Jay D in Jersey
Closed Account
That's true...and in summer, there's no escaping humidity in the garage. I'll be getting a few Homer buckets with lids.
Smokefire Stealth EPX4 won't reach more than 250C/480F
- Thread starter Yngve Nordby
- Start date
LMichaels
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
The thing I like about the buckets (or things). They're fully sealed once snapped shut, they're WAY easier to handle than the expensive fancy pellet containers, and easier to dump pellets into either from the bag or from the grill's hopper. Two buckets per 40lb bag, unless you're one of those folks who only find the 20lb bags
Jay D in Jersey
Closed Account
Good info, Sir. I think 2 buckets will keep me covered. Pellets are an extremely available commodity so I see no sense in storing large amounts.
LMichaels
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
Yep, I bought a s&*tload of buckets because I was able to "clean up" at my local Menards getting 40# bags of SmokeHouse 50/50 oak/hickory pellets for $7.99 bag and then 12% rebate on top of that. So I bought like 12 (maybe more LOL) bags. I have them stashed in back garage. Some in buckets rest is in the back on wood so no moisture condensing from concrete. Once they're done I'll go back to buying a couple bags as needed. But I got a while lotta pellets. About 480lbs of 50/50, maybe 200lbs of Kirkland and about 160 of Sam's Club supplied SmokeHouse brand. I think I am good for a couple weeks
But I also bought a couple of those Solo Stove Mesa XL table top fire pits and they burn pellets. Haven't even opened the boxes yet for them. Waiting for my deck season to start
Greg Ross-MN
TVWBB Fan
Yep, I normally don't stock up but that Menards sale was a no brainer. I bought at least 10 bags and no issues so far burning them in the SF.Yep, I bought a s&*tload of buckets because I was able to "clean up" at my local Menards getting 40# bags of SmokeHouse 50/50 oak/hickory pellets for $7.99 bag and then 12% rebate on top of that. So I bought like 12 (maybe more LOL) bags. I have them stashed in back garage. Some in buckets rest is in the back on wood so no moisture condensing from concrete. Once they're done I'll go back to buying a couple bags as needed. But I got a while lotta pellets. About 480lbs of 50/50, maybe 200lbs of Kirkland and about 160 of Sam's Club supplied SmokeHouse brand. I think I am good for a couple weeks
But I also bought a couple of those Solo Stove Mesa XL table top fire pits and they burn pellets. Haven't even opened the boxes yet for them. Waiting for my deck season to start
Yngve Nordby
New member
Yes this has always been the case with this grill, I'm afraid.
So BK has problems with one of four with controllers? I suspect this might be with my Stealth edition too, as I'm pretty sure it's not the pellets. But Weber support says they haven't had any controller failures on the Stealth edition before, only the 1st and 2nd gen EP-series, so they pretty much have ruled that out in my case and blames the pellets. But problem is, my pellets are fresh, sealed in unopened bags (not collecting moisture in the hopper), and also from different brands. None of them works with my grill... I seriously can't believe that Weber blames the pellets and even claims that the Smokefire can't reach full temperatures these days, at least not with Weber-branded fresh pellets. Have anyone heard anything of this??
Yngve Nordby
New member
Thank you for the suggestion. Yes I have cleaned the grill thoroughly, and also had the auger out to ensure it's not packed. There causes are excluded.
Yngve Nordby
New member
Yes, I've used the ambient probes that show temperatures that are consistent with the internal probe.
Bob Erdman
TVWBB All-Star
I still believe it may be the pellets. We have no clue how they are being stored before being put out for sale.
Rich Dahl
R.I.P. 7/21/2024
What is this moisture you speak of? I only know of this as ice in my drinks. Does it live in the wild? Here we have a land of dryness which can turn you into a prune if you're outside too long.
You speak of pellets, I have many bags of such stored out in a shed and a patio box. Moisture is not an issue it's the absence of that is what in the land of dryness that becomes the problem. Right now, I have a full pellet box of Weber pellets in my camp chef that have been in there waiting for warmer days when I can get my sorry butt out there and upgrade the controller.
They have been in there at least 6-7 months. I will check them, but I know by now they have turned into stone. About the same consistency of aged concrete. Hit them with a hammer and they turn into powder.
My problem is they burn like a road flare on steroids making the temperature swings unreal.
The others if left sealed in their bags seem to be fine also if carefully resealed after opening.
FYI Rust is also not allowed in Arizona.
A
You speak of pellets, I have many bags of such stored out in a shed and a patio box. Moisture is not an issue it's the absence of that is what in the land of dryness that becomes the problem. Right now, I have a full pellet box of Weber pellets in my camp chef that have been in there waiting for warmer days when I can get my sorry butt out there and upgrade the controller.
They have been in there at least 6-7 months. I will check them, but I know by now they have turned into stone. About the same consistency of aged concrete. Hit them with a hammer and they turn into powder.
My problem is they burn like a road flare on steroids making the temperature swings unreal.
The others if left sealed in their bags seem to be fine also if carefully resealed after opening.
FYI Rust is also not allowed in Arizona.
A
I think I'd go back to Weber. I emailed all sorts at BK, posted on facebook pages, then suddenly BK MD rang me...........
Todd J
New member
I have had this problem often with my smokefire ex4. Sometimes changing the pellets works, other times it doesn't. I don't know the answer and honestly ready to give up on trying high heat on it. I don't load up the hopper unless I am doing a long cook. Typically try to keep just enough to keep it going for the cook. I've had the smokefire since it was released. Been through all the updates, replaced parts... It got better, but it is still just unreliable.
The last time I had an issue, I was reverse searing some steaks and it wouldn't get past 400. Would drop back to 350, go up to 400, back to 350... I took it all apart, cleaned the auger and the grill. Tried different pellets and still wouldn't get hot. Drained the pellets and tried some other ones and it slowly made it to 600 twice, but it took over 30 min each time. The pellet were all PitBoss bought at the same time. I keep them in plastic containers indoors. I did some ribs at 225 and it did mostly ok. It ran up to 280 and took 20 mins to settle back down after I added the meat. Other than that, it seemed pretty happy. So, I tried to reverse sear again. I changed the temp from 225 to 600 and removed the steaks. After 30 mins it was hanging at 450. I did my best to sear the steaks that had been sitting for half an hour. Weber wants to send me a new ramp, but I don't see that being the solution. I never noticed the updated ramp help. I removed the finger guard long ago.
Something I noticed the last couple times I've had this issue is the fan doesn't seem to react to the temperature setting change. Typically, it ramps up and gets going pretty good when it does hit 600. When it won't do high heat, I've noticed that the fan doesn't sound like the speed is changing.
The last time I had an issue, I was reverse searing some steaks and it wouldn't get past 400. Would drop back to 350, go up to 400, back to 350... I took it all apart, cleaned the auger and the grill. Tried different pellets and still wouldn't get hot. Drained the pellets and tried some other ones and it slowly made it to 600 twice, but it took over 30 min each time. The pellet were all PitBoss bought at the same time. I keep them in plastic containers indoors. I did some ribs at 225 and it did mostly ok. It ran up to 280 and took 20 mins to settle back down after I added the meat. Other than that, it seemed pretty happy. So, I tried to reverse sear again. I changed the temp from 225 to 600 and removed the steaks. After 30 mins it was hanging at 450. I did my best to sear the steaks that had been sitting for half an hour. Weber wants to send me a new ramp, but I don't see that being the solution. I never noticed the updated ramp help. I removed the finger guard long ago.
Something I noticed the last couple times I've had this issue is the fan doesn't seem to react to the temperature setting change. Typically, it ramps up and gets going pretty good when it does hit 600. When it won't do high heat, I've noticed that the fan doesn't sound like the speed is changing.
Bob Erdman
TVWBB All-Star
Did you mention the fan issue to Weber? They might replace more parts if your still under warranty.
Bob Erdman
TVWBB All-Star
Fresh bag of pellets from Sam's did the trick. The bag of Smokehouse from Walmart must have been bad, very long pieces. The one from Sam's had all small pieces. Took about 25 minutes to hit 600F.
Yngve Nordby
New member
I've burnt through so many bags of pellets without the grill working correctly and customers support can't figure out what's wrong. So I decided to change the fan to a Noctua 12 mm just to try it out. Now the grill is really quiet, and it consistently goes to 315C/600F in 20 minutes without any problems, even in freezing ambient temperatures. Guess that rules out the bad pellets hypothesis.
The grill works quite well with the new fan. But it does have less air flow than a working stock fan and the flame is now in the middle and not to the right as it used to be on my old EX6. Problem is that the new fan does not produce enough air flow as the smoke is somewhat white and there is a lot more ash remnants. So while it works better and gets to temperature as it should, it not performing as the Smokefire wad intended.
I have informed customers support. They have a US team looking into why some customers Smokefires don't perform as they should and will get back to me when they have a solution. Have been waiting for 4 months now.
The grill works quite well with the new fan. But it does have less air flow than a working stock fan and the flame is now in the middle and not to the right as it used to be on my old EX6. Problem is that the new fan does not produce enough air flow as the smoke is somewhat white and there is a lot more ash remnants. So while it works better and gets to temperature as it should, it not performing as the Smokefire wad intended.
I have informed customers support. They have a US team looking into why some customers Smokefires don't perform as they should and will get back to me when they have a solution. Have been waiting for 4 months now.
Bob Erdman
TVWBB All-Star
4 months! That's unacceptable, it sounds like they are unwilling to help again after replacing your first SmokeFire. Did you request a new fan from Weber?
Yngve Nordby
New member
I get the same feeling, but I hope it's not so. No, I didn't request a new fan. They say that they are looking into it and did not mention that the fan might have been the problem from the start. Quite discouraging actually. I've spent a good amount of time and money on fresh bags of pellets, troubleshooting, new fan and failed cooks on this one :/