It's nice they made that top grate deep enough to be functional. I did a 16 lb brisket on the top rack overnight yesterday and it turned out amazing. I have the 600.
Andidan, thanks for checking in! Yes, it’s a very good thing. With my Pit Boss, the upper rack was damn near useless due to the shallow curvature of the hood.
Camp chef user here and I always smoke from the top rack unless I need to use both. Your tests were very interesting. I think a biscuit test on the 600 will lead to different results. The 600 is what I’m considering.
@chiggyvon, Thanks for checking in. It would have been nice to see ambient results from both top and bottom, say if you were to do 2, full briskets and needed the lower rack. Lots of headspace with the hood closed. That’s a nice feature.
Wouldn't it be more efficient to pre heat in manual mode with the cover closed? You would then be able to know that you reached the desired temp with the internal temp reading. Like on a gaz grill.
Marc, you are spot on! I redid the biscuits closed temp mode, and intend on redoing the manual mode test. Weber was very vague in their explanation of manual mode and after contacting them, I have clarity. Check my biscuit take 2 video. Thanks for checking in!
Owned the 600 for three weeks. First cook was significantly undercooked. So did an ambient test with Mavrk, Weber Connect and Meater probes versus Searfire thermocouple probe. Tested for one hour, at 350 degrees. The grill display ran up to 350 and the displaystayed there for the entire hour. The probes showed as much as a 50 degree lower temp, the average was around 25 degrees below grill readout for the test. (No food in the test) There was some variation between the ambient probes (especially the meater) but variation profile correlated. SO, this is my first pellet grill..is this typical.? After watching this video I will retest with probes on top rack. This test was done with probes at the thermocouple location. I guess I don’t understand why the Searwood display doesn’t show any variation during the test.
Carter…. You took a deep dive. I’m not surprised to hear about the fluctuations. I’m assuming the temp readout on the interface is that single ambient heat probe center rear. I’m gonna do some more tests and hit the grill grates with my infrared heat gun. Were your probes (meater and others) lying on the grill grates, or was there material in-between? I just did a 10 hour smoke on a pork shoulder, used the stock probe from Weber. Took about the same time as the SmokeFire and used a bit less pellets. Pork turned out fantastic. Now, was that due to improved electronic control of the modulating fan and modulating auger? Not sure. Same Weber pellets as I’ve always used. Every new pit is a muscle memory learning experience. I’m sure together, we’ll find middle ground.
Thanks for the reply. The ambient probes were used with clips that raise the probes off the grate. Plan to repeat test at 200, and 400 degrees and test on top rack. I agree that there is learning curve. Been using kettles for 30 years, and all had different profiles, but spent 1,000 dollars for a grill that I hoped I could cook long and slow without wondering what the temp really is. By the way, whatever happened to Weber customer service..waiting a week for response. Will send test results if you like. I have graphed results and std deviations.
Carter, I would enjoy hearing your results. I get the $$ vs convenience of an assumed “set it and forget it” pellet grill. It’s just going to take you some time to learn the profile (I like how you put that) of the SearWood. That top rack should provide you with a good convective heat zone for low and slow. Conversely, I haven’t cooked over coals in years…. I almost opted for the Summit Kamado. Truthfully, I’d be lost for weeks getting to learn that profile. I am still considering the addition of the heat tape to additional areas to try to improve zonal heating. Thanks for checking in!!
@@carterchill9288 as a new pellet user, you should not have gone with a new pellet smoker that hasn't been proven yet. However, thanks for trying it out for the rest of us to know what the issues are.
@@gosman949 I agree completely, since I have always been a Weber loyalist, I just assumed I was safe, but then I got on the internet, and jeez, it was Smokefire catastrophe. . BUT, good news is that for whatever reason, the Searwood PID algorithm seems to be improving with each cook. I am making 10-15 degrees adjustments on the top shelf, and getting excellent results. With probes in the meat, ambient variation really doesn’t matter as long as it CONSISTENT VARIATION (capitalized to acknowledge the oxymoron). Right now, I am a fan.
Wow, that is weird how the ends heat up. My guess is the fan is really blasting hard through the deflector. Curious how the searwood performs, the changes look promising. I've not had any problems with my SF EX4 gen2. Looking forward to future videos.
Paul, thanks for checking in. I’m mystified over the heat distribution. It has to be that massive heat diffuser over the firebox. There will be more videos. Check back soon. Documenting a griddle and smoke cook.
I agree with Paul. The fan pushes the air through the tube around the auger tube and into the fire pot by the double layer of the small holes and throws the hot air left and right in a fan like shape because of the deflector. When it hits the ends, it will head up and into the smoker chamber. The biscuits in the corners will get the brunt of the convection or hot air. Since the fan is in the right, I imagine the left side gets more push. And as you noted, Sambo, the deflector and the flavorizer block the hot air so the biscuits sitting over those areas will get mostly the radiant heating as the air heats up the metal and left of the direct hot air.
Looking great Sambo, I thought in the previous video you were mispronouncing 'biscuit' and actually meant to say 'brisket' I guess I was wrong on that 😂 Can't wait to see more videos, in particular steak searing (both normal sized stuff and Tomohawks if you do them) and babyback ribs/pulled pork. Enjoy the great food and can't wait to hear your results.
Dazz, thanks for your continued support. I just smoked a pork shoulder. Short video on that soon. It turned out tremendously juicy Am going to do some poor man’s burnt ends to compare to the ones I did on my SmokeFire just a couple weeks ago. Then we’ll ramp up with steaks once I get the hang of the “manual” mode. As I say, it’s all about building muscle memory. 😉
Correlation is not causation - - I get it. However, it's interesting that the outer edges (right next to where you placed the heat tape on the lid) are running hotter than expected. Do you think the addition of the tape may be influencing the heat flow as originally intended / engineered? I wonder if the results would be the same if the tape were removed and it was in "stock" condition... Thanks for the detailed reviews on the SearWood! ✌🏻
Manofwisdumb, thanks for checking in. The interesting correlation is the result of the same heat distribution to the corners with the hood up in manual mode. No tape to correlate. My brain keeps coming back to the fan, the firebox diffuser and the horizontal flavorizer/heat distribution bar.
I believe Manual Mode (1 - 10) refers to the temp range 180 - 600 degrees. Manual Mode 10 should reach 600 degrees, but I think you need to close the hood, allow it to get to the desired temperature, then open the hood, start grilling. However you should close the hood from time to time to help bring up the temp. Manual Mode (I think) is designed to help keep the cook chamber temperature at the desired temperature when the hood is open. Unlike the SmokeFire where the temperature would drop quickly with the hood open. I don’t think Manual Mode is designed to cook with the hood always open
User, thanks for checking in and your thoughts. According to what Jesse C at Weber told me, manual mode is supposed to allow open hood grilling. The fan really cranks in manual mode and the pit sure chews through the pellets faster…. As expected. I suppose one could close the hood on occasion like any other fuel sourced grill. My biscuit test, and maybe I should have specified, was to show the grill/sear zones. This is all groundbreaking stuff. It’s going to take repetitions and muscle memory to achieve the goals with the nuances of the pit. You’re 1-10 temp correlations are logical. Next time, I’m going to have my temp gun handy. 😉
@tbobes, you are correct. You can track grill temp from the rear centered probe. But that doesn’t really tell you what your grate temp is. Next time I’ll have my infrared temp gun handy.
Jeff, here’s the Amazon link. I’ve also seen this stuff at my local and Ace Hardware. I haven’t applied it to all the areas I need to yet. I may follow up with a video. www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GIZ837I?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
Jeff, to be honest, I don’t see this pit as buggy, just a different cart of oranges. There are several clear improvements over the SmokeFire. There are also some evident cost cutting measures. As I mentioned. It’s a matter of spending time with it and muscle memory. Even different gas grills have temp learning zones. I haven’t cooked on charcoal in many years. I know if I went back, it’d be 2 months of relearning. My OK Joes Firecraft is still a learning curve over the flames. Constantly adjusting cook heights to maintain desired levels. For me, SmokeFire had its problems. Auger pin, electronic glitches…. I’m hopeful these issues are resolved. For others, it was grease and ash mitigation. Thanks for checking in!
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This has been a very interesting to watch. Sorry to hear the issues you are going through. I hope at least you are having.
@Rooshky, thanks for the supportive words. Hopefully we’re outta the woods now. Gonna take a month to learn the new nuances.
It's nice they made that top grate deep enough to be functional. I did a 16 lb brisket on the top rack overnight yesterday and it turned out amazing. I have the 600.
Andidan, thanks for checking in! Yes, it’s a very good thing. With my Pit Boss, the upper rack was damn near useless due to the shallow curvature of the hood.
Camp chef user here and I always smoke from the top rack unless I need to use both. Your tests were very interesting. I think a biscuit test on the 600 will lead to different results. The 600 is what I’m considering.
@chiggyvon, Thanks for checking in. It would have been nice to see ambient results from both top and bottom, say if you were to do 2, full briskets and needed the lower rack. Lots of headspace with the hood closed. That’s a nice feature.
Thanks partially to your videos I now own a Searwood, thanks for all your information. After adding the lid seal do you think it was an improvement?
Paul, glad to be of assistance. I would NOT recommend that tape. Please refer to my 2 biscuit test videos. One is done with tape, then without.
@@sambosplace Hey thanks for the response, glad I asked before trying it.
You bet! Enjoy your cooks!
Wouldn't it be more efficient to pre heat in manual mode with the cover closed? You would then be able to know that you reached the desired temp with the internal temp reading. Like on a gaz grill.
Marc, you are spot on! I redid the biscuits closed temp mode, and intend on redoing the manual mode test. Weber was very vague in their explanation of manual mode and after contacting them, I have clarity. Check my biscuit take 2 video. Thanks for checking in!
Owned the 600 for three weeks. First cook was significantly undercooked. So did an ambient test with Mavrk, Weber Connect and Meater probes versus Searfire thermocouple probe. Tested for one hour, at 350 degrees. The grill display ran up to 350 and the displaystayed there for the entire hour. The probes showed as much as a 50 degree lower temp, the average was around 25 degrees below grill readout for the test. (No food in the test) There was some variation between the ambient probes (especially the meater) but variation profile correlated.
SO, this is my first pellet grill..is this typical.? After watching this video I will retest with probes on top rack. This test was done with probes at the thermocouple location. I guess I don’t understand why the Searwood display doesn’t show any variation during the test.
Carter…. You took a deep dive. I’m not surprised to hear about the fluctuations. I’m assuming the temp readout on the interface is that single ambient heat probe center rear. I’m gonna do some more tests and hit the grill grates with my infrared heat gun. Were your probes (meater and others) lying on the grill grates, or was there material in-between?
I just did a 10 hour smoke on a pork shoulder, used the stock probe from Weber. Took about the same time as the SmokeFire and used a bit less pellets. Pork turned out fantastic. Now, was that due to improved electronic control of the modulating fan and modulating auger? Not sure. Same Weber pellets as I’ve always used. Every new pit is a muscle memory learning experience. I’m sure together, we’ll find middle ground.
Thanks for the reply. The ambient probes were used with clips that raise the probes off the grate. Plan to repeat test at 200, and 400 degrees and test on top rack. I agree that there is learning curve. Been using kettles for 30 years, and all had different profiles, but spent 1,000 dollars for a grill that I hoped I could cook long and slow without wondering what the temp really is. By the way, whatever happened to Weber customer service..waiting a week for response.
Will send test results if you like. I have graphed results and std deviations.
Carter, I would enjoy hearing your results. I get the $$ vs convenience of an assumed “set it and forget it” pellet grill. It’s just going to take you some time to learn the profile (I like how you put that) of the SearWood. That top rack should provide you with a good convective heat zone for low and slow.
Conversely, I haven’t cooked over coals in years…. I almost opted for the Summit Kamado. Truthfully, I’d be lost for weeks getting to learn that profile.
I am still considering the addition of the heat tape to additional areas to try to improve zonal heating. Thanks for checking in!!
@@carterchill9288 as a new pellet user, you should not have gone with a new pellet smoker that hasn't been proven yet. However, thanks for trying it out for the rest of us to know what the issues are.
@@gosman949
I agree completely, since I have always been a Weber loyalist, I just assumed I was safe, but then I got on the internet, and jeez, it was Smokefire catastrophe. . BUT, good news is that for whatever reason, the Searwood PID algorithm seems to be improving with each cook. I am making 10-15 degrees adjustments on the top shelf, and getting excellent results. With probes in the meat, ambient variation really doesn’t matter as long as it CONSISTENT VARIATION (capitalized to acknowledge the oxymoron). Right now, I am a fan.
Wow, that is weird how the ends heat up. My guess is the fan is really blasting hard through the deflector. Curious how the searwood performs, the changes look promising. I've not had any problems with my SF EX4 gen2. Looking forward to future videos.
Paul, thanks for checking in. I’m mystified over the heat distribution. It has to be that massive heat diffuser over the firebox. There will be more videos. Check back soon. Documenting a griddle and smoke cook.
I agree with Paul. The fan pushes the air through the tube around the auger tube and into the fire pot by the double layer of the small holes and throws the hot air left and right in a fan like shape because of the deflector. When it hits the ends, it will head up and into the smoker chamber. The biscuits in the corners will get the brunt of the convection or hot air. Since the fan is in the right, I imagine the left side gets more push. And as you noted, Sambo, the deflector and the flavorizer block the hot air so the biscuits sitting over those areas will get mostly the radiant heating as the air heats up the metal and left of the direct hot air.
Looking great Sambo, I thought in the previous video you were mispronouncing 'biscuit' and actually meant to say 'brisket' I guess I was wrong on that 😂
Can't wait to see more videos, in particular steak searing (both normal sized stuff and Tomohawks if you do them) and babyback ribs/pulled pork.
Enjoy the great food and can't wait to hear your results.
Dazz, thanks for your continued support. I just smoked a pork shoulder. Short video on that soon. It turned out tremendously juicy
Am going to do some poor man’s burnt ends to compare to the ones I did on my SmokeFire just a couple weeks ago. Then we’ll ramp up with steaks once I get the hang of the “manual” mode. As I say, it’s all about building muscle memory. 😉
Correlation is not causation - - I get it. However, it's interesting that the outer edges (right next to where you placed the heat tape on the lid) are running hotter than expected.
Do you think the addition of the tape may be influencing the heat flow as originally intended / engineered? I wonder if the results would be the same if the tape were removed and it was in "stock" condition...
Thanks for the detailed reviews on the SearWood! ✌🏻
Another person commented here experiencing the same type of results, don’t know if they used tape as well
Manofwisdumb, thanks for checking in. The interesting correlation is the result of the same heat distribution to the corners with the hood up in manual mode. No tape to correlate. My brain keeps coming back to the fan, the firebox diffuser and the horizontal flavorizer/heat distribution bar.
Chiggy, no they did not.
I believe Manual Mode (1 - 10) refers to the temp range 180 - 600 degrees.
Manual Mode 10 should reach 600 degrees, but I think you need to close the hood, allow it to get to the desired temperature, then open the hood, start grilling. However you should close the hood from time to time to help bring up the temp.
Manual Mode (I think) is designed to help keep the cook chamber temperature at the desired temperature when the hood is open. Unlike the SmokeFire where the temperature would drop quickly with the hood open.
I don’t think Manual Mode is designed to cook with the hood always open
User, thanks for checking in and your thoughts. According to what Jesse C at Weber told me, manual mode is supposed to allow open hood grilling. The fan really cranks in manual mode and the pit sure chews through the pellets faster…. As expected. I suppose one could close the hood on occasion like any other fuel sourced grill. My biscuit test, and maybe I should have specified, was to show the grill/sear zones.
This is all groundbreaking stuff. It’s going to take repetitions and muscle memory to achieve the goals with the nuances of the pit.
You’re 1-10 temp correlations are logical. Next time, I’m going to have my temp gun handy. 😉
@@sambosplaceI have heard you can still track grill temp via the app even when in manual mode.
@tbobes, you are correct. You can track grill temp from the rear centered probe. But that doesn’t really tell you what your grate temp is. Next time I’ll have my infrared temp gun handy.
is the ground level during the test?
BT, I can tell you that it is. Check out my second rest where I explain possible issues. Cheers
Can you add a link to the heat tape that you used ? Does it help from losing heat on this grill ?
Jeff, here’s the Amazon link. I’ve also seen this stuff at my local and Ace Hardware. I haven’t applied it to all the areas I need to yet. I may follow up with a video.
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00GIZ837I?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title
@@sambosplace thanks I'm definitely interested in this grill, I may hold off for a while and let them work out all the bugs first
Jeff, to be honest, I don’t see this pit as buggy, just a different cart of oranges. There are several clear improvements over the SmokeFire. There are also some evident cost cutting measures.
As I mentioned. It’s a matter of spending time with it and muscle memory. Even different gas grills have temp learning zones. I haven’t cooked on charcoal in many years. I know if I went back, it’d be 2 months of relearning. My OK Joes Firecraft is still a learning curve over the flames. Constantly adjusting cook heights to maintain desired levels.
For me, SmokeFire had its problems. Auger pin, electronic glitches…. I’m hopeful these issues are resolved. For others, it was grease and ash mitigation. Thanks for checking in!
I think they need to put more holes on the flavor bar
You would hope the engineers did a flow bench test first??
Every grill has a hotspot. From my experience most grills hot spot is opposite to the fan side.
Indeed they do..But the 4 corners have me stymied.
Yeah, I'm sure they designed it with the airflow in mind.
Ben, thanks for checking in. They all have to draw oxygen in order to keep the fires stoked. So yes, you are correct.
My corners were the same. Back left being hottest.
Interesting…. Thanks for checking in!
This grill has the cheapest grates ive seen at this price point.
@user, the grates appear to be of the same quality as all Weber products including their kettles. Easy to clean.
I don’t think you’re going to like this cooker.
Joey…. Let’s see what it offers. I still have my OK Joes FireCraft, open flame grill for searing and other, 2 bourbon deep, shenanigans. 😉
The product has been modified, this test is not valid
@Euci. Thanks for checking in. Appreciate your POV. Which test are you speaking of? One required no tape and gave same results at the corners.