re: Need help decided what grill/smoker to get

I love my ceramic kamado made by Lifesmart. Think Vision is the same thing. Metal grills rust to quickly for me to use. In S. LA next to salt water pool.

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Weber Summit Charcoal (now Weber Kamado E6).

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Love mine as well. Don’t think I will have to buy another grill/smoker the rest of my life. It is perfect!

Also, you can add the Weber extender grate for like $40 to add capacity. I can easily fit three briskets and multiple racks of ribs with the extender.

So i have 3 different things i smoke on and making a 4th. so its all about preference.

1. my OB Prime XL - This has been my go to for a while, i can manage the temps with just the vents but long agon when the digiQ was the only thing on the market and like 600 bucks, i built a DIY HeaterMeater. Those have since gone absolute with covid killing the small resister market. I then bought a Fireboard. I did a ton of research and found out of all the compatriots i like the Fireboard over the BBQGurus, Thermoworks, etc.

Only bad thing is if you overshoot your temp, it is very very hard to get the temp down in a kamado.

2. WSM Knock off - I bought a Cuisinart brand WSM 18 knock off from amazon prime for likr 80 bucks last year. this think is great. I use it more now than the Primo for smoking. its not hard to cool it off if the temp gets to hot unlike i said with the kamado.

3. FBMarket place stick burner - This year a bought a offset on FBM for 100 bucks to play with and compete with. I like it so far, just learning it is so different than the primo. you get this thing hot then back it down. there is so much airflow you roll through fuel and you cant step away for too long.

4. Im building two UDS- Ugly Drum Smokers. If you are handy and enjoy building things i recommend this. you can buy parts off UDSparts.com for like 200 bucks and buy a barrel off FBM for 25 and make a pit smoker the size of a 22 WSM for 1/2 the price.

you are still looking at 250-400 bucks for those on marketplace. and that's 18"ers. there is one 22 in Shreveport for 200. I bet it wont be there tomorrow. lowest I have seen in a long time.

Man yall are making this a tough decision.

My top three in no order are

Weber Kamado
Primo L
PK360

I’m not getting anything that plugs in


I love that Primo is all American

After trying a bunch of different smokers looking for ease of use over stick, as others have said Masterbuilt Gravity Smoker. There just isn't any going back from this once you use one. Perfect mix of ease of use with as close to stick taste as you are gonna get right now.

I had one of the old ones, Masterbuilt replaced the fan and a few switches. Not had any issues since. I modded the firewall, got a fan protector, masterbuilt sent me the new chute screen, and put a drip guard in. Been going solid for the last few years. I have another 800 new in box that I got for $250 when Wallyworld clears them out for when this one fails.

I'll also add in a recommendation for the Masterbuilt Gravity Series. I've had it about 4 years now and it has been great. I can tell a huge difference between what I cook on the grill vs friends and family when they cook on a pellet grill. It really is the convenience of a pellet grill but with the charcoal flame flavor. As long as you half-arse clean it out, there isn't a ton of concern with flare ups.

The biggest change I would make to it would be to make the heat manifold out of a heavier duty material. I've replaced it once and will probably replace it again next year. That being said, I will take it to 700 quite a few times so I guess that is to be expected.

I would go with the Masterbuilt Gravity series based on your requirements and time constraints. My son-in-law has one and it does as good a job as my stick burner. A little secret about the gravity feed is you can add small wood chunks to the hopper and get real wood smoke like a stick burner. Then there is the advantage of very accurate temperature control. This is something that requires a lot of practice on a stick burner, and on the stick burner you have to babysit the entire cook. Whatever you decide, good luck, and enjoy the journey.

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Sounds like you’re the perfect customer for a Green Egg/Kamado Joe

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Still think a Weber Kamado is superior to these.

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My top three in no order are

Weber Kamado
Primo L
PK360

I’m not getting anything that plugs in


I love that Primo is all American

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if i were to buy another kamado, i would get a Kamado Joe. the aftemarket device scene is just so much better than primo and IMO better than BGE. But i do LOVE the oval shape of my XL.