PRIMO v. Big Green Egg


 
J

Jason Wayne

TVWBB Fan
Any folks around here have both? Cooked on both?

I'm making the plunge one way or the other. I was in the BGE camp, but I've had a great opportunity present itself with the PRIMO.

Are the PRIMOs as good? What are the noticeable differences?

Quality concerns?
 
There is nothing wrong with either but the cooking space on a Primo just makes sense. We were at a comp and our neighbors were "Primo Oval Rulers" and we bought one from them. Great cooker. Real fuel saver too.
 
i was watching the price is right and one of the prizes that some lady won was a primo - it was mounted on a nice rolling cart. they had it tagged for $1008. i tell you it was really nice looking
 
i went back and forth on this and have decided when the time comes to get a xl primo. it fits what i need to do and the accessories make more sense and are designed correctly. if buying u.s. made is important then thats another factor. have you gone to their site? http://primogrillforum.com/forums/
 
I like George went back and forth on both and was ready to pull the trigger on the the Primo but then the day (or two) prior to ordering the Primo I got a hell of a deal on a Kamado. However, if faced with the decision again, I'd go Primo. More space for the price and in my opinion better grill configurations. Just my .02.
 
For what it's worth I'd go Primo Oval as well. Larry Wolfe sells them. Here's the link to wolfe rub and the Primo's for you.
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One of these days I'm just going to simplify it all down to a few key cookers. My meager collection is nothing compared to my dad's ever expanding collection, however, he has the space. I do not. My small apartment balcony is overrun with a huge Kenmore gasser I never use, my little 18.5 OTP that I basically use as a place to hold my chimney during start up, and my WSM. Useless electric clay pot cooker is sitting off in the corner.

If I wasn't itching to get into rotisserie cooking, I'd probably dump the plans of having a gasser.

Is the usable space of the Primo's really that much better than the BGE?
 
You know Tom, when I looked at them I truly believe the usable space was greater. I think square inch space is the same but do to the Oval design and some pretty cool racks it makes more usable space . . . did that make sense? I really enjoy cooking on my ceramic, I know we're on a Weber site here and as you can see I have plenty of Webers I do enjoy the ceramic cookers too.

Bryan S., Larry W. was who I was going to buy the Primo from. Excellent pricing.

Here's a picture of my next ceramic.
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Not trying to be a Richard.....Johnson
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, but has anyone seen this ???


I can't speak for any of them but BGE. Dealer network was a major factor in my decision
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. I have a great Weber/BGE dealer about 45 minutes away. His customer service is on par with Weber's. Best of both worlds
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I go out of my way to support their business.

Fire boxes eventually crack, gaskets get fried
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. Thats if you use it for Zas, searing, etc. This is not a big deal at all. I don't have much of a gasket left and it holds temps just fine.

To increase capacity, I cut a firebrick in 3 equal pieces and use the top grate of the WSM. Eventually, I would like to purchase a stainless steel Adjustable Rig.
3 slabs will fit flat on the grate. When necessary, I use Raichlen's coated rib rack and it fits perfectly.

BGEs are now made in Mexico, if that matters

I'm sure all of them are fine cookers that put out similar product. They all have their own advantages/disadvantages.
 
Not to take Jason's thread too off topic (but I fear I may have). I was lucky and got one of the good Kamados, no cracking issues, no tile issues etc. The gal I bought it off of had taken excellent care of it, looks brand new. Would I buy a new Kamado, no way! The Kamado Kamado though, definitely, it will be my next cooker, unless I decide to go with Backwoods Party.

Back to the BGE vs. Primo. I'd suggest that if you any questions re: Primo you might want to ping Larry W. he was very helpful when I was looking . . . feel bad that the other opportunity presented itself before I pulled the trigger on the Primo.
 
I've seen pics of yours Larry, its nice. I'm sure you got it for a nice price also
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I would hate to do a tile job on a Kamado
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If you don't mind me asking, what is the difference betweeen Kamado and Kamodo Kamado?
 
Grill Domes are really nice too. I was at a comp where one team that used about 5 or 6, maybe more GDs said he really liked them. I thought they really were nice looking cookers.

I still like plain ol Weber Kettles. Not nearly the fuel saver but they do cook great.
 
...I know we're on a Weber site here...
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Actually it's not. Chris deliberately has no financial or other connections with Weber so that he can keep this site independent.
The Virtual Weber Bullet is an unofficial Weber product fan site. This site and its content is not sponsored, reviewed or endorsed by the Weber-Stephen Products Co.
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I believe open discussion between brands and manufacturers is encouraged.
 
Right Paul, guess I should have been more clear in what I wrote. What I meant was "I know we predominantly use Weber Grills and specifically the WSM on this site." Truth be told, I've used my WSM once, maybe twice since September. Primarily use my K and then my OTG once in a while.

Since I looked at the BGE and Primo I did come across the Grill Dome and have spoken with a a couple people who own them (a couple guys on this site) really like them. They come in some cool colors too.
 
The XL bge does not have the height above the grill for anything of size. For example, it is very hard to cook a beer can chicken because it touches the lid. The lid is very heavy and can come down with a thud if someone doesn’t know the weight. Even with the hinge fix that bge boys came up with, it is still awkward to lift. The xl bge is a rib machine. We have pulled all of our first place competition ribs from the xl.
The large bge is one fantastic universal cooker and is probably the most well known cooker on the market. I personally have 2 larges and am quite happy with them.
If you are cooking for any size of crowd the large can be a little frustrating as there isn’t much cooking surface.
The Primo Oval is really my cooker of choice! The dome has the needed height and shape for all kinds of cooks. There is nothing worse than your food touching the top or side of the cooker. The grill space is perfect for large or small cooks. With the grill extenders, I can fit 7 racks of ribs without touching each other. It was difficult moving from cooking on the eggs over to the Primo as I was having problems with temperature control. I found that you don’t need as much charcoal to run a Primo. I was filling up the Primo firebox too full and I couldn’t get the temperature down. The trick is not to get a deep fire in the coals. I would say that the Primo uses 40% less fuel than the xl bge which is a good thing! I can burn the Primo for 24 hour easily and still have a lot of charcoal left.
I think for cooking space, design, fuel economy and price the Primo Oval can’t be beat.
Steve
 
If it were me I would go with Primo or Grill Dome. Heavy preference on Primo Large. I've been usingf their grill extensions on the Performer. The quality is awesome. I like oval vs round. The Primo Large - I took a look at - at Fred's BBQ along with Komodo Kamado and BGE. I liked the Primo Large better than any of them. Just my opinion.
 
Wow, thanks for all of the conversation.

A few things - I'm leaning toward the BGE because they're better known and I've heard the overall quality may be better - not to mention, the warranty on the BGE is better. The community might be larger too - I've benefited a lot from having this site as a resource in the few years I've had my WSMs.

Steve's post really hit on one of hte questions I've wanted some clarification on - how much clearance is in the top of the large BGE, XL BGE, and XL Primo?

I can get an XL Primo for the price of a large BGE - so I'll either go with the XL Primo or the large BGE.

Please keep discussing!
 
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