Searwood - Yea or Nay?


 
T

Todd NC

TVWBB Pro
I think I'm going to make a decision on a pellet grill soon. I currently have an 18" and 22" WSM among several kettles and a gasser. A blunt question...does anyone who has purchased a Weber Searwood regret their decision? I know I won't get the flavor of a stick burner, but I don't want to tend to a stick burner. I'm looking at the Searwood and the Campchef Woodwind Pro, but I'm a loyal Weber purchaser and have no interest in switching brands. If you have one, do you regret the purchase?
 
Love mine!

Got it to replacing an aging Kenmore gas grill. I also have an 18” WSM. Had kind of a busy summer so didn’t do as much cooking as the past few years. Haven’t smoked on the WSM since getting the Searwood. Love the versatility. The smart app is a nice convenience. I got the griddle insert which I’ve made good use of. I’ve yet to do a turkey or brisket. Definitely will this fall. Those will be the true test.

Good luck!
 
@Todd NC I'll lead off that I agree with Brett on getting a WSK.

My question is, I'm curious what cooks you plan on a pellet vs a kettle or the WSM?

I had a Pellet for a while. I had a WSM 22 for a while. I sold both and bought a WSK. I like standing up to cook ( nod to my selling the WSM ) and I like the flavor and flexibility of the WSK over both the pellet and the WSM.

I sold my pellet grill after it lost a couple of side-by-side cook offs between it and the WSM and my large BGE.
I sold my WSM 22 as the setup, cleanup and all was more work than smoking on my BGE.
Downside of the BGE is it's size at only 18 inch grate.
I bought the WSK for the 24 inch grate size and love it for the flexibility and the ease of cooking and the flavor when cooking on it.

Ok, I'll go sit in the other corner and ponder what I'm going to cook tomorrow.
 
DanHoo said:
@Todd NC I'll lead off that I agree with Brett on getting a WSK.

My question is, I'm curious what cooks you plan on a pellet vs a kettle or the WSM?

I had a Pellet for a while. I had a WSM 22 for a while. I sold both and bought a WSK. I like standing up to cook ( nod to my selling the WSM ) and I like the flavor and flexibility of the WSK over both the pellet and the WSM.

I sold my pellet grill after it lost a couple of side-by-side cook offs between it and the WSM and my large BGE.
I sold my WSM 22 as the setup, cleanup and all was more work than smoking on my BGE.
Downside of the BGE is it's size at only 18 inch grate.
I bought the WSK for the 24 inch grate size and love it for the flexibility and the ease of cooking and the flavor when cooking on it.

Ok, I'll go sit in the other corner and ponder what I'm going to cook tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Bad influences. We’re going to get banned for a week for being infidels.
 
DanHoo said:
@Todd NC I'll lead off that I agree with Brett on getting a WSK.

My question is, I'm curious what cooks you plan on a pellet vs a kettle or the WSM?

I had a Pellet for a while. I had a WSM 22 for a while. I sold both and bought a WSK. I like standing up to cook ( nod to my selling the WSM ) and I like the flavor and flexibility of the WSK over both the pellet and the WSM.

I sold my pellet grill after it lost a couple of side-by-side cook offs between it and the WSM and my large BGE.
I sold my WSM 22 as the setup, cleanup and all was more work than smoking on my BGE.
Downside of the BGE is it's size at only 18 inch grate.
I bought the WSK for the 24 inch grate size and love it for the flexibility and the ease of cooking and the flavor when cooking on it.

Ok, I'll go sit in the other corner and ponder what I'm going to cook tomorrow.
Click to expand...

All good comments, Dan. I would probably keep my 18" WSM, but I'm liking the idea of a mostly set it and forget it at this point. I've smoked a lot on both my 18" and 22" WSMs, but might be ready for something different. I appreciate the comments, and I'll give the WSK a look again. It's been a while since I considered one of those.
 
Don't own a Searwood, but own 2 pellet grills and LOVE them both. I personally can't vouch for either Searwood or Camp Chef but nothing negative to say about either one. So, if those are what you narrowed it to, I'd say look at what each brings to the table that suits you best. Honestly getting into that range of price I think I'd be adding a a couple more into the fray to check out as well. Traeger, Pit Boss and Req Teq are all putting out some fine products.
I'd toss my Z Grills 1100 2B or the 750 2B into the mix but there are some things with Z Grills that leave me a little "suspect" #1 is poor customer support, #2 is from my experience suspect performance in cold(er) and windy weather. At least in the case of the larger 1100 2B. I think 2 things contribute here. One, Z went too far on "venting". I think it has WAY more venting than is needed. And when you get a cold wind blowing into it from the back, it blows right into those rear vents, then the algorithm on the controller does not allow for enough fuel to burn fast enough to maintain a higher temp (over 325 or so). It works fine under 325 and holds like a rock. But it will not maintain higher temps. Especially if you're finishing a steak for example or a chicken and you want to 350+. If you open the lid once, you're done. It will not recover in any amount of reasonable time.
The other day, I was using it in cold windy conditions and needed about 425 (doing pizzas). I made some "plugs" for the back. Plugged off 2/3 of the venting and seems like it helped. I am going to be making an actual adjustable "wind shield" and experimenting on it. I planned on noting these experiences in another post as I "refine" this.
But Z Grills is no help always resorting to telling you it's "operator error" or a dirty sensor, or pellet issues (wet, too large, too small, wrong composition. blah blah blah. (of which it's neither). I've tried new probe, new controller, and so on.
I just believe it's a "design error" that allows too much cold air to "blast in" during windy conditions
 
LMichaels said:
Don't own a Searwood, but own 2 pellet grills and LOVE them both. I personally can't vouch for either Searwood or Camp Chef but nothing negative to say about either one. So, if those are what you narrowed it to, I'd say look at what each brings to the table that suits you best. Honestly getting into that range of price I think I'd be adding a a couple more into the fray to check out as well. Traeger, Pit Boss and Req Teq are all putting out some fine products.
I'd toss my Z Grills 1100 2B or the 750 2B into the mix but there are some things with Z Grills that leave me a little "suspect" #1 is poor customer support, #2 is from my experience suspect performance in cold(er) and windy weather. At least in the case of the larger 1100 2B. I think 2 things contribute here. One, Z went too far on "venting". I think it has WAY more venting than is needed. And when you get a cold wind blowing into it from the back, it blows right into those rear vents, then the algorithm on the controller does not allow for enough fuel to burn fast enough to maintain a higher temp (over 325 or so). It works fine under 325 and holds like a rock. But it will not maintain higher temps. Especially if you're finishing a steak for example or a chicken and you want to 350+. If you open the lid once, you're done. It will not recover in any amount of reasonable time.
The other day, I was using it in cold windy conditions and needed about 425 (doing pizzas). I made some "plugs" for the back. Plugged off 2/3 of the venting and seems like it helped. I am going to be making an actual adjustable "wind shield" and experimenting on it. I planned on noting these experiences in another post as I "refine" this.
But Z Grills is no help always resorting to telling you it's "operator error" or a dirty sensor, or pellet issues (wet, too large, too small, wrong composition. blah blah blah. (of which it's neither). I've tried new probe, new controller, and so on.
I just believe it's a "design error" that allows too much cold air to "blast in" during windy conditions
Click to expand...

Thanks for the great response, Larry. I have a friend with a Req Teq and he's very happy with it. There's something about the Traegers that just doesn't click with me. I know some people that have the older models and had lots of problems with them. The info I have is that they are much better now, and I see a lot of them on the YouTube channels I watch (Matt Pittman, Malcolm Reed, and several others) although I'm sure there are some sponsorship deals involved there. I'm partial to Weber as that's all I've ever bought and had great luck with them, but I guess I should give more consideration to some other brands. Thanks again for the thorough response.
 
Todd NC said:
Thanks for the great response, Larry. I have a friend with a Req Teq and he's very happy with it. There's something about the Traegers that just doesn't click with me. I know some people that have the older models and had lots of problems with them. The info I have is that they are much better now, and I see a lot of them on the YouTube channels I watch (Matt Pittman, Malcolm Reed, and several others) although I'm sure there are some sponsorship deals involved there. I'm partial to Weber as that's all I've ever bought and had great luck with them, but I guess I should give more consideration to some other brands. Thanks again for the thorough response.
Click to expand...
Very early Traegers were made in USA. Simple and rugged. When they decided to "offshore" they turned to Z Grills. Z Grills builds some really nice hardware. If you look at the build quality and ruggedness of my Big Z it's second to none. The issues come in with "design" and "specs". And of course "support". Support is China based. So, an email is likely to receive a middle of the wee hours response. You have to have sort of a "pioneering" spirit to buy one IMO. (which sadly I didn't know prior to). I still love it and believe it puts out as good as food as anything can. But, you have to be able to "work through" issues on your own. But, it's a "beast". And when it's on the ball IMO it will hold it's own to anything on the market. Stay tuned as I do some "design engineering" on it and performance testing as our weather "turns".
 
I wish Weber would get into the gravity fed market.
Son has a Masterbuilt and the Nephew has a Char Griller.
Both give you the ease of a controller with the flavor of charcoal and wood.
 
Jeff-K said:
No regrets, so much better and more reliable that the previous SmokeFire. Very efficient, does a great job smoking and an acceptable job searing a steak.
Click to expand...
Let me know if you have any specific questions, I have both a WSK and Searwood.
 
Todd NC said:
I agree completely. I plan to keep my kettles, gasser, and one WSM. I don't expect any pellet grill will cover everything.
Click to expand...
I think you will find as you get comfortable with one, you will find yourself having the other grill(s) seem almost non existent
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

 

Back
Top