# UK brand name Selection



## the big fella (Jun 12, 2017)

hi all i have a small budget and so i am looking at second hand rather than new. I have been searching the fleabay pages and looking at what i want and what best suits my style for now of cooking.

we have settled on a Kettle and size wise i was thinking 450 to 600mm. i have seen new and seen the bright colours and names and cant afford any of that.

so the budget is set at £100 and i want a charcoal burner unit and not gas. it must have a lid and would prefere legs rather than counter top mounted.

so weber is the main name i see every where and whilst i do like the underneth air vent device of the master version i am not sold on the cheaper standard version.

i also see the names OutBack and Landmann on the pages as well, are these worth looking at too. i can buy  these new for £80 whilst a second hand Weber is £70 plus collection fuel costs and the like

i can get a £30 one from Asda and the like is the £70 saving worth it or do you have to spend the £70 modifying the grill to make it useable?

come to think of it on an outragous idea can you justify welding up your own for less than the £100 budget?

what are your thoughts please


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## smokin monkey (Jun 12, 2017)

If you are handy with the tools, why not make a UDS?

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/262738/smokin-monkey-uds-build#post_1706825

Easy manageable for under £100.00


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## the big fella (Jun 12, 2017)

i have seriously thought of a uds but it does not suit my style of planned cooking the grill  kettle suits it better

cheers for the tips though


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## wade (Jun 13, 2017)

It sounds as if a 57cm (22") Kettle would work well for you. There are "Weber" kettles as you know but there are also some reasonable Weber clones appearing in the DIY stores these days that would probably be within your price range.

I know what you mean about the round air vents on the Original and Master Weber (and I prefer the vane style vents too) but there is a simple, inexpensive mod that does improve their operation.













Weber Air Vent Mod.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 13, 2017






The Landmann and Outback kettle BBQs are examples of the cheaper clones but as with most things you get what you pay for. With a lot of the cleap clones the coating is usually a powder coat (rather than enamel) and so it will come come off after some use and the unit will begin to rust. Most people that buy these BBQs really only use them for grilling and they are fine for that. Most do have fairly shallow lids though and so when cooking as a kettle the size of the meat that you can cook is limited. A good example of this is my Christmas turkey - I can cook it with ease in my Weber kettle but was unable to on one of the cheaper clones. Upright beer can chicken can also be a problem with the shallower lid.

The Landmann Grill Chef looks like a reasonable buy at £99.99 and it is enamel coated too. The bottom vent is the disk type (similar to the lower end Webers) with an extended handle - like the photo above. The lid dome looks to be reasonably round but at 53.5 cm in diameter it is slightly smaller than the Weber 57". This may not be too significant though.

The Outback Comet would probably do a good job too. It is also powder coated and is 57cm - the same size as the Weber. It uses a different method of air control though (two rings of overlapping holes) and this type is usually slightly less efficient when trying to maintain low stable smoking temperatures. The problem is that there are more push together joint seams to leak in air which can become less air tight as the unit ages.

I am still regularly using a Weber Original (though it wasn't called that then) that I bought 14 years ago and so I think they are a great investment. If you can find a One Touch or Original that falls within your price range that is in good condition then it would certainly be worth the inconvenience of collecting it if it wasn't too far away.

I hope this helps.


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## the big fella (Jun 13, 2017)

Cheers Wade, its hard to meet a helpful practical person when it comes to food. I appreciate your time and effort.

I have been walking round B&Q and Homebase and Argos with a tape measure and one of the big draw backs with the clones is the lack of height and the lack of depth to the bodies. Theres not enough room to work the fire coals in different ways or theres not enough room in the top for tall foods or for distence away from the coals.

I am only cooking for a few so the UDS is over sized to far for us to use. The side fire box things are the same sort of over sized issues too.

The weber grill hits all the right marks with a couple of fire bricks inside to segregate the heat and food i should be able to smoke and bbq as well as grill they certainal are well designed but that said they are also well priced.

I see the Webers advertised on ebay is there a low season in there sales ie its cheaper to buy them in September at the end of season or in spring when people are getting rid of the old ones??

I am not the fussed with enamal or paint or powder coating as good maintenance will sort that out, even if i have to touch up the paint it every year or so to stop the rust . I wont mind, but its quality and performance and flexability rather than cost i want to focus on. I think decent secondhand is better for my budget than cheaper quality new. I would rather muddle  through the  rest of this year with my cheap and nasty and save up for a better one, over the winter time

The hard part to that is i simply can not afford to justify any thing over £200 for some thing left in the garden, lol. The budget  is set but i think another few months working out the best brand and model and then finding it is still to come yet.

So thanks for the replies and  help i am back off to the quietness of the search sections again, lol


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## wade (Jun 13, 2017)

Some photos of the Weber 57 cm for you to consider when choosing...













Turkeys 2.jpg



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__ Jun 13, 2017


















RibsSmoker1.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 13, 2017


















Chicken cooked.jpg



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Nature Pork1.jpg



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Smokers2.jpg



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__ Sep 17, 2016


















Fatty.jpg



__ wade
__ Jun 13, 2017


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## dl8860 (Jun 14, 2017)

I bought a Landmann barrel style BBQ a year and a bit ago for £120. I've had some great cooks with it, and can't complain too much, but if I could go back then I really would spend a little more and get the best Weber kettle I could.

The Landmann does seem durable for the meantime, but the overwhelming weight of evidence is that a Weber kettle will last you a decade at least if you look after it, and provide a quality experience in the meantime. 

I'm not saying you have to up your budget, but I'm saying IMO the long term bang for buck sweet spot is probably the Weber Original 57cm, which you can get online for £149.99 with free next day delivery


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## molove (Jun 14, 2017)

Secondhand Weber 57cm kettles in good condition regularly go for £50 or less  on Gumtree. You can set Gumtree up to alert you by email when something you are searching for shows up.


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## the big fella (Jun 15, 2017)

i think its got to be a weber for mystyle of bbq for now.

i have spoken to she that holds the purse strings and funds can be allowed for the £250 weber master touch, as you say at  a ten year life span its a cheap option. i will try to look for second hand for now and try to stay under the £100 mark, this allows pennies for tools and toys to go with it

a blooming big chain to keep it in the garden lol, theres no way i could justify a £600 egg and then leave it outside hahahahaah

it allows me to start off at beginner and work up to more as i get experienced


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