weber silver vs. uniflame square unit

[racer_81]

Howdy yall.

Got a dilemma. Wife noted that I have not hinted for a
bday present so I hinted that a charcoal grill (for those
relatively quick times that I don't wanna fire up the
yet-to-be-named Bandera).

Looked at the Weber Silver kettle - but then saw a few
Uniflame rectangular charcoal grills with side tables at
wallyworld. Don't remember the names - think they
just had model numbers. The Uniflames form factor
resembled your basic two side table gas grill.

Wallyworld's silver price was $79, while the Uniflame's
ranged from $78 to $98.

Anybody have any pros and cons on Weber Silvers and/or
Uniflames? Anybody noticed these Uniflames at
wallyworld?

Thanks yall.

[willkat98]

Kettle is nice and big, great for offest cooking. Also great for windy days and keeps a temp for hours.

Inlaws have the squareish one. Not as big, and I have to offest on a diagonal, with the airflow slots in front a back. very drafty, so temps run very hot.

Not gonna start a Gold vs Silver discussion, but the Gold has hinged flaps on the grill, allowing you to add wood or coals for longer burns without moving the meat. Silver might have this too, I don't know.

[chad]

If price is that close I'd go with the Weber - for the reasons Bill states - you can upgrade the cooking grill later with the hinged one :D

[willkat98]

I love smoking a fatty on the kettle.

Nice smoke ring. Kept it at 278-283 for 2.5hours on a windy day couple weeks ago.

hmmm...fatty

[BBQchef33]

Go for the ketttle if you plan on using it for smoking or offset cooking. You'll get better temp control. But if its just for grilling, go with the box. I've had my eye on a charbroil(957?) at HD. If that uniflame is the one im thinking of at wallys, or similar to the charbroil model at HD, it also has a fire rack in it that can be adjust higher/lower as well as adjustable food grate to raise and lower. Thats a great feature for searing steaks and stuff. But it didnt have much on the lower dampers for control, just a vent on top... so that wont lend itself to well for controlling draft for ofsset or smoking. But for grilling, looked like adecent unit.

[Bigdog]

Racer,
I have a square Mecco grill that I have used for years. It is nice, but I recently upgraded to a Weber Platinum, and it rocks! The heat is much more even, and more versitle for things such as indirect grilling and smoking. The hinged grill is awesome as is the huge side table. I say to go round.

[racer_81]

oops. post topic is wrong. it's actually a uniflame rectangular model - 3121 - as seen here on the
wallyworld page

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2132483&cat=49943&type=1&dept=5428&path=0%3A5428%3A4089%3A49943

I bet that link ain't gonna be worth a damn.

Anyhow, it's the BC3121 on the wallyworld.com page and also on the www.uniflame.com page.

description seems to have both bottom and top dampers.

Convienently, there is a wallyworld directly across the street from work AND the boss just
left town - not to return for about a month.

Time for some engineering analysis......

[BBQchef33]

Charbroil has a similar model. its at HD. check that out too. Those are bothe sheet steel. The ketttle is porcelin coated. Helps heat retention.

[brdbbq]

oops. post topic is wrong. it's actually a uniflame rectangular model - 3121 - as seen here on the
wallyworld page

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2132483&cat=49943&type=1&dept=5428&path=0%3A5428%3A4089%3A49943

I bet that link ain't gonna be worth a damn.

Anyhow, it's the BC3121 on the wallyworld.com page and also on the www.uniflame.com page.

description seems to have both bottom and top dampers.

Convienently, there is a wallyworld directly across the street from work AND the boss just
left town - not to return for about a month.

Time for some engineering analysis......

Rich is watching.

[willkat98]

Forget my previous post.

I was comparing something completely different.

That thing looks pretty cool. 660 sp. inch is alot of room.

[Bigdog]

oops. post topic is wrong. it's actually a uniflame rectangular model - 3121 - as seen here on the
wallyworld page

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=2132483&cat=49943&type=1&de pt=5428&path=0%3A5428%3A4089%3A49943

I bet that link ain't gonna be worth a damn.

Anyhow, it's the BC3121 on the wallyworld.com page and also on the www.uniflame.com page.

description seems to have both bottom and top dampers.

Convienently, there is a wallyworld directly across the street from work AND the boss just
left town - not to return for about a month.

Time for some engineering analysis......

That's a nice looking rig Racer (and awesome avatar). Can you use a rotisserie on it?

[racer_81]

It's supposed to accept a "standard generic rotisserie", but I don't know that I have
ever seen a "standard generic rotisserie".

I like the looks of it, but, it appears that wallyworld is the only retail outlet. Wallyworld
is not bad as an outlet, but it worries me that there is only one outlet.

On the other hand, what the hell. I can modify anything with input from The Brethren
and sufficient trips to Home Depot.

[racer_81]

Well.....I decided to email the contact address at Uniflame to inquire about rotisseries and
retail locations.

Less than 2 hours later - I got this response.

Dear Eugene,
Thank you for contacting Blue Rhino with your question. We do not sell a rotisserie for our grills. I will suggest Weber's brand. Weber has model 9890 that will fit this grill. Please contact Home Depot they sell Weber products.
Walmart is the main location that sells our Grills. Lowe's sells some portable grills but other than that Walmart is the main seller.
I hope this information helps. If you have further questions please call 1-800-762-1142 or E-mail Blue Rhino.
Sincerely,

Karen Shuford
Customer Care Specialist
Blue Rhino Corporation

That's pretty quick response, huh.

[willkat98]

501 Racer.

Breath, son, breath

[BBQchef33]

hey racer

i checked out the uniflame thing at wally world today...

4 lower dampers, 2 front 2 back
2 top dampers on the hood.

grate dont have alot of room below it for ash, but a firebrick can fix that.. But it is some THIN sh*T.. dont thing thats gonna hold much heat.... After seing it.... I would by absolutley go for the Weber kettle.

[BigAl]

Last fall, Wally had 'em on clearance for $40 and then later $20. So if you can wait might be a good deal for $20. Uniflame not Weber.

[racer_81]

Thanks for the inputs all. I'm off the UniFlame kick. Thicker metal sounds good to me.

Wallyworld has a Weber Kettle clone - a 26" Char-Broil Gold kettle. Cheap (<$70), hinged
lid, ash catcher.

But, I can't find them on the Char-Broil web site. That sounds ominous.

I'm starting to like the Weber kettle more and more....

[BBQchef33]

Weber silver is 79 at HD. 129 for the Gold. Difference is the ash catcher and hinged grate on the gold.

[racer_81]

There's a Weber 22.5" Gold Kettle in my living room!!!

:D

[BBQchef33]

i told Bill this when he got his..

Its much more practical to put that outside.

One good Q and you'll be repainting the living room, and it be a real bitch to get the smell out of the furniture.... not that it'll smell bad.. but the family may object. 8)

[racer_81]

I'm gonna sleep on the floor next to it....

[racer_81]

i told Bill this when he got his..

Its much more practical to put that outside.

One good Q and you'll be repainting the living room, and it be a real bitch to get the smell out of the furniture.... not that it'll smell bad.. but the family may object. 8)

Did first cook on Weber last night - out side. Wife was disappointed. She wanted me to Q in
the living room 'cause she wants new paint and new furniture.

Ugh.

A couple of things I noted about the Kettle. Damn it gets and stays hot. Burgers cook fast. Sausage (rope) tends to Explode on direct heat.

mmmmmMMMMmmmm.....tasty....