Stealth Smokefire

[Brian B Atlanta]

Sounds like a new thread is needed.

“The SKUs I’d Keep as Weber Goes Private and Rightsizes”

Anyone up for this challenge?

I think months ago I had a thread on that there were no responses meaning what would you keep or get rid of. To lazy to dig it up Brett have at it of course at the time nobody thought they were were in danger of going belly up.

 

[TimA]

Weber isn’t in danger of going belly up….

 

[Jon Tofte]

I think Weber could cut the number of models - such as too many Spirit grills - but in some cases offer more kettle and hood colors. Some color choices for their Summit Kamado and SmokeFire could potentially get more attention for those. For the SmokeFire, though, I am not sure Weber shouldn’t completely start over with a very much new version and a new name and do their best to convince Home Depot and Lowes to give it floor space - alongside a very cool Weber Pellet Kettle !

 

[Brian B Atlanta]

Weber isn’t in danger of going belly up….

If it were not for BDT stepping in they were belly up Chapter 11. I meant in danger before BDT stepped in with working capital and their offer for the shares, obviously not now.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I think it will take some marketing cleverness, better engineering (not electronic nonsense), and stronger consumer confidence for Weber to regain focus, reputation and market share. It is very sad but not altogether impossible to imagine Weber going under. That would be a tragedy that I hope can be prevented.

 

[Chorbi Rodriguez]

The STEALTH is no longer being sold.

 

[Jon Tofte]

If that is the case, it could mean that Weber will have an updated or altogether new pellet grill for this 2023 grilling season. I hope they can keep the best aspects of the original SmokeFire while addressing issues like bridging, auger failure, etc. and especially upgrading the quality of the internal components.

 

[JimK]

The STEALTH is no longer being sold.

Thanks for the info, Chorbi. I thought that was coming. Is there an official announcement yet?

 

[Lew Newby]

The EPX6 is still available through Amazon (11 left), BBQGUYS.com, Home Depot, Best Buy, and other vendors. It's not available on the Weber site. Now, I'm going to do something I rarely do. Spread a rumor. Over a year ago the jungle drums said that Weber was working on something other than the Stealth. Winter is not prime time for new smokers/grills. Here's my WAG (wild assed guess) GUESS NOT FACT. By July 4th we'll see an announcement on the new Weber pellet grill.

 

[Brett-EDH]

Wouldn’t July be quite late for the 2023 season?

 

[Lew Newby]

It was a WAG so I threw in some slack. .

 

[Brett-EDH]

It was a WAG so I threw in some slack. .

Well, you gave yourself enough runway. So maybe on the go-private announcement completion they’ll announce new products to invigorate sales and spark interest.

Something has to happen. The deer that stands still doesn’t survive long.

 

[BFletcher]

Does this mean Weber is still developing pellet smokers?

https://uspto.report/patent/app/20220307683

 

[JimK]

Does this mean Weber is still developing pellet smokers?

https://uspto.report/patent/app/20220307683

View attachment 64939

Or they're going to become a supplier to other pellet grill makers.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I think it is clear evidence they have a new pellet grill design in the works. Maybe that Lighting name is going to make an appearance🤔?

 

[Jon Tofte]

I think it is clear evidence they have a new pellet grill design in the works. Maybe that Lighting name is going to make an appearance🤔?

Oh, it says LIGHTING. If they are submitting patent applications just this past September - AFTER the Stealth came out with a light - that could still mean they are working on something new.

 

[Lew Newby]

Another possibility is that it's the patent application for the light in the Stealth. Note the application date on this. https://www.sumobrain.com/patents/wipo/Cooking-chamber-lighting-pellet-grills/WO2022203857A1.html The September date is the publication date. If I were a patent lawyer I would understand more of this document but it's description sounds like the Smokefire.

 

[Rich Dahl]

With seven Weber's and being 75 years old I'm not going to be in the market for a new grill. Although I would love to see Weber be successful in a rebirth of their pellet grill as pellet grills seem to be gaining momentum in the grill world.

 

[BFletcher]

Another possibility is that it's the patent application for the light in the Stealth. Note the application date on this. https://www.sumobrain.com/patents/wipo/Cooking-chamber-lighting-pellet-grills/WO2022203857A1.html The September date is the publication date. If I were a patent lawyer I would understand more of this document but it's description sounds like the Smokefire.

Thanks Lew. I wasn't smart enough to know how to interpret the small piece of data I found.

But for me the bottom line is--like Rich--I'm not in the market and it doesn't really serve any purpose for me to speculate vs just waiting for an announcement from Weber, lol.

 

[Jon Tofte]

I have stayed on the sidelines having owned a Rec Tec RT-700 from before the date the SmokeFire was announced. I was very interested in what Weber was doing back then (I know I have old posts about that somwhere), and I have followed the ups and downs of the SmokeFire's tumultuous life with great interest. I still think Weber did some things very right as witnessed by the awesome results we have seen here and even on some reviews where the SmokeFire cook topped Yoder and other more expensive pellet grills and the reviewer commented that the food was close to "stick burner" results.

On the other hand, it can't be denied that there have been some serious issues along the way for a number of owners and that some troublesome problems, such as early part failure due to thin, weak materials, still remain. The biggest downer to me is that you can't walk into Lowes, Home Depot or Ace and compare a SmokeFIre to the rows of Traegers, Pit Bosses, etc.

I can't see how Weber can compete in high enough volume if they aren't available for consumer to look at and examine in person. This is especially true given the rough start at launch. While some of the early negative reviews were not fair, they put a black mark on this innovative grill. I believe Lowes got so fed up with returns that they abandoned the SmokeFire and sold off at steep discounts their remaining SmokeFIre related merchandise. That has to hurt Weber!

As I have said before, I think Weber has to be working on something to overcome this, even if funding is precarious. They just have to. Don't be surprised if you see an entirely new name and design. I just hope it still can cook as well as the SmokeFire.