I’ll be honest and say that I haven’t really followed the SmokeFire that closely as I think that Weber’s current product development over emphasizes, aesthetics, and cost reduction over long term durability. With that said, I was curious why the SmokeFire has been having so many issues during the recent release. After some research, the firebox design of the SmokeFire is terrible. It seems like the grease has pools at the bottom of the firebox, then ignites on fire since it’s so close to the fire bowl! Traegers don’t have this problem as there is a completely separate grease tray that separates the fire from the drippings while evenly dispersing the heat Does Weber actually think that tiny fire heat shield is going to evenly heat up the inside of the grill? It’s like cooking on a gasser with only one burner/giant flavorizer and expecting the inside to be even temperature. Why do the louvered exhaust vents point downward the back of the barrel? Grease and condensation will just drip down the exterior! This all doesn’t make sense to me. Go buy a proven Traeger, Rec Tec, or similar grill and know and work around it’s limitations. It seems like the SmokeFire design is pandering to those that are familiar with gassers but the actual execution has missed its mark.
On a positive note, the grill is attractive looking and the short inclined auger and new school PID temp controller are interesting.
