What would you pay for a new EX6 1st Generation?

[Lew Newby]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm definitely going to get some of that tape for assembly. With that mod do you guys trust it for an overnight cook without having to re-fill the pellets?

I put that tape on before I ever put pellets in the hopper. Then, to test it, I filled it with pellets, and ran it for 12 hours without stirring the pellets. That was July 4, 2020 and I still trust it. The Gen 1 EX6 has a hopper capacity of 22 lbs. If you burn 2 lb./hr. that will, theoretically, last 11 hours. At an operating temp of 250 or below you will burn approximately 1.5 lbs./hr.. and that equates to 14.67 hours. Those are the facts - BUT. I have never started a fire on a smoker and came back 12 hours later to check on it so I'm not advocating that. When I was younger I would have a remote thermometer with an alarm set to go off if the pit temp dropped 50 degrees but I only slept about 6 hours. It sat next to my bed as I slept through the night. When I got my EX6 I was so old that getting up in the middle of the night wore me out and I found the Smokefire gives great smoke at higher temps. I get up in the morning, start the fire, and we eat dinner at 6 with me cooking at higher temps.

 

[Darian Hofer]

I pulled the trigger today at lunch as I had somebody available to help me get it home and unloaded. No dice when I asked for a discount, but I did sign up for the store's credit card that gave me a 20%/$100 sign-up discount. Final price out the door was right at $400 and it's in my garage. I have already registered for the warranty with Weber with no problems. I'm going to take my time with assembly and might even wait to assemble until I am (hopefully) able to get the Gen. 2 upgrade parts from Weber.

@ $400 it’s a no brainer. Nice score. You will definitely get your money’s worth. Many of the early issues, except for auger, were lessened with firmware updates. Mine runs so much better now than it did early on. I’m sure the newest models with total redesigned pellet shoot will eliminate the pellet feed issues completely.
I totally underestimated the size of this grill when I went to pick up in my Subaru. I had to unbox to fit in car.

 

[Darian Hofer]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm definitely going to get some of that tape for assembly. With that mod do you guys trust it for an overnight cook without having to re-fill the pellets?

I have the Gen 2. I have not done the slick tape yet but have it saved on my Amazon list. I really think the pellets not sliding well also plays to your local climate. Living in a very high humid climate certainly doesn’t help me out. Humidity causes pellets to swell and stick a little. On a long cook, the center drops out in a cone shape right down to the shoot opening. Just not enough slope to force the weight of the pellets to shift and fall towards the opening in the bottom. I have had a couple burn outs with several pounds of pellets left in the hopper. So after a few hours I lift the lid and push the pellets towards the deep end to fill the hole. I think the newest versions should be good out of the box. Gen 1 and 2 still need to be aware and know what to watch for with pellets feeding correctly.
Bottom line….great buy at $400. You should have no regrets buddy.

 

[Alan Benoit]

Thanks Lew and Darian for the feedback and advice. I'll probably stick with my Summit Kamado for overnight and longer low/slow cooks on weekends but it's nice to know the pellet feed issue can be overcome. I really wanted the pellet grill for weekday cooks after work when I don't want to go through the time/effort to light the Summit and get it up to temp.

 

[Darian Hofer]

This is with the Gen 2 insert. I already leveled the pellets once. But you can see how it cones straight down to the auger opening.

 

[Alan Benoit]

Can someone please verify the Generation 2 upgrade parts I will need? I believe the new Auger is part #'s 69374, 69979 and 69376 and the new pellet chute is 69230:

Weber Grill Schematics | Weber Grill Models

Weber Schematics - browse product schematics and part lists by entering a serial number, description, or by selecting a product family.

www.weber.com

 

[Lew Newby]

The upgraded auger tube and chute are a welded , one piece, assembly. Here's what I received a long time ago. Hope this helps. EDIT: I looked
at the schematic and I think this is what you need. .

3	68979	Hardware for auger tube
43	69374	Welded chute assembly, SmokeFire
43	69376
44	68979
44	68982	Auger

 

[Alan Benoit]

I was able to reach Weber on the phone today and they are sending the following:

Product Name	Part #	Qty​
Hopper Pellet Slide, EX-6	69230	1​
Welded chute assembly, SmokeFire	69374	1​
Glow Plug Igniter SF '21	69436	2​

The customer service agent promised this was everything I needed to go from Gen 1 to Gen 2. I am assuming the chute assembly includes the auger.

 

[DanHoo]

Post some smoked meat pics when you get it all dialed in.

 

[Bruno]

I was able to reach Weber on the phone today and they are sending the following:

Product Name	Part #	Qty​
Hopper Pellet Slide, EX-6	69230	1​
Welded chute assembly, SmokeFire	69374	1​
Glow Plug Igniter SF '21	69436	2​

The customer service agent promised this was everything I needed to go from Gen 1 to Gen 2. I am assuming the chute assembly includes the auger.

Yep!

 

[Lew Newby]

That glow plug is just a spare. You don't need to replace it until it dies. Mine has been running in the grill since July 2020.

 

[Alan Benoit]

I got an email today from Weber Customer Service confirming that the auger comes with the chute assembly. They also told me that they forgot to send me an extra temperature probe and a bag of pellets which they are now sending out via FedEx. Awesome customer service IMHO. The auger/chute assembly and pellet slide are scheduled to arrive Saturday and I already received the roll of UHMW tape from Amazon. I have the grill assembled up to the step where you insert the glow plug since I knew I would have to get in there to put in the new parts anyway.

Will let everybody know how it turns out.

 

[Alan Benoit]

I installed the new auger and assembly. The hardest part was pulling out the pin on the old auger that held it to the motor assembly (it took me almost an hour with 2 pairs of needle nosed pliers to get that sucker off). I decided to take Lew's advice and go with the original pellet chute coated with UHMW tape. If this doesn't work I can always install the new chute later.

Filled it up with pellets and did the initial Weber-recommended burn-off this evening for about 45 minutes at 600 F. It took it about 15 minutes to get to temperature and it held there solid as a rock. I brought it back down to 450 and cooked a Costco cauliflower pizza with my pizza stone (took about 12 minutes and turned out great per my wife). Pictured are the pizza and what my pellet chute looked like after the cook.

So far so good. Tomorrow I'm trying some pork ribs.

 

[TimA]

I hope you love it as much as I love mine. It’s my go-to for everything. It’s doing a small brisket and two racks of ribs today.

It’s given me zero issues once I got through initial growing pains...soooo glad I didn’t return it!

 

[Alan Benoit]

Ran it for about 12 hours continuously yesterday to work it out and had no issues at all. Did pork spare ribs, hot dogs, veggies and baby back ribs-all good. Cook temps ranged between 250-300 degrees. Used drip pans for the ribs and cooked those on the top rack. I stirred the pellets back to flat occasionally more out of my OCD than any real necessity to do so. Even if I had to do that it seems like no big deal. I think I've got a winner, especially for what I paid. Thanks again for everyone's help getting me up to speed!

 

[Lew Newby]

Unless I'm deliberately testing to see if my pellet feed is good I will stir the pellets when I go out to check something. Not stirring them takes conscious thought. I understand OCD.

 

[TimA]

Remember to push down into the pellets over the auger to break up any void. My original issues were a result of making pellets flat but not ensuring no void.