48 Assassin charcoal has arrived

After a long 3 months or so, it was dropped yesterday and I immediately went to seasoning and firing it:
Pictures

Options:
Stainless side tables
Stainless rod grates
Dual front loading
Dual stack
Dual thermometer
Split grates
Stainless griddle (half)
Large handle from hog cooker

It is an absolute unit, I don't have room to keep any other grills with this but I am very limited on space. It is not the width that is somewhat alarming when you see it, it is the height. I'm thinking about removing the casters to drop the height a bit.

That being said, I love it so far. We griddled vegetables and a whole salmon last night (no flip, slid for indirect to cook the top). Two rib eyes were also seared for the feast.

I am now running a brisket flat and 3 racks of st louis.

The functionality of the grill is everything I was imagining in my head, being able to slide racks left and right along with servicing the drawers has been awesome. Fuel consumption is obviously higher and it isn't clear yet if I can shut it down to leave coals like I do with the kettle.

Jeff and Rachel are a pleasure to work with. I have two issues but I think we will be able to resolve them (grid wider on grates than expected, can't put charcoal pan in top slot).

Thanks to all of you for helping get me here.

I hope this helps folks on the fence. Happy to answer any questions.

Dweverett said:

Congratulations on the new grill! Post some pics when you have a chance.

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Thanks! I put them in the dropbox link at the top of the post. Does it not work? I edited it to make it more obvious what the link is.

cholloway said:

Instead of removing the casters, consider putting a pallet type step-up in front of it.

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Great suggestions but the wife definitely won’t approve of a platform. Any reason not to drop the casters? It is serviceable with them, just a tad high visually.

kevinstaggs said:

Not to hijack the thread, but I’m looking for a new charcoal cooker and it’s down to the Assassin or a M Grills B2. One of my remaining questions is about the variable height feature of the B2 (like a hasty bake). Assassin doesn’t have this. How big of a deal is that?


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It is the one feature I’m missing on the Assassin but the upper shelf and being able to shift the grates helps find more zones. I did look at the M1 as an alternative. Also, in my build I was supposed to be able fit the charcoal pan in my upper slot giving me two (manual) levels but something got lost here in communication.

We had quite a bit of rain last night and I when I checked the cooker this morning, there was a ton of standing water. A quick investigation shows water easily getting in at the top hinges. It feels quite obvious now. I'm not quite sure what to do about this. I could cover it when not in use but if it starts raining on me during a cook, it seems like a huge problem. I ordered the smoke stack covers in hopes of deflecting rain while cooking but I am getting so much at the hinges, I'm not sure how effective cooking in the rain will be in total.

I'm wondering if I tilt it back a bit, this may help the rain run off rather than down. Maybe a metal rain guard along the hinges of some sort.

Last night it was a ton of rain but I re-tested with a hose and they are pretty easy penetrations.

Has anyone else run into this? Any suggestions on how to deflect rain from the hinges? I was looking forward to never having to put the umbrella over my WSM but now I need a much larger umbrella.

16Adams said:

My Tiernan SOB has the top hinges. I use weather resistant-not weather proof covers. More of a dust cover than anything but does deflect a lot of rain. Wipe it down fire it up. You can always use a couple Fattys or ABTs in the fridge. Charcoal is really low cost. Light That beautiful cooker up and cook. Covering my cookers loosely and storing with vents to allow airflow I have never had to deal with mold.

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Yep, I wiped her down and fired her up. Dust covering sounds good but what about during a cook? I have a crazy idea to try to put high temp tape on the hinges (like HVAC duct, kapton, or teflon). Not sure how long these will last outside but I’d be ok with replacing it every few months.

Thanks for the tips and ideas!

I spoke to Jeff@Assassin this morning and he acknowledged that rain can get in via the hinge. He suggested that I cover it or drill drain holes at the bottom. Drain holes won't be ideal for me since this will cause it to drain with the remanence of grease. I'm going to attempt to find a flexible high temp tape and see if I can just get the hinges covered up. I will report back any success.

Some additional notes for current/future Assassin owners....
The Assassin manual states to keep the pressure off the seals when not in use for a long time (weeks). I spoke to Jeff about how this is done....once it is cool simply pull the lower shelf out just a bit so the door sits on the shelf rather than the seal. He said if you use your cooker weekly, you don't really need to do this.

I placed 324A foil tape on to seal the hinges. I put put it on while closed with the leading edge meeting the top leading edge of the hinge and then pressing down on both sides of the hinge to get it to stick. The hinge operates and the foil forms its own "pocket" which you can see in the pictures. It now passes the hose test at the hinges but still leaks beneath the back of the hinge where it is welded, because the weld doesn't go all the way across the grill. I am either going to use JB Weld high temp to fill those small gaps or food grade RTV450. Pitching the angle a bit more back might help with this as well.

I'm not sure how long the tape will last. If folks are interested, I will report back as it degrades.



More pictures...