Looking to Buy an Assasin 48

[p_bbq]

Hi'yinz doin?

Looking into possibly buying a Assassin 48 and am looking for general experiences of owners. Things you like, don't like, features you added, features you wish you had added, etc.

My gas grill finally gave and I have been dieing for a good charcoal grill that can act as a smoker. PBC has been my smoker thus far but more space is always welcome.

About the coal basket, can I put it on the top shelf for very direct grilling? I usually do burgers, steaks, dogs, etc. hot and fast so the closer the goals the better for me. Also, does anyone know just how hot this thing can get?

On the smoking front, how easily does it hold at 250F with or without electronics?

Has anyone ever done a bread test to see if there are hot/cold spots? Does moving the smoke stack help with this?

Currently I am thinking of the following in if not completely budget breaking...

* Doors on both sides
* Smoke stack on the right
* Split the ash, grates, pans, etc. in half
* Insulated everything possible (it gets damn cold here at times)
* Get electronics
* Bigger wheels (very hilly area)

Again, appreciate any info and if you think another piece of gear might be better for the money than the Assassin, I am all ears.

 

[olewarthog]

I have an Assassin 36. Mine has the stack on the right & it works great for indirect grilling. Have not done any smoking on mine since I have an Assassin 17 GF for that. To answer one question, yes, you can move the charcoal rack to the waterpan/Vpan slides for direct grilling. I do that with steaks.

I have cooked chicken & ribs on my 36 without electronics. I didn't use a maze, etc. Just laid down a single layer of charcoal & dumped about 1/3 chimney of lit on the left side. Kept fairly steady temp with the intake wheel barely cracked. I also had to close the exhaust damper about half to keep the temps from creeping up.

If you plan in using it as a smoker, get the Vpan option. Also check out BBQ Freak's videos on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/MidwestFreak/videos

 

[KevinJ]

The Assassin is a great grill/smoker.

 

[Burn]

To new to the 48 to really comment. I will say I ran some all splits yesterday until a thunderstorm rolled in and was sitting at 275 easy. I'd opt for two doors if you wanna smoke than get a quick flame to meat at the end. Like I said, I have two cooks on it. I love it. The pick was a small amount of charcoal and chunks.

 

[p_bbq]

Awesome, thank you for the info guys. Probably will end up going with this rig in one form or another.

@Burn

Chicken looks tasty as hell. I am currently mid move so no smoking for me right now.

 

[Burn]

Thanks! If you get one you'll love it