Just got my SmokeFire!


 
G

Gabe Tinti

TVWBB Member
Found a deal/gamble on FB marketplace. EX6 G2 that wasn’t lighting. Auger and fan ran. Figured it just needed a new glow plug. A really nice and helpful guy that just didn’t want to deal with it was selling it for $350, though it was three hours away. I took the chance and went to get it.

Got it home, cleaned it up a bit and took the glow plug harness out. Oh how that glow plug was stuck in there. I pulled and pried and it would not move. Ended up breaking the glow plug at the insulator with the connection pin still stuck in the black plastic insulator. Ugh. Found a sheet metal screw that got a bit of purchase in the piece that was left and after a few unsuccessful tries with a screwdriver and hammer, it broke free - along with half of the black plastic insulator. The insulator was pretty busted up but I stuffed it back in there and clicked in the new glow plug. I added a hose clamp and got it reinstalled.

Fired it up and the auger started turning. Nothing seemed to be happening, then E2 - fan error. Ugh again. It was running when we picked it up! Checked the connection with no luck. Crawled under there with a screwdriver and pulled the fan. Well, it was jammed up with pellets! Cleared it out and the fan was fine. Reinstalled and fired it back up. Auger spinning, fan running, glow plug glowing! Pellets smoking!

I shut it down and finished my cleanup. Dumped the old pellets and cleaned the hopper. Took the “finger guard” out. Poured fresh Cabela’s competition blend pellets. (Anyone know what the blend in these is? Same as Lumberjack competition blend?) Scraped a lot of grease and ash out, of course.

Finally ready for a real run. Set for 600 and off it went! Got to 500 within 15 minutes or so, and took at least another 15 to hit 600. But it works!

So, for about $475 (grill, gas, glow plug, and pellets) and six hours of driving, I have a working EX6 G2!!! Just had to share.

Oh, and since the grill had never been registered, it seems I have the full warranty.
 

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Welcome to the Forum. Congrats on a great cooker and finding one unregistered. It's rare to see a first time owner do such a great job of troubleshooting Smokefire glitches. Pulling the finger guard is smart. It sounds like you did your homework before buying yours. Impressive. (y) Looking forward to seeing your cooks.
 
Lew Newby said:
Welcome to the Forum. Congrats on a great cooker and finding one unregistered. It's rare to see a first time owner do such a great job of troubleshooting Smokefire glitches. Pulling the finger guard is smart. It sounds like you did your homework before buying yours. Impressive. (y) Looking forward to seeing your cooks.
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I certainly did a lot of homework! I research most of my purchases to an obsessive degree. After looking at Recteq, Camp Chef, etc., I finally decided I’d like to try the SmokeFire and see if I could manage its quirks. So, I had a lot of knowledge about the SmokFire issues in-hand going into this, which is why I felt I could take the chance on being able to rehab this one.
 
Gabe Tinti said:
Poured fresh Cabela’s competition blend pellets. (Anyone know what the blend in these is? Same as Lumberjack competition blend?)
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The Competition blend is Hickory, Oak, and Cherry. I have switched to Cabela's and the competition blend is very good. My favorite is the Cherry which is a blend of Oak and Cherry. I did most of my WSM cooks on Oak and Cherry because my wife likes the smooth flavor.
 
Lew Newby said:
The Competition blend is Hickory, Oak, and Cherry. I have switched to Cabela's and the competition blend is very good. My favorite is the Cherry which is a blend of Oak and Cherry. I did most of my WSM cooks on Oak and Cherry because my wife likes the smooth flavor.
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I wish Cabela’s had official information on the blends in their pellets. The Q&A on Cabelas.com has varying information. For instance, according to the answers say competition blend is oak, hickory, and apple. And they also seem to indicate that the single-wood bags are 100% that wood, so cherry would be 100% cherry. Maybe it changes all the time.
 
Gabe Tinti said:
I wish Cabela’s had official information on the blends in their pellets. The Q&A on Cabelas.com has varying information. For instance, according to the answers say competition blend is oak, hickory, and apple. And they also seem to indicate that the single-wood bags are 100% that wood, so cherry would be 100% cherry. Maybe it changes all the time.
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I may be mistaken on the Competition Blend I suspect Apple is the fruitwood. Their 100% statement is confusing. 100% hardwood, Yes, 100% single species, doubtful. I have read conflicting Cabela's employee answers to the question about single species pellets. My guess is that Hickory, Apple, and Cherry are all mixed with Oak.
 
That’s great Gabe, while I don’t have (and better not unless I want an upset wife) a smoke fire it’s nice to hear success stories from people using them with what appears to be great results! Welcome to the craziest grilling site I can claim to be a proud member of!
< insert Groucho quote here>
 
Lew Newby said:
The Competition blend is Hickory, Oak, and Cherry. I have switched to Cabela's and the competition blend is very good. My favorite is the Cherry which is a blend of Oak and Cherry. I did most of my WSM cooks on Oak and Cherry because my wife likes the smooth flavor.
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That's one of my favorite combination with wood chips, too. I used it for a special steak dinner I did for Pastor's Appreciation. The combination of those chips in a flat smokerbox made my gas grill smoke and smell like a pellet grill!

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This. At least on the EX6. Took a second for me to learn the heat zones (and weber did themselves no favors by not being explicit about the fact the temperature displayed is an average) but I've been able to sear pretty darn well anytime I need to, at times without even cranking above 500 to save pellets.
 
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