Alternative Options?

[AndrewT]

My apologies if this is the wrong place to ask this.

Let me say first that I really appreciate this site. I was looking at various smoker/grill options, and was seriously considering buying a Kamado. (!)

So my question for all of you is: what grill/smoker would you recommend for someone who would love to own something like a Kamado (without all the attendant issues)? I saw some support for the Big Green Egg, but then I saw another post suggesting similar problems with customer support.

So what would you all recommend?

Thanks in advance!

-Andrew

[Fetzervalve]

Andrew.
Here is the closest in terms of appearance, if you like a tiled or textured cooker www.komodokamado.com - a higher quality product and certainly no customer service problems!

[Porkchop]

welcome, andrew! glad this forum helped you. i own a #7 kamado, and a Volcanic OTB from komodo kamado. i have also had the opportunity to cook on BGE.

the OTB is my favorite by far, but many folks have different considerations than i have. the OTB comes in one size; friggen huge, same size as my #7. i need to have that much grill space, tho. BGE's come in many SM, MED, LG, & XL. i would choose my OTB over an XL BGE, for a couple of reasons. if you want, or are needing to go smaller, BGE is a great choice. they are excellent cookers, and nothing to sneeze at for sure! both are capable of doing extended low & slow cooks, and turbo-high temp for steaks & pizza.

there's also the primo oval, which i've seen but not cooked with. they look pretty cool, but cant speak from experience how well they cook. i think one of the fellas here has a couple primo's; he could advise you better.

personally, as i'm sure you already know from my presence here, i would under no circumstances choose to purchase a kamado from www.kamado.com! i would go with a steelie, a weber kettle, or an ECB before taking that plunge.

good luck; you've already had a bit of it just by wandering over to this forum! feel free to PM if you have other questions of comparison, etc.
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[AndrewT]

Thanks for the quick reply!

Porkchop, just curious: why do you prefer the OTB to the XL BGE?

[jchan]

It's almost as if some companies don't mind people looking at the competition, check out the stickies:
http://komodokamado.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=35

In general the KK is the main competition for the premium grill market. BGE is also great in that they have multiple sizes, a decent fanbase, tend to be cheaper (at least for the basic setup), and are sold in local stores. Most of the rest like Primo or Imperial don't get mentioned much.

[Porkchop]

[curly]

Alright...another one saved by the site. The biggest/best decision has already been made...the one you decided not to buy

[u2plt]

Go to: www.thenakedwhiz.com and you will find a BGE owner who recently compared the BGE to the OTB KomodoKamado with one specific test. He also has a comprehensive test of almost every form of charcoal, by brand, you could find. He is very good at testing.

[tcoliver]

I think the BGE and KK are both great products but the question is do you want a ferrari or a volxwagon? The KK is much more durable and has a lot more conveniences for an easier cook but if you just want a ceramic product that gives you good food the BGE will do the trick.