# I need a grill but don't know what kind



## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

I'm looking for a wood burning grill for the regular assortment of delicious bbq. Not sure what to get. I Was kind of looking at this one at academy but it didn't seem quite right. http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_10051_650565_-1__?N=77985508

What do yall think I should get.


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## the hook (Aug 8, 2011)

imo, a Weber Smokey Mountain....For $900, maybe a Big Green Egg...Google each...I like both...


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## jtburf (May 26, 2004)

Ok,

Been grilling and smoking for 30 years so here is my .02.

An offset smoker (one you linked) is great for smoking but not for dual purpose...

An upright smoker can do the same for you and you will have better temp control.

If I were to buy new I would pony up and look at two units.

Spend the coin for a Klose it will outlast you.

http://www.bbqpits.com/

Or a Tejas

http://www.tejassmokers.com/products/1628.htm

and look at a gas grill or old smokey for burgers and steaks

http://oldsmokey.com/Products/OSCG/oldsmokeycharcoal.html

Most importantly is understanding a grill and smoker are two different pieces of equipment.

Hope it helps.
John


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

Alright so it is a smoker that I need. I have a regular round style charcoal grill and a gas grill.


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## RATLTRAP (Sep 16, 2009)

I heard great reviews on the Weber Smokey Mountain. I purchased one the other day and it worked great. Cooked great and the temperature control was as easy as everyone had mentioned.


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## Court (Jul 16, 2011)

Traeger Smoker & Grill


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## Fishdaze (Nov 16, 2004)

I've got the weber smokey mountain 22" and I love it. You can't beat it for the price, and it holds a lot of meat. Doesn't take too much attention to hold temps either. 

Of course, my dream pit is a Gator pit. I just don't have the time and money to justify one, yet.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

How much money do you want to spend?

http://www.gatorpit.net/budgetbbqpits/budget.htm

Take a look at the 20 x 32 w/ firebox.


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## saltie dawg (Jan 13, 2011)

Good deal on the one you linked from a guy here on 2cool.

http://2coolfishing.com/ttmbforum/showthread.php?t=494639

good luck 
saltie dawg


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## Drew_Smoke (May 21, 2004)

That pit at Acadamey is pretty solid and I think it's a decent deal for the price. I want the $1400 one they are carrying but it's not as thick.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

Drew_Smoke said:


> That pit at Acadamey is pretty solid and I think it's a decent deal for the price. I want the $1400 one they are carrying but it's not as thick.


that one was thick but I wasn't sure it that meant it would be good. I think it is going to take awhile to make a decision. I didn't realize there was so much to consider.


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## RedFly (Mar 22, 2010)

The only thing wrong with the one you linked to is it's only 1/8". Best smoker Academy sells imho though. I have the smaller version that I bought on sale, and it does a fine job but can only hold 1 brisket and 1 chicken, or 1 chicken and a rib rack. For $1000 I'd rather save up another $200 and get a 1/4" pit from a custom shop as suggested earlier which will last much longer and hold temp better. when just grilling and not smoking I have no problem grilling over the hot box, then transfering to the smoke side to keep things warm. It's also nice to be able to grill steaks and then cruise a chicken for a few hours while eating dinner. Sounds like you already have a grill or two though

How much do you want to cook at one time? How much do you want to be able to direct grill over the hot box? Steaks for 8? How much do you want to be able to smoke? Half a hog? Do you want to be able to handle brisket, chicken, and ribs all at once? If so go with the double rack. After 3 years of using mine I wish I'd gone with the larger model, but it wasn't in the budget at the time... At least it's lasted this long with only a hotbox slide grill replacement.


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## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

Weber smokey mountain to smoke meat, weber kettle to grill. And plenty of money leftover to buy meat


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

RedFly said:


> The only thing wrong with the one you linked to is it's only 1/8". Best smoker Academy sells imho though. I have the smaller version that I bought on sale, and it does a fine job but can only hold 1 brisket and 1 chicken, or 1 chicken and a rib rack. For $1000 I'd rather save up another $200 and get a 1/4" pit from a custom shop as suggested earlier which will last much longer and hold temp better. when just grilling and not smoking I have no problem grilling over the hot box, then transfering to the smoke side to keep things warm. It's also nice to be able to grill steaks and then cruise a chicken for a few hours while eating dinner. Sounds like you already have a grill or two though
> 
> How much do you want to cook at one time? How much do you want to be able to direct grill over the hot box? Steaks for 8? How much do you want to be able to smoke? Half a hog? Do you want to be able to handle brisket, chicken, and ribs all at once? If so go with the double rack. After 3 years of using mine I wish I'd gone with the larger model, but it wasn't in the budget at the time... At least it's lasted this long with only a hotbox slide grill replacement.


I already have a Weber Kettle Grill and a Weber Gas Grill. I regularly have them both full of meat. My problem is I can't smoke with them and slow cooking is hard to achieve with the kettle grill.

What custom shop makes the better pit. I know this is probably like asking what kinda boat should I buy but I am looking at all options. I'm not afraid to spend an extra $200, I just want to make sure I buy the right thing the first time.



atcNick said:


> Weber smokey mountain to smoke meat, weber kettle to grill. And plenty of money leftover to buy meat


How much meat does this Weber smokey mountain hold and is there some where local that I can look at one?


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## WilliamH (May 21, 2004)

> What custom shop makes the better pit. I know this is probably like asking what kinda boat should I buy but I am looking at all options. I'm not afraid to spend an extra $200, I just want to make sure I buy the right thing the first time.


Go look at a Gator Pit.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

WilliamH said:


> Go look at a Gator Pit.


That is a good video. I might just have to buy one of these.


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## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

A 22" weber smokey mountain will probably hold 4-5 briskets. Not sure who sells them in Houston. I've seen them once at Home Depot in Longview. 

As far as custom. Lots if good builders around. Gator pits, Klose, pitmaker, north of Houston - jambo pits, R&O smokers, east texas smokers. Just to name a few. But it's gonna cost ya. 

A good idea would be to go to some local cookoffs and see what the guys are cooking on. They love talking and showing off pits. Might give you an idea of what you want.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

atcNick said:


> A 22" weber smokey mountain will probably hold 4-5 briskets. Not sure who sells them in Houston. I've seen them once at Home Depot in Longview.
> 
> As far as custom. Lots if good builders around. Gator pits, Klose, pitmaker, north of Houston - jambo pits, R&O smokers, east texas smokers. Just to name a few. But it's gonna cost ya.
> 
> A good idea would be to go to some local cookoffs and see what the guys are cooking on. They love talking and showing off pits. Might give you an idea of what you want.


How many racks of ribs would fit on it?


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## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

fishinguy said:


> How many racks of ribs would fit on it?


check this out: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity.html


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

atcNick said:


> check this out: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity.html


Alright I am going to start my smoking with the Weber Smoky Mountain. I think it is going to be the best place to start.


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## txjustin (Jun 3, 2009)

atcNick said:


> check this out: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/wsmcapacity.html


Wow, I never knew they would hold so much!! I am in the market for a new pit myself and haven't even considered these. I may pick one of these up and save about a grand.


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

What I love about "what kind of smoker should I get?" threads is that it pretty much turns into a "just tell me what kind of smoker you personally use" deal. The thing to take from that is that there are a lot of ways to go on this. 

It sounds like you are set on a stick burner, and that is a good thing. If you are willing to spend $1000 on a pit from Academy, you might as well bump up your price a bit and get a pit from one of the high quality local manufacturers. You really cannot go wrong with Klose or Gator. They are really great pits and will last a very long time. We are really lucky to live in a place with such great pitmakers. 

There are plenty other smoker options which you should probably check out. With stickburners, you will have to tend the fire and continually add wood to regulate the temperature. You have to do this much more with cheaper pits. I had an old bandera that I had to constantly pay attention to and it was a bit of a buzzkill, even though it cranked out excellent product. 

If you don't want to break the bank, there are very good alternatives. You can go the Weber Smokey Mountain route. You can make some very high quality Q with one of those and they are very easy to us. You can also go the UDS route. You can buy a kit to make your own from Big Poppa Smokers and be out the door for about $200 total. Low maintenence, set it and forget it and great flavor.

For the same money as the pit you linked, you can go with a pellet cooker like a Traeger or a ceramic pit like a BGE or Primo Kamado. Lot of different ways to skin that cat. It all depends on how you want to use it.


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## fishinguy (Aug 5, 2004)

manintheboat said:


> For the same money as the pit you linked, you can go with a pellet cooker like a Traeger or a ceramic pit like a BGE or Primo Kamado. Lot of different ways to skin that cat. It all depends on how you want to use it.


Would like to know more about these.


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## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

I have the 18", got it before the 22" came out. It's the best bang for the buck in my opinion. I've had it 6 years and it still works great


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## manintheboat (Jun 1, 2004)

fishinguy said:


> Would like to know more about these.


Pellet cooker? That is not my thing, but a lot of people swear by them. Pretty much set it and forget it.

Ceramic cookers are awesome. I have the Primo XL. I can cook 2 briskets at one time on it. You can do either low and slow indirect cooking or direct high temp grilling. Very versitile to be honest. It seems you already have the high temp covered with your grills so I do not see a huge benefit to ceramic unless you want to use one grill and replace the others. To be honest, since I added the drum smoker to my patio, I mainly use the ceramic for high temp cooking, and not as much for low and slow.

If it was me, if I didn't want to shell out $1500 for a stick burner, I would go with a couple drum smokers.

https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/store/bbq-accessories/big-poppa-s-engineered-drum-smoker-kit


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## drfishalot (Sep 9, 2004)

I don't really understand why anyone would want to get a pellet cooker. before I bought my electric smoker I researched all the options. I had been a fire burner of whatever kind for 20 yrs. I wanted the set it and forget it machine. but I didn't want to be attached to the manufacturer, or any one else, to have to buy pellets or pucks or anything else for the rest of my life. nor did I want to worry about the feeding mechanisms breaking. so I went with.....
cookshack electric: its not cheap, its well built, set n forget, I can put whatever wood I want in it and don't have to buy anything if I dont want to. and the finished product tastes as good as anyone elses, with no effort, no all night fire stoking, will hold its temp in 30 degree weather. just buy the meat, not the pellets  PS, yes I have a BGE that hasnt be used in2-3 yrs.


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## Kenner Ben (Apr 23, 2013)

Weber smokey Mountain. I cooked a boston butt on mine last wknd. Started at 7:00 am and took it off the pit at 5:30. Never had to add charcoal and made minimal adjustments throughout the day. I can not overstate how good these things are. I have smoked turkeys, ribs, brisket, chicken and sausage on mine. They all turned out delicious.


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## Drew_Smoke (May 21, 2004)

I bought an 18.5 Smokey Mountain from Trout123. Loved it so much I bought 2 of the 22.5" on e-bay to go with it. My deal is that I want to cook my ribs with Apple, my yardbird with Peach and my beef with Cherry. Now I can do all 3 at once.


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## peckerwood (Jun 9, 2012)

Lyfe Tyme smokers are very well built out of heavy steel with beautiful welds,and are built in Uvalde Texas.When the smoker I built wears out and I'm still alive,I'm getting a Lyfe Tyme.My buddy has one he bought maybe 15 years ago,and still is perfect,and he use to do the cook-offs.


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## Drew_Smoke (May 21, 2004)

My 22.5 WSM came and HOLY COW...it is huge. Can't wait to load her up!


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## atcNick (Apr 7, 2005)

Drew_Smoke said:


> My 22.5 WSM came and HOLY COW...it is huge. Can't wait to load her up!


Nice!!! Look forward to seeing some pics! Something you may notice with the first few cooks is it may run a little on the hot side, until you get a good coat of, creosote, soot, whatever you call it, on the inside walls of the pit. It happened when mine was new. I have read that the higher temps are caused by the reflective walls in the pit. But it's not going to be a problem.


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