Santa Maria Grill Question(s)

After evaluating the cookers I currently have in my arsenal, Im seriously considering getting rid of my Kettle and Weber Genesis and replacing them with a Santa Maria grill. Every since getting my Blackstone, I really only use my Genesis for wings just because it has a lot of capacity. Most of the rest of the grilling I do I have moved over to the Kettle since I finally got it out of the garage after getting my patio poured. In the space that the Kettle and Genesis occupy, I could easily fit a decent sized Santa Maria grill which would give me a ton more space for live fire cooking which the Kettle is currently lacking and which would also eliminate the need for the Genesis since Im largely only using it for large capacity cooks as it is. I only use my Kettle for grilling because anything low and slow gets done on the LSG Vertical Offset.

Now on to my Santa Maria question. This thing would live out on my patio. Do they need a cover or do you just let them get rained on? I love the design for cooking but seems like they would be a mess if they get rained on. Both the Kettle and Genesis have lids. Cleaning out ash is one thing but I find it impossible to remove everything which leads me to believe rain and some leftover ash would miss and turn into a corrosive mess. Anybody have a Santa Maria grill that permanently lives out in the elements?

Notorious Q.U.E. said:

LSG has a 30 x 72 Santa Maria!! It looks sharp with a stainless steel ash pan. I've been suffering from VO/ Griddle / Santa Maria Envy so I want to know how this story ends Jack !!

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If I do this, I'm actually leaning towards the LSG 48x30. The 72 would be a little over kill for me.

KevinJ said:

This one has a lid azbbqgrills

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I actually looked at those, but the price is about three times what I could get an equivalent sized one from LSG and then I'd have to pay for shipping on top of that. I guess my real question here is would I just be best off getting somebody to make a custom cover for it? The design in general is just kind of awkward with the big wheel on one side so Im curious if anybody has had success with getting a cover for one.

Notorious Q.U.E. said:

Check out grillwraps.com

They're a lot more expensive but I know my Shirley is safe underneath there. Bill Donohue was very communicative and he made it right when he got behind on delivery.

My guess is that he has the skill to sew a sunbrella fabric cover to snug around the side wheel with either draw string or nylon strap snap. No harm in gathering info

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That seems to be Chris' recommendation. I guess I should probably just call him and see if they have done one before.

Well that makes me think they can probably make something that would work for this.

Stlsportster said:

I got a quote for my Lang...over $500. I'm sure they are top quality, but I couldn't see spending that much. I have a cheap char-broil generic smoker cover on my Lang now.

Just saw a Craigslist ad for a Santa Maria that used a generic charbroil cover too.

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Dang! Isn't that about a 1/3 of the cost of a Lang 36 Deluxe?

Something like this might work.

http://www.sunterraoutdoor.com/santa-maria-grill-covers-all-sizes

HogGrog said:

I use a camo tarp as a cover and wheel my Santa Maria under the three foot eaves of my house during the California "winter". It's not the prettiest solution but it stays dry. You will have a mess if it stays in the rain with ash in it, but then again mine does not have a top. Some minor maintenance is required, especially if painted and not powder coated, burning sticks in these fine cookers creates a lot of heat and some paint will eventually peel. You need one!

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Thanks! This confirms my notion I probably need some kind of cover for it then. Just seems like it would be a mess without it if it gets rained on.

HogGrog said:

On mine, the wheel can very quickly be taken off, it is fastened with a set screw so a few turns with an allen wrench and its off or on. It would probably reduce the cost of a cover if you had it tailored to fit the dimensions without the wheel on?

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Got a link to the manufacturer for yours? That's a pretty solid looking grill.

Double post