Stainless vs mild steel Santa Maria

Stainless or Mild Steel

  • Stainless

    Votes: 14 46.7%

  • 3/16” steel

    Votes: 16 53.3%

  • Neither of these, but rather...

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • No Santa Maria for you!

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    30
  • Poll closed .
Gimmethecash

Gimmethecash

is one Smokin' Farker
Joined
Feb 6, 2019
Location
Pasadena...
Name or Nickame
Steven
OK, so the other half is onboard and the best grilling time is already here, please help me spend money on a Santa Maria grill.

I’m pretty well set on the AZ BBQ Grills Scottsdale (the lid/windbreak is a huge plus, it’s very dry here in the summer and we have trees overhead), my biggest question now is do I pay almost 2x for the stainless steel version or be reasonable and go with the regular 3/16” steel and just upgrade my grates to SS?

I love stainless steel but the price of it has gotten out of hand. My grill will sit outside and I plan to buy a cover for when it rains, same as my other cookers. It does look like a *lot* of shiny metal to put in my back yard.
 
Stainless is beautiful and lasts for a long time but you can also make regular steel last too if you take care of it. A grill cover is a good thing.
What makes stainless so expensive is aside from the iron (which is already expensive) you have other ingredients like chromium, nickel, manganese and copper. These aren't precious metals but they are high dollar. I love SS but the bottom line is it wont make the cooker perform any better. It's all a matter of aesthetics. I think once you use your cooker a few times you'll realize that the SS really wasn't necessary or worth the $$. You could spend that extra money on brisket and ribs. Just my two cents.
 
I got mild steel for everything except the grates, drip thay and wheel. Mine is in a built in fireplace, so it is always out of the elements, but I seasoned all the mild steel parts when I first installed it, and it going strong 8 years later.
 
Yeah I think i’m going to regret it if I spend a crapload of extra cash on the stainless. For the price diff, I could literally buy a whole new unit.

I think I’ll save my cash and get the steel unit with SS accessories and have plenty left over to entertain myself, my other half, and my friends & neighbors with lots of tasty grilled meats & veggies. Probably save myself a lot of extra cleaning trying to keep it looking perfect too.
 
I have one in production at Lone Star Grillz. They only make them in steel, so it was a easy choice for me. Anxiously waiting for the phone call to come pick it up.
 
I guess it depends on where you live but here is MO there is a lot of humidity and even though my cookers are under a covered carport with sides, all of my steel cookers are rusting. Even my fairly new M1 is starting to have a lot of rust come through. I vote SS.
 
Looks like they also do the hi-temp powder coat... if not getting stainless you could go that way... but if you have the $$ and budget cleared with your partner buy once cry once...
 
I made my SM a couple of years ago. Always strapped for "extra" money, I opted to to use the much cheaper 1/2" steel angle iron for my grate. I figured if I needed/wanted to upgrade to Stainless angle to keep the rust down, I'd bite the bullet "later". Never saw the need. I have a lot of design changes I'd make if I did a version 2 (should have opted for the brasero) but the carbon grates were not a mistake.

I keep my unit in my garage, I don't have a cover for it- I do "wrap" my grate in opened out charcoal bags just to keep "garage" stuff from settling on them.
 
Eads Ranch said:
I have one in production at Lone Star Grillz. They only make them in steel, so it was a easy choice for me. Anxiously waiting for the phone call to come pick it up.
Click to expand...

That was a lot easier than my choice!

thirdeye said:
I've always liked stainless steel so that would be my choice, look at some of the stainless models these guys make.....

https://www.sunterraoutdoor.com/
Click to expand...

I’ve looked at those a lot & Sunterra is one of the few brands I was/am really interested in; I really like the lid/wind protection on the AZ BBQ grills though, I’m paranoid about burning my neighborhood down with a tree overhead and a bunch of bamboo growing pretty close to where this thing will go, so being able to light some splits with the lid closed is huge for me.

70monte said:
I guess it depends on where you live but here is MO there is a lot of humidity and even though my cookers are under a covered carport with sides, all of my steel cookers are rusting. Even my fairly new M1 is starting to have a lot of rust come through. I vote SS.
Click to expand...

Low humidity here in So Cal, but I do have some rust in several places on my M1 as well, including the surface of my stainless fire basket - that’s my main reason for wanting the stainless version, though aesthetics are also up there.

The Wookiee said:
Looks like they also do the hi-temp powder coat... if not getting stainless you could go that way... but if you have the $$ and budget cleared with your partner buy once cry once...
Click to expand...

I’ve heard (anecdotes) of folks with power coated fireboxes having issues with the heat causing flaking; not sure if I should be concerned.

Nuco59 said:
I made my SM a couple of years ago. Always strapped for "extra" money, I opted to to use the much cheaper 1/2" steel angle iron for my grate. I figured if I needed/wanted to upgrade to Stainless angle to keep the rust down, I'd bite the bullet "later". Never saw the need. I have a lot of design changes I'd make if I did a version 2 (should have opted for the brasero) but the carbon grates were not a mistake.

I keep my unit in my garage, I don't have a cover for it- I do "wrap" my grate in opened out charcoal bags just to keep "garage" stuff from settling on them.
Click to expand...

My garage is full of cars & motorcycles, no room for all my cookers lol. I’ve seen some crazy corrosion on Argentine grates in a short time (on a Sunterra unit). I’m guessing you keep yours well seasoned.
 
My Santa Maria is mild steel with ss Argentine and ss standard grates. I also have a ss wheel that adds some backyard bling. I find too much ss on an uncovered and western-facing patio to be too reflective and blinding.

After 5 plus years my SM has a nice smoke patina that prevents some rusting. I bought mine from Old Pioneer Manufacturing in Buellton, CA. The website is no longer active but it might be worthwhile to call Dennis at Old Pioneer to see if he is still in business, he does high quality and custom work.

Good luck with your decision.
 
Mine’ll be on the southeastern end of my patio so the sun will always be behind or (in the middle of the summer) directly over it. Definitely a good point though, my newly-employed stepdaughter just finally moved her silver car from the front of my garage where for the last year it was blinding me like a huge mirror trying to back my big ol’ car into my crowded space.

I just left AZ BBQ a message as they didn’t pick up when I called, now comes the first test...
 
I have a mild steel Argentine Santa Maria
Easy to maintain, a little heat spray touch up every year. Plus, I can weld on it whenever I need too, etc.
 
I got the call back (passed test #1) and the promised invoice (test #2 passed) so I’ve placed an order - I decided to splurge on the SS and full size 48” since the price diff between sizes is pretty small relative to the additional space. I’m getting a 50-lb rotisserie attachment, as I don’t plan to do full pigs or huge cuts, but probably a lot of birds, pork, and beef that can benefit from spinning.

Only negative so far is the wait time, I’ll be hoping to see it before the summer is over.
 
Gimmethecash said:
I’m paranoid about burning my neighborhood down with a tree overhead and a bunch of bamboo growing pretty close to where this thing will go, so being able to light some splits with the lid closed is huge for me.

Low humidity here in So Cal, but I do have
Click to expand...

I'd still be concerned with a tree overhead of a live fire. How much clearance isthere to the closest limb?
You will spend a fair amount of time with the lid open to get full combustion of the logs so they burn down to coals, and that can result in flames a few feet high which could certainly catch a tree (it only needs to happen once to be a big time issue).
Depending on what wood you choose, there will also be sparks (mesquite is like fireworks). Bamboo probably won't be an issue unless it is dry.
 
JAKs Q & brew said:
I'd still be concerned with a tree overhead of a live fire. How much clearance isthere to the closest limb?
You will spend a fair amount of time with the lid open to get full combustion of the logs so they burn down to coals, and that can result in flames a few feet high which could certainly catch a tree (it only needs to happen once to be a big time issue).
Depending on what wood you choose, there will also be sparks (mesquite is like fireworks). Bamboo probably won't be an issue unless it is dry.
Click to expand...

The lowest branch on the tree above is over 13 feet from the ground, or 10 feet above where I expect the top of the firebox to be. I plan to trim that small branch off, but the branches above it should hang a bit once it grows leaves and I should still be left with about 10 feet of vertical clearance.

I’ll keep the bamboo watered so it stays green, it’ll be behind the cooker so shielded from any direct flame/heat by the cooker and the lid.

I’ve seen a video on YT (Rob Green) where he seasons his, the entire burn is done with the lid closed and the vents open - there are 5 vents on the front and 2 on top. I hear you though, this thing will spend plenty of time with the lid open and splits burning in it; if nothing less, the back side is covered (by the lid) and in front it’s all brick-surface patio.

I’m looking for Coast Live Oak (we call it Red Oak here, it’s in the red oak family) for authenticity with Santa Maria style cooking, when I can’t find it I’ll use Almond. Neither of those are particularly arcy-sparky.
 
Costal live oak is a different species than California red oak. It is incredibly hard to tell the difference between the 2 in my opinion.
You pretty much have to be within an hour or Santa Maria to get Costal Live. I believe it can't be cut down in LA, Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties.

Almond is great. Burns hot and long. I use a mix of.almond and red oak 95% of the time for live fires
 
Coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia) is part of the Red Oak family. From https://www.fs.fed.us/psw/publications/documents/psw_gtr071/psw_gtr071.pdf:

IDENTIFICATION OF OAK SPECIES
Oaks native to California can be divided into three subgen* era: white oaks (Quercus), intermediate oaks (Protobalanus), and black or red oaks (Erythrobalanus). The 15 native species, their common names, their subgenera (Tucker 1980) and growth habit are:
White oaks
Blue oak (Q. douglasii Hook. & Arn.) Tree
Scrub oak (California scrub oak)1 (Q. dumosa Nutt.) Shrub
Leather oak (Q. durata Jeps.) Shrub
Engelmann oak (Q. engelmannii Greene) Tree
Oregon oak (Oregon white oak)1 (Q. garryana Dougl.) Tree
Valley oak (Q. lobata Nee) Tree
Deer oak (Q. sadleriana R.Br. Campst.) Shrub
No common name (Q. turbinella ssp. californica Tucker) Shrub
Intermediate oaks
Canyon live oak (Q. chrysolepis Liebm.) Tree
Dunn oak (Q. dunnii Kell.) Shrub
Island oak (island live oak)1 (Q. tomentella Engelm.) Small tree
Huckleberry oak (Q. vaccinifolia Kell.) Shrub
Black or red oaks
Coast live oak (Q. agrifolia Née) Tree
California black oak (Q. kelloggii Newb.) Tree
Interior live oak (Q. wislizenii A. DC.) Tree
Click to expand...

Plenty of other references around that place Quercus agrifolia in the “red oaks” category.

I’ve bought firewood referred to as “red oak” in the past, and the wood was quite red (stark contrast to the white oak I bought from the same place) but I don’t know if it was Coast Live Oak or just some other oak that was red. If I can’t find the real deal, no worries - almond is plentiful here (and renewable/sustainable, since they only produce almonds for 20 years or so and then need to be cut down to make room for new trees) and I’ve been heating and cooking with it for years with great results. Lots of firewood from fruit trees and other hardwoods available too.
 
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