Need some advice..


 
I

Issom

TVWBB Fan
So my place of employment sells Traeger and Weber and I get a pretty decent discount. I purchased a traeger pro 575 and loved it for the month I used it. I just returned it because I needed more room.

I'm debating between the weber ex6 or the traeger ironwood 885. I have over 15 weber kettles and a wsm and genesis... I'm a weber fan .. but the reviews and post about issues worry me.. also it's confirmed my place won't sell the new stealth..

Any tips?
I like the price of the ex6 and size
 
Love my EX6, plenty of room, and no problems worth mentioning. A few things that I don't like about it, but I am very hard to please. Never owned a Traeger, can't speak as to how good or bad they may be. Just my opinion, and that's not worth much, but it seems to me that the Traegers are a little high price for what you get. You certainly won't get the benefit of Weber's direct grilling with the Traeger though.
 
I never owned a Traeger so I won't talk about them. I have owned my EX6 since June 2020 and in Jan of this year I bought a used Gen 1 EX4 knowing it had no warranty. After purchasing the EX6 I sold my WSMs, a Performer, and a Camp Chef pellet grill. I'm 80, fully retired, and all in on the Smokefire. I'm of the school that says assemble it properly, learn how it operates, operate it correctly, monitor your cooks and you will be rewarded with minimal problems and great tasting food. It's a machine with a computer control so it will have problems and I've had my share but knowing my grill gets me through the glitches and I haven't had to resort to the oven to finish any of my cooks. If you're on Facebook you might consider joining this group, "Weber SmokeFire WoodFired Pellet Grill: Owners Group". I'm an Admin and we have an FAQ that is a big collection of member tips, tricks, and lessons learned.
 
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Lucky guy! My company sells Fire Magic...I still can’t afford their stuff even with the discount.
 
For the price you get a lot of smoker in an EX6. I had some issues early on when the SmokeFire first came out. It was hard to tune out the early noise on launch.

I’m very happy I kept it and I have had no issues once they got the software ironed out.
Like Lew and others we also learned how to get the best results out of it.
Really all that boils down to for me is use drip pans when appropriate and mix up the pellets every 4 hours or so.
Good luck on the purchase.
 
I do have a few ?'s Id like some input on.. and again thanks for all the info

1) My diveway has a ever so slight slope will this effect anything?

From what I am reading Foil Pans are the goto for grease. I dont think grease will be an issue becuase I am a clean freak.
I have seen people cook on the top grate and foil on the 2nd grate. I have seen foil pans in between the bars and bottom grate.

2) Is there a temp differece from top and bottom grate?

3) Has anyone put foil pans below the bar on the bottom of the barrel?

On all my pits I use gaskets for sealing.

4) Is gaskets nessarity or needed?

My traeger shut down process was after it was done.. I would vacuum out the ash and empty my pellets into a sealed container and clean out the
auger.

5) Is there a pellet prime feature to run the rest of the pellets out of the auger or do i just remove it?
 
My driveway has a slight slope and it is never a problem.
I answered this in the EX4 thread where you posted it. Yes, but it varies from grill to grill and it doesn't cause a problem. You know how to manage a cook so this will only take a slight adjustment in your technique.
I have heard of a couple of guys who lined the bottom with foil but found that it created more work than benefit
No gaskets needed.
I scrape and sweep, with an old paint brush, ash and gunk down the grease slots and empty the drawer into the trash. I don't vacuum
No pellet prime feature.
 
Lew Newby said:
My driveway has a slight slope and it is never a problem.
I answered this in the EX4 thread where you posted it. Yes, but it varies from grill to grill and it doesn't cause a problem. You know how to manage a cook so this will only take a slight adjustment in your technique.
I have heard of a couple of guys who lined the bottom with foil but found that it created more work than benefit
No gaskets needed.
I scrape and sweep, with an old paint brush, ash and gunk down the grease slots and empty the drawer into the trash. I don't vacuum
No pellet prime feature.
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thank you
 
So guys.... I wanted to follow up... my neighbor had great influence on my getting a traeger ironwood 885.. I had it since may.. used it all the time and loved it.. well over the weekend it failed to started and I called customer service and they said I had a defective hot rod.. I put it in today and failed to start like 5 times. I called traeger and they pretty much had nothing to say.. for a $1500 grill thats sad.. the place I bought it from is taking it back luckily.... being a weber owner for years and having a ton of their products.. I should of just got a smoke fire right away.. idk why I listened to my dumb *** neighbor..


Well I need the room so the ex6 is in stock and I can take it with or the epx6 is om back order... is there a big difference other then color
 
Guy, get the Smokefire!!! I’m convinced there isn’t a better cooker on the pellet market. Yes, it’s THAT good.

How can I say such a thing? Have I owned everything else on the market? Nope. I’ve got a Green Mountain Davey Crockett and have eaten stuff off other pellets. All the bbq trucks around here run pellets, typically Traeger and the occasional Pit Boss. They just lack flavor. Hell they don’t even smell as good as the Smokefire.

My GMG also lacks on the flavor side.

I will never buy a Traeger anything based purely on the idea I think they are a s*** company. The Traegers sold the company and the new company just sues everyone else, including the founders of their company. It’s an absolute joke. Shut up, make grills, and let it be.

For the few issues I’ve had, they are easy to work around. Love love LOVE my Smokefire!
 
Issom said:
So guys.... I wanted to follow up... my neighbor had great influence on my getting a traeger ironwood 885.. I had it since may.. used it all the time and loved it.. well over the weekend it failed to started and I called customer service and they said I had a defective hot rod.. I put it in today and failed to start like 5 times. I called traeger and they pretty much had nothing to say.. for a $1500 grill thats sad.. the place I bought it from is taking it back luckily.... being a weber owner for years and having a ton of their products.. I should of just got a smoke fire right away.. idk why I listened to my dumb *** neighbor..


Well I need the room so the ex6 is in stock and I can take it with or the epx6 is om back order... is there a big difference other then color
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In my opinion the EPX6 is worth the price but some of the guys in our FB group disagree so it depends on how you look at it. A friend in the group owns an EX4 and bought the EPX6. He reported to the group, with pictures, and he is ticked with his. The EPX6 new casters get great reports. The redesigned pellet hopper gets high marks. The redesigned glow plug assembly is an improvement. The redesigned fire pot should improve reliability. Some internal parts have been beefed up. The interior light needs regular cleaning but is a plus. The increased protection for the handle should keep it cooler. Mine gets very hot when I'm running at 600. The Crafted cooking grate is a plus as it increases the cooking flexibility of the Smokefire. Redesigned ash drawer. I probably missed something but I hope that helps.
 
Issom said:
New owner here ex6 will be here next Tuesday...
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CONGRATS!! I had a feeling that you weren't going to wait for the EPX6 and I felt the same way when I scratched that itch. It can't come soon enough. Download the BILT app and it will walk you through proper assembly. Even Weber recommends it for the Smokefire. Assemble it properly, operate it properly, and monitor your cooks until you learn the grill. When you assemble it, remove the finger guard over the pellet chute, in the bottom of the hopper. I don't know if you joined that Facebook group I referenced but if you do we have an FAQ with owner lessons learned, tips and tricks. I have a video in there on removing the finger guard and improving pellet flow in the EX6. If you don't like Facebook, I totally understand. Bruno doesn't, and we're still buds.
 
Lew Newby said:
CONGRATS!! I had a feeling that you weren't going to wait for the EPX6 and I felt the same way when I scratched that itch. It can't come soon enough. Download the BILT app and it will walk you through proper assembly. Even Weber recommends it for the Smokefire. Assemble it properly, operate it properly, and monitor your cooks until you learn the grill. When you assemble it, remove the finger guard over the pellet chute, in the bottom of the hopper. I don't know if you joined that Facebook group I referenced but if you do we have an FAQ with owner lessons learned, tips and tricks. I have a video in there on removing the finger guard and improving pellet flow in the EX6. If you don't like Facebook, I totally understand. Bruno doesn't, and we're still buds.
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Lol the supplier where the giftcard was given to me won't have any till 2 month so I just can't wait lol
 
Hey man, it's been 2 years since I waited for mine. I was 78 then and a grown man just should not react to a situation like I did to that. I was back to being a kid waiting for Christmas. :ROFLMAO: That itch is very compelling.
 
Lew Newby said:
CONGRATS!! I had a feeling that you weren't going to wait for the EPX6 and I felt the same way when I scratched that itch. It can't come soon enough. Download the BILT app and it will walk you through proper assembly. Even Weber recommends it for the Smokefire. Assemble it properly, operate it properly, and monitor your cooks until you learn the grill. When you assemble it, remove the finger guard over the pellet chute, in the bottom of the hopper. I don't know if you joined that Facebook group I referenced but if you do we have an FAQ with owner lessons learned, tips and tricks. I have a video in there on removing the finger guard and improving pellet flow in the EX6. If you don't like Facebook, I totally understand. Bruno doesn't, and we're still buds.
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What is the facebook group name
 
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