The Smokefire desperately needs more shelf space, but this new folding front shelf is a major disappointment. The design has some fundamental flaws. Most noticeably, the shelf simply does not have much strength to support heavy trays of meat. You could not trust it to hold your brisket, ribs, or pork butt. Second, it is too shallow, meaning if you have a tray on the shelf you cannot open or close the lid because the lid handle will interfere with what is on your tray. Third, it is very difficult to clean when drippings fall down onto the shelf and the nooks and crannies on the inner-part of the shelf. This is very poorly designed - not what I expected from Weber. It is also very expensive and over-priced. The Smokefire should come with built-in shelves, but they ... MoreThe Smokefire desperately needs more shelf space, but this new folding front shelf is a major disappointment. The design has some fundamental flaws. Most noticeably, the shelf simply does not have much strength to support heavy trays of meat. You could not trust it to hold your brisket, ribs, or pork butt. Second, it is too shallow, meaning if you have a tray on the shelf you cannot open or close the lid because the lid handle will interfere with what is on your tray. Third, it is very difficult to clean when drippings fall down onto the shelf and the nooks and crannies on the inner-part of the shelf. This is very poorly designed - not what I expected from Weber. It is also very expensive and over-priced. The Smokefire should come with built-in shelves, but they need to start from scratch with the design as these are almost useless.

I was one of the early adopters and had some of the issues with the gen 1 units like others. That said I wanted to be patient with my review because of how amazing Weber has been with their customer service. They provided me all the upgraded gen 2 parts last year and it's like a whole new grill. I've had zero issues since the upgrades and use it at least 3 times a week. This is the best purchase I've made in a long time. The flavor and ease of use is well worth the price. Plus knowing Weber has your back is a huge plus. For folks that gave up too soon on the smokefire, this is why patience pays off. Do not hesitate to buy this.My recommendation is to use the weber pellets because they're the best. Also, use the drip pans above the flavorizer bars to make clean up ... MoreI was one of the early adopters and had some of the issues with the gen 1 units like others. That said I wanted to be patient with my review because of how amazing Weber has been with their customer service. They provided me all the upgraded gen 2 parts last year and it's like a whole new grill. I've had zero issues since the upgrades and use it at least 3 times a week. This is the best purchase I've made in a long time. The flavor and ease of use is well worth the price. Plus knowing Weber has your back is a huge plus. For folks that gave up too soon on the smokefire, this is why patience pays off. Do not hesitate to buy this.My recommendation is to use the weber pellets because they're the best. Also, use the drip pans above the flavorizer bars to make clean up easy. By doing this every 5 or 6 long cooks you can easily use the cleaning tool provided to take ten min to dump the pellet ash into the drip pan. Super easy and keeps things clean. Why am I still typing? I should be smoking something instead lol. Oh and click add to cart and buy the smokefire already.

This addition is very convenient. The table is spacious enough to place my cutting board and plates. There's a limited space between the table and handle when the lid is closed. I can also hook the upper cooking rack which is another convenient feature. This also perfectly fits with the Smokefire Premium cover. I felt this looked bulky after I installed. It might be better to coat the table with black color for the look. Overall, I would give 5-start and highly recommend this.