Contemplating Consolidation of Grills


 
Don't get me wrong but from my posts it's obvious I really like my camp chef. I don't think I could live with just it alone.
Having a variety of tools (grills) to work with keeps my interest up. Also, some foods are just better on charcoal or gas for that matter.
Hot and fast baby backs on the performer, yes. Low and slow best on the pellet grill. Burgers on the jumbo joe will always win out over the gasser. Prefer veggies on the gasser don't car for the taste of charcoal or smoke in our veggies.
 
Fantastic replies from everyone - thank you. I will 100% be keeping my Weber 5000 gasser (it'll go to the grave with me most likely). The fact that either the Summit Charcoal or Smokefire can fit the bill gives me some great options as far as consolidating (ie - selling the performer and WSM22). Father's Day is approaching.... hmmmm.
 
Don't get me wrong. Not going to give up on my variety. Just if I was forced to give up everything but one. It would be pellet. They do more things really well with great results than anything I've ever used (though I've never used a stick burner and honestly never will). And yeah I will be working on an alternate power source. But in the end unless facing an outright power failure, why would you NOT have electricity?
 
GrantT said:
Hard to argue with @John_NJ comments. I have a Summit Kamado, and the only thing I find I am missing is the ability to do a quick fire/heat on something where smoke/charcoal is not important or even undesirable. I am considering just picking up a little Weber Q or a Costco portable LP grill to add on the side.
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That’s what I did. I have an E6 and a Genesis SX-335 NG. I added the full size griddle plate (love it!) to the gasser. Everything else has been donated to friends and family. Couldn’t be happier!
 
in the past 2 years I've had more electricity outages for longer durations than the combined 22 years before that.

Once was mid summer with meat on the pellet. I fired up a gas grill to hold a low temp while I lit coal to finish the cook.

I've also had the pellet trip the GFCI. This was resolved with a 12 gauge extension cord.
 
Brett-EDH said:
The best steaks I’ve EVER had were cooked on my WSK, using Jealous Devil lump on my CI cooking grate. An 1100° fire sear up front and then moved to indirect to finish.

A perfect blend of charcoal, no extra smoke, and all that natural beef flavor. And oh boy, I can pump out the best burgers too.

No electricity needed. No parts to fail. And when I want to do LAS briskets too, the WSK kicks ash.

To each their own for pellet poopers or real charcoal. My guest’s feedback is all I need to know I’m turning out better food than any other grill out there.

And I sold my Summit NG gasser which was super convenient to use. The WSK just produced better food 100% of the time. And my WSM was sold prior to buying the WSK.
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This is also accurate. If I could only have one, it would be my Summit charcoal. It’s THE BEST cooker that I have, and admittedly it hasn’t gotten used a ton lately. But she’s my rock solid, do it all unit and she has never let me down. I can’t think of one negative to her…

Although, in a zombie apocalypse/alien invasion scenario where I’m in the hills surviving, the Summit would not be overly portable.
 
GWaye - Been there, done that. My line up of grills an smokers match yours and you wife and kids have the same taste as my family. They love it when I smoke on the WSM but I can't put wood on a grill without complaints.

The Smokefire might solve your space problem but I expect you will find new challenges with the operation and maintenance of the pellet smoker quite different form your present assortment. You are fortunate to have some of the best and most versatile equipment on the market. You should be quite able to properly cook about anything your family might like. The performer can do almost any cook itself and, when properly managed, provide smoke to your liking. Every grill or smoker requires the user to develop a technique and to adapt to the peculiarities of the equipment, fuel, and food to be cooked.

Go for the SmokeFire if you wish but expect to devote some time and effort learning how to maximize it's potential. Isn't that where the fun is anyway.

Like you I have a half dozen smokers and grills but my wife refuses to cook on anything but a 18" Weber kettle she has had for decades. She can turn out some amazing fish, chicken, steaks, and pork chops on that old kettle. Better than I can on all my big, black and stainless monsters. But she plays it like a violin.
 
LMichaels said:
Don't get me wrong. Not going to give up on my variety. Just if I was forced to give up everything but one. It would be pellet. They do more things really well with great results than anything I've ever used (though I've never used a stick burner and honestly never will). And yeah I will be working on an alternate power source. But in the end unless facing an outright power failure, why would you NOT have electricity?
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Natural disaster, tornado, ice storm, etc.
 
Darryl - swazies said:
Oh that is a touchy argument right there.......

I gave up my pellet pooper and now have fire only devices to cook on......never been happier.
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I always have power. Whether from the outlet, a battery backup or a generator I am never without. Assuming we don't have an apocalypse any time soon. But, if we did I don't think you'd be running out to the shops for charcoal either. Though I guess you chop down a tree and burn that :D
 
Lots of thoughts on the power....but just to keep it simple.....I try to keep up with current politics and whatnot. It would all depend mostly on where you reside. California is all out 100% electric everything by certain dates.....but to keep up with that would require massive grid updates. This is something I find concerning. The more I look into it the more concerned I am.
 
GWaye said:
Hi all,

I've been doing a ton of reading here about the great results (albeit w/ some quirks) that the SmokeFires are delivering for everyone. I currently have a WSM 22", Weber Performer and Weber 5000 LP grill. The issue is that it takes up a ton of real estate on my deck.

Here's what I'm trying to figure out: Is there a way to cook on the SmokeFire in which there WON'T be a ton of smoke flavor? My wife and kids love steaks done over charcoal, but as soon as I add any wood to it, they're a bit put off. But they love when I do brisket/ribs/shoulders on the WSM. Go figure.

It would be great to consolidate the Performer/WSM down to one SmokeFire if I can limit the smokiness through the use of a different pellet choice.

Can anyone provide input as to options on this? Appreciate the help!

Gary
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Personally I would keep the Performer and trade in the 22 WSM for a 14.5 or 18 and trade the gasser for a Q1200 or 2200. The group would take up far less space and you'd still have the 3 types of grills you currently have.
 
Brett-EDH said:
us too that live here. but won't go any further on the topic. i have lots of dry oak if i ever run out of charcoal. like you' i'm quite happy cooking caveman style, with fire. no plugs needed. there's a zen peace to it, frankly. no fans, whirs, beeps, boops and err messages.
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Yeah I was trying to leave the politics and non food related subjects to a minimum....I learned a thing or two around here.
If you have an E6 or something and cast..........you are as good as gold as far as I am concerned.
 
GWaye said:
I currently have a WSM 22", Weber Performer and Weber 5000 LP grill.

It would be great to consolidate the Performer/WSM down to one SmokeFire
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DanHoo said:
If I had your current grills, I'd sell the WSM and smoke fire and get a summit kamado E6.
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@GWaye I mis-read your original post. I thought you already had the smokefire.

Since you are keeping the Genesis 5000, I would sell the WSM, replace it with a Summit Kamado. if your deck is too crowded, then sell the performer.

The space on the 5000 will work well as prep and table space.
 
E320 NG, gen 2000 LPG, Jumbo Joe. Performer, three camp stoves with 12 butane tanks, Camp Chef pellet grill, 4000 watt generator that runs on gas or propane. six 20# full propane bottles dedicated to the generator; two large freezers full of protien.
Inside oven that doesn't need power to get gas flow can manually light.
All is good for whatever.
 
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DanHoo said:
@GWaye I mis-read your original post. I thought you already had the smokefire.

Since you are keeping the Genesis 5000, I would sell the WSM, replace it with a Summit Kamado. if your deck is too crowded, then sell the performer.

The space on the 5000 will work well as prep and table space.
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After reading all the posts, I'm inclined to think the same way. The performer just works too well as my go pizza cooker (pizzakettle owner for 8 years). Don't really gain any deck space (don't lose any either) and gain a new toy. What's not to like?
 
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