Weber Charcoal Rails

[Brian Moriarty]

I found a pair of Weber Chacoal Rails #3901 and was wondering if anyone is still using them? The new indirect coal bins seem a little small to me, I have not tried either one and was hoping some rotisserie users might give me some feedback. The rails are adjustable to hold more coals or is it better to have the narrower bins and have the coals stacked higher?

 

[Bill Hays]

I have never used the rails but have used the Charcoal Briquet Fuel Holders many times on my 22-½" Platinum (and several times on my RK too). It's deceiving at 1st glance but the pair will hold a full Weber chimney of charcoal and the cook easily lasts 2+ hours. The Weber aluminum pans fit right in between for catching juices when cooking indirect and it helps hold the fuel holders in place too. I've read where people use the rails in place of the bins and get the same results.

 

[Jay Rogers]

The one knock I've heard about the bins is that the the charcoal can smother itself. I use the rails and don't have that problem. Rails are also cheaper. But, you probably can't go wrong either way.

 

[Ryan Gardner]

Shortly after I bought my Weber kettle, I wanted to cook some stuff indirectly - so I went to Home Depot (they have the biggest selection of Weber accessories in my area). They didn't have the baskets in stock, but they did have the rails so I bought a set of rails.

I figured I would want to get a set of baskets later on, but the rails have proven very versatile. They can do things that the baskets can't do - such as you can adjust the size of the charcoal area easily... i.e. have a big bunch of coals on only one side, or you can turn them around and block off the sides and have a strip of coals running down the middle for doing burgers or the like.

The one time I see baskets making more sense than rails is if you are using the propane assist on a Weber Performer - you then need to have the baskets over the propane igniter to light them before sliding them over to the sides where they will cook things.