Weber SmokeFire EX6 (2nd Gen) Wood Fired Pellet Grill, Black

BLUF:Great machine. Food tastes amazing with insane smoke rings. Some minor improvements can be made to the software. High-temp cooks aren't noticeably better than propane. Keep it clean between each cook to minimize grease fires (tool included). I highly recommend Weber's pellets for maximum flavor and performance.Full Review:After years of research, I took the plunge with the Smokefire. I wisely waited until the 2.0 model was released. Weber has fixed the issues of the first generation.My experience includes years with multiple weber gas grills. I've also used a Charbroil Kamado egg grill and a Masterbuilt electric smoker.I have used this grill to low-and-slow cook and to high-heat cook. I've done both in back-to-back sessions with great success. I've had a few minor grease fires, but nothing extreme or honestly unexpected. I experience grease fires in my gas grills as well. In all cases, the fires burned out fairly quickly and without inputs on my part. All of them occurred when executing high-temp cooks.I clean my smoker before each and every cook. I find that minimizes the chances of grease fires. It makes using the grill a little more labor intensive, but I find the product is worth the time spend caring for the equipment.I empty the hopper after each cook to keep the pellets dry. This isn't as clean of an emptying as I would have hoped. Some pellets remain in the grill (right in the top of hopper chute). I'm in a hot and humid environment, and I really wish I could fully empty the hopper after each cook to keep the chance of clogging (pellets absorbing water and disintegrating) to a minimum. Thus far, I've not experienced issues, though. When you go to empty the hopper, be ready for pellets to go flying. Weber could make a minor improvement by extending the chute down below the slide to help direct pellets straight down into whatever collection device you use. I placed an outdoor rug under the smoker to help keep the pellets from collecting between my deck boards. This makes it easier to sweep up the pellets that fall out as I empty the hopper.One note about the hopper, I do still see cavitation of pellets. So I still keep an eye out and stir the hopper with my hand from time to time. I don't mind this. I like to baby my cooks anyways (spritzing hourly during the cooks). Just one more thing to check as I check in on the meat.For my every day cooks, I continue to use my weber gas grill. I honestly don't find value in using the Smokefire for high-temp cooks, not like I expected. When searing meat, BTU is BTU in my opinion. I don't honestly believe the meat is on the grill long enough to accumulate enough smoke flavor from the wood. The cost of using the pellets is more than burning the propane, so I will carry on with propane for my burgers, steaks, seared chicken, etc.As a smoker, this grille is unbelievable. I've cooked ribs and pork butts thus far. The ribs are tender, juicy, and full of smoke flavor. The smoke ring this machine produces is insane! I cannot help but laugh with joy each time I look at the final product.I have strictly used Weber's pellets. I've used both the grillmaster blend as well as the hickory blend. These pellets can be hard to find at decent prices, but I've found the flavor and performance is second to none with these pellets. I also use weber's fuel bags to hold the pellets, and these also perform brilliantly.I added both the left side table as well as the front tables to give me maximum table space around the grill. I've already leaned on all of the secondary tables to rest utensils, gloves, trays, etc. The maximum space really makes it easy to focus on the work and keep everything I need close at hand each time I go to the grill. The tables are all easy to install, sturdy, and function perfectly for my needs. They clean up easily.From the software perspective, I enjoy the Weber Connect app. There are a few drawbacks with the app, but overall I like the software and control. Smokeboost is an amazing feature that's fantastic to use at the beginning of your cooks. It's easy to activate and deactivate.I use timers and temperature alarms for my cooks. The timers are easy to set, but I do wish there was a way to label them. I often set multiple timers at the outset of the cook. As the timers wind down, it can be difficult to remember which is which with just a glance. Color code? Label with a name? These changes could improve the experience. One other item to keep aware of, timers stop when you turn off the Smokefire. This won't affect most folks, but it does impact me. To save on fuel, when I wrap the different meats, I move them into my electric smoker. BTU is BTU once wrapped, and electricity is cheaper than pellets. It would be nice if the Weber Connect app could keep timers running all in one central location even when the grill is shut down. As it stands today, I have to transition my timers to other applications before I shut down the grill.The temperature probes work fantastically well. I've used the two that come with the smoker. The software immediately recognizes each probe once connected. Overall, a solid experience. Again, I love seeing the probe temps mixed in with my timers and alarms. One place to view all of the grill data is fantastic. As with the timers, I'd love to be able to color code or label the probes to help me remember which piece of meat is attached to which probe. Small nit to pick.Other items I've observed. The casters work great for me. no complaints. The other hardware is solid. I love the flavorizer bars and grates. Loads of space. I love the controls on the grill itself. I split my usage between the app and the control panel. Both work great. The grease and ash trays work exactly as advertised. The cleaning spatula that comes with the grill is a great tool to use to keep the inside cleaned out. Again, I recommend cleaning between each cook just to minimize grease fires and help keep the grill functioning well for the long term. No issues with the glow plug or jamming of the auger.This is an expensive piece of kit, but if you love smoked food and you love weber's quality and functionality, you'll really enjoy this grill.

I don't know what all the negative reviews in '22 are about. Yes, the first version of this grill had issues, but the V2 that has been out since fall '21 is an outstanding pellet smoker. I bought mine in March '22 and have been cooking with it every weekend all summer long without any issues. I did reach out to customer support with some questions, as always Weber service was top-notch. When I was researching smokers I read about issues with V1, specifically regarding flare-ups, but this is a potential with all pellet smokers if they aren't kept reasonably free of excess grease build up. From the first cook I've used a drip tray underneath the meats I'm smoking, this reduces cleanup and eliminates the risk of flare-ups, but also further diffuses the heat for better indirect cooking and consistent meat texture. About the potential for pellets bridging in the hopper, the metal wire finger guard can be removed to eliminate the problem, rest assured the guard is more for Weber's lawyers than it is for their consumers. Only an idiot would stick their fingers in the auger!!! In addition to all-day and even overnight smoking at 200-225F, I have done a lot of hot-and-fast grilling, steaks, etc. and even Napoli-style pizzas on a pizza stone at 600F. Great unit all around but I have to say, the feature that sold me on this unit is the porcelain-enameled steel construction. Good old fashioned Weber quality, that if you do get a grease flare-up, the finish will stand up to the heat vs. melting like the powdercoat on virtually all other pellet smoker brands. Google pellet grill flare up and look at all the photos of scorched paint and the rust bucket that soon follows. No thank you! In my opinion, porcelainized steel is the next best thing to a full stainless steel construction, and you won't find that anywhere near the price of this unit. I bought the larger EX6 model even though its a bit large for our patio, knowing we will never outgrow it. I honestly couldn't be happier with this grill, and no matter what anybody tries to tell you, Weber stands behind their products.

I was extremely excited to purchase my Weber grill. I wanted to be able to smoke and grill however I was disappointed with each of my five cooks. After building it I turned it on and wanted to burn it in. It worked flawlessly and got to 450 degrees and ran perfect. The next night I wanted to grill some chicken thighs. Set the temperature for 375 and the temp fluctuated between 300-400 degrees. Took twice as long as expected and had to constantly rotate the chicken. Second cook was a smoked spatchcock chicken. Took me 1 hour and a call to Weber to just get it to start up. Set the temp for 325 and got ready for the 6-8 hour smoke. After 1.25 hours temp dropped and I looked and there was no flame but a pile of pellets. Pulled the chicken turned the grill to shutdown and proceeded to clean the grill and restart. Called Weber and they preceded to tell me that it’s because I used traeger pellets. I argued that no where does it say I have to use Weber only pellets. I ran out got the name brand and restarted. And the glow plug had to be replaced. Now 1.5 hours into restarting it and putting the chicken on my gas grill, I got it back up and running. Moved the chicken back over to smoke and wouldn’t you know it I get the no fire alarm on my phone. I go into shutdown and move the chicken to my old trusty gas Weber. I cleaned it later that night as the instructions say. Next cook was hamburgers and I set temp for 500 and never got above 300 and surprise surprise no fire but a huge pile of pellets. Last 2 cooks all the same. I returned it and am truly disappointed. Great concept just not ready for prime time. I’ll wait for maybe the third gen or fourth gen.