Richard S
TVWBB Pro
I am still getting to know The Huntsman so I have held off on any additional features, including the diffuser. Looks like the space issue is something to consider...
New The Huntsman Kettle Kamado Grill from Spider coming.
- Thread starter Joe Anshien
- Start date
Jon Tofte
TVWBB 1-Star Olympian
I found Tom's video very helpful as I had just received my "Next Level" diffuser/grate set. I could see his point that the space between the Spider charcoal grate halves and the diffuser above was pretty limited. Since I was wanting to do a beer can chicken to compensate for yet another Thanksgiving "yellow" oven baked turkey per the high command's decree. I alreay had a brand-new Aura stainless charcoal grate meant for a Weber 22" and did as Tom suggested.
This is the stock Spider charcoal grate set in place. (Very heavy gauge, by the way):
This is substituting the very nice Aura stainless charcoal grate. As Tom Horsman pointed out, it does free up several inches of room.
I didn't do like Spider shows in their recent video for doing beer can (actually Cherry Dr. Pepper!) chicken and instead opted to use both halves of the diffuser:
It was pretty cold, and I was having a little trouble getting my Huntsman all the way up to my set temperature. One bad rap the Huntsman is getting from some is this issue. I conclude that with all that thick metal you will need a fair amount of fuel to get up to temp, especially if it is cold and/or windy outside. Once you get there, I think the hot metal will hold heat pretty well and let you more readily stay there.
One of the coolest attributes of the Huntsman is the side door that allows you to add fuel during a cook. This is the big advantage of the Spider diffuser vs. the SkyFlame or other diffuser that uses a charcoal ring. I used a Skyflame successfully to do ribs when it was warmer, but you pretty much have to live with what charcoal you put in there without a huge interruption of your cook.
With the Huntsman door and Sider diffuser, I was able to add more needed fuel with no impact on the temperature above the diffuser in spite of opening the door:
My chicken standing up on the can holder barely fit, but it worked. I got the results I was hoping for:
So far, I really do like my Huntsman a lot, although I haven't yet put it through all the paces that I have wanted to. It is a super well-built grill with an innovative design. Like all first tries at something new, there is of course room for improvement. I think the easiest thing Spider could do is make a new upper lid that is 4 or 5 inches taller. They could call it the XL and offer the lid to existing owners like me as an upgrade.
Finally, this is a Weber board, and my comments wouldn't be complete without commenting that I fully believe Weber could make a grill like this or at least incorporate the side door in a new kettle or upgraded Summit charcoal grill. I think it is a great and very useful feature.
This is the stock Spider charcoal grate set in place. (Very heavy gauge, by the way):
This is substituting the very nice Aura stainless charcoal grate. As Tom Horsman pointed out, it does free up several inches of room.
I didn't do like Spider shows in their recent video for doing beer can (actually Cherry Dr. Pepper!) chicken and instead opted to use both halves of the diffuser:
It was pretty cold, and I was having a little trouble getting my Huntsman all the way up to my set temperature. One bad rap the Huntsman is getting from some is this issue. I conclude that with all that thick metal you will need a fair amount of fuel to get up to temp, especially if it is cold and/or windy outside. Once you get there, I think the hot metal will hold heat pretty well and let you more readily stay there.
One of the coolest attributes of the Huntsman is the side door that allows you to add fuel during a cook. This is the big advantage of the Spider diffuser vs. the SkyFlame or other diffuser that uses a charcoal ring. I used a Skyflame successfully to do ribs when it was warmer, but you pretty much have to live with what charcoal you put in there without a huge interruption of your cook.
With the Huntsman door and Sider diffuser, I was able to add more needed fuel with no impact on the temperature above the diffuser in spite of opening the door:
My chicken standing up on the can holder barely fit, but it worked. I got the results I was hoping for:
So far, I really do like my Huntsman a lot, although I haven't yet put it through all the paces that I have wanted to. It is a super well-built grill with an innovative design. Like all first tries at something new, there is of course room for improvement. I think the easiest thing Spider could do is make a new upper lid that is 4 or 5 inches taller. They could call it the XL and offer the lid to existing owners like me as an upgrade.
Finally, this is a Weber board, and my comments wouldn't be complete without commenting that I fully believe Weber could make a grill like this or at least incorporate the side door in a new kettle or upgraded Summit charcoal grill. I think it is a great and very useful feature.
Joe Anshien
TVWBB Honor Circle
Very nice looking cook and great write up. Does the Weber kettle lid fit the Huntsman? If so does it give you more room? I agree that Weber could innovate the kettle more than minor and cosmetic changes. A door would be great. The reason I like my little Char-Griller Patio is the pull out charcoal basket that makes adding wood and charcoal a breeze. I would love to find a used Hasty Bake grill some time to play with.
Darren Whitley
New member
For those taller folks out there using the Huntsman: Today I raised the level of my grill by 2", swapping out the 3" casters for 5" casters. It doesn't sound like much, but it feels more natural to me now. If you're interested in doing the same, the stems are 12mm 1.75 thread. I think the original caster stems were only about 30mm long, whereas the ones I used were 60mm and they still bottomed out flush against the base bolt where it should. I prefer the look of the original black casters, but am pretty confident that I'll appreciate the grill being at a more natural height for me (I'm 6'2").
Joe Anshien
TVWBB Honor Circle
Picks of the new spinners?