so it didn't cost me a dime. I do agree that the stock grates are pretty bad, but they'll work fine, especially for smoking. The most important aspect is the depth of the grates. You can always cut most down from a width standpoint to make it fit. Happy hunting!
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Thanks man! I'll do what I can, preciate ya!
 
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