This test proves one thing. I must now buy this weber searwood for my wife for Mother's day, I will reassure my wife her time cooking for the family will be significanlyt reduced by over 70 % Thank you for the vid Sambo!
I’ve been doing as much research as I can and this channel has definitely confirmed that I will be ordering one of these when the time comes. Thank you for having such a thorough review.
I've got to be honest, the previous video was enough that I didn't know if I was going to get the searwood, but now, I think I'm sold. There's a surprisingly little amount of content on this grill and there was a lot of important people that spoke for the smokefire that went against the sentiment. I was worried I'd be led astray, but I think the Weber engineers are top notch.
@rask, there’s more content coming on the next few days. Smoked a pork shoulder and reverse seared a ribeye. Perhaps those will guide you further. Enjoy your cooks!!
Thanks so much for the updated test. I was wondering if the tape may have had an affect. Yours are some of the only Searwood videos on youtube, so when your first test showed such poor performance of heat even-ness, especially in the middle, I was second guessing my idea of buying one. I fully expected the biscuits in the corners to be more done, as those are natural hot spots in even a regular smoker, but they were SO overcooked in your first test too. Much better looking results in this test even if they were more done than the rest. I'm about 95% set on getting one now. You're brisket cook, when you do one, will probably cement that decision as your pork butt looked fantastic. Just goes to show how even the smallest "tweaks" can have such huge impact on things.
Blake, I’m still in a bit of shock that so little tape created such various results. Obviously the ventilation aids in consistent convention. There are more variations of cooks coming. Thanks again, stay tuned!
Sambo been following you since i bought my Smokefire sear+ back when they had them on sale around Christmas. Congrats on the new cooker, i hope this one works flawlessly for you brotha! So I've had some issues with my SmokeFire, some being user error and others were on the design itself. User error: i moved the burn pot off alignment when cleaning and did not notice. It's very easy to do but it changes airflow and resulted in off temperatures and total loss of heat at times. Cooker errors: 1) Lid was off alignment. This caused a gap at one side which lead to smoke leaking out. Fixed by loosening up the lid bolts on the inside and realigning. 2) Auger shear bolt! So mine actually never failed but i just recently noticed the nut was missing when i was cleaning out pellet hopper. I pulled the auger assembly out and just touched the bolt, out it came. I have replaced it with a Cotterpin for now. Cut it down to size. I will just leave that in and monitor it but will find a slightly longer bolt at hardware store and be ready to double nut it if needed for a tighter hold. 3) High heat tape that's used for sealing the ash pan holder to cook box falls off. Replaced with high quality nomax tape. This is another small but important variable as it helps create a seal which is part of the designed airflow. 4) Glow plug bracket melted at tip. I've had two melt in 5 months. Did not cause a fail because again, i caught it early enough. Now i will say that my unit hits 600 degrees with no problem. I can get outstanding sear marks on whatever. This cooker gets hotter than my propane grill! So this is the issue that may have me returning the unit. I am trying out a fix i thought up that involves shielding the end of the bracket. Currently running high heat cooks to see if i solved the problem. If so, keeping the SmokeFire. If not, it's going back. Weber is working with me as obviously im working with them. Hoping to keep the unit as it is a great looking grill. Matches my other 3 cookers on my patio. It produces a lot of clean blue smoke and gives stick burner results! I can't say enough about the food it can put out. I have a buddy who loves his pitboss but mentions he uses a smoke tube for extra smokey flavor??? I would never think of using a smoke tube with this thing. Its just not needed with how muck smoke it produces. It gets up to temperature fast and i love the app. I will mention that this is my first pellet smoker so enjoying the Convenience compared to a stick burner. So that's my rant for now Sambo. I'm in a similar situation as you. Time will tell soon what i do next. I'll be sure to let you know. Thank you for your content, it helps people like me to make informed decisions. One question thats on topic of this video. I thought you mentioned that your SmokeFire never got hot enough to give good searing. Do you think adding the nomax tape to your smokefire was the issue?
Brian, thanks for following and continued support. I’m sadly nodding my head while reading through your tribulations. Sad, but the truth is with the SmokeFire that it does have some flaws, yet when it works, delivers salacious cooks. Pumps clean blue smoke, ✅, great smoke signature, ✅, contemporary sexy styling, ✅…. After seeing what just 10” of tape did to each side of this SearWood, I’m thoroughly convinced I may have botched my own searing on the SmokeFire. In fact, run my recent short…. First time outta the gate with searing ribeyes and voila! Flames licking meat! Stay tuned and good luck with Weber Service!
One thing to remember also is that these new PID controllers get smarter with each cook. They. But I agree, I don't see a need for tape. The engineers probably tested all that.
Joey, it’s a possibility. However, I’d the electronics are “learning” electronics like a user mentioned here in the comments, then it should improve further. I should just not mess with it and leave the pit alone. 😉
I’ve worked with PID tuning in my job for many years. The PID control gains were definitely optimized for the setup as it leaves the factory. Increasing or reducing airflow in the grill by significant amounts by way of modification will definitely affect its temperature control. I am curious in the differences in temperature control with and without the tape you had and determine if that is the primary contributor to uneven heating (potential temperature oscillation amplifying uneven heating) or if the leaks play a role in the natural flow of air through the chamber (also likely). Thanks for the video. Interested in smoke taste vs. Smokefire as well.
Dave, thanks for all the valuable insight here. I’ll be sure to pass it along in further installments. Even tho I ordered a new roll of Nomex tape, I think I’m going to forgo adding it and just run this stock. I completed a 10 hour smoked pork shoulder. The video with smoke signature report will drop soon. Thanks for checking in!!
@Foodonfire, thanks for checking in. A forthcoming video is planned to take a deeper dive into temp vs manual modes. I can tell you right now the pellet consumption in manual mode is far greater than temp mode.
I was going to say something the last video but it was too late in the day when I watched it and just didn’t have time to comment but my Searwood xl just came in today and I didn’t think it acted like that based on the reviews and videos I’ve seen on it so far.
This test proves one thing. I must now buy this weber searwood for my wife for Mother's day, I will reassure my wife her time cooking for the family will be significanlyt reduced by over 70 %
Thank you for the vid Sambo!
There are many tools in the garage purposed for Mother’s Day. 😉
Glad to see this video. More than the biscuits, I was wondering about the heat tape. Thanks for the follow up. My SearWood is still “on the way.”😊
Mark, happy to oblige! Hope your SearWood serves you as well as it does for me currently! Thanks for checking in!!
I’ve been doing as much research as I can and this channel has definitely confirmed that I will be ordering one of these when the time comes. Thank you for having such a thorough review.
Doc, thanks for the supportive words! Stay tuned, there’s more to show on this new pit. Thanks for checking in!
I've got to be honest, the previous video was enough that I didn't know if I was going to get the searwood, but now, I think I'm sold. There's a surprisingly little amount of content on this grill and there was a lot of important people that spoke for the smokefire that went against the sentiment. I was worried I'd be led astray, but I think the Weber engineers are top notch.
@rask, there’s more content coming on the next few days. Smoked a pork shoulder and reverse seared a ribeye. Perhaps those will guide you further. Enjoy your cooks!!
Because the smokefire was absolutely trash
@Skates…. When it worked, it smoked and roasted like a champion. … when it worked.
Great videos on this. Considering buying one this month. Looking forward to seeing a few more videos!
Nick, thanks for checking in! More videos on their way!
Good On you Sambo!!!!!
I seen another video with somebody doing ribs and the centers we're not getting done as quick as the side and this proves it
DJ, that’s on my list. Maybe over the holiday weekend? FHA is for checking in!
Wow !
Thanks for the video I’m liking the the new Searwood results Keep up the great work. 👍🏼. NJ bbq
Jerry, thanks for checking in. I am hopeful to see favorable results. Steaks and a pork shoulder coming soon.
Thanks so much for the updated test. I was wondering if the tape may have had an affect. Yours are some of the only Searwood videos on youtube, so when your first test showed such poor performance of heat even-ness, especially in the middle, I was second guessing my idea of buying one. I fully expected the biscuits in the corners to be more done, as those are natural hot spots in even a regular smoker, but they were SO overcooked in your first test too. Much better looking results in this test even if they were more done than the rest. I'm about 95% set on getting one now. You're brisket cook, when you do one, will probably cement that decision as your pork butt looked fantastic. Just goes to show how even the smallest "tweaks" can have such huge impact on things.
Blake, I’m still in a bit of shock that so little tape created such various results. Obviously the ventilation aids in consistent convention. There are more variations of cooks coming. Thanks again, stay tuned!
Nice test! I need to do this on my grills. That grill is legit
@Trumpet, the grill is interesting. I think it has some features for everyone. Thanks for checking in!
Sambo been following you since i bought my Smokefire sear+ back when they had them on sale around Christmas. Congrats on the new cooker, i hope this one works flawlessly for you brotha!
So I've had some issues with my SmokeFire, some being user error and others were on the design itself.
User error: i moved the burn pot off alignment when cleaning and did not notice. It's very easy to do but it changes airflow and resulted in off temperatures and total loss of heat at times.
Cooker errors:
1) Lid was off alignment. This caused a gap at one side which lead to smoke leaking out. Fixed by loosening up the lid bolts on the inside and realigning.
2) Auger shear bolt! So mine actually never failed but i just recently noticed the nut was missing when i was cleaning out pellet hopper. I pulled the auger assembly out and just touched the bolt, out it came. I have replaced it with a Cotterpin for now. Cut it down to size. I will just leave that in and monitor it but will find a slightly longer bolt at hardware store and be ready to double nut it if needed for a tighter hold.
3) High heat tape that's used for sealing the ash pan holder to cook box falls off. Replaced with high quality nomax tape. This is another small but important variable as it helps create a seal which is part of the designed airflow.
4) Glow plug bracket melted at tip. I've had two melt in 5 months. Did not cause a fail because again, i caught it early enough. Now i will say that my unit hits 600 degrees with no problem. I can get outstanding sear marks on whatever. This cooker gets hotter than my propane grill! So this is the issue that may have me returning the unit. I am trying out a fix i thought up that involves shielding the end of the bracket. Currently running high heat cooks to see if i solved the problem. If so, keeping the SmokeFire. If not, it's going back. Weber is working with me as obviously im working with them.
Hoping to keep the unit as it is a great looking grill. Matches my other 3 cookers on my patio. It produces a lot of clean blue smoke and gives stick burner results! I can't say enough about the food it can put out. I have a buddy who loves his pitboss but mentions he uses a smoke tube for extra smokey flavor??? I would never think of using a smoke tube with this thing. Its just not needed with how muck smoke it produces. It gets up to temperature fast and i love the app. I will mention that this is my first pellet smoker so enjoying the Convenience compared to a stick burner.
So that's my rant for now Sambo. I'm in a similar situation as you. Time will tell soon what i do next. I'll be sure to let you know. Thank you for your content, it helps people like me to make informed decisions.
One question thats on topic of this video. I thought you mentioned that your SmokeFire never got hot enough to give good searing. Do you think adding the nomax tape to your smokefire was the issue?
Brian, thanks for following and continued support. I’m sadly nodding my head while reading through your tribulations. Sad, but the truth is with the SmokeFire that it does have some flaws, yet when it works, delivers salacious cooks. Pumps clean blue smoke, ✅, great smoke signature, ✅, contemporary sexy styling, ✅….
After seeing what just 10” of tape did to each side of this SearWood, I’m thoroughly convinced I may have botched my own searing on the SmokeFire. In fact, run my recent short…. First time outta the gate with searing ribeyes and voila! Flames licking meat! Stay tuned and good luck with Weber Service!
One thing to remember also is that these new PID controllers get smarter with each cook. They. But I agree, I don't see a need for tape. The engineers probably tested all that.
Ben, thanks for the info. I was completely unaware this technology was included. It makes sense, and will note it in future installments.
The corners do seem hotter which was the case before, but obviously more extreme difference with the tape.
Dave, it really surprised me how 9” of tape per side changed the results. It’s a quite ambient cooker! Thanks for checking in.
Interesting video! A biscuit test may be interesting to do again in a month, to see if it continues to even out more?
Joey, it’s a possibility. However, I’d the electronics are “learning” electronics like a user mentioned here in the comments, then it should improve further. I should just not mess with it and leave the pit alone. 😉
I’ve worked with PID tuning in my job for many years. The PID control gains were definitely optimized for the setup as it leaves the factory. Increasing or reducing airflow in the grill by significant amounts by way of modification will definitely affect its temperature control.
I am curious in the differences in temperature control with and without the tape you had and determine if that is the primary contributor to uneven heating (potential temperature oscillation amplifying uneven heating) or if the leaks play a role in the natural flow of air through the chamber (also likely).
Thanks for the video. Interested in smoke taste vs. Smokefire as well.
Dave, thanks for all the valuable insight here. I’ll be sure to pass it along in further installments.
Even tho I ordered a new roll of Nomex tape, I think I’m going to forgo adding it and just run this stock.
I completed a 10 hour smoked pork shoulder. The video with smoke signature report will drop soon. Thanks for checking in!!
New intro? Stepping it up!
Thanks! My students told me I’m too old school. 😉
Would be great to see you test the pellet consumption rate at high and low temperatures because, you know, science.🙂
@Foodonfire, thanks for checking in. A forthcoming video is planned to take a deeper dive into temp vs manual modes. I can tell you right now the pellet consumption in manual mode is far greater than temp mode.
I was going to say something the last video but it was too late in the day when I watched it and just didn’t have time to comment but my Searwood xl just came in today and I didn’t think it acted like that based on the reviews and videos I’ve seen on it so far.
@noskahare, wishing you good fortune and consistent cooks with yours! Thanks for checking in!
🐦⬛🫢