Hi All,
I have been lurking for quite some time on this and a few other bbq forums. I have been using a Weber Kettle and 12 year old Weber gas grill. Have been interested in doing more indirect plus slow cooking. Main challenge in recent years have been preparing the Thanksgiving turkey on the kettle - which has worked well most of the time but there have been a few challenges with it either getting too hot (drying turkey out) or not hot enough leading to emergency save with indoor oven before dinner time. After reading up a few months ago on options such as Kamado grills, I learned about pellet grills and thought that with their convenience and temperature control that one would be a great option for Turkey plus ribs, briskets etc...
As my weber gas grill is starting to get along in the years, I grew interested in pellet grills that could get hot enough to do steaks and burgers as well. Read up a lot on RecTecs, Yoders, Pitts & Spitts and Mak. Then after talking about roll-top lids, my wife informed me that she has been a bit nervous opening/closing the lid on the Weber because of the open lid handle height being a stretch for her at 5'2". The P&S and Mak were left in running because of this - and thanks to all the great reviews in this and other forums, I think we are settling on getting a Mak. (could find very little info on P&S and not sure what shipping would be like to CA from TX). I liked the temp control, easy to clean firepot, the quick igniter, the flame zone and the regular innovation by Mak.
Now the main question is whether the extra $1K for the 2 Star is worth it?
Reading through the web site it appears that there are two main differences:
1) The warmer/cold smoker box, (Not sure we will use as we are not planning to do much with nuts/cheeses) and,
2) The stainless steel lid and body vs aluminized steel. Will the former be a noticeable difference in cleanability and sturdiness?
We are also thinking about getting bigger wheels to move the grill across our lawn when not in use. Has any Mak owners looked into upgrading their wheels? If yes, any recommendations?
Finally, we are not in a rush - does Mak have any sales around Labor Day or the Winter Holidays - or only when they are switching over from this year's models to the next?
I have been lurking for quite some time on this and a few other bbq forums. I have been using a Weber Kettle and 12 year old Weber gas grill. Have been interested in doing more indirect plus slow cooking. Main challenge in recent years have been preparing the Thanksgiving turkey on the kettle - which has worked well most of the time but there have been a few challenges with it either getting too hot (drying turkey out) or not hot enough leading to emergency save with indoor oven before dinner time. After reading up a few months ago on options such as Kamado grills, I learned about pellet grills and thought that with their convenience and temperature control that one would be a great option for Turkey plus ribs, briskets etc...
As my weber gas grill is starting to get along in the years, I grew interested in pellet grills that could get hot enough to do steaks and burgers as well. Read up a lot on RecTecs, Yoders, Pitts & Spitts and Mak. Then after talking about roll-top lids, my wife informed me that she has been a bit nervous opening/closing the lid on the Weber because of the open lid handle height being a stretch for her at 5'2". The P&S and Mak were left in running because of this - and thanks to all the great reviews in this and other forums, I think we are settling on getting a Mak. (could find very little info on P&S and not sure what shipping would be like to CA from TX). I liked the temp control, easy to clean firepot, the quick igniter, the flame zone and the regular innovation by Mak.
Now the main question is whether the extra $1K for the 2 Star is worth it?
Reading through the web site it appears that there are two main differences:
1) The warmer/cold smoker box, (Not sure we will use as we are not planning to do much with nuts/cheeses) and,
2) The stainless steel lid and body vs aluminized steel. Will the former be a noticeable difference in cleanability and sturdiness?
We are also thinking about getting bigger wheels to move the grill across our lawn when not in use. Has any Mak owners looked into upgrading their wheels? If yes, any recommendations?
Finally, we are not in a rush - does Mak have any sales around Labor Day or the Winter Holidays - or only when they are switching over from this year's models to the next?
️ for sure, granted I say that because I have a 2
