Weber SmokeFire EX4 Wood Fired Pellet Grill, Black, 2nd Generation

Upgraded from an electric smoker because it could not maintain a constant temperature when the outside temp dropped below 50 degrees. After a couple of rebuilds of the electric cooker I upgraded.Little did I know the Weber Smokefire EX4 was in a total different league.Just set the temperature on the console or App and it ignites, heats up to the desired temp and maintains until you change it. Regardless of the external temp.Below are some of the features I love:* The smoke boost function adds the extra smoke flavor that is sometimes missing in a Pellet smoker* Solid build* Wheels make it easy to roll across the deck when used* Easy start - just set temperature* Auto shut-down, just push the button on the app* Adjust the cook temperature from the app anywhere* Temperature probes send the temp info to the app and charts* Great recipes in the app* Easy cleanup* Great resultsI have had excellent results smoking wings, chicken, 14 pound turkey (guess when), calzones, ribs and a Boston Butt.

I love the temperature control and temp probes that connect to the app. It all syncs very nicely to make a great smoke flavor. I often use the smoke boost and finish the meat off with a 500+ degree sear. No complaints yet

Save your money. The Weber SmokeFire EX4 (2nd Gen) Wood Fired Pellet Grill is garbage!!I was really high on this Pellet grill and really wanted to love it. I read the horrible reviews and saw the YouTube videos stating to stay away. My long time ReqTec 590 died and I was looking for a replacement. Low and behold Prime Day comes along and the Weber SmokeFire EX4 (2nd Gen) is on sale for $429.99. I am thinking at half off I could deal with a few quirks if the grill delivered excellent BBQ.The problems started with the long, convoluted and confusing assembly process. Took three hours to assemble and figure out how to install the glow plug. Tried to get guidance from YouTube but Weber had jerry rigged and changed the parts so many times on this grill that all the Weber instructional videos had different parts and were useless!Burn in went well so I had high hopes. The problems started right away. Fired up the Smoke Fire to cook some St. Louis ribs and started out with the smoke boost and boy was it working fine. 1 hour into the cook the smoke was gone and the grill was not warm. A few minutes later I got a notice on the app saying the flame was out and it was completing a forced shutdown. Pulled the grill apart and there was a mountain of pellets in the fire pot that put out the flame. Cleaned out the pellets and fired the grill up and everything was working fine, and 1-hour later 2nd flame out warning from the app. Took the grill apart and same issue; mountain of pellets put out the flame. Cleaned out the fire pot again and started the grill again. 1 hour later you guested it mountain of pellets puts out the flame. Me being stupid cleaned out the fire pot for a 4th time on the same cook only to have the flame put out by a mountain of pellets. All this happen during my 1st cook!!Finally gave up and finished the ribs in the oven 4 hours after my planned dinner time.All the negative reviews are correct on this pellet grill. It is not set it and forget it. It is more hands-on maintenance than cooking with charcoal. There is no way I could trust this grill for a long overnight porkbutt or brisket cook.I really wanted to love this grill, the sear mode looked promising, the smoke boost put out fantastic smoke and the built quality of the grill is excellent. There are just too may design and execution flaws that doom the grill. With all the negative reviews about dealing with Weber Customer service I was not going to roll the dice and bet that this grill’s problems could be fixed by working with Weber and I had to return the Weber SmokeFire EX4 1 week after it was delivered.

This is by far my favorite outdoor grill. I started out young with a SwingerII charcoal grill, then got married to a guy with a propane Weber Silver Series, after some time we added an Oklahoma Joe Smoker, the Weber Silver got replaced by a Weber Genesis ii 6 burner, and now the latest and greatest SmokeFire has been added.All my neighbors have Traegers and kept telling me I needed to get one, but I'm partial to the Weber brand. I looked at all the videos and reviews of each and all the pros and cons. Ultimately what led me to the SmokeFire is the ability to fire it up to 600F.I was looking for a smaller surface area to grill on for just the two of us, when using the 6 burner is overkill, but I also wanted the flexibility to smoke low and slow. This grill is the perfect tool for me.I've had the grill for 56 days and have used it 21 times so far. I'm keeping a notebook for reference until I get the feel for it. Also because I'm slightly obsessive compulsive about these things, or wait, it's because I really like to drink beer and lose focus while hanging with friends and family while the food is on the grill.Bacon, cooked on the top shelf is awesome, takes about 18 minutes.Chicken, 'set it and forget it', we've gone to the neighbors house for happy hour and I can monitor it remotely from the app on the phone.Burgers, grill 'em on the lower shelf, move to the top shelf with cheese to finish.Stuffed Pork Loin wrapped in Bacon, two probes and a 'happy hour' later, perfection.Game Hens, on a rainy day took 2 hours and turned the heat up after a low smoke.TriTip, need to dial this one in better and find my own method for reverse searing but was still enjoyed by all.Ribs, Ribs, Ribs, Ribs, We love our ribs and they have been exquisite every time. The squirt bottle with a mix of cider vinegar and water keeps them moist and looking good. Never have I used this method before and I like it.NY steaks, this was an early use of the grill and my notes suggest they could have used more smoke, will dial that in next time.Oysters! Yes, we smoked/grilled raw oysters in their shells on the top shelf. Wow those were good!Prime Rib Roast, this was excellent perfection. Again, used two probes to keep track of the inside temperatures and rotated around as needed to hit the hotter spots of the grill. The smoke ring was just enough to give it some good smoky flavor without overpowering it.The overall functionality of this grill is five stars. I love having the controls at my fingertips via wifi and the app. It's been easy to clean and maintain. I find tips for temperature and time for pellet grills online and keep my own notes on what is working and what I would try differently.The learning curve wasn't huge and we've been enjoying it ever since.Cheers to more grillin' and more happy hours!Edit 8/19/2021: added photo of Hopper Pull Out to answer a question