Customer reviews from weber.com
Weber - SmokeFire EX6 (2nd Gen) Wood Fired Pellet Grill - Black
Average customer rating
4
(571 Reviews)
Rating breakdown 571 reviews
5 Stars
311
4 Stars
116
3 Stars
47
2 Stars
34
1 Star
63
79%of customers recommend this product.
(
389 out of
490)
Customer Reviews for Weber - SmokeFire EX6 (2nd Gen) Wood Fired Pellet Grill - Black
Customer Rating
4
Now I can smoke on weeknights
on June 24, 2021
Posted by: Robert39
from Midland, MI
Gender:Male
I've owned a Weber Smoky Mountain for a few years and it makes excellent food. The problem is that it takes a lot of work to do the setup, cleanup, and fire tending - so for me it's not worth the effort for short cooks and is impossible to use on a weeknight. I was very excited when the Smokefire was launched, but I stayed away after a lot of early adopters were experiencing issues with the software and pellet feeding. Despite the problems, everyone consistently reported a very positive experience with Weber customer support. Between that and the modifications Weber implemented in Gen 2, I finally pulled the trigger knowing Weber would be there for me if I had issues. I have done about 10 cooks at different times and temps from pizza at 600 degrees to an 18 hour pulled pork at 225.
THE GOOD
- The food that comes off the Smokefire is excellent. Coming from the WSM I was worried that there wouldn't be enough smoke flavor, but this is not an issue. The pulled pork I made was the best of my life. At 225 there is plenty of clean blue smoke and the smoke rings are on par with the WSM. There is less smoke at higher temps, because hotter fires produce less smoke, but the food is still really good. Chicken at 350 has a clear wood fire flavor, and pizza at 500+ has great texture and a hint of wood fire. The grill has performed without any temperature or feeding issues so far.
- The food that comes off the Smokefire is excellent. Coming from the WSM I was worried that there wouldn't be enough smoke flavor, but this is not an issue. The pulled pork I made was the best of my life. At 225 there is plenty of clean blue smoke and the smoke rings are on par with the WSM. There is less smoke at higher temps, because hotter fires produce less smoke, but the food is still really good. Chicken at 350 has a clear wood fire flavor, and pizza at 500+ has great texture and a hint of wood fire. The grill has performed without any temperature or feeding issues so far.
- Cleanup and setup is more effort that a gas grill, but way less than my WSM. I use the wet smoke kit for long cooks to catch grease and add moisture and then shop vac the ash after. For short cooks I clean every few cooks. For every cook I wipe the ash from the outside of the unit with a wet paper towel.
THE BAD
- The finishing of the side table: I got a nasty cut I got on the side table. I needed to adjust the grill position a bit so I grabbed the underside of the table and moved the grill. As I let go my hand slid along the bottom of the curved corner of the table and it cut into my finger. The table is made of sheet metal, and on the straight sides (not the corner) it is folded over to create a smooth finish. On my unit the bottom of the curved corner is rough and sharp almost like it was partially sanded, but burrs were left of on the back edge. This isn't a huge deal, and I can fix it with some fine-grit sandpaper, but I would expect better finishing from Weber.
- The finishing of the side table: I got a nasty cut I got on the side table. I needed to adjust the grill position a bit so I grabbed the underside of the table and moved the grill. As I let go my hand slid along the bottom of the curved corner of the table and it cut into my finger. The table is made of sheet metal, and on the straight sides (not the corner) it is folded over to create a smooth finish. On my unit the bottom of the curved corner is rough and sharp almost like it was partially sanded, but burrs were left of on the back edge. This isn't a huge deal, and I can fix it with some fine-grit sandpaper, but I would expect better finishing from Weber.
- Pellet hopper: It's easy to fill from the pellet bag, but if you are keeping pellets in a container, it's hard to pour into the hopper without spilling.
THE STILL UNDECIDED
- Glow plugs: The unit came with 2 extra glow plugs. Does this mean that this is a part I will be replacing often? How long do they last? Will the glow plugs fail in the middle of cooks? The owner's manual explains how to replace the plug but gives no sense of the expected life.
- Glow plugs: The unit came with 2 extra glow plugs. Does this mean that this is a part I will be replacing often? How long do they last? Will the glow plugs fail in the middle of cooks? The owner's manual explains how to replace the plug but gives no sense of the expected life.
- Smokeboost: I tried this feature on some ribs, but I felt there was actually more smoke cooking at 225 than during Smokeboost. Maybe the intent of this feature isn't about more smoke, but just exposing the food to smoke for a longer period of time?
Overall, I love my Smokefire and it has more than met expectations. There are a couple of things I think could be improved, but this thing is great. I use it 2-3 nights per week, and my WSM and Weber gas grill are starting to get lonely :)
Response from weber.comBy Weber grills, Weber grills , June 29, 2021
We are happy to hear that you love your new SmokeFire grill! We appreciate your suggestions, and we will definitely pass them along to our team. We are sorry to hear about the unexpected issues, like the sharp edge on your table. We are going to follow up with you about that to make sure everything is okay. The SmokeBoost supercharges that unmistakable, wood-fired taste into your food. Smoky flavor penetrates cold, raw meat best, so we recommend using SmokeBoost within your cook's first two hours - when the grill's temperature is between 165-200 degrees. This is the ideal time and temperature for capturing the best smoky flavors from pellet wood smoke and smolder. For pouring the pellets, you might try to stand behind the grill to pour so that you have a better angle. And finally, you should not have issues with the glow plug, they have an excellent lifespan and are a consumable that will need to be replaced over time (but not frequently). The amount of time they last depends on the amount of time it is in use, the type of food you are grilling (low and slow vs searing), and the frequency. Thank you again for your feedback and for being a loyal Weber fan! Keep on grilling!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Customer Rating
1
Major disappointment!
on July 18, 2021
Posted by: Dave15
from Springfield Illinois
Gender:Male
Purchased a EX6 to replace both a gas grill and popular premium pellet grill which I had had for several years with no problems.
After a trial run earlier in the week we fired up our new Weber EX6 to entertain friends and show off our new “multi function “ smoker grill. Needless to say we were both disappointed and slightly embarrassed when after about 1 hour of firing up the grill to smoke some ribs and chicken for our guests, the grill suffered a major malfunction and basically shut down. After excusing myself,and leaving my wife with the guests I started troubleshooting the problem. Long story short, the glow plug was non functional and had basically fused itself to its bracket assembly. It would have been bad enough if I had to replace the glow plug after only two uses, but the failure was so severe that the bracket assembly was non- functional. Our friends had quite a chuckle suggesting that we should have stayed with our previous brand of smoker “ which they all have “. I would have expected better quality control and am extremely disappointed in my purchase.
After a trial run earlier in the week we fired up our new Weber EX6 to entertain friends and show off our new “multi function “ smoker grill. Needless to say we were both disappointed and slightly embarrassed when after about 1 hour of firing up the grill to smoke some ribs and chicken for our guests, the grill suffered a major malfunction and basically shut down. After excusing myself,and leaving my wife with the guests I started troubleshooting the problem. Long story short, the glow plug was non functional and had basically fused itself to its bracket assembly. It would have been bad enough if I had to replace the glow plug after only two uses, but the failure was so severe that the bracket assembly was non- functional. Our friends had quite a chuckle suggesting that we should have stayed with our previous brand of smoker “ which they all have “. I would have expected better quality control and am extremely disappointed in my purchase.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from weber.comBy Weber grills, Weber grills , July 26, 2021
Thanks for taking the time to share your experience with your new SmokeFire EX6. We are very sorry to hear that your experience with SmokeFire was less than optimal. We will reach out to understand more about what happened and to make sure that your new glowplug is working well. You will receive an email from us here shortly. Thanks!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Customer Rating
3
The feature of easy clean out is a lie
on December 22, 2020
Posted by: Joe Tang
from Los Angeles,CA
Gender:Male
Expertise:Intermediate
Everything is great but the advertisement of easy to clean or some thing along the line because it takes a good hour to clean from the grates down to cleaning to the grease
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Posted by: David in OvPark
from OvPk, KS
Verified Purchase:Yes
The grill and smoker are working pretty much as advertised. The app is super easy to use. My problem happened three weeks ago, less than 30 days into ownership. I had company over for dinner and was going to smoke/grill 4 really nice bacon wrapped fillets. Upon starting the Weber, I got an error message about motor failure. In other words, no pellets were getting into the fire mechanism. I pulled a teeny, tiny charcoal grill out of my basement and made things work, but I was hot. Weber sent me a new motor for me to install myself, but it took 10 days to get here. It’s currently operating fine, but I’m still really grumpy!
Response from weber.comBy Weber Grills , Weber Grills, September 14, 2021
Hello, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback on your SmokeFire. We are so sorry to hear about the disappointing experience you had when grilling bacon wrapped fillets and that your order was delayed. Certainly, we would not expect you to have issues with the motor. We are glad to hear that you received your motor and that your grill is working properly. We want to help make this right for you, please be on the lookout for a follow-up email from us shortly. Thank you!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Customer Rating
1
Super Frustrating
on November 12, 2022
Posted by: Mattintexas
from Fort Worth, TX
Gender:Male
Expertise:Intermediate
I’ve had so many frustrations with this grill. I had sold my Weber Gas grill and my Weber Smoker. I was very excited to spend the money and upgrade to this pellet. Every 4-5 cooks the grill will randomly start losing temperature. I can’t get it to go back up to temp without running the shutdown (which takes 10-15 minutes). Then when restarting sometimes it does the same thing. It’s very frustrating to go through all the food prep - have people over - and have the girl not perform. I thought after it had done it a couple of times it would iron the kinks out but it continues to do it. Got a myself a lemon…
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from weber.comBy Weber grills , Consumer care, November 14, 2022
Thank you for your feedback regarding your Smokefire EX6. We are sorry to learn that you have had an unsatisfactory experience so far. We are here to help.
Many factors, like pellet quality and maintenance, can contribute to repeated part failure. For example, excess pellet dust from low-quality/stale pellets can cause jams if not cleaned out regularly.
We recommend using fresh, Weber-branded pellets with your grill for the best results. Regular maintenance takes less than 10 minutes and contributes to a successful outcome, as well!
Our Care team will be reaching out to assist you further. Please look for our outreach soon. Thank you!
Many factors, like pellet quality and maintenance, can contribute to repeated part failure. For example, excess pellet dust from low-quality/stale pellets can cause jams if not cleaned out regularly.
We recommend using fresh, Weber-branded pellets with your grill for the best results. Regular maintenance takes less than 10 minutes and contributes to a successful outcome, as well!
Our Care team will be reaching out to assist you further. Please look for our outreach soon. Thank you!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Posted by: THOCK
from Dallas,TX
Verified Purchase:Yes
Too much hand holding needed. Worst Weber product ever. Constantly flames out, wifi bugs out, pellet shoot bogs down on full load of pellets and flames out. Now I find out after buying this hunk of steel Weber's decided to bail out and come up with Searwood on the backs of us poor suckers who bought the Smokefire! Give us a trade-in!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from weber.comBy Weber grills, June 4, 2024
Thank you for your feedback. Your satisfaction is very important to us. We are so sorry to hear you are having pellet feed issues and flame outs. We do recommend using fresh Weber pellets or ones of a similar size to avoid jams. Our Care team will reach out to follow up. Please look for an outreach email from us soon. Thank you!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Posted by: New owner2021
from Medina ohio
Gender:Male
Expertise:Intermediate
Verified Purchase:Yes
The temp control is not consistent. Half the time it stays at temp set and half the time it drops and won’t recover. I have to watch it closely to make sure it’s not dropping temp. When it does I have to reset another temp then watch constantly because more than likely will have to continue to reset temps to keep it at the desired temp.
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Response from weber.comBy Weber Grills, Weber Grills, January 25, 2021
Hello, we are very sorry to hear about this issue. We have passed your information and our support team will reach out via email. Thanks!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com
Customer Rating
3
Grills great, but still needs refinement.
on February 28, 2021
Posted by: yup talon
from Midland, MI
Gender:Male
I owned this grill for 2.5 months before eventually returning it. The primary reason was that I found that without modification, it cooked more like a grill than a smoker. I was also running into issues with the fire going out and connectivity issues with the Weber Connect app. I also disliked that front shelving wasn’t included with the grill.
All that aside, I made some of the best chicken, burgers, and beef roasts that I’ve ever made on the EX6. When it functioned as it should it was a great cooker. It just wasn’t a great fit for my needs and the other frustrations eventually became overwhelming.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Response from weber.comBy Weber Grills, Weber Grills, March 1, 2021
We thank you for taking your time to submit your review and we are very sorry to hear about your disappointment. This is not the quality we expect from our SmokeFire grill. We regret that we did not have the chance to troubleshoot and help you find a solution. The technology behind these grills is ever-evolving, and we do hope that you will give our grills another chance in the future. If you have any questions or need assistance in the future, please do not hesitate to reach out to our support team! We will be happy to help!
Written by a customer while visiting weber.com