New Lonestargrillz IVS

T

Texcoonazz

Found some matches.
Joined
May 5, 2020
Location
Coldspri...
Name or Nickame
Don
Yesterday at precisely 2:39PM I got the call I had been waiting 15 weeks for. Good afternoon. I was just calling to let you know your smoker is ready to pick up.

We placed our order on May the 4th and at that time Chris told me it would probably be Mid August. I drove my wife crazy for 11 weeks and then got the email telling me the build had started. That only made me increase the intensity and my wife had to deal with pacing for another 4 weeks. Then the call and release. AHHH. Tomorrow I will season it and Thursday start my first cook. Plans are to load up a brisket and ribs. Really looking forward to seeing the smoke exit the stack for the first time.

On to the real reason for the post. During the wait period my wife gave away my small Electric smoker and my ceramic egg. She asked if we could give the smoker to her brother. My mind went to the small electric smoker. So I said sure. Her mind was MY EGG. A couple weeks go by and she asked me to load the smoker into the truck so she could take to her brother. NP. I go out and grab the small electric cabinet smoker. “What are you doing?” I’m Loading the smoker!! Uh no.....The green smoker! That is not a smoker.....That’s my egg. Well I have already told my brother he can have it. WTF.

So now I have a bad ass IVS and no Egg. But now I have opportunity to upgrade. Guilt is good sometime. The ceramic egg was great but not a Green Egg or Kamado and I always wished it had a few of the features they have. I have also been eyeballing the 20X36 off set from LSG. Both are about the same price but not sure which way to go.

Question / Poll TIME
So considering I have an LSG IVS which way should I go with second cooker? Kamado or Off Set? The off set is really calling me but I don’t know that i have another 15 weeks in me to wait for a second grill. And I really liked the Egg I had just wished it had more. Even if they were setting side by side with no wait I would have a tough time choosing. What are your thoughts and why?
 
Agree with PJ. Unless you already have a great grill I wouldn't put that money towards another smoker. If I were in your shoes I would be looking at a PK or PK 360. Most people here would encourage you to look at a Weber Kettle and they wouldn't be wrong either.
 
I have a Mini and a Primo and I still use both, but if I had to pick just 2 from my lineup it would be the IVS and the santa maria.

A cabinet smoker and an open live fire grill will let you do just about everything.

The Lonestar santa maria looks awesome.
 
Congrats on the new cooker! Not just because I'm cheap, but I love Weber kettles for a go to grill. Easy on the wallet, easy to transport and easy to cook on. But that was not one of your options. I love my offset and offsets in general (good ones, not the cheap stuff) nothing quite like them. That being said though, you have a great smoker so I would go with the Kamado.
 
I love my primo oval xl. Very versatile and can be setup to do just about anything. I’d go with a kamado. Grill, low and slow, 2 zone, pizza, you name it!
 
drunkenmeatfist said:
Agree with PJ. Unless you already have a great grill I wouldn't put that money towards another smoker. If I were in your shoes I would be looking at a PK or PK 360. Most people here would encourage you to look at a Weber Kettle and they wouldn't be wrong either.
Click to expand...

I got a pk360 to go with my IVS. Great combo.
 
Looks like a grill is in my future.

Heard a lot about the Weber and like the cost. Might be the winning ticket. Never heard of PK360 but that one looks to be a contender also. I like the cast aluminum aspect.

Easy transport opens up ability to take when we go camping also.
 
Take this opportunity to upgrade to the egg you really wanted. Having a smoker (your IVS) and another cooker that is versatile like an egg or even a kettle is really handy. Think about if you wanted to rotisserie something, you wouldn't do that on an offset.
 
If I had the coin I'd be looking at the PK 360 OR the brand new kettle from Adrenaline BBQ Co with the full accessory package. It apparently improves on the classic Weber design (remind me, what is the new name of Adrenaline BBQ?), which IMO needed improving, especially from the waist down.
 
I have a Humphreys Vertical and at one point I had a Primo XL. I sold it and bought a Weber Summit Charcoal. I thought I loved the Primo XL until I got the WSCG. It has all the advantages of a ceramic as far as fuel consumption and heat retention without the disadvantages that come with ceramic like weight, fragility and heat control. Meaning I can cook low and slow all night with no issue, I can then raise the temp for hot and fast. If I need to lower the temp or I over shoot the temp, I can easily bring it back down if I need to. If you over shoot a ceramic cooker, you might as well call it a day because they are hard to bring down. Its a gift and a curse with ceramic.
 
ther00k said:
I have a Humphreys Vertical and at one point I had a Primo XL. I sold it and bought a Weber Summit Charcoal. I thought I loved the Primo XL until I got the WSCG. It has all the advantages of a ceramic as far as fuel consumption and heat retention without the disadvantages that come with ceramic like weight, fragility and heat control. Meaning I can cook low and slow all night with no issue, I can then raise the temp for hot and fast. If I need to lower the temp or I over shoot the temp, I can easily bring it back down if I need to. If you over shoot a ceramic cooker, you might as well call it a day because they are hard to bring down. Its a gift and a curse with ceramic.
Click to expand...

This is a very good point about ceramic cookers as they just have too many quirks and caveats for me to be a useful tool. The fragility is the worst part for me and it's one of the reasons why I sold mine (Grilla Grills Kong) and will never go back to a kamado.

@Texcoonazz,

The PK360 is a solid piece of equipment and you can't go wrong with it for what it provides in durability, cooking space, and portability. While it's pricey it's definitely a "legacy" type cooker and it will be around for 20+ years with minimal care and maintenance. The Weber Summit Charcoal Grill is also something to look at as it gives you the capability of a kamado without most of the drawbacks of a kamado.

Good luck with whatever you choose!
 
I've owned GBEs for 15+ years. Since getting my LSG 20x42 back in February I've not used the egg once. The fire box on the side of the smoker does everything I used the egg for. You are in a bit of a different scenerio though.
Since the IVS should fulfill all you smoking needs there really isn't a purpose to a second offset right? In that case I'd get another ceramic if that's what you like. Personally I'd go with the Komado Joe. They have a lot of really cool features that I feel make it a better cooker than the BGE. Or you weber or PK would also be a good choice and less exp.

Likely it comes down to what you actually want to do with the non smoker. If it's just steaks and burgers then weber/PK. If it's pizzas and other stuff a ceramic cooker makes more sense. I'm thinking about selling my egg soon and getting the new Koda 16 to make pizzas :)
 
Update on seasoning today.
I oiled the smoker down last night and loaded it with kingsford in preparation for an early start. This morning I loaded the chimney up for the first time. I have never used a chimney to help kick start my grills before and I have to question why. That thing works like a charm. Anyway I loaded the coals into the bottom tray and closed the door. Within 45 mins I was approaching 200F and reduced the air flow. Within another 30 mins I was coasting into the 240F range. It slowly Climbed to 245 where it sat for 2 hrs. I had a bunch of calls so i let it ride and planned to shut it down after 6 hrs at temp. As the outside temps climbed the pit climbed slowly but never exceeded 275. Simply amazing. At 6 hrs I closed the valve and let it snuff itself out. I went out to ck it a few minutes ago and it had not even used 1/3rd of the charcoal. No doubt it will go 18 hrs.

The only thing that I noticed that i need to ck is the TrueTel. It consistently showed 25F difference compared to the BBQ Guru pit probe. Once I shut the valve and allowed it to cool I began to see the numbers starting to align and was only off by 5F. Guess I will be boiling some water to see which one is fibbing. Or is it normal to see this large a spread between the TrueTel and the clamp attached to the grating?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
First brisket on my Brazos offset was not a success.
2
Replies
23
Views
2K
Bald-Headed John
B
P
Browning ceramic grill newly acquired
Replies
6
Views
253
thirdeye
thirdeye
BGEChicago
TX Folks will laugh at me but...
2
Replies
25
Views
1K
SmokinAussie
SmokinAussie
S
High-end pellet grill rec?
2
Replies
33
Views
2K
oldgfbbq
O
J
Electric smoker dying
Replies
16
Views
659
JIMSMOKES
J
Back
Top