26" Huntsman!
- Thread starter Bruno
- Start date
Brian B Atlanta
TVWBB Gold Member
Didn't Jon dump his the smaller one obviously, it was good at low and slow but to actually use it for high heat like a grill it used a crazy amount of fuel and in cold weather never could get up to temp. Not sure the 26 would be any better.
Richard S
TVWBB All-Star
Wow...yeah, beast is right! I love my Huntsman...it does well at everything for me and the fuel consumption is actually great. It just takes a little time to learn and adapt to, like anything else. But these new price points are going to be interesting for Spider. Hope they are not expanding too quickly.
Bruce
TVWBB 2-Star Olympian
I think Jon had the "Spider" version. And yes, I remember him talking about the temp issues he was dealing with. The two different sizes could be a lot different in performance however.
.
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I was an early buyer of the 22” Spider Huntsman. I was extremely impressed with the build quality and great customer service. I did some excellent low and slow bbq on it all of which I was personally very pleased with.
However, like more than a few reviewers, I found mine struggled to get to high heat in cold Indiana winter weather. I once tried with TWO FULL chimneys of charcoal and still didn't have enough fuel to get to real steak grilling temps. Maybe if I had tried more, I could have found ways around my issues. My personal opinion is that the Spider Venom controller - which is a great addition to a Weber kettle - is a little underpowered for the 22" Huntsman with its larger interior volume and substantial thermal mass - obviously especially in cold weather. I do have to wonder about a 26" Huntsman if it uses the same Venom.
I would still have kept my Huntsman, just because of the quality of its build, classy look, and unique features. I LOVED the fuel door that allows you to add fuel without opening the lid or interrupting your cook.
In the end, what really led to me selling mine was the tongue lashing I got from my wife the last time I offered to use it for regular grilling. She HATES charcoal grilled food - or at least claims to...I finally decided it just didn't make sense for me to have a very expensive charcoal grill, when I already have plenty of Weber kettles and a Weber CharQ to use for the limited times that I cook just for myself. I was sad to see my Huntsman go and do miss it sometimes. However, if I had it to all over again, I would have spent my money on Recteq's limited run "Black Edition" Bullseye Deluxe. It was also a very cool and elegant grill - a cut above their regular Deluxe - and it would have been a much more useful grill for my situation. I keep hoping they will do another run of it!
However, like more than a few reviewers, I found mine struggled to get to high heat in cold Indiana winter weather. I once tried with TWO FULL chimneys of charcoal and still didn't have enough fuel to get to real steak grilling temps. Maybe if I had tried more, I could have found ways around my issues. My personal opinion is that the Spider Venom controller - which is a great addition to a Weber kettle - is a little underpowered for the 22" Huntsman with its larger interior volume and substantial thermal mass - obviously especially in cold weather. I do have to wonder about a 26" Huntsman if it uses the same Venom.
I would still have kept my Huntsman, just because of the quality of its build, classy look, and unique features. I LOVED the fuel door that allows you to add fuel without opening the lid or interrupting your cook.
In the end, what really led to me selling mine was the tongue lashing I got from my wife the last time I offered to use it for regular grilling. She HATES charcoal grilled food - or at least claims to...I finally decided it just didn't make sense for me to have a very expensive charcoal grill, when I already have plenty of Weber kettles and a Weber CharQ to use for the limited times that I cook just for myself. I was sad to see my Huntsman go and do miss it sometimes. However, if I had it to all over again, I would have spent my money on Recteq's limited run "Black Edition" Bullseye Deluxe. It was also a very cool and elegant grill - a cut above their regular Deluxe - and it would have been a much more useful grill for my situation. I keep hoping they will do another run of it!
Josh Dekubber
TVWBB Olympian
Jon If they do I may be interested also!
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I am an accountant, so this is above my pay grade. But with VERY thick walls of carbon steel, when all that metal gets cold - like in my garage in the winter - it makes sense to me that the metal holds the cold for quite a while. I would assume once you finally can get it hot, that thermal mass would finally work in your favor. Trust me that achieving that in the winter takes a lot of fuel and time.
I think a Weber kettle with its thin steel walls works the opposite. The metal gets hot fast - allowing the inside to do so also - but the metal offers very little long-term radiated heat to help keep the inside hot.
I think a Weber kettle with its thin steel walls works the opposite. The metal gets hot fast - allowing the inside to do so also - but the metal offers very little long-term radiated heat to help keep the inside hot.
Mark Foreman
TVWBB Wizard
The slow warmup time are a result of the thick metal which will suck up the heat from the fire. It’s the same as a cast iron skillet. It takes a bit to get it hot but it retains heat very well which is wonderful if you are doing low and slow but not so good for hot and fast.
For grilling, you want the mental to heat fast and hot. The Weber kettle is designed to do just that.
It’s taken me a lot of years to figure out that have 1 grill that does both L&S and high heat grilling usually does one method well and one not so well.
I had a Summit charcoal for a few years and it was a wonderful grill. It did both cook methods very well but it was just too big for 2 of us.
So, I am down to a Spirit gasser, Weber performer, and a Smokin-it 3 electric smoker (best smoker I’ve ever used).
100 to 250, I use the Smokin-it, and for above 250, I use the Performer or Spirit.
Todd K Wisc
TVWBB Super Fan
I think the summit kamado comes closest to doing both well. I have had great success with it.
I had to look up the Smokin-It 3, and I have seen others use units like that with great success.
Last edited:
Richard S
TVWBB All-Star
Hey Andy, yeah, it's about the same. But the Huntsman is a very different cooker than a kettle. The upper vent is fixed in one location. Most of my cooks are indirect with the coals on the right and the flow going over the food and through the upper vent. The smoke profile with the Huntsman is well layered and pronounced. But it's not overpowering nor bitter. The smoke profile in the final product is what I really like about this cooker.