SmokeFire Wood Fired Pellet Grill is a Good Housekeeping 2021 Kitchen Gear Awards winner!


 
LKruse

LKruse

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My SmokeFire was pretty great when it worked right. I have to believe that the biggest issues for me in the software and firmware have been improved a lot by now as the number of complaints here, other forums, FB groups, etc. has dropped off to a trickle.

The SmokeFire must also be gaining quite a bit of popularity as Z-Grills has made a visual clone to try to steal sales from Weber: https://zgrills.com/collections/wi-fi-series/products/multitasker-11002b-wi-fi-pellet-grill
 
Shane - glitchy said:
My SmokeFire was pretty great when it worked right. I have to believe that the biggest issues for me in the software and firmware have been improved a lot by now as the number of complaints here, other forums, FB groups, etc. has dropped off to a trickle.

The SmokeFire must also be gaining quite a bit of popularity as Z-Grills has made a visual clone to try to steal sales from Weber: https://zgrills.com/collections/wi-fi-series/products/multitasker-11002b-wi-fi-pellet-grill
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I sure like the hopper location on the side. Would really like to see the internal build. Also like the large slide out ash tray. Maybe they increased the ash drop holes or changed it up?

Edit:
Looks like it actually has an upper grease run off tray.
 
Shane - glitchy said:
My SmokeFire was pretty great when it worked right. I have to believe that the biggest issues for me in the software and firmware have been improved a lot by now as the number of complaints here, other forums, FB groups, etc. has dropped off to a trickle.

The SmokeFire must also be gaining quite a bit of popularity as Z-Grills has made a visual clone to try to steal sales from Weber: https://zgrills.com/collections/wi-fi-series/products/multitasker-11002b-wi-fi-pellet-grill
Click to expand...
I am delighted with how much smoke flavor I get from this pellet grill and that's probably because of the interior design. I doubt that I will get rid of my EX6 unless I replaced it with an EX4. Probably won't happen. For 16 months I have watched the software get better but it just isn't where it should be. I'm not talking about new bells and whistles but reliable operation day in and day out. Folks go along without problems and then a clean grill fails to light. They clean it and the problem's gone. Folks are getting flameouts and the auto restart fails to stop it before the fires dies. I think it was the April 2020 update that introduced the auto restart. I didn't even know it had that feature when I bought 3 months later and I haven't seen it work on my grill. After Thanksgiving I'm going to run some tests to see if it does work. Even with it's warts I love the food my Smokefire produces.
 
Lew Newby said:
I am delighted with how much smoke flavor I get from this pellet grill and that's probably because of the interior design. I doubt that I will get rid of my EX6 unless I replaced it with an EX4. Probably won't happen. For 16 months I have watched the software get better but it just isn't where it should be. I'm not talking about new bells and whistles but reliable operation day in and day out. Folks go along without problems and then a clean grill fails to light. They clean it and the problem's gone. Folks are getting flameouts and the auto restart fails to stop it before the fires dies. I think it was the April 2020 update that introduced the auto restart. I didn't even know it had that feature when I bought 3 months later and I haven't seen it work on my grill. After Thanksgiving I'm going to run some tests to see if it does work. Even with it's warts I love the food my Smokefire produces.
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I wish they would put an open door sensor on it. When you open to start flipping food, mine stokes out pellets like crazy trying to fix the temp drop. Does yours do this?
 
Darian Hofer said:
I sure like the hopper location on the side. Would really like to see the internal build. Also like the large slide out ash tray. Maybe they increased the ash drop holes or changed it up?

Edit:
Looks like it actually has an upper grease run off tray.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it isn’t going to cook like a SmokeFire, but they’re definitely trying to confuse people stealing the design.
 
Shane - glitchy said:
Yeah, it isn’t going to cook like a SmokeFire, but they’re definitely trying to confuse people stealing the design.
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Yes, the outer shell style looks like a steal. But it looks like the rest of it might address the problems and complaints many are having with the Smokefire. It might not cook the same. It might cook better. Time will tell. I like competition in products. It forces products to improve.
 
Darian Hofer said:
Yes, the outer shell style looks like a steal. But it looks like the rest of it might address the problems and complaints many are having with the Smokefire. It might not cook the same. It might cook better. Time will tell. I like competition in products. It forces products to impr
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There's nothing innovative about the Z-Grill. The difference between it and a Pit Boss is the exhaust vents. It's a conventional design pellet grill with the big drip pan and a side pellet hopper. It will cook exactly like my old Camp Chef and produce the same minimal smoke flavor food that all the conventional designs produce. If you have your grill up against a wall the hopper door opening means you can fill it while standing beside the grill. Nothing wrong with the design, it's just different, and if you learn and work with the design the grill problems diminish dramatically. Who drives a Vette they way they would a Jeep?
 
Lew Newby said:
There's nothing innovative about the Z-Grill. The difference between it and a Pit Boss is the exhaust vents. It's a conventional design pellet grill with the big drip pan and a side pellet hopper. It will cook exactly like my old Camp Chef and produce the same minimal smoke flavor food that all the conventional designs produce. If you have your grill up against a wall the hopper door opening means you can fill it while standing beside the grill. Nothing wrong with the design, it's just different, and if you learn and work with the design the grill problems diminish dramatically. Who drives a Vette they way they would a Jeep?
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There are more differences than you mention above. But time and owner reviews will ultimately prove who has the better design. But I totally fail to see your Vette vs Jeep comparison.lol
Can you load pellets by reaching over your grill or hitting the narrow hopper design on the Weber by side loading…Absolutely.
Would I rather dump pellets into a large square side hopper in the front thats easy to reach? Hell yes. Who wouldn’t. Please tell my why this a not a better design.
I never said The Z was better, I only said I liked some of the design changes. It’s not personal. Just my opinion on the differences I saw between the 2. Maybe the material used on this grill are crap. Who knows?
 
Darian Hofer said:
There are more differences than you mention above. But time and owner reviews will ultimately prove who has the better design. But I totally fail to see your Vette vs Jeep comparison.lol
Can you load pellets by reaching over your grill or hitting the narrow hopper design on the Weber by side loading…Absolutely.
Would I rather dump pellets into a large square side hopper in the front thats easy to reach? Hell yes. Who wouldn’t. Please tell my why this a not a better design.
I never said The Z was better, I only said I liked some of the design changes. It’s not personal. Just my opinion on the differences I saw between the 2. Maybe the material used on this grill are crap. Who knows?
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I honestly understand the desire for easy pellet loading and the square hopper is easier. I stand at the right end of my grill, scoop pellets out of a bucket sitting on the shelf and put them in the hopper. I don’t reach over my grill but folks think it’s the way it’s done. What the side hopper design dictates is a longer auger tube. The Recteq RT700 and Smokefire have shorter tubes and rear hoppers. Weber needs to improve metal quality for some of their internal parts but adding a conventional design drip pan would kill it’s strength. I’m one of many owners that noticed how much more smoke flavor the Weber design puts on the meat. That’s why I’m willing to deal with the warts.
 
The basis for the rear hopper used by Recteq and adopted by Weber (and also the front hopper used by another company) is to shorten the auger and reduce the likelihood of it jamming. Weber made their hopper especially narrow - I guess to be more stylish. I think the Recteq one is easier to fill.
 
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