Postby tabs » Sun Nov 19, 2017 4:15 pm
I have gone through a number of Grills and BBQ's over the years. Starting with a small Hibach long long ago in a different world. Not to digress too far I went through the Weber Kettle, still have the same one 35 years later for hot and quick grilling, the Brinkman H20 Smoker, gone, 35 Gal Drum from Century Blvd in LA, gone, New Braunfels Bandara (verticle) gone, BGE since 2004, a Klose 36 X 20 offset ever lovin stick burner since 05 and this year (20017) a 100000 btu propane Wok burner, thats the only way to wok hay.
So after all of this and so many choices out there to chose from. Lonestar Grillz would be my first choice ifn I had to buy again. Now I havn't seen one in person but from their videos and testimonials, their quality is about as good it gets. There is a lot of thought and little details which is added value in his units, which after having run one you get to appreciate. Back in 05 after lookin around Klose was about at the top of the heap as far as BBQ's are concerned, but now Lonestar pulls away from the pack. I have looked at the Shirleys and like their quality, but it is that Reverse Flow Thingy that I am not sold on. The Shirley advantage is that he has a cabinet style cook chamber instead of the straight pull up drum door, I likes that. Lone Star gives versatility with his Tuning Plates which negates the supposed Reverse Flow advantage. The big thing I would like to have which I do not have now is the Warming Oven. I have thought about running a Vertical again but the food above drips on the food below? Ehh to many choices.
From what I can see at this writing (11/17) Lonestar is going to build a Cabinet style offset smoker similar to the Shirley design? I am waiting with abated breath to see what that looks like. So the question is what would I chose from the Lonestar line up ifn I were to get one today? It would be the 36 X 24 horizontal Offset with Warming Oven, 1/2 inch plate firebox, Ash Tray, Folding front Table, The ultimate would be to add the Verticle smoker then you have it all in one unit. At this stage of my life it really isn't cost effective to do the up grade, so I will just have to make do with my Klose.
But by all means do not screw around with second best, if ya like to do the Q get the best you can afford. It does make a diff in the quality of the product that you turn out.
What I would like to add to my Qing experience is a Santa Maria style grill. For Lonestar they seem to be an after thought. Ifn they made one using Fire brick to hold heat, and an up grade to their grills they would be first choice...I have seen the AZ BBQ and couple of other ones. Maybe then I could retire my Weber Kettle?