Looking to purchase a ceramic cooker. BGE cost?

Make sure to get a platesetter, pizza stone, grill gripper, ash tool, starters, a couple bags of charcoal. It's gonna cost you around $1000, maybe a little less, and you'll have it for the rest of your life. You'll never be sorry.

drbbq said:

you'll have it for the rest of your life. You'll never be sorry.

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Unless you drop the lid like I did. I took mine apart every year for cleaning and one year after putting it back together wasn't happy with how the new gasket was seating to I loosened the lid to adjust it and it slid right out and hit the floor and shattered. :twitch: Just keep in mind they are not bulletproof.

I got the Vision Pro Series III. It came with the plate setter, Volcanic stone, and base for $ 750.00 complete from the Home Depo. Including Shipping. I have cooked on it nearly everyday since it arrived in February. Except when we went away for two weeks on vacation. I have learned to make everything on this and if you check out my Throwdown Posts you will see. IMHO save the money and buy more meat!
Jed

Get the adjustable rig from the ceramic grill store.

second on the adjustable rig. it will come in handy

Take a little longer look at the Kamado Joe.

+1 for the Kamado Joe. Better quality, IMO, thicker ceramic, I haven't dealt with BGEs customer service but KJ is the shizz, KJ is a cheaper price all around.

Yep you can buy a real Egg or something kind of like an Egg.

If you're set on getting an Egg, I would suggest going to an Eggfest & getting a demo. It's cooked on once at the fest & for that you get a fairly substantial discount, & usually it's a package deal which includes the egg, a nest, ash tool & sometimes depending on the fest a free ticket to the event itself..., the prices vary but from what I've seen you get the whole shoot'n match for around $700 give or take, & it still includes the lifetime warranty.

Edit: regarding the other ceramic cookers, they're all good & all roughly the same to cook on; price & warranty service are important considerations

I would not get fixated on one vendor and their magic marketing. Do your due diligence and check out all the players in the field. For me, at this place and time I would look into Primo and the Big Joe if the ceramic product fancies you.
Good luck,

For a large Egg, budge 1000.00. You may spend slightly less or slightly more dependinig on the eggcessories you cant live without. Primo runs about the same, KJ slightly less.

I have a Kamado Joe, since my wife hates the green color of the egg. The Red KJ fit better with the decor on the deck. I dont have one complaint about the KJ. My neighbor has an egg. I have cooked on his quite a few times. I dont have a complaint about it either. Pretty much most of the top tier ceramic cookers are the same. It will come down to your personal preference.

Good luck on whatever you decide, on and budget a grand.

Love my Large BGE It was definately a great purchace. See if there is an Egg Fest near you. You may be able to get a demo at reduced cost

Figured I add some BGE Pron to keep you going. Best thing I ever bought. Got mine off Craigslist last summer for 700, I don't care about the warranty.







Big upgrade from my Chargriller that served me well for many years

echap said:

Figured I add some BGE Pron to keep you going. Best thing I ever bought. Got mine off Craigslist last summer for 700, I don't care about the warranty.

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The thing about the warranty is that it can be very important with ceramic cookers; while they don't rust, they are prone to developing heat fractures & issues with glazing. Certainly at a minimum the interior parts all fail with time. My original egg is 9 years old & in that time I've warrantied the base (a $400 part) due to the development of a fracture that travelled from the middle of the bottom to half way up the back. I've also warrantied the firebox, fire ring and metal grate, all of which disintigrated under the heat & stress of countless cooks, many of which were high temp (another $100 or more worth of stuff). Mine is a very common tale with these cookers, so I would be very wary of buying one without a warranty unless you get it very very cheap. By the way in 2004 I paid $600 for the egg brand new at a dealer, so one more batch of interior parts (which I'll probably need in a few more years) & I'll have gotten the equivalent of my original purchase price in warranty claims.

There is no way I'd fork over a grand for an egg or its equivalent either, not with all the eggfests going on; they've become so popular & common they are all over the country, seems like there's one every weekend going on somewhere. It is certainly a better way to go if the drive is within reason because you can generally get that same Craig's List type price but rather than getting a warranty-les egg of undetermined age you get a brand new egg that's been cooked on once with the life time warranty. I suspect that warranty will cease to be life time at some point, but for now that's what it still is as far as I know.

Eggfest Demo Eggs are the best deal around. I got one of mine that way. Accessories are usually discounted as well. I'll be cooking and doing demos for the 7th consecutive year June 8th in Kent, WA.

Just when you think you've seen it all on a Big Green Egg somebody outdoes themselves at the Eggfests!

If planning to buy at the Eggfest tell them you want one in advance A lot of times they are promised before the feast