Smokefire


 
Z

Zach Paukert

New member
Hi everyone. I have been given the green light to get a pellet smoker for my house. I love to grill and smoke. My current setup is a Genesis (10 years old) and a 18.5" WSM (12 years old). My thought with the Pellet smoker is to allow for easier home smokes (less set-up/easier clean up) and to add better grilling capabilities to my cooks. I really am having a tough time with what to get.

I love the concept of the Smokefire. They seem to have addressed the flaws with the second generation. However, I am also looking at The Traeger Timberline or Ironwood and the Recteq RT-700. The metal choice of the RT-700 (340 stainless) is a huge drawing feature. Even would consider the Memphis Bealle Street. I am planning on keeping what ever I get for at least a decade. I have loved Weber in the past, would love feedback.

I would like to cook low and slow and also grill normal (steaks, chickens, etc) on the pellet grill.

Any thoughts?
As an aside, when compared to my propane grill, what is the preheat time going to be?
 
Welcome aboard!
  • I personally don’t view my SF cleanup as being easier than my Genesis cleanup. But the process on neither really pains me
  • I have an Ironwood 885; it’s approximately 2 years old. I used it for about 3 months before I bought the RT-700. I never had any workmanship issues with it but for my taste buds the smoke flavor was not strong enough. It was extremely mild and I had to twist and turn to see smoke exit through the exhaust. I have never used it after those first 3 months, so my experience is not recent
  • I’ve had the RT-700 for a couple years. I love the physical design and I’m very impressed with its build quality and materials. I do not follow grades of stainless but since you remarked about it I want to mention that I have read where some folks say that not all of its exterior is actually the grade they assumed it would be. Someone like Jon probably has more knowledge on this topic. This unit provides me with a credible smoke flavor and I don’t have any complaints about it. I really appreciate having access to some of the controller’s functionality where I can adjust some settings. Case in point: you can modify some auger control settings (though I don’t recall ever having a reason to do so). I can also make temperature offset adjustments, and this is something that I do.
  • I’ve only had a SmokeFire for 2 weeks but so far I’m really digging it (though I returned a unit earlier this year because of poor performance). I haven’t done same-day cook comparisons but it feels to me like this offers a considerable richer smoke flavor. So far, my only complaint is that I feel the controller’s reported pit temp is 25-30f higher than the actual pit temp. This is based on a combination of the length of time to cook some food by believing the controller temp and is also based on comparing it to a Fireboard and Meater thermometer. But I have not gone crazy and checked pit temps at various areas within the pit. Right now, I believe this variance is true at our typical smoking temps; I cannot say right now if it is off at higher temps. So far, this has not posed an issue for me because I can simply take this knowledge and set a higher temp and even though it may not report an accurate temp it is at least stable.
  • I feel like the preheat time on the RT-700 and SmokeFire is very similar to that of my gas grills
Keep in mind that given the design of the RT-700 and Ironwood they result in an indirect cook (because of their drip trays). If there’s a way to do direct cooks on these I don’t know what it is. Therefore, I have never used them to grill a steak and I have never even taken either of them to their maximum temps. I played with the SF at 600f for a moment but have not grilled a steak yet. I don’t know the correct way to say this but perhaps the SF offers at least a semi-direct cook capability. I experimented with chicken wings a couple days ago. On one side, I placed a drip tray under a few of them (for a diffuser effect); on the other side, I placed some of the wings on the grate with no diffuser. Below is a pic of one of them on the “direct side” at 500f for 10 minutes without flipping (this was 10 minutes after smoking all of them at 225 for 45 minutes). I also reverse seared a Tri-tip and the SF definitely provided a crust.

Best of luck in your decision process! Jon has lots of experience with his RT-700 and Bruno and Lew have excellent experience with their SmokeFires, so I can’t wait for them to share their feedback.

This pic illustrates that either I should be using a diffuser, should cook at a lower temp, need to flip, or cook "direct" for a shorter amount of time, lol:
20210705_183036.jpg

These on the top layer were done over the drip pan (diffuser) and were a success (and I have a strong feeling they tasted like what I get from charcoal and a Vortex!):
20210705_182609.jpg
 
If you are considering the Timberline and Beale Street, IMO you should forget those and look at the MAK 1 Star, Yoder, Cookshack, or Smokin Bros. Memphis is all made overseas now and their quality is not the same. The ones I listed are all American made pits. They are constructed of much higher quality materials than most all of the imported pellet grills. Will they cook better? Not really, but they will last longer, generally be more reliable, and often provide better support. Weber and Recteq do provide good support on theirs too though and like anything, it’s always subjective to the rep you get on the other end. The American companies are smaller, so it’s often a couple people that you will talk to that thoroughly know the products.

Traeger grills are OK, but really overpriced for the construction quality compared to cost, you can get a lot more value and better features from others at this time.

For high temp direct grilling, nothing touches the SmokeFire. It gets a lot of love on this site, but if you look elsewhere it’s still very hit and miss in regards to owner satisfaction. When it runs well, it’s one of the best pellet grills I’ve seem. My experience, even with a Gen 2, was that it still pretty moody. I had problems with probes stopping to read mid cook, inaccurate temps, long delays (20-30 mins) before the grill started making temperature adjustments, etc. One cook it would run perfectly, the next I might see one or more of those issues. I returned mine in February, so later firmware updates might have stabilized things more.
 
I have had my EX6 for 1 year. I had a Rec Tec RT-300 and the stainless grates, internal parts, and the ceramic igniter rod were big pluses. It's dependability was excellent. I'm sure the RT-700 is just as dependable. My EX6 will give me smoke flavor at 400 degrees where my Rec Tec ran out at 300. The flavor that the Smokefire imparts to food is excellent and I think better than my first two pellet grills. If you want to sear with a pellet grill then the Smokefire wins there. The majority of Smokefire owners are satisfied with their grill BUT it is not without flaws. The software is immature and tests you patience at times. To keep the Smokefire under control you have to know it more intimately than you do a Rec Tec. If you want a dependable smoker get the RT-700. If you want an excellent smoker that is also an excellent grill and are willing to deal with the growing pains until Weber gets it squared away then get the Smokefire. If you are easily frustrated the Smokefire capability may not be worth the pain. I will also say that I've had my share of challenges but never lost a cook or finished anything in the oven. I'm not a compulsive cleaner and I leave pellets in my hopper between cooks so I don't do those things that some say you have to do to get it to perform properly. In Sept. I turn 80 and the EX6 replaced my pellet grills, WSMs, and Performer. I can keep it clean enough and setup and breakdown is so much easier for my tired old back. Good luck deciding. This link is to a Facebook group member generated FAQ that has a ton of info about the Smokefire. This is all user experience information. https://bit.ly/3jqWlJw
 
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The guys above have already said it all really well. I enjoy my Rec Tec (whoops now Recteq) RT-700 very much, and it has never let me down. I agree with BFletcher's description in that the RT-700 is only an indirect smoker. It does very fine low and slow in my book. A couple weeks ago it amazed even me for turning out perfect pork shoulders and chuck roasts awaiting cutting up for burnt ends with beautiful smoke rings. But smoke rings don't have anything to do with smoke flavor. I think what helps the Weber SmokeFire deliver on that front is the use of flavorizer bars with gaps that allow more smoke to come up right under - and through - your food. Recteq's thick stainless shield prevents that and counts on the smoke to waft around the food. Of course, those openings are also the culprit for the unfortunate "GreaseFire" knickname the SmokeFire has earned from its detractors. I would think the SmokeFIre is harder to keep clean and less forgiving if you don't. But I have not used one - at least yet!

I would take a SmokeFire over an Ironwood but not over the much higher priced Timberline. I still would get another Recteq before a Timberline, however, and save some money. As far as construction, the Recteq is pretty solid for this price level. I don't believe the stainless panels such as the shelves are 300 series stainless, as I have had some small rust spots show up on mine. I do think the firepot and the shields are very good quality and almost indestructible. The grates also seem to be decent stainless and have cleaned up well for me over time. That is one place where Weber let the bean counters have their way. Fortunately, for the bottom grates, the very common size "classic" Genesis (and some Spirit 300 grill) size grates are interchangeable. So, you have tons of options for upgrading those from very reasonable to top drawer, higher price ones like Dave Santana (rcplanebuyer) makes. For the top grate, when the cheap chrome plated one fails, I would look into the custom bbq style diamond mesh grates we have seen shown here.

I am wishing for a SmokeFire EX-4 as a complement to my RT-700, as I like to do small group bbq. That would be the best of both worlds. If I was buying today, it would be tough choice for me between the SmokeFire EX-6 and the Recteq RT-700. At the summer sale price of $999, Weber is trying their best to make that choice easier!

I totally agree, too, that if you can afford it, the much more expensive American made pellet grills are built sturdier and will probably pay you back with a longer life if your budget will allow for the initial outlay. My wife will not be happy if I shell out $799 for a SmokeFire EX-4 on sale; a new MAK would have to double as a doghouse bed for me to sleep in :D !
 
One point on the decade comment made in the OP. MAK grills have a limited lifetime warranty. They design their grills to last and warranty them accordingly. They also generally offer retrofit upgrades. Meaning unlike Traeger, Weber, Recteq that just introduce new models with new features, MAK generally designs changes to their existing grills and let’s existing customers buy just the new parts. This can be valuable to people that hold on to things a long time. All of this doesn’t come cheap though, and a lot of people say no way to the price tag.

The MAK is a decent high temp griller too. I haven‘t gotten it to sear a steak like a SmokeFire, but it does very well on about everything else. It gets plenty hot where you can put in a cast iron pan for searing steaks. I’m still waiting on one of their sear grates to see if that improves things.
 
I owned a trager for about 10years, bought it before old man Trager sold it to investers. They were great to work with on any issues despite being out of warranty. Mind you, it didn’t have many issues, but did require the occasional blower replacement, fire rod etc. I believe over time, as mentioned above, build quality and support waned. My pellet pooper finally died and I went back to charcoal. I never tried to direct sear on my cooker, kept a small kettle for that.
My brother recently, about 10 months ago got a Reqtec tree-700. That thing is a beast compared to my old trager and others I’ve seen recently. It imparts a nice smoke flavor, at least for my taste and very dependable. It isn’t finicky about which pellets to use either.
Good luck on your purchase.
 
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