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[Bar-B-Lew]

I am not making fun, and I only saw clips of this show...but this reminds me of a Cylon...

Is this the heat shield and drip pan or just the drip pan?  Are those holes for the grease and/or for the char to be scraped into?

Interesting design.  Would like to learn more about it considering it is a great price point for a stainless grill.

[pmillen]

sure is pretty, I'm wondering what the inside is going to look like in three months.  Get it seasoned and show us some cooks!

Seasoning doesn't stick to the inside of my stainless steel pit.  It may not be porous enough.  The seasoning builds up a bit and then just flakes off.

Consequently, I scrape it once in a while so I don't get seasoning flakes on my food.

BTW, that looks like a desirable pit.

[BigDave83]

How is the build quality? Is the lid pretty substantial or flimsy like a cheap to mid range gas grill? I see the lower is double walled, it looks like a really nice cooker.

[RanrocSmoker]

Ed,

I took my own measurements on arrival (the manufacturer answered my questions earlier in the year about measurements, but I went and took my own anyway to see what I felt was actually USABLE surface once I saw for myself).

Main grid (2 stainless steel grates): 25" x 18.5" = 462.5 sq inches of usable surface area
Warming rack (second level grate): 24.5" x 4.5" = 110.25 sq inches of usable surface area
Total: 572.75 sq inches of usable surface area

The Q450 was also on my short list, and I was very surprised when they went out of business as it seemed they had a growing following and a hit product in their hands!

Ranroc,

Can you tell me what the main grate size is?

I looked at their website and came up empty.

And it is a great looking pit that also seems to have what I would be looking for once my Q-450 fails as Firecraft went out of business.

Wish this new unit was around when I chose the Q-450.

Thanks,
Ed

[RanrocSmoker]

I am not making fun, and I only saw clips of this show...but this reminds me of a Cylon...

Is this the heat shield and drip pan or just the drip pan?  Are those holes for the grease and/or for the char to be scraped into?

Interesting design.  Would like to learn more about it considering it is a great price point for a stainless grill.

Bar-b-Lew, this is the bottom of the cooking chamber. The perspective is a little confusing because of all the shiny walls, but it is the floor of the inside of the pit.

The burn pot sits about 7 inches or so below the floor of the cook chamber.

The holes are the drip holes that lead to the drip buckets which hang from the bottom of the pit.

[Bar-B-Lew]

still not sure I understand..any chance of pics with everything out but the firepot and then pic as you load in things up until you put the racks in the grill?

[RanrocSmoker]

How is the build quality? Is the lid pretty substantial or flimsy like a cheap to mid range gas grill? I see the lower is double walled, it looks like a really nice cooker.

BigDave83, the build seems pretty solid to me, although I realize this is subjective...I've never built anything with my hands or worked with metal, so I can't judge things like what should be welded or what should not be riveted, etc.

However, nothing is loose, and nothing seems to bend when force is applied except the cabinet walls around the legs. The legs seem sturdy and the unit is well balanced. For example, after I dumped the 20 pounds of pellets into the hopper, I pushed back and forth on the unit to see if it would tip over...I had to really push to get it off its back legs, but it wanted to stand itself up again all by itself (or so it seemed).

Yes the cooking chamber is double walled, something that is hard to find at this price point.

I ran my hands around the edges, and I haven't come across any sharp edges (of course, I'm sure I'll cut myself when I least expect it!).

There is ONE big thing that you all should know about, and GatorDave mentioned it when he got his Outdoor Cooking Center from this company. The electronics are NOT sealed or protected from the elements. Wiring and the back of the controller is basically exposed. The Electrical plug and the pit temp probe wire are exposed at the back. I knew this going into this purchase, but at this price point, I was ok with this...I knew what I was getting myself into, and so should anyone else thinking about this grill.

With that said...during the cook yesterday the unit got drenched in torrential rain. It sits under a covered patio, but the rain decided to travel sideways instead of straight down! I could not get the cover on, as the unit was still hot and I did not want to deal with melted plastic. EVERYTHING except the pellets in the hopper got wet.

The wind and cold rain water impacted the temperatures and I watched the temp fluctuate on the front panel throughout the ordeal.

Today, it started up just fine and I cooked a couple of steaks that came out fantastic!

BTW, the cover that was included is the cover for their Kansas City Grill, so it fits a little odd on one side (my grill only has one side shelf), but everything else fits snug. It's a heavy canvas (much better quality than the official Weber one I paid for to cover my kettle), and lined with vinyl/plastic.

[RanrocSmoker]

still not sure I understand..any chance of pics with everything out but the firepot and then pic as you load in things up until you put the racks in the grill?

Bar-B-Lew, that is the pic with everything out but the firepot. There is no heat shield in that pic.

There is the floor of the cooking chamber, then there is a 7 inch chimney/tube that leads to the burn pot. Think of a rocket stove, if you're familiar with those. It's basically a rocket stove type of design. Below is a pic.

The other pic is a picture of the cook chamber with the heat shield drip pan combo in place. The slats are adjustable for indirect/direct flame cooking.

[Bar-B-Lew]

Tell me more about the heat shield.  Do you move those pieces with the handle toward the middle if you don't want high heat over the fire pot so that it then acts like a smoker versus it acting like a grill if they are slid off to the slide like in your picture?

Again, interested in the mechanics of this unit.  This could be the best grill under $1000 on the market in stainless.

[RanrocSmoker]

Tell me more about the heat shield.  Do you move those pieces with the handle toward the middle if you don't want high heat over the fire pot so that it then acts like a smoker versus it acting like a grill if they are slid off to the slide like in your picture?

Again, interested in the mechanics of this unit.  This could be the best grill under $1000 on the market in stainless.

The heat shield acts as a drip pan, and it's more of a housing type of enclosure that covers the opening of the chimney that leads to the fire pot. Pic below.

The heat shield is comprised of two pieces: the main body and a movable piece with openings that align with the slats on the heat shield for direct flame, or stagger to close the openings for indirect smoking. You'll notice that the heat shield has holes on either side of the movable piece, and handles to lift the unit out of the cooking chamber.

I use a pigtail flipper tool to open and close the slats by pushing or pulling on the flap toward the back of the movable piece. This movable piece is NOT secured to the heat shield and slides easily. However, you must keep this in mind when removing the unit as that top piece can fall off. (If you look at the 2 or 3rd pics in the original post, I have pics of this piece sitting on top of the cooking grates when it first arrived).

I've also included a pic of the heat shield enclosure where you can see the opening to the chimney in the floor of the pit.

The last couple of pics show the back of the grill. This is the "chimney" for the fire pot, which sits toward the bottom. It opens up very easily to dump the ash from the fire pot.

[okie smokie]

I see no chimney or smoke exhaust holes. Does it just go out around the lid? If so in back or all around?  Did you confirm that all the stainless is 304, or is it just the grates and fire pot?  Is the gauge of the SS known?  Lots of questions I know but for us shoppers would be nice to know. 
I am very impressed with what is offered for the money.  Just looking at the main fan, it is heavy duty compared to some I've seen.  Also, the pull out fire pot is a real positive. Hope you show us lots of cooks and comments on this.   

[RanrocSmoker]

I see no chimney or smoke exhaust holes. Does it just go out around the lid? If so in back or all around?  Did you confirm that all the stainless is 304, or is it just the grates and fire pot?  Is the gauge of the SS known?  Lots of questions I know but for us shoppers would be nice to know. 
I am very impressed with what is offered for the money.  Just looking at the main fan, it is heavy duty compared to some I've seen.  Also, the pull out fire pot is a real positive. Hope you show us lots of cooks and comments on this.   

I'm looking forward to cooking on this, Okie Smokie!

The main exhaust is an opening that runs along the entire back of the grill, at the level of the warming rack. It's about 1/2 inch wide.

I say main exhaust because smoke does come out the front (there is about a 1/4 inch gap, I'm guesstimating)...but I only noticed smoke coming out this way during heavy wind.

Smoke and heat also come out through the sides, as it's not sealed at all. This grill really is like a gas grill in body design. I included a pic below of the soaking it got last evening during another torrential rain session so you can see the profile (the storm moved around several items, including the chair that slammed into the grill...standard summer weather in Florida. But the grill didn't budge in the head-on wind).

You can see the openings for a rotisserie option. The holes are blocked, but NOT sealed at all...there is a gap. On the bright side, I run the probe wires for the meat probe and the probes for my copy-cat Maverick wireless thermometer through this opening and the bracket for the rotisserie holds the wire in place very nicely.

And don't worry, the unit started up just fine this morning despite everything getting soaked. (I stuck my 12-inch Lodge cast iron and made eggs for breakfast).

Last pic is the fan, looking at it from the front. You can see the orange glow from the flame in the firepot!

[RanrocSmoker]

Did you confirm that all the stainless is 304, or is it just the grates and fire pot?  Is the gauge of the SS known?  Lots of questions I know but for us shoppers would be nice to know.

If the magnet test holds true, then below is a list of parts that I tested where the magnet DID NOT stick (indicating 304 SS, I guess):

1. Entire exterior of the lid, including the handle.
2. Exterior of the body (the part that surrounds the level where the heat shield sits).
3. All 4 legs
4. Side shelf
5. The entire hopper
6. Side handle to push grill
7. Main grates
8. Warming rack
9. The two pots that catch the drippings

Where the magnet DID stick (indicating 430 SS, possibly):

1. Interior of the top of the lid
2. Housing for the controller
3. The walls of the cabinet
4. Bottom shelf of the cart
5. Housing/chimney for the fire pot
6. Inside walls of the body of the grill at the level where the heat shield sits
7. The heat shield

I think that's all, off the top of my head (I did this a few days ago when it first arrived). I don't know if the fire pot itself is 304 or 430, but my guess would be 430. I'll try to remember to check next time I empty it.

I don't have a tool to measure the gauge of the steel, but I bet the manufacturer could respond.

[W6YJ]

Ranroc,

Thanks for the dimensions and all the other info and photos you've supplied.

You also mentioned the controller back side is not sealed against weather. Do you think it would be relatively easy to glue / RTV a plastic box over the controller's back side?

Ed

[RanrocSmoker]

Ranroc,

Thanks for the dimensions and all the other info and photos you've supplied.

You also mentioned the controller back side is not sealed against weather. Do you think it would be relatively easy to glue / RTV a plastic box over the controller's back side?

Ed

Yes I think it’s relatively easy. I only saw a few screws securing the housing for the controller. I don’t think it would be hard to do.


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