One big grill vs. two small


 
S

Scott Smith

TVWBB Pro
My question is simple - If you need the capacity, will you be happier with one big Weber gas grill, or two small ones?

I can actually see a lot of pros and cons to each setup, and I was wondering if anyone had actual experience or suggestions.

In my case, I also own a pile of about 50 concrete building blocks that I use with grates and regular wood/charcoal. That setup scales up and down for crowds from 50 to 500 by simply making a longer grill.

Way back in my days working at Cub Scout camp, we would do a family night dinner for about 700 each week on a row of cheap propane grills that the camp had. An adult manned each. This worked like crazy.
 
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Well, I have 20+ cookers so someone would need to hold a gun to my head before I would recommend just one larger grill, lol. This is nothing you haven't already considered but when I think of needing lots of capacity I envision that--usually--a variety of items are cooked and, so, having the luxury of different pit temps and methods (i.e. direct and indirect) would be helpful. Plus, there are considerations such as a heavy grease build-up (even from a single cook) and its associated risks and an occasional equipment malfunction.
 
Arguments either way. IMO a big grill for a couple people is a waste of fuel. Whether you fill that big grill or not you have to turn on all the burners to get it up to temp, stabilize and then turn burners down/off. WE have the Wolf (pretty big) being as deep as an older Genesis is wide and nearly twice the width. And I have the older Genesis 3000. I work off the Genesis 80% of the time
 
When cooking for a small or large number of folks,it seems way easier all on one grill. I think folks routinely overestimate the size grill they need.
I think I could easily cook 15 burgers or enough chicken or steaks for 10 people on my Weber S-210...more of everything on my Broilmaster P3. Both are 2 burner grills...P3 technically one.
 
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I vote for the two grill system. One larger and one smaller. I do most of my cooking on a Q200, but I have a SS Genesis Platinum C and a Genesis 1000 for larger cooks or cooking for several people. Having two grills allows more versatility as well. I can do steaks or whatever on one grill and then cook my Asparagus on my Q200 so everything comes out at the same time. You can cook two different foods on a single Genesis, but it is easier on two different grills with varying temps.
 
I use my 22” kettle all the time, if you shut the vents down, it’s not really a big fuel hog at all. I cook for my loving wife and I most of the time but dinner with the family on Saturday is 6 (or more) so, that’s about all I feel qualified to say. The Genesis is used in similar fashion but, that’s my only gasser So, the point is moot for me. I have considered a smaller Q but, have not found one for the money I’m willing to pay…yet!
 
I prefer multiple grills. My standard fare when we have a cookout for a small crowd (8 to 12) is pork ribs, tri-tip and chicken. Different enough cooks that doing them right requires different temperatures and timing. I can accomplish this with 2 grills, but a single grill would require too much compromise and not produce the best end results.
 
Two.

One NS plus a sear burner.

One EW for rotisserie and as an overflow cooker.

Hmmmmm. I guess I have what I want.
 
I have just the one gas grill, a 2000, which is the workhorse. Used it last night to make pizzas, made a rotisserie chicken last week and grilled sausages and made burgers within the previous seven days, all of which the 2000 is perfectly suited for. I actually FINALLY installed a wired light above the grill so I can see when I'm cooking after dark, which is somehow only a little after noon these days (or so it feels). I was going to say that's my only grill, but then I remembered the kettle and the little kettle. I tried getting into charcoal, but it's just for some reason not in my bones, especially in the winter. I'm thinking I will see if I "get into" charcoal this summer, but definitely during the winter I use gas and only gas. I'm set up with a natural gas line, and now a receptacle for the rotisserie motor and a light so winter is gas, no brainer. Summer will be the test of whether I'll keep the kettle(s) or not, but it's not the end of the world to have a couple of them sit idle until I decide whether to use them.
 
Two or three is a good start.
For the price of a giant grill, a couple rebuilt ones is better and less money. (Paging Bruce.)
I don't cook for 700, even if it seems so. But there are many occasions where i need several different cookers.
Problem is I seem to run out of hands. And brains even quicker. Age.

Do maybe a yearly get together feeding a charity and showcasing all the talent, skills, and ability we have. Good for Weber, good for all, bad for my shrinking clothes.
 
THyde said:
I've noticed with age that every single font in the world is slowly being shrunk. I'm not sure if anybody else has noticed this. Sometimes they seem to be making them a little fuzzy too. Weird.
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I cured that by getting Lasic surgery a few years back. It took care of my arms being too short too.
 
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I enjoy firing up multiple grills. I don’t know, maybe it stokes my ego....”I’ve got two going, and that guy only has one” haha.

It’s fun to work both of them, can get pretty busy but it’s an additional fold to work through.
 
My answer to a number of people who have visited here and posted about the prospects of restoring one of those huge 6-burner last generation Summits has often been this: "Why not get 2 nice Genesis grills instead? More cooking room on two of them than any Summit. And, like Bruce and some others have mentioned, you get twice the flexibility.
So, if I had to pick from one big grill or two smaller ones, I would choose the two. But three, four, five, six...would be better :coolkettle: !
 
I’ve had as many as four going for a big party I was cooking for. Lots of charcoal going on grills, two full load 22” direct and two indirect. That was a great party! Three coolers under the “counter” one for proteins one for vegetables one for beer, it took me two days for my feet to feel like they were my own after the uneven ground and twelve hours cooking for people!
 
I’ve run a 22 and a 26, I’ve run 2 22’s, I always use the Q-320 for some veggies. It’s fun, it keeps me entertained. Sometimes I’ll run the rotisserie and a chicken just for fun while other stuff is going.
 
I have had as many as 3 gassers going at once. It all depends on your style, what you're cooking, etc. It's not always a "space" thing. Sometimes it's the food being cooked and the way it's being cooked. You might need one spinning something, and another with grates in place. One advantage there my Wolf gives me is due to it's size no need to remove grates even for spinning the largest things. So I can and do multitask on it with ease. Since I always have the 2 outer burners on each side set up as zoned areas anyway to "help" with the IR rotisserie burner. So I can be spinning say a pork roast and still doing some other protein on the grates.
 
LMichaels said:
I have had as many as 3 gassers going at once. It all depends on your style, what you're cooking, etc. It's not always a "space" thing. Sometimes it's the food being cooked and the way it's being cooked. You might need one spinning something, and another with grates in place. One advantage there my Wolf gives me is due to it's size no need to remove grates even for spinning the largest things. So I can and do multitask on it with ease. Since I always have the 2 outer burners on each side set up as zoned areas anyway to "help" with the IR rotisserie burner. So I can be spinning say a pork roast and still doing some other protein on the grates.
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Any pics of the beast in action.
 
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