EX4 at Lowe's San Jose, but not on the floor


 
Chris Allingham

Chris Allingham

Administrator
Staff member
Department personnel tells me their "assembly guy" can't get around to putting one of these together until Tuesday. Not in a big rush to sell them, apparently.

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One of the three was a cancelled pre-order. :)

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Lowe’s uses outsourcing for assembly now. Traveling assembly teams go around to each store in the district based on need. Unless there’s a BBQ Enthusiast in the store, most associates probably won’t know what they are.
 
Chris in GA said:
Maybe they will discount it to 50% off
If they do is a sure sign Weber is acknowledging the problem.
Unlikely but will see.
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I was going to joke about the end of season sale on the smoke fire but I decided to refrain this time. That's remarkable for me, usually I speak first and well..
 
Well I finally saw one in the flesh an EX6. First thing that amazed me was how huge it is. I wasn't prepared for that. Like others have noted it seems very well made BUT I have to say some of the materials for a $1300 grill seem awfully ummm "frugal?" let's just say cheap. The inside panels are made of plain galvanized steel. Can you spell rust out boys and girls? Sure I knew you could. But on the surface it is a thing of beauty. I could see why someone would get taken in. BTW it was at Farm & Fleet in Loves Park IL
 
It certainly raised the bar in style anyway. Look at the video posted where the guy does a fairly reasonable comparison between the SmokeFire and Traeger Ironwood - well mostly a critique - milder than some - of the SmokeFire. The SmokeFire looks a decade ahead of the Ironwood. Too bad the inside engineering isn't living up to that.

Larry, I am sure you are right about some of the SmokeFire construction shortcomings, but if you did the same evaluation of competing pellet grills in the same price range you would probably come to similar conclusions about them as well. My Rec Tec has a stainless (430) body and a porcelain hood, but maybe not as nice in some other areas of comparison. The Traeger Ironwood relies on powder coated steel for the hood and body and has other deficiencies.
 
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Finally saw one at Lowe’s. Anyone know if lid loosens up and get easier to open? A lot of resistance on both units they had on the floor.
 
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KMeroney said:
Finally saw one at Lowe’s. Anyone know if kid loosens up and get easier to open? A lot of resistance on both units that had on the floor.
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I didn't notice that. I wonder if something is misaligned on the one you saw. Maybe it was thrown together quickly so it could be displayed. If that's the case it's not doing Weber any favors. Especially if someone buys a wrongly preassembled unit.

I don't know if that's the case, just me speculating.
 
KMeroney said:
Finally saw one at Lowe’s. Anyone know if lid loosens up and get easier to open? A lot of resistance on both units they had on the floor.
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I know i opened my lid only half way and it smacked me in the face on the way down, but hey I had a cook to do so we power on.
 
Bruno said:
I know i opened my lid only half way and it smacked me in the face on the way down, but hey I had a cook to do so we power on.
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Maybe it’s because they were new. Almost felt like when you opened the lid the whole unit wanted to tip over they were so tight.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Now pushed back to March 9 at my Lowe’s. Wondering if I will EVER see one!
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I just posted in a different thread one of the authorized dealers in my area didn't seem to know about the issues and fixes on the Smoke Fire. I wonder if Webber put a hold on some shipments to get the new hardware in the smokers. I'd like to believe that's the case, but I have no idea.
 
Pushed back, yet AGAIN, to March 16. That's a full month later than what Lowe's website said back in early February. I do wonder about them trying to retrofit grills that hadn't been shipped yet. That would be a good thing worth waiting for, but I really want to see one in person!
 
I had to fly to Indianapolis to finally see a SmokeFire. The Lowe’s in Avon, IN outside Indianapolis had one lonely EX-4:621C6C7E-B83B-4FEA-9A28-E4FC3DC9A0AE.jpeg877A5BA1-B810-46DD-A969-994D0A7B60A5.jpeg
 
My local Ace has an EX6 on the floor, much to my surprise. Nobody there knows much about except the owner and he splits his time between 3 different outlets.
 
JKalchik said:
My local Ace has an EX6 on the floor, much to my surprise. Nobody there knows much about except the owner and he splits his time between 3 different outlets.
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I have to wonder if Weber is intentionally slowing down supplies and seller communication until some of the release problems quiet down?
 
I was at a nearby Lowe's picking up odds and ends and they had an EX4 & EX6 on the floor plus covers, pellets. I asked a rep. about them and he asked if I could come by tomorrow when the experienced rep. would be working. I asked if they had been updated with the new hopper parts and revised fans and he told me that there was no need for them since this is the way Weber manufactured them. I just shook my head and left.
 
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