It is done...



Went with a Char Broil 4 burner gas grill with side burner, cost me around $168 (las tone on the rack) at Wal-Mart. Got the tank, along with 7 lbs. of Lava Stones put in the bottom (might add a couple pounds more) and all the other accessories.

I also bought a bag of Jack Daniel's smoking chips with the smoker tin from the ACE next door. This grill has the thermometer on the lid, so i can monitor the heat. I'm pretty happy with my purchase.

Now, for meat-smoking ideas... Checking my supplies; I have two bags of JD Marinade, three bottles of Dillo Dust, Heinz 57 Steak Sauce, , plus burgers, Brats and Hebrew National Dogs on stand-by, plus my friend will be bringing steaks to grill.

Oh, this will be the best July 4th party EVER.

I figured that much... Might get a good quality thermometer anyways, so thanks for the reference. I might end up buying a dedicated smoker in the future, but for now, the grill will do me just fine.

Is there any sort of tier 1 lid thermometer?

Lost the OP to Gas
 Just joking.
I will second the Maverick 733 you can get them from amazon but if you have a local Cabelas they have them as well.
I've grilled the last 4 days in a row beer butt chicken ( IPA beer) peppercorn pork tenderloin,
Grilled curry chicken and tonight some fresh ground pork meatballs for spaghetti.
 I have a nice brisket ready to start in the mourning ( I am taking the day off).  I filled half a bag of charcoal ( about 8lbs) in the grill and have cooked everything and still could get away with one more cook without topping off or cleaning ash.
   I love my Primo grill

The one in my webber is pretty accurate. It has a test line right around 210 degrees. When you submerge the probe in boiling watter it dead on the test line.

I got my inlaws a Maverick thermometer and it has been a junker. When it works its ok but it has been though multiple probes. I have an Oregon Scientific wireless.  Used it way more andI am still on the original probe.

I'll probably get the Maverick, seems to be the best bang-for-buck option. Anyways, Happy 'MURICA Day. I'm prepping everything up.

I disagree, I think this argument is even dumber!

With the AK vs AR or Glock vs. 1911, etc. I can at least understand why someone would want to make a choice and stick with one platform over the other but with grilling, there is no good reason IMO not to have both gas and charcoal. They both have their purposes and advantages/disadvantages. Anybody who says they can get a charcoal grill going as fast as a gas grill is full of shit because It just isn't true. Regardless of how you light your coals, it takes time for them to be ready for use and if you are using a chimney, once the coals are ready you then have to dump them into the grill and wait for the grill to get up to temp. All told, it takes at least 10-15 minutes minimum to get a charcoal grill going. My gas grill is preheated and ready to go in 5 minutes. For some quick cook foods like burgers, dogs or chicken breasts, you'll spend more time getting a charcoal grill going then it takes to actually cook the food.

Sure, on the weekend when I have plenty of time, I usually go charcoal because it does impart a great flavor but on most weeknights, I don't have a lot of time to mess with making dinner so gas is the ticket. Sometimes its not even just about time meaning if I'm cooking for a larger group and will be making say 20 or more burgers and dogs then sure, I might go charcoal but charcoal is a huge waste IMO when I'm just cooking a burger or 2 or maybe a cheap steak for myself.

I use gas for steaks and burgers, and a pellet grill for smoking everything else.  

I highly recommend the Pellet Pro CPG 627 for the features that Treager charges you extra for.

http://www.smokedaddyinc.com/pellet-pro-grills/


I have a Master Forge built in that I bought used on Craigs list for pennies on the dollar.

Well I guess I'm full of shit and need to make a YouTube video of me lighting my BGE to 500F+ in under 5 minutes.

Blast the lump charcoal with a weed burner for about 30 seconds, close the lid with the topper off, and point a battery power fan into the draft door.  400-500F in 5 minutes easy.  Give it another 2 minutes and flames will be shooting out the top.  A lot of it has to do with the charcoal--high carbon content lump is the only way you can do it.  If it's lower carbon (smokes a lot on startup), it will never get to temp that fast.

I guess you're going to say I have to get all that stuff and that takes time.......no.  I have three BGE's and it all sits right in the middle.

Here's one guy's method:  https://youtu.be/mPsRJCJTf0M

Yes, I am but nice try trying to gloss over that little part I still call BS because most people don't own a weedburner and aren't going to go out and buy one just to get their grill going 10 minutes faster.

You know how I get my Weber Genesis to over 500deg in 5 minutes? I open the valve on my tank, turn the burner knob to full and hit the ignition button. Rinse and repeat with the other 2 burners and then close the lid. Might take 15 seconds if I'm day dreaming while I'm doing it.

Most of us don't want to buy a tank and weedburner just to leave out on our deck/patio so that we can get our grill going. Even if you do and by doing so may even get it going close to as fast as a gas grill, you still can't argue that its not more work and more time consuming.

I love charcoal and use it as much as gas. I could care less that some people will only use charcoal (or only use gas). More power to you but when you guys start trying to claim that charcoal is just as quick or easy as gas or that somehow gas grills are shit and that charcoal is the only way to go, that's when I call BS.

Ok, and I don't see the reason for me to have a gas grill AND a charcoal grill.  Yes, I have three BGE's and a Rebel23 now, but only had the one BGE for a while.  I already had a weed burner for burning weeds, melting ice, etc......it was $32 a Harbor Freight before a 20% off coupon.  I bought a case of BBQ Dragon's to sell, so mine was free on the promotion.  I could have a gas grill, but I like my BGE's and it takes me as little as 5 minutes-- with 30 second being with a weed burner (instead of your 15 seconds)......turn the fan on, walk away, come back five minutes later.

I never said it was faster the gas, but when people starts saying charcoal takes 15, 20, 30-minutes minimum to start (or saying you can't start it in 5 minutes), "that's when I call BS".

Personal choice and all. Most people can't see the reason for having more then 1 grill (regardless of type). I personally can't see any reason for having 3 BGE's but too each their own. Just like with shooting, some people have 1-3 guns. Some have 5-10 and some have 50+. Depends on how much your into it and how much time and money you have to throw at it.

I say there is no reason not to have both because A. Most of my life I've usually only had one or the other (gas or charcoal) and no matter which I had at the time, I always wanted the other. That and a good charcoal grill doesn't cost very much. Weber kettles are great and can be had very inexpensively, especially used off of Craiglist (Craigslist has some smoking deal's on used Weber gas grills too). All I'm really saying is with a good gas grill and a Weber kettle you are ready for almost anything and have the best of both worlds without having to spend a lot of money or taking up a lot of real estate on your deck/patio.


Here is where I think we differ. Based on the equipment you have, you are obviously very serious about grilling and probably do it very often but you are the exception, not the norm. Most people aren't going to invest thousands of dollars into grilling/smoking. Most people aren't going to grill that often (once a week if that). Most people don't have weed burners and spare propane tanks laying around. Most people use a conventional method of lighting charcoal which does on average take around 15 minutes or so. In a general conversion, I'm going to quote the norm. Now if someone asks if theres a way to speed up the process, then we can talk about weed burners and what not.

I have a very similar model, except mine has a cabinet base on it. You can do a lot with that grill, including some really great smoking. I use mine to smoke stuff by lighting the far right burner, putting lump charcoal and wood chips on it, and putting the items I'm smoking on the far left.

You'll get lots of good eats off your new grill.

Think what you want to it's ok to be wrong

I have that in mind right now. Probably get some tri-tip for smoking; already have the smoke box and the chips. All I need now is the time to do it. Already have my grill clean and ready to go. Life is GOOD!  

i just read thru this entire thread and chuckled to myself several times at some of the replies. I think everyone that posted in this thread forgot
to mention the most important thing. Grilling is about having friends and family come together for fun. That is all.

Yep. So slow down and enjoy a beer while the coals are lighting.

I can say that in my entire 53 years on this planet, I have never wanted a gas grill. Never. Not once. I have had them for brief periods but was always eager to return to charcoal.