# I need a new charcoal grill



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

I'm looking for suggestions for a new charcoal grill.  No gas, I already have a large 5 burner gas grill.
What I need is about 500 sq in of main grill space, cast iron grates, adjustable fire box (able to raise and lower charcoal), completely removable firebox and ash pan without having to remove cooking grates (for easy, fast clean-up), and well built.
I already have one brand/model in mind but it's kinda pricey.

Any suggestions?  Thanks!


----------



## Jeekinz (Aug 26, 2008)

The Chargriller Pro has all those features.


----------



## Ask-A-Butcher (Aug 26, 2008)

roadfix said:


> Any suggestions?  Thanks!



Yes, I do...try googling 'ceramic grills'


----------



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> The Chargriller Pro has all those features.



Thanks, I looked at the CG Pro but you can only access the ash pan and coal grate from the top only after removing the cooking grates.  I'm looking at something that I can completely pull out from the side.


----------



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

Ask-A-Butcher said:


> Yes, I do...try googling 'ceramic grills'



Thanks, I'll research them further.


----------



## Uncle Bob (Aug 26, 2008)

How will you use it...mostly? What do you want to cook? There are some very nice charcoal 'grills' on the market, that tend to be pricey...If all you want do do is grill burgers, chicken etc...they can be very expensive platforms for that purpose.


----------



## Jeekinz (Aug 26, 2008)

roadfix said:


> Thanks, I looked at the CG Pro but you can only access the ash pan and coal grate from the top only after removing the cooking grates. I'm looking at something that I can completely pull out from the side.


 
Hmmm.  I wonder how they would make a removeable ash pan that's adjustable at the same time.


----------



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

Uncle Bob said:


> How will you use it...mostly? What do you want to cook? There are some very nice charcoal 'grills' on the market, that tend to be pricey...If all you want do do is grill burgers, chicken etc...they can be very expensive platforms for that purpose.



I'll be using it for chickens/burgers to steaks to racks of ribs.  Smoking is not an important feature.  Ease and range of fire box adjustment (being able to really sear meats) and quick clean-up are important features I'm looking for.


----------



## Jeekinz (Aug 26, 2008)

Do you want to empty out ash during the cooking process?


----------



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Hmmm.  I wonder how they would make a removeable ash pan that's adjustable at the same time.



Hasty Bake Legacy 131 is one grill I'm looking at.  The ash pan and fire box are completely removable independent of the raising/lowering mechanism.
But like I said, it's quite a pricey grill.  But on the other hand, since I've been grilling more often lately (at least 3x weekly) and will most likely do so year round, investing in a grill such as this might be worth it.


----------



## Uncle Bob (Aug 26, 2008)

Roadfix...

Have you considered Weber's charcoal grills? Day in, and day out, they are rock solid back yard grills... especially for the purposes you mention. They are also very affordable!!

http://www.weber.com/bbq/pub/grill/2007/charcoal/Performer.aspx

Have Fun!


----------



## cheffmom (Aug 26, 2008)

*Have you seen the Vidalia Grill?*

This grill does it all. Check it out on their website
My brother has one and everything off this grill is great. You have your choice of how you want to cook, gas, wood or charcoal.


----------



## roadfix (Aug 26, 2008)

cheffmom said:


> This grill does it all. Check it out on their website
> My brother has one and everything off this grill is great. You have your choice of how you want to cook, gas, wood or charcoal.



That's a very nice grill but I already have a large gas grill.  I only recently got bitten by the charcoal bug.  Who knows, I might one day sell my gas monster.


----------



## Jeekinz (Aug 27, 2008)

What fuel do you use?

I use my little $20 portable grill on a regular basis. In fact, I haven't even used my gas grill since it ran out of propane a few months ago.

Using Cowboy Lump Charchoal, I only need to clean out the grill every 8-10th use since the lump burns down to nothing. I used matchlight briquettes during my race on Sunday and had to empty the ash out after one use.


----------



## pacanis (Aug 27, 2008)

I'm surprised the Cobb grill users haven't posted yet 

That does look like a nifty little grill though. I need something that can double as a smoker.


----------



## pugger (Aug 27, 2008)

Lowe's (and for that matter, I'd bet Home Depot) has a good selection of charcoal grills. If I were in the market for one, I'd look there. I've noticed one that looks like it meets your specs.


----------



## roadfix (Aug 27, 2008)

I've looked at the ones from Lowe's and HD.  There is one model at Lowe's (their house brand I believe, BBQ Grillware) which almost has the features I'm looking for but the internal crank mechanism for raising and lowering the firebox seem like it can bind and eventually stop working.

I've been using lump charcoal as well as charcoal, sometimes a combination of both.  Yes, I've noticed lump charcoal leaves far less ashes.


----------



## west coast smoker (Aug 27, 2008)

*Best Charcoal Grill*

My wife, bless her heart, bought me a Weber Ranch Kettle.  It is about the same price you are looking at for your other grill.  I have used this for everything including smoking ribs, steaks, Jamaican jerk chicken.  It is huge and you can control temperature by the same method of weber kettle also by placing food on other side away from heat source.  It is the best Charcoal grill I have ever owned and I have owned a few different ones.  If you are going to spend that much money I would recommend this grill.


----------



## roadfix (Aug 27, 2008)

^^^ Thank you for the suggestion but the Ranch Kettle is just too big for my purpose.  All I need is about 500 sq in.


----------



## Chef2337 (Aug 27, 2008)

Have you look into these?

Weber Grills and Accessories
Barrel BBQ Grills


----------



## roadfix (Aug 27, 2008)

Chef2337 said:


> Have you look into these?
> 
> Weber Grills and Accessories
> Barrel BBQ Grills



Yes, I'm familiar with their entire line of grills.  I've also looked at the Char Grillers as well.  Thanks!


----------



## roadfix (Sep 2, 2008)

I'm going to take a look at Bar-b-Chef Texas grills this week and decide for sure.  I can also go with the built-in unit as I'm able to construct a heavy, portable table made out of lumber and brick around this unit.
Barbeques Galore - Bar-B-Chef


----------



## Jeff G. (Sep 2, 2008)

Charcoal Grills

Big John 5 foot Charcoal Grills

Trailmaster Heavy-Gauge Charcoal/Wood Grill and Smoker from Bellacor


----------



## roadfix (Sep 2, 2008)

^^^ I was also looking at the Brinkmann Trailmaster too.  I like EVERYTHING about that grill except that it doesn't have an adjustable charcoal grate.


----------



## kitchenelf (Sep 2, 2008)

roadfix said:


> ^^^ I was also looking at the Brinkmann Trailmaster too.  I like EVERYTHING about that grill except that it doesn't have an adjustable charcoal grate.



I "accidentally" bought one without an adjustable charcoal grate - I hated it!  Now I just wish it adjusted so the charcoal were MUCH closer to the grate.  It's hard to get a good sear on a steak and cook it rare without overloading the charcoal!  

Make sure that the grates can be removed in 3 pieces or at least two!  Mine now was removable only in one piece - I don't like that.  My husband cut it in half for me - -- that was a big mistake because now they are very picky about being placed back on the grill...and when there are hot coals in there it's REALLY hard!


----------



## Jeekinz (Sep 3, 2008)

roadfix said:


> I've looked at the ones from Lowe's and HD. There is one model at Lowe's (their house brand I believe, BBQ Grillware) which almost has the features I'm looking for but the internal crank mechanism for raising and lowering the firebox seem like it can bind and eventually stop working.
> 
> I've been using lump charcoal as well as charcoal, sometimes a combination of both. Yes, I've noticed lump charcoal leaves far less ashes.


 
I looked at this grill over the weekend.  It has the crank mechanism to raise and lower the charchoal bed, but it seems well constructed enough.

Charcoal Grill


----------



## roadfix (Sep 3, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> I looked at this grill over the weekend.  It has the crank mechanism to raise and lower the charchoal bed, but it seems well constructed enough.
> 
> Charcoal Grill



Hi,
Yes, I've looked at that grill and another slightly more expensive model very similar to that a few weeks ago at Lowe's.
The Bar-b-chef Texas from Barbeques Galore is very similar in design but made out of cast iron. They have a SS model too. I am going to my local Bbq Galore tomorrow to take a closer look.
I'm also getting very positive feedbacks on this Bar-b-chef grill from actual owners on another food forum and one of them have even commented on the huge difference in quality and build between this and the ones from Lowe's.
I'll find out more tomorrow.


----------



## Jeekinz (Sep 3, 2008)

I actually like the crank adjustment.  The Char griller has two handles you grasp and raise or lower to the next notch on the sides.  You need gloves for that.

When I saw the model at Lowes I was thinking that if they made a cast iron model like this it might be worth it.

Good luck.


----------



## roadfix (Sep 5, 2008)

So I went to BBQ Galore this afternoon and looked at their Bar-B-Chef Texas charcoal grill. The fire box and hood are not cast iron as I suspected (someone who claims to own this grill on another forum said it was cast iron), otherwise the thing would have weighed a ton. They are made of heavy gauge rolled steel. Overall, I liked the way the thing was built so I decided to buy it. I got the built-in unit instead of the one with a cart. I will decide later how and where I'm going to mount this thing. Meanwhile, I could temporarily place this thing on cement blocks and operate the grill for the time being.
The grill came in two large cartons, one for the fire box and the other for the hood. 
I had to 'fix' a couple of things on this grill during assembly as these things were poorly packaged with virtually no protection. I took a photo of one 'damage' although I was able to bring it back into its original shape. I give a grade of D- on packaging. Anyway, I was able to put this thing together and season it tonight.

Here's a photo of one repair job. The fire box is sitting on its back. I had to straighten out the front panel of the grill using a jack. 
(It was more of a hassle for me to haul this thing back and exchange it for another unit......although they will hear from me on this)


----------



## roadfix (Sep 5, 2008)

Anyway, here are photos of the completed grill.  It's sitting on top of cement blocks for now.  I seasoned it last night and it's ready for use this weekend.
I like the full range of motion of the charcoal grate as you can bring the coals up to within an inch of the cooking grate and all the way down about a foot below.  You can also compartmentalize the charcoal as you can see.
It has a fully removable ash pan and a very large firebox access door.

But there is one major design flaw (in my opinion) with this grill.  The cast iron grates cannot be lifted up from the front as they are tucked underneath a lip which runs all the way across the front.  Each section of the grate can only be removed by lifting the rear of each grate.   I will see if this is an inconvenience under actual use.


----------



## Jeekinz (Sep 5, 2008)

Looking good.  Can't wait to see some meat on there.


----------



## roadfix (Sep 5, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> Looking good.  Can't wait to see some meat on there.


Hey thanks!
Hopefully this grill too will give me a zen experience as I cook.

I'll find out this weekend..........


----------



## pacanis (Sep 5, 2008)

That's a nice looking grill. Looks like that charcoal adjustment will work very well for you. Super setup.
BTW, the grates on my Ducane propane come out the same way, gotta lift the back up first. Maybe an idiot proof thing they need to have? So someone would feel the heat reaching over the grate to grab it?


----------



## roadfix (Sep 5, 2008)

pacanis said:


> That's a nice looking grill. Looks like that charcoal adjustment will work very well for you. Super setup.
> BTW, the grates on my Ducane propane come out the same way, gotta lift the back up first. Maybe an idiot proof thing they need to have? So someone would feel the heat reaching over the grate to grab it?



Yes, thank you.  I like the set up.  I just need to decided where I'm going to use this grill and how to mount it.


----------



## elaine l (Sep 5, 2008)

Very nice.  Enjoy.


----------



## roadfix (Sep 6, 2008)

elaine l said:


> Very nice.  Enjoy.



Thanks, I will......tonight!


----------



## love2"Q" (Sep 6, 2008)

nice choice ..


----------



## roadfix (Sep 6, 2008)

love2"Q" said:


> nice choice ..



Why, thank you!  Do you have one like it?
I'm planning on doing some Italian hot sausages, hot wings, and country style ribs on it tonight.

I will take pics, I'm sure.......of the grill, foods, friends, beer, wine, and cigars...


----------



## Jeekinz (Sep 6, 2008)

roadfix said:


> Why, thank you! Do you have one like it?
> I'm planning on doing some Italian hot sausages, hot wings, and country style ribs on it tonight.
> 
> I will take pics, I'm sure.......of the grill, foods, friends, beer, wine, and cigars...


 
I'll start off with a Vodka martini and a Cohiba pleeze.


----------



## roadfix (Sep 6, 2008)

Jeekinz said:


> I'll start off with a Vodka martini and a Cohiba pleeze.



My in-law and nephew are into cigars.....I just smoke what they give me...


----------



## love2"Q" (Sep 6, 2008)

roadfix said:


> My in-law and nephew are into cigars.....I just smoke what they give me...


might want to be careful about that ...


and no,road .. i do not have one .. i am a char griller kind of guy ...


----------



## roadfix (Sep 6, 2008)

love2"Q" said:


> i am a char griller kind of guy ...



Ah....a smoker.  I have a little CG just for grilling small items...


----------



## roadfix (Sep 7, 2008)

Initial overall impression of this grill after first use:

I like it.  

I especially liked the fact that I was able to do indirect cooking simply by cranking the charcoal grate all the way down which saved time and a lot of precious grill space.  I loaded the grill with a bunch of chicken wings so I did not have to shove each piece to the cool zone after searing them.  Nice...

But I did not like the cheap temp gauge mounted on the hood.  The numbers are tiny, with dual F* and C* scales.....very difficult to read with my tired eyes.  And not to mention the inaccuracy of the thing.  I intend to just leave that there and mount a better gauge by drilling a new mounting hole in the hood closer to grill level.

That's all for now...


----------

