Love this grill!

I spent a couple of months researching grills before I decided on the Broil King 70. I wanted a rotisserie and removable or drop shelves because I have a smaller balcony. This grill fit my needs perfectly!



I only installed one shelf because of size limitations. Assembly was a little awkward but very straight-forward. The only problem was that about 4 of the screws are in tight places requiring a little wrench acrobatics. I've been cooking on it for a few weeks and it lights effortlessly. The rotisserie works like a dream cooking a 6lb turkey breast and boneless lamb leg to perfection. I don't think I could get a whole turkey to fit however.



I'm kicking myself that I wasted 2 months of the summer doing research instead of buying this one right away!More detail ...

Buy the Original Model

I just received this machine. I owned an original Bradley Smoker that gave up the ghost. When I saw the digital one for sale I thought that it would be more precise and a "set and forget" solution to smoking. I have tried it four times now and have discovered that the temperature variation on the unit is as much as 28 degrees over the set point and as much as 16 below the set point for a temp swing of 44 degrees. It turns out that Bradley has a forum for owners and those interested (look at their web site). Quite a number of new owners have been dismayed and disappointed in the temp swing on this unit. When I called Bradley they just said "that's the way it is with this unit" and told me it is similar to my house oven. I doubt that my home ever varies that much. The cycle time for this variation is 15-20 minutes so the food is never at the set point for very long. I don't recall swings like this with my old one.



If you look carefully at what you get for the hefty premium it is not much. The basic unit has the automatic biscuit feed and when its out of biscuits there is no more smoke so the smoke timer on the new one means nothing. The timer on the cooking side has a time limit according to the Bradley owners so you can't leave it more than ten hours without going out and resetting it. The temperature control is not reliable so what do you get for the extra bucks. Not much to my way of thinking.



By the way look at the photo carefully. This unit is not aluminum. It has a door that is painted an aluminum color and the body is black. I have to say that the fit and finish is very nice on the unit.



My advice is buy the original model and save yourself the extra bucks.More detail ...

Camp Sports Grill was a Perfect Choice!

The Camp Chef SPG-90B has been a perfect choice for a camp stove and the BBQ box makes a good combination on top of this 3-burner stove. It is much sturdier than it looks in photos. It sets up in 2 minutes and really IS portable despite having 3 burners. We wanted to look at one in person but couldn't find a retailer anywhere in the area so we took a chance on buying this on the internet. Delivery was FAST! However the photo on the internet shows a rack underneath and the description clearly says that it comes with a rack underneath. FYI - It doesn't. You have to buy one separately and it's $20-$30 from other sources. We do not regret this purchase though.More detail ...

Bigger is Better!

At least when it comes to grilling! After months of anxious waiting I received my "new" 26 inch Weber grill from Amazon a few weeks ago. I say "new" because this is not Weber's first 26 inch grill. They previously had manufactured a 26 inch model that has long since been discontinued.



After having grilled on a 22 inch One Touch Gold and a Performer for years I was anxious to have more charcoal grilling space. Although I have slobbered over the Ranch Kettle I always felt that it was a little too much. Of course I was also never able to convince my wife that I needed one.



The 26 inch kettle took about 20 minutes to assemble. The instructions were written in the international language of "pictures" and are very straightforward. The 26 inch is in all practical purposes a larger 22 inch grill. The wheels ash catcher handles and charcoal baskets are all standard size. The only difference is the larger kettle. When you compare the kettle of a 26 inch to a 22 (see the images above) it might not appear to be that much of a difference. I believe that it is as the 26 boasts an additional 145 square inches of cooking space. When you are trying to grill multiple things at the same time that difference means not having to fire up a second grill.



The size of the 26 allows for more range in temperature zones for direct grilling. Internally like on the 22 there is 5 inches between the main grate and the charcoal grate. The lid holder nicely holds the lid out of the way. My old Performer did not do that very well. I am thankful this model does. I do wish there was a hook to hang the main grate from. You can invert the grate and use the handles to hang it over the lip of the kettle but I would prefer an actual hook.



I have cooked both direct and indirect on this new beast and I am happy with the results. The one learning curve I am tackling is charcoal usage. Figure about one and a half times more charcoal than you would typically use on the 22. In fact if you can fit everything on the 26 versus firing up two 22 inch kettles you are using less charcoal overall. Nice.



If you do a lot of grilling for a lot of people or you grill a lot of different things for a few people this is a great grill. If you are only an occasional griller I would recommend the 22. However if you understand how precious grill real estate when you craft your evening's dinner the 26 will not let you down. It's a Weber what more can I say? Happy Grilling!More detail ...

Unless your cooking for an army this is the one to get...

Been waiting for awhile to find a good deal on this but Amazon's got the best price with shipping you are going to find. $0.01 doesn't get much better than that. What surprised the heck out of me was ordering early Thursday morning and finding at my doorstep Friday before noon. FedEx overnight somebody loves me. This was supposed to ship ground.



I've bought a Weber Q several years ago so I already know what the fuss is about. Cast iron grill great cook platform etc. I've never used a cover so over the years I've had to replace burners etc. as they corroded and degraded. Not Weber's fault but Weber customer service is the greatest 24/7 etc. cheerfully helped identify what I needed and sent me the replacement parts.



I've been enviously looking at the 300 and when I saw the specs on the 320 I knew I was looking at my next Weber.



I thought I knew what I was getting but I was pleasantly surprised at what I unboxed. This one is even cleverer than the original.



Stationary Cart is a well thought out design. Stable with safety features I've never seen implemented as well. The Tank storage system that locks the propane tank in place so it can't shift and also provides the cart with a counterweight to help prevent tips is a marvel by itself. The collapsible shelf system is elegant and functional while feeling more substantial than the Q200's fixed shelfs.



The slightly larger cooking area is served by split cast iron grills instead of the single grill piece used by the Q200. This actually makes this grill easier to clean and service while taking nothing away from the cook area. A stainless steel warming rack is a nice place to put up food from the grill surface. Just sits there but is totally substantial and stable.



A second burning tube stainless steel to prevent rusting out provides the additional heat and controls to bring the grill up to the temperatures I need to cook in colder weather. 40degrees last night and the grill still heated up to over 400 degrees in about 5 minutes.



Thermostat is simple and will be easy to replace in the event of breakage or failure. This has an integral BBQ light that has a sensor that automatically turns it off when the lid is lowered. Very cool.



I have never been satisfied with the old style igniter on the previous Q models. The Q320 now has a electronic igniter that works great. Uses a AAA battery. Press a button and poof. Weber's lit. The outer burner ignites the center burner automatically.



Assembly was easy with two of us but this could have been assembled easily by one person. Directions could have been better but pictures worked fine.



Food tastes great. Looking foward to putting through it's paces this summer.



Already bought my grill cover. This time I don't plan on abusing Weber Customer service as much .



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Almost the Perfect Smoker

I've owned this smoker for 3 years and have been very happy. I've cooked ribs brisket picnic shoulder boston butt and salmon and they all have come out fantastic. Using the Bradley is very simple. I've tried smoking the traditional way but for the occasional weekend smoker keeping the heat low and slow is nearly impossible; the constant monitoring of heat and fuel for 6-12 hours took out all the joy of eating. Bradley is the way to go!



Besides making sure there were enough "pucks" of wood you have to check the water pan to make sure it doesn't go dry. If you're smoking something fatty like a boston butt I would recommend tossing out the oil and ash that drips into the pan after 3 hours or so and add more water. Other than that it's set and forget.



We don't have a much of a selection of wood where I live (mesquite is king) so it's great how easy it is get different woods to try and mix them like the pros do. It's not expensive to run Bradley recommends that you only need to smoke the food for only half the total time it takes to cook your food so if it takes 12 hours to finish you only need 6 hours worth of pucks.



The only reason it doesn't get five stars is because it doesn't get hotter than about 250 degrees. If it had a more powerful heating element it would have greater versatility and you could cook perfect chicken with crispy skin or use it during colder outdoor temperatures.



Side note: Just as important as the smoker is the rub and sauce. The best cookbook for BBQ I've found is Peace Love & Barbecue: Recipes Secrets Tall Tales and Outright Lies from the Legends of Barbecue. It gives you the REAL award winning recipes not the common "based on" recipes from some well-known BBQ pros. In addition there are valuable hints on prepping and cooking that most other books don't give and a great guide that will help you develop your own signature rub.More detail ...