I need a new charcoal grill

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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.
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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!
 
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.
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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
 
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
Click to expand...

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.

:)
 
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.
 
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)

img_678610_0_13149eb0efe22c25f0b32b53a8d82710.jpg
 
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.

img_678830_0_38877695c062d6f3cc8e31eb781c930b.jpg


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img_678830_2_5793d23c5a574eee0c5e3cf7519b337b.jpg
 
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?
 
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?
Click to expand...

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. :)
 
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...:LOL:
Click to expand...

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