So I saw this at Costco today


 
Brian B Atlanta said:
Nothing wrong with stirring the pot by the way the Smokefire has its own issues and the more I research these pellet grills they all have some kind of warts although Rich has 200 cooks on his Camp Chef with no problems. But that does not mean every Camp Chef owner does not have issues n or Smokefire owners who have had zero issues.
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Yeah, Brian, check out this ad on FB Marketplace:

Camp Chef with issues.jpg

Camp Chef 24” Woodwind WiFi pellet grill. This grill was purchased in early 2020 and has been used for 75+ cooks. This grill has had issues with it’s pellet auger, motor, and electronics display despite multiple replacements under warranty (now expired) and repairs. Price is very negotiable for someone who is willing to take this and used it as a rehab project. Comes with magnetic blanket & shelf (not shown). Sidekick gas burner included as well (feel free to take the propane tank, ~1/2 full). $100 OBO


If you were a brave person, you are getting a lot for you "$100 OBO" including a heat cover and sidekick burner.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Yeah, Brian, check out this ad on FB Marketplace:

View attachment 44714

Camp Chef 24” Woodwind WiFi pellet grill. This grill was purchased in early 2020 and has been used for 75+ cooks. This grill has had issues with it’s pellet auger, motor, and electronics display despite multiple replacements under warranty (now expired) and repairs. Price is very negotiable for someone who is willing to take this and used it as a rehab project. Comes with magnetic blanket & shelf (not shown). Sidekick gas burner included as well (feel free to take the propane tank, ~1/2 full). $100 OBO


If you were a brave person, you are getting a lot for you "$100 OBO" including a heat cover and sidekick burner.
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Jon thanks for the post but I do not care about the sidekick burner and since this is my first dip in the pellet grill arena no way as its described to even think about that nor would I think about a used SmokeFire lets see what the Z does at least its new and no worries returning it from Amazon.
 
Brian B Atlanta said:
Jon thanks for the post but I do not care about the sidekick burner and since this is my first dip in the pellet grill arena no way as its described to even think about that nor would I think about a used SmokeFire lets see what the Z does at least its new and no worries returning it from Amazon.
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I just thought the guy's ad was kind of pitiful about all the warranty replacements and repairs and now an expired warranty. Definitely not the experience Rich has had. It goes along with what you said that sometimes a certain make of grill works great for some people while someone else may get a lemon!

It is a tempting deal for someone with the fortitude to get to the bottom of whatever issue(s) are there. Of course, you could wind up throwing a bunch of good money after bad. That setup would not be cheap to replicate, though. The base price of the Woodwind 24 is $899 but throw in the extras and you are looking at a lot more.
 
Jon Tofte said:
I just thought the guy's ad was kind of pitiful about all the warranty replacements and repairs and now an expired warranty. Definitely not the experience Rich has had. It goes along with what you said that sometimes a certain make of grill works great for some people while someone else may get a lemon!

It is a tempting deal for someone with the fortitude to get to the bottom of whatever issue(s) are there. Of course, you could wind up throwing a bunch of good money after bad. That setup would not be cheap to replicate, though. The base price of the Woodwind 24 is $899 but throw in the extras and you are looking at a lot more.
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I think for $100 it is easily worth the risk... You could probably flip the searbox and the thermal cover for nearly that much if you decided to.
 
Jon Tofte said:
I just thought the guy's ad was kind of pitiful about all the warranty replacements and repairs and now an expired warranty. Definitely not the experience Rich has had. It goes along with what you said that sometimes a certain make of grill works great for some people while someone else may get a lemon!

It is a tempting deal for someone with the fortitude to get to the bottom of whatever issue(s) are there. Of course, you could wind up throwing a bunch of good money after bad. That setup would not be cheap to replicate, though. The base price of the Woodwind 24 is $899 but throw in the extras and you are looking at a lot more.
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Out of curiosity - would you mind posting the link?
 
Likely not near me as I am in FL, but I would have found use for the blanket, and the wifi pid controller is plug and play with the non wood wind models.
Edit looks like the Woodwind WIFI PID is not the same as the non Woodwind WIFI PID...
 
For every one pellet grill with problems(pick your brand) there are 20 without. It’s an outdoor electronic and mechanical device that most owners don’t understand. Having several that I use commercially, and being also a “brand influencer” I have talked many through issues that were not product related, but operator error or misuse.
 
Just saw a Q-2200 with stand for $229. at Costco this morning but, the Keter patio cooler looked really nice! Considering that one. Don’t need the Q.
 
Jon Tofte said:
Looks like it is gone already. I hate when people delete instead of marking sold. I guess someone was up to the challenge!
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Probably many here up to the challenge you probably would have jumped on it so a good deal for somebody. I know just about nothing about these things so I wanted to at least start off with something that works hopefully.
 
I agree, Brian. I am good with restoring a gas grill, but electronics and moving parts make a pellet grill a much different animal. New with a warranty has a lot going for it!
 
I think there will be a lot of used pellet poopers coming up for sale in the future. Probably broken ones at the curb or really cheap.
 
Also, the break-downs will involve failed electronics and moving parts (fans and augers). Even an average user who might be up for replacing flavorizer bars or even burner tubes will probably balk at trying to fix those. Then there is the question of parts support. While the bigger players might have parts - for a while - some of these other companies that just jumped in are likely to orphan these grills in no time at all.

I didn’t even mention support for software problems! No, I don’t see most people keeping these pellet models going for 10 or 15 years, and I don’t see the same opportunity for restoring them. Kind of like a Lexus of today. Who is going to restore them 20 years from now? And even if you wanted to, where are you going to get replacements for the computerized electronics that control everything? It will be a lot easier in 2042 to restore a 1957 Chevy than a 2022 Lexus. Probably the same for redoing a 1987 Genesis vs. a 2022 SmokeFire.
 
With 200+ cooks my Camp Chef has been faultless and only being 2+ years old that's a lot of mileage on the fan and auger alone. Mine is a base model so no remote access or software upgrades. I use my TW smoke to monitor the cooks.
Not to say I haven't had my share of bad cooks, but those were due to pilot error not the grill itself.
I have no allusions of the grill lasting ten or even five years as it lives in a harsh environment.
I do a detailed cleaning after each cook including emptying the pellet hopper, vacuuming the ash out and keeping it covered when not in use.
I agree with Jon these are not like a gas grill that really doesn't have all the electronics a pellet grill does.
Right now I think it's due for something to go south on it but time will tell. When it dies will I fix it, I don't have an answer for that yet.
FYI My daughter has a 15 year old Traeger that still works perfectly, go figure.
 
Well 200 cooks to me without problems is a testament to the Camp Chef that is a lot of cooks I can't imagine the z grill I ordered would see that many cooks in 5 years. I still intend to use the Silver C most of the time and the Performer will get its fair share of use so the pellet grill is another tool in the arsenal.

Heck I have never had any food that has been cooked on a pellet grill for all I know might be disappointed but we will see. I think the base model to me is also a plus hopefully, will use my Maverick ET to monitor temps no different then what I do now on the UDS.
 
Having several Pellet Grills of different brands, I can say that they are useful tools to have in the shed. Hundreds of racks of ribs, at least a hundred briskets, and thousands of chicken wings without too many hiccups. Yes they have multiple integrated systems, that can fail at any time, but maybe I’m lucky. I had to replace a controller on my Traeger, I opted for a Grilla Grills PID controller that was essentially a plug in. Many parts between brands are interchangeable which makes them much easier to source. Before you purchase make sure the grill will do what you want it to do
 
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