Kettle 26" or performer......???


 
C

CGariepy

TVWBB Fan
first of all I love my wsm 18.5"

I'm in need of a new grill and looking at two items....

I love the idea of the performer....the metal table...charcoal holder, gas assist lighting....

Today I saw a Kettle 26" at a hardware store and wow, what a beautiful thing...nice and big.....

we frequently have peeps over for dinner and I'm slightly concerned that the performer would be a touch to small for how often we host.....I do have a lil smokey joe that could help if needed as well.

the kettle 26" is $349 and the performer (copper) is $399....I figured I could build a killer table on casters and get the bigger grill. The extra space would be nice....when the two are side by side the kettle 26 looks a bunch bigger.

has anyone thought about this too?

thanks a bunch.....

chris
 
I've been trying to buy a used 26" forever to no avail, if I were in your position I'd buy that 26 over the performer
 
The 26 is a bunch bigger. My buddy has one. I would like to see a performer version of the 26. It would sell if not priced into the stratosphere.
A homebuilt table gives you the chance to be creative and have something unique as well.
 
Get the 26er and build a good table to your liking. The 26er is an awesome grill & smoker. I have had mine going on 5 years now...my 2 22" kettles and my wsm have been in retirement since getting the 26er.
 
Bigger is not always best. I tend to buy for my every day use. It is pretty easy to add a small add'l grill for those times that you may need more capacity. As an example, I have a Jumbo Joe ($30.00 end of season at Target) that I often use when just the wife and I are cooking. You already have a WSM. That, combined with the Performer gives a LOT of capacity. I grill and smoke ahead of time, vacuum pack in smaller packages so I nearly always have pulled pork and ribs for unexpected needs as well as to increase the capacity for a crowd. You can do a lot of cooking on a Performer and, for most of us, it's a better day-to-day piece of equipment.

If you have eleven kids living at home, then get the 26", if a more typical family, I would seriously consider the Performer (I have and use my Performers regularly). The only reason I have two Performers is that one is a $50.00 Craigslist unit and the other I recently picked up at an end of season sale for $50.00 (brand new but a floor sample).

Keep on smokin',
Dale53:wsm:
 
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The 26 is a huge beautiful machine that will be sitting on my patio someday I just don't know when. If I had to do it all over again I would purchase a new 26 and then shop for a performer on CL, they are on there all of the time. Then you could use the table when cooking on the 26 and use the performer for smaller cooks.
 
Space is never enough! IMO, you should look for the awesome 26"OTG. I love mine (I have 2 of them) and I cooked (smoked and grilled) everything on those from one steak to one pork shoulder.
 
I have two performers and I am happy with them. Now not to say that if I was told to go and buy a 26" then I would....lol.... as I figure I can never have to many
 
It seems you have already sold yourself on the 26" kettle. :) Given what you described for requirements I'd make the leap as others have suggested and go to the 26". It has an SS grate, the 22.5" has a plated grate BTW, which justifies some of the cost difference. I owned a performer before the 26" existed ... loved it ... but would have bought a 26" in a heartbeat instead had it been an option.
 
Get the 26". I've been running a 22.5" kettle for a decade and absolutely love it but I do find that I'll often run out of room in a proper multi-zone set up. The 26" offers a ~40% increase in cooking area and that's not insignificant.

Also, the bells and whistles on the performer series can be substituted via other means (for example, buy a separate storage container for your charcoal, build/buy a work surface, etc.) but there's no substitute for square inches!
 
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