Purely guessing here, but the photo shows the temperature set to 600 F. I’m guessing the ability to sear will remain.
Call me the odd man out, but I think 2 wheels is a nice tribute to the Weber heritage. I’m guessing that’s what they‘re going for. Will be functional? Sure. Will it be easier to move around? Probably not. I can only speak for myself - but - the only times I’ve had to move my pellet grill are typically when I end up spilling pellets pouring them into the current rear hopper, or clearing snow from around the cooker. Otherwise my Smokefire doesn‘t move much.
I know some will disagree, and whlie I appreciate the rear hopper attempt…it’s not great. Whether you’ve added tape to the ramp to help your pellets along, or you’ve installed the upgraded ramp - there is no good reason anyone who bought a Smokefire should have had to alter anything inside the hopper. Same goes for replacing the 2 piece auger to the 1 piece.
Humour me if only for a moment. Imagine you buy a brand new vehicle and when you go to add gasoline, it doesn’t flow to the gas tank as designed. Further, the engine isn’t working as is should. Now imagine you call the manufacturer and they concur that there’s an issue…and they decide the best way to resolve it, is to send you all new parts for your vehicle and it’s engine, with the expectation that you’ll be the one to replace all the problem parts. Hilarious right? But that’s exactly what Weber did to Gen 1 Smokefire consumers. Sure, most of us did what was necessary and made the best of it… but there’s nothing that will convince me that the onus should have been on the customer to complete the repairs. Great customer service or not. The reason this happened, above all else, was because the design was awful. Period.
So, back to the vehicle analogy. You go ahead and complete your repairs. Now you have a healthy dose of paranoia every time you drive, so you pull over every few miles to make sure gas isn’t leaking. You also pop the hood to make sure everything is working as intended. You finally make your way home and head inside to relax. But every now and then you head out to your driveway or garage to make sure the vehicle is actually shut off. Here’s hoping it starts next time you need to use it.
Sound reasonable? This is the Smokefire experience that I bet many of you can relate to.
Now that being said, I love my Smokefire. It does what it needs to and I’ve been fortunate not to have had many issues. I decided to take the leap, and love my grill.. warts and all.
But, I for one, am pleased to see a traditional side hopper where gravity does the work.
What I do find interesting is why anyone would be against having a Genesis / Spirit like grease management system, tailored to the Searwood. The Genesis and Spirit have probably been the best selling grills for a number of years. I could be wrong, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a single complaint on how those units manage grease. When you have a recipe that works…you use it.
