buying a grill / smoker

[soccerRef]

So I primarily stick to the beer forums here, but the wife and I are going to buy a new grill ( much needed) and stumbled upon this the other day.

http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...ue-Grill-with-Smoker/Firebox-7000CGS&i=728035

I have talked about getting into smoking before, and would love to make the step. Anyone have any experience with this grill/smoker combo? likes, dislikes ? Right now Gander has $100 mail in rebate on this as well, so out the door for $349 seems almost too good to be true...

Before I get the comments, I understand its not a huge stainless weber, not going to last for decades etc etc.. but if this gets the job(s) done for a few years it seems well worth the $$.

thanks for the advice !

 

[rhoop]

Without having used it myself, it seems like it should work fine. Keep in mind, cheaper charcoal smokers use a Crap ton of charcoal. You can seal up air leaks, but your probably going to spend another $100 to get that thing to any state of efficiency using coal. If you're OK with upgrading, or spending $15 on charcoal every smoke, looks pretty awesome for the price!

 

[Xpertskir]

I have not used it, so take this with a grain of salt. But in my experience products trying to be good at too many things end up being bad at all of them.

For that amount of money you could buy both a grill and a smoker, and looking at the size of that behemoth I'm guessing they wouldn't take up any more space.
Didn't see the 100 bucks off. You'd probably have to kick in some extra money to get a Weber smokey mountain and a serviceable gas grill from lowes, if you wanted to be able to smoke and propane grill.


Personally I'm not one for buying disposable products, like you suggested above. I have a BGE, and love it, realize it's not for everybody. It too tries to be a lot of things, and does sacrifice some performance, but not much, and most of it can be overcome with technique and/or accessories. The annual cost of ownership for my egg will be far less than buying one of those every 3-4 years.

 

[FoamFollower]

Check this place out. You might learn more about what you want/need.

http://amazingribs.com/BBQ_buyers_guide/top_10/index.html

Similar to the unit you are considering

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipmen...r/smoke-hollow-charcoalgas-grill-model-47180t

I had a Traeger smoker, used it for 4 years, then sold it for almost the same price I paid for it new. Then moved up to a Rec-Tec. I like to smoke!
Beer, Brewing, BBQ, Bikes. Hell yeah!

 

[schiersteinbrewing]

I have one similar one, the CharGriller Duo with Side Firebox. A friend bought that one and it works well, for smoking you are going to want to add a piece of dryer vent to the inside bottom on the exhaust vent and bring it down to the grate height (allows for better air flow across your smoker). Also go to a local fireplace store and buy fireplace gasket (fire rope as i call it) and pop rivet it along the lids to seal it up tight. To use less charcoal you will want to buy/make a wire basket that can fit inside your firebox, fill it with charcoal and toss a few hot coals on the top. Using this method (minion method) it will allow you better heat control and a slower burn on your charcoal, the basket allows the ash to fall out and not clog up air flow.

Some good info on the grill.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/123356/smoke-hollow-4-in-1-combo-grill
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/143858/smoke-hollow-4-in-1-combo-grill-47183t-mod-build

That web site is my go to site for BBQ/Smoking, tons of great info and recipes.

 

[soccerRef]

I have not used it, so take this with a grain of salt. But in my experience products trying to be good at too many things end up being bad at all of them.

For that amount of money you could buy both a grill and a smoker, and looking at the size of that behemoth I'm guessing they wouldn't take up any more space.
Didn't see the 100 bucks off. You'd probably have to kick in some extra money to get a Weber smokey mountain and a serviceable gas grill from lowes, if you wanted to be able to smoke and propane grill.


Personally I'm not one for buying disposable products, like you suggested above. I have a BGE, and love it, realize it's not for everybody. It too tries to be a lot of things, and does sacrifice some performance, but not much, and most of it can be overcome with technique and/or accessories. The annual cost of ownership for my egg will be far less than buying one of those every 3-4 years.

thanks for the thoughts, and let me attempt to clear a few things up / throw some more thoughts out there.

The $100 off is an in store thing, so not listed online. What grill / smoker are you suggesting instead that gets in at a price point of $349 ? I've been looking around for a bit, and most of the things I see in that price point ( $175/ea ) are not very well constructed / have major flaws obvious to even someone who has not smoked before etc etc... if there are some out there I have missed ( highly likely) let me know!

Next, im not for buying disposable products, and after re-reading what I wrote I can see how it came across that way... what I am currently looking for is more of a bridge item(s)... long term the plan is to buy a very high end, very large top of the line gas grill ( weber price point of $2000 +...) and also a large charcoal event style grill, and a decent size smoker.... all of this happens with a new house, new setup in approx 4-5 yrs.

When looking at gas grills, everything we even remotely liked currently was above $300 --- almost everything under that seemed flimsy, tiny cooking area, etc etc.... the smokey mt cheaper model is $199... then even a cheap weber round charcoal grill added and we are way above the current price point of $349...

This grill even in the store model is built well, i wheeled it around, gave it the kick test etc... i was actually surprised that it was built as tough as it was. ( after all the previous ones we looked at)

 

[JonM]

I have a 18.5" Smokey Mountain and the 22" Weber Silver, and the two together were $380. If I had to do it over again, I'd do the exact same thing.

The two Weber products are rock solid, dependable and are still in like new condition (if a little dirty on the inside) even after years of use. I would much, much prefer to stay with Weber for their great customer service, ease of obtaining replacement parts and upgrades, and the fact that there are so many other mfgrs who make accessories for Webers. I don't know that I'd be able to find the same thing with less familiar brands.

 

[soccerRef]

I have a 18.5" Smokey Mountain and the 22" Weber Silver, and the two together were $380. If I had to do it over again, I'd do the exact same thing.

The two Weber products are rock solid, dependable and are still in like new condition (if a little dirty on the inside) even after years of use. I would much, much prefer to stay with Weber for their great customer service, ease of obtaining replacement parts and upgrades, and the fact that there are so many other mfgrs who make accessories for Webers. I don't know that I'd be able to find the same thing with less familiar brands.

I don't disagree with what you said, and Weber is a great brand! I have grilled on many a Weber product... the problem here is this only covers the charcoal and smoker side of things... one requirement is that I have a gas grill. As much as I would love only use charcoal, its just not practical currently in life, and I need to be able to start the grill, walk away for 5 min to get things ready, and have it up to temp and ready to cook...

 

[JonM]

I don't know how you feel about used cooking stuff, but lots of people upgrade this time of year and put their old perfectly good, clean gas grills on Craigslist for cheap. Put new cooking surfaces on an old grill, and you're good to go.

 

[Xpertskir]

Not for 350, but for the original 450 you can get a good smoker(weber smokey mountain) and a cheap gas grill at lowes.

Gas grills are shades of gray different compared to smokers. I can high heat grill a steak on a cheap grill with similar ease to cooking it on an expensive grill. A cheap smoker on the other hand will make your life miserable maintaining temps for the long hours a low and slow cook will take.


My point being, if you need both now, and have a plan for upgrades in the future. I'd spend my money on a good smoker, buy a cheap but serviceable gas grill with the plans of upgrading in a few years.

I used to work at a garden center that sold grills and IMO the best thing to look at is grill grate thickness and heft. If a cheap grill went to the expense of having such a grate then there are likely other things "they did right" along the way.

 

[estricklin]

I have not used that particular grill but have used very similar ones. I think you will be pretty happy with it, especially for 350 bucks.

Like many others on this forum I love to smoke and grill. One year I grilled/smoked over 300 times, yep that's almost every single night, rain, shine, or snow, and I've got the pictures to prove it. I've owned so many grills and smokers I seriously cannot count them all. Here is the deal, if you use them, they will wear out eventually. My last gas grill was $800, I completely wore it out in just 3 or 4 years. Currently there is an $84 one from wal-mart in my front yard that does just fine by me. Smokers are about the same for me, 3-5 years I would say is about it for one, IF YOU USE IT a lot. I don't spend a ton of money on mine anymore, that way when they burn out I don't get too upset.

I look for things that have a pretty good seal, thick metal, and are easy to clean. The smoker I'm using at the moment actually came from Gander and I love it. It's on wheels, thick metal, a nice tray for the charcoal in the smoke box, very efficient with charcoal too. Less than $200.

If I didn't have a lot of space, and I wanted a gas grill and a charcoal/smoker, I would consider a combo like the one you have listed. It may have some drawbacks, but is also very practical. Grab a tarp, some lava rocks, a good wire brush, and some fireplace gasket material as listed above, and you'll be ready to go!

My Gander Mountain on sale special in action last fall.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Are you married to the idea of a charcoal/wood smoker? You can go propane or electric on the smoker for cheaper (and have more area to boot -- very important when smoking for a party or gathering). I bought the Masterbuilt XL/GS40 when I saw it on sale for $159 last year, and it is very versatile. A full brisket fits without cutting, I could easily do as many as 8 racks of ribs at a time (possibly more depending on how I arranged them), and I did a party where I was doing 2 brisket flats, ABT's, and smoked fatties and was able to fit everything in together.

Another alternative is the electric smoker... The Masterbuilt 30" is super-common. And it's currently only $139 at Target.

Then, you get a separate grill for cooking, whether you go gas or propane for that is up to you...