Best Weber Pellet Grill: SmokeFire's Second Act

Weber took their sweet time getting back into the pellet game after the SmokeFire's disastrous 2020 launch. The auger jams, the grease fires, the firmware that forgot how to feed pellets at 2 AM. I owned one of the originals, and I've got the scars to prove it. But the 2026 iteration of the SmokeFire line is a different animal, and after three months of logging cooks on the SmokeFire EX4 and the smaller SmokeFire EPX6, I'm ready to talk about which one deserves your money.

The SmokeFire EX4 is the best Weber pellet grill I've tested, because it finally fixes the auger and grease fire problems that plagued the original, and the flavor is legitimately better than anything else in Weber's lineup.

Here's the short version before I get into the weeds.

Pros

• The new auger design hasn't jammed once in 14 cooks, including a 16-hour brisket in freezing rain
• Cooks at true temperature, not the 30-50 degree lie most pellet grills tell you
• The smoke flavor actually smothers the meat. Real smoke ring on the first cook
• Weber's warranty support has been solid, and they learned their lesson about voiding claims over foil on the heat deflector

Cons

• The hopper is still small. Figure on feeding it every 5-6 hours on a long cook, not the 12+ hours Weber claims
• It's heavy. 170 pounds for the EX4. "Portable" this is not
• The built-in probes are still a coin flip. Mine worked for a month, then one died. Budget for a ThermoPro TP20
• The grease management system is better but not perfect. You still need to clean the drip tray after every couple of cooks

Compared to

The direct competitor here is the Pit Boss Pro Series 850, which runs about $600 at most big box stores. The Pit Boss has a bigger hopper (19 pounds vs. the EX4's 15), a slide plate for direct flame searing, and it's cheaper. But the Pit Boss's temperature swings are wider, and the smoke flavor is noticeably thinner. I've cooked the same pork shoulder on both. The SmokeFire produced a deeper bark and a better smoke ring. The Pit Boss produced food that tasted like it came out of an oven.

The other comparison people always ask about is Traeger. The Ironwood 650 runs about $1,200, which is $400 more than the EX4. The Traeger holds temperature slightly better and the app is more polished. But the SmokeFire runs hotter for searing, and the flavor is better. Traeger still wins on brand recognition, but if you care about what the meat actually tastes like, the SmokeFire is the better buy.

Design

The EX4 is a beast. The steel is thicker than the original SmokeFire, which was one of the first things I checked when it arrived. The original had thin spots that warped under high heat. This one has held its shape through multiple 500-degree searing sessions.

The cooking grates are porcelain-coated cast iron, and they're wide enough that I fit a 21-pound turkey without touching the sides. That was the test. My wife's family does Thanksgiving at our place, and the old pellet grill couldn't handle the bird. This one did, and it held 325 degrees with only a 5-degree swing for the entire 4-hour cook.

The grease management system is where Weber did most of their homework. The original SmokeFire had a design where grease could pool and catch fire. The new one has a drip tray that angles everything toward a bucket on the right side. I've had zero grease fires, and I've run it at high heat for steaks multiple times. That said, you still need to clean the drip tray every couple of cooks. The grease bucket fills faster than you'd expect. On a 14-hour brisket cook, I emptied it twice.

The hopper is my biggest design complaint. Weber says it holds 15 pounds, which should be good for 12-15 hours on low. That's a lie. On a cold, windy day, I was feeding it every 5-6 hours. The original SmokeFire had this same problem, and it's the one thing they didn't fix. If you're planning an overnight cook, set an alarm. You'll need it.

Performance

I ran the EX4 through my standard gauntlet: a 14-hour pork shoulder, a poor man's brisket, a 21-pound turkey, and a steak searing session. Here's what the temperature log showed.

Set it for 225°F and my ThermoPro TP20 read 228-235°F. That's a 7-degree swing, which is excellent. The original SmokeFire would swing 30-40 degrees. The display is still not perfectly accurate, but it's close enough that I stopped double-checking it after the first few cooks.

The smoke flavor is where this thing separates itself. The original SmokeFire had too many vent holes, and the smoke escaped instead of smothering the meat. The new design traps the smoke better, and the difference is obvious in the bark. The pork shoulder developed a deep, dark bark that I usually only get from my stick burner. The smoke ring was visible on the first cook. My wife, who only tolerates mild smoke flavor, actually asked for seconds on the brisket. That's a win.

The searing function is genuinely good. The EX4 hits 600°F in about 15 minutes, and the direct flame from the burn pot gives you a ripping hot zone for steaks. I did a reverse sear on a couple of ribeyes, and the crust was as good as anything I've gotten off a gas grill. The original SmokeFire struggled to get above 500°F, so this is a real improvement.

Cold weather performance is solid but not perfect. I ran it on a 28-degree day with 15 mph winds, and it held 250°F with a 10-degree swing. That's acceptable. It struggled a little on a cold windy day but hell, who doesn't.

Durability

The original SmokeFire had a reputation for auger jams, and I was ready for the worst. In 14 cooks, I've had zero jams. The new auger design is a genuine fix, not a marketing claim. One buyer, a guy named Dave from Ohio, reported the same thing on the Weber forums. He's run 30 cooks through his EX4 without a single jam.

The fire pot is easier to clean than the original. It's a simple pull-out design that takes about two minutes to empty. I clean it after every 3-4 short cooks, and I've had zero thermal runaway incidents. That's the thing that scares me most about pellet grills, and this one hasn't given me any reason to worry.

The built-in probes are still the weak point. Mine worked for about a month, then the food probe started reading 20 degrees low. I switched to my ThermoPro TP20 and never looked back. Multiple owners on Amazon reported the same thing. Weber includes two probes, but plan on replacing them with a proper thermometer.

The warranty is where Weber redeemed themselves. The original SmokeFire had a warranty claim process that was a nightmare, and they voided claims over using foil on the heat deflector. The new warranty covers the auger and controller for 5 years, and I haven't seen a single report of a foil-related denial. I've got a decade of foil-wrapped heat deflectors behind me, so this matters.

Value

The EX4 runs about $800 at most retailers. The smaller EPX6 is around $600. Both are cheaper than the Traeger Ironwood 650 at $1,200, and the performance is better.

At this price, you could buy a new one every few years for what a Traeger costs upfront. And honestly, you might need to. The controller is still the weak point on any pellet grill, and Weber's isn't immune to failure. But the core machine, the auger and the fire pot, is solid.

Is the EX4 worth the premium over the Pit Boss Pro Series? Yes, if you care about smoke flavor. The Pit Boss is a fine machine for the money, but it can't produce the bark or smoke ring that the SmokeFire does. If you're cooking for a family that likes mild smoke, the Pit Boss is fine. If you're cooking for yourself and you want real barbecue flavor, spend the extra $200.

Should you buy it?

If you're a pellet grill owner who's been burned by cheap controllers and lying temperature displays, and you want a machine that produces real smoke flavor without needing a fire extinguisher nearby, the SmokeFire EX4 is the best Weber pellet grill you can buy. The hopper is small and the built-in probes are a joke, but the core machine is honest. The temperature is close to accurate, the auger doesn't jam, and the meat comes out right. That's what matters.

If you're on a tighter budget or you only cook a few times a year, the Pit Boss Pro Series 850 will do the job. But if you're like me, and you've got a logbook full of cooks and a ThermoPro in your pocket, spend the extra money. The SmokeFire is worth it.

I'll be testing the smaller EPX6 next month, specifically to see if it holds up as a tailgating grill for football season. I'll update this review when I have the data.