Hey All!
Tis' the season! Actually, this time of year you usually don't see a lot of new grill releases, but this year seems different. Weber just had an event showing off their entrance into the pellet grill field with their new "SmokeFire" grill, but that will not be available to purchase until 2020 (See review on Amazing Ribs HERE). the Weber looks to have some great features from what I can tell but we will see how it goes once it is released. Since Weber has like zero experience with any kind of pellet grill and very limited electric grills so it will be interesting for sure.
Camp Chef on the other hand, who makes some of the best pellet grills on the market, has been teasing us with a new WIFI based Woodwind for at least a year and it is NOW AVAILABLE! Although I have not been able to see it in person or test it out, I can say that I am looking forward to some of these added features and changes they have made that will improve the operation and control you have over them. I hope to be able to do on in depth, in person review sometime soon, but until then here are some of my thoughts on what I have seen so far. First off, it keeps all of the old innovations that Camp Chef is known for, such as the Slide & Grill feature, Easy Ash Clean Out, Pellet Dump to be able to change pellet types, and a large re-designed 22 pound pellet hopper.
1) 4 models to choose from! They have kept the WIFI models in their "top of the line" Woodwind series, but you still have options. You have a choice of just the base 24" Woodwind, the 24" with either an added gas powered Sear-box or Sidekick, or the larger 36" model. All of these have the same basic features that the Woodwind is known for. Also, they will be making the new Camp Chef Control panel available separately so you can add it to your current Camp Chef Woodwind or SmokePro pellet grill!
2) New Pellet Hopper Design! I don't know if they will eventually bring this new angled pellet hopper design into the lower level models, but it is another great change that I see. In the standard "Box" type pellet hoppers, the pellets tend to form a "Cone of Death" where they can stay stuck on the sides of the hopper and not move into the auger like they are supposed to. This can cause flame outs even though you think you have plenty of fuel in the box. This new design pretty much forces all the pellets move downward at the same time avoiding this problem.
3) Not Just WIFI Control - Although it is one of the new main features of this grill, the ability to monitor and adjust the grill from anywhere is just one new feature of this new controller. Besides just the temperature setting, the new PID allow separate smoke adjustments (between 1-10), giving you much more control over the smoke flavor/profile that you want for whatever it is you are cooking.
4) No More Buttons! - The new Camp Chef Control panel has no buttons. Instead it uses a LED touch screen with a roller adjuster that gives you manual control of the grill if you choose not to use your mobile device. A weather proof cover helps keep the screen nice and clean.
5) Now Comes with 4 Meat Probes - You can now monitor up to four different foods using the Camp Chef Control app!
6) Amazing Pricing! One of the BEST features I can see of this new Woodwind series is the Price! Right now you can get all of these great added features for just $100 more than what the non-wifi Woodwind grills were selling for! Yep! that is a GREAT deal in my opinion to have all of these upgraded features for so little premium! Below you will find pictures and links to each model so you can check them out for yourself.
