Thin blue smoke from Smokefire, is this impossible?
- Thread starter Joseph K
- Start date
Lew Newby
R.I.P. 1/26/2024
Chuck raises a good point about the controller reset. The reset that is a selection on the controller is a soft reset. To empty cache and get a fresh start you want to do a hard reset. I've probably done it 6 times in 3 years. It takes time but has fixed problems for many owners. Here's the directions https://concision.us/weber-smokefire-controller-reset/. Word of caution: some folks have had their controller freeze up during this process. Weber replaced their controllers under warranty. I had the opportunity to play with one that froze up and managed to get it unfrozen using an Apple device. Since the controller is what makes the magic in a Smokefire it makes sense that it could also give bad smoke by how it controls pellet feed and the fan.
Shane - glitchy
TVWBB Super Fan
I would clean the fire pot well and run the Grill Master Blend for a while. I noticed the Weber Hickory can be pretty strong on some things, but I never tasted bitter smoke when I had my SmokeFire. Pizza‘s cooked at 450° with Hickory had way more smoke that my tastes liked though.
Wow. Can’t understand how reset would help but will try. So, after reset, would it automatically update to the latest? Or would it just stay at the factory reset? Or are you suggesting use it with just factory reset?
Hi Shane, thank you. Yeah, Weber Hickory is a bit strong side. Thanks for sharing. I cleaned the fire pot and the grill inside very thoroughly today. Will test run tomorrow.
Darian Hofer
TVWBB Pro
As Lew suggested, I would do a hard reset.
Then check for update Just to make sure you are up to date.
Weber Smokefire - Controller Reset
If you're having issues with your controller, you can attempt to factory reset it with the following steps. 1. With the controller powered on, hold down the three buttons to the right of the main dial for steps 2-4 2. Power off the grill by toggling the power switch (do
concision.us
Shane - glitchy
TVWBB Super Fan
I’ve had over 10 different pellet grills and I’ve never really seen TBS on any of them. You might see the edge of white to blue. However, after initial startup you really shouldn’t see anything more than mostly thin to medium white smoke either. If you are seeing thick white or gray, you likely have an airflow or fuel problem like many have suggested. I’ve never gotten a bitter smoke from any of the poopers I’ve had, it’s not something easy to get with high airflow.
I see. Then, the appearance of the smoke really depends on how the fan operates to maintain or control (the air flow and therefore) the fire and temperature. The more sophisticated the control, the better characteristics of the smoke. So, it could be the fan or the control sw assuming the grill is clean and the pellets are dry and new. I think the grill is even cleaner now and the pellets are dry. Will definitely try the sw revert and update.
I think it is frozen. I cannot get pass from the Recovery Mode screen. With the Weber Connect app, I don’t see the grill to pair.
Hi Lew, how were you able to manage to get around the frozen Smokefire? I know, you warned… I have an apple phone.
ChuckO
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
The recovery mode takes awhile. Probably should plan on a few hours. Basically you’re reflashing the chip set
Lew Newby
R.I.P. 1/26/2024
As part of the reset it should check for software updates. The controller controls the fire heat and smoke. If it feeds too many pellets or doesn’t modulate the fan properly then you get bad smoke. EDIT: I just did a reset on my grill. It took about 30 minutes. Sometimes it will take 45 minutes. Strange.
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ChuckO
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
How's it coming along? Did it come out of the recovery?
Lew Newby
R.I.P. 1/26/2024
Good question, we had to pry it loose. Go on the app and see if you can get it to check for updates. If you can, then it should come around in 15 to 20 minutes. You select the settings icon to get to it.
Shane - glitchy
TVWBB Super Fan
I’ll ask the other current owners to chime in on this, is the carbon build up shown in the pics above normal on the bottom plate of the firepot? It’s been a couple years since I had my Smokefire now, so I don’t recall what it looked like after months of use.
Joseph, how loud is your fan? Is it borderline obnoxious when your out by the grill? Probably even able to be heard from inside the house if the grill is close? The fan on my SmokeFire was loud.
Joseph, how loud is your fan? Is it borderline obnoxious when your out by the grill? Probably even able to be heard from inside the house if the grill is close? The fan on my SmokeFire was loud.
Hi Chuck, yes, finally I got it working. I had to struggle quite a bit. The problem was that the reset instruction was missing an important piece of information. Unless you do this important step, I realized that the connection will not happen and the controller will show the frozen screen. That important step is that you need to disconnect from the grill first and then reconnect. If one does not disconnect from the previous connection (on your Weber connect app on your phone) to the grill, this connection will prohibit the new connection request coming from the factory resetted grill. I hope this makes sense. The situation is like this. From your phone you already have a connection to your grill. However, that connected grill is trying to connect since it is now newly resetted. So, the previous connection, which is bogus now is blocking the new connection because it is coming from a grill which you already have connection with. There should be software workaround for this but for now, we have to live with an extra step to enable this factory reset process.
Lew and Darian, perhaps we should keep this information somewhere so that whoever needs to reset in the future does not have to go through the trouble. I spent whole day trying to figure out what is going on and was not able to test the grill. Will do that tomorrow. BTW, it has come out of recovery mode and the sw is updated.
Hi Shane, indeed it is quite loud…