Went to Lowe's for nail's..came home w / a Char-Griller

Well it seems like everyone is getting new toys. I remarked to another associate at Home Depot yesterday that I was fighting the urge to get a Bandera. Her bro-in-law has one that he was trying to sell. I'm paying a little bit more than Bob did,$150, but it's only been used twice and it's less than a year old and it comes with the custom made cover, plus I'm getting free delivery. There's no way that puppy would fit in the back of my Jeep.

Bob we'll be on the same learning curve.

I'm sure it will be well worth the money! My Jeep is a Cherokee (not a real Jeep ) so I was able to squeeze it in and tie the hatch down.

I was on a site the other day that had some mods for the Bandera including a tuning shield for the firebox. I'll see if I can find it again.

Good luck with your new toy!

Cherokee is better than a Libby especially if it's 4WD. We traded our Libby to get our second Rubicon

It's a 4x4. And I found the website again that has the Bandera Mods : http://www.teddybearbbq.com/smoker_modifications.htm

You know, re-reading this thread reminded me.....

I stopped by Wal*Mart a couple of months ago, on the way home from work, to buy some oil and a filter for the Jeep. I was minding my own business, walking into the store and happened to pass by the grills in the lawn & garden section. After all the automotive section is located at the same end of the store, and that was the most efficient entrance . Under an awning in the back was a 36" charcoal GOSMS (Great Outdoors Smoky Mountain Smoker). I have the 36" gas model, so I stopped to take a look. It was on sale, marked down from $98 to $80 and begging me to take it home. With much will power I passed and went inside to get the oil. While in the checkout line the manager for the L&G dept. walked by. So I asked how much they would be willing to take for the smoker. I sat my merchandise down on the counter and we went outside to look at it. The manager looked for a minute and said $40. I lingered for a moment, gave a puzzled look, and said I’ll give you $20 for it. The manager stated that $40’s the best I can do. Now, knowing that I didn’t need another smoker and that the wife would kill me if I brought another one home, I quietly head back inside to checkout. From behind me the dept. manager said, “Let me talk to my boss”. So we went inside and a phone call later, it was mine for $20.

Needless to say, when I got home and walked through the door, the first words out of my mouth were, “I’m sorry” and, “don’t be mad”. I suppose the only thing that kept me from a woopin’ that day was the “shopper” instinct in her couldn’t pass up a deal like that either.

So now I have 5 smokers and need to weed out a few. Got to make room for bigger, better things. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Bob-BQN wrote:

So now I have 5 smokers and need to weed out a few. Got to make room for bigger, better things. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Like more and bigger smokers and grills right? Like that Entertainer you've been salavating over...

You wheeler and dealer you, somebody remind me never to play poker with Bob!

DarkrubiTJ, Congrats on the Bandera I'm sure you'll give it a good home.

BigDaddy, I did pick up one of those cover's at Lowe's when I got the grill, and I agree, they're pretty nice for the price.

Well today, I picked me up 2 Weber chimney's, some Lump charcoal & briquettes, mesquite & hickory chunk's, a nice pair of welder's gloves (Lowe's $12.99) and a jug of veggie oil. Going to season the Char-Griller tomorrow .

Was going to try it earlier but we had a threat of rain here most of the day, never did rain, just a couple of sprinkles. YB2

Yankee Bill and others- thanks for the info. I've been using the cheaper chimney starters for a few years now, and I've always had problems with them. They just don't last at all.

I'm going shopping later today for some other BBQ accessories, so I think I'll splurge on a Weber chimney this time out. A few extra buck will probably take care of the problem. (And it'll beat the heck out of the old coffee tins I used the first year I had my smoker!)

I bought a Weber yesterday after the handle fell off my cheap chimney. I was impressed at how much faster it got the charcoal going. The only complaint I have is the slots around the bottom are too small for my lighter to fit into, but all in all its great.

Hi CanadaBBQGuy & Shakes,

And WELCOME to the board . I used my Weber chimney's for the first time today and was very pleased with them.

Hope you guy's stick around. Lot's of good info being passed around the board, great bunch of folk's here! YB2

A great big HOWDY to CanadaBBQGuy & Shakes!

Welcome to the board. Now that you have those shiny new chimneys you need to make you own paraffin chimney starters. They work great and no newspaper ashes (crows) flying around.

Have fun and stick around!

Bob's Right parafin starters work great, I bought some from Weber (they were in the bargin tray at Agway) and they are slick. But then I got slicker, I'm now using the side burner on my gas grill. It woks like a charm.

Well, I've got to agree with Yankee Bill. The Weber chimney starter is the best one I've ever seen.

I started out using restaurant-sized coffee cans for chimney starters, and I made the grate and mandles from either scrap metal or coat hangers. These were almost free to make, but they tended to burn right through after a couple of uses. Plus, the handles would often get hot enough to set a paper plate on fire.

The Char Broil and similar chimneys weren't much better. I didn't use my smoker much during the season I owned them, but they were pretty much burnt through at the end of the season anyway. They really weren't much thicker than my coffee can starters, and the handles still needed to be picked up with oven mitts.

I splurged on Saturday and bought the Weber starter (only a few bucks more, too.) It's the best one I've ever used, and the thermoplastic handle is something else. I used a paraffin and cardboard buddy burner to light 5 batches in a row, and the handle didn't even get warm. The walls of the starter are 2-3 times as thick as the competition's models, so I think I'll be hanging on to it a long time.

Thanks for the info- I'm very impressed!

I had been trying to talk my wife into letting me pick up a Char Griller, and having some problems, then I found a good deal on a website, WITH free shipping. Sent the link to my wife, and found out she ordered one for our anniversary. so, hopefully, soon, I will have a chargriller myself. I have a Gas Grill, and looking forward to doing BBQ right.

Rifter welcome to the board.

And a happy, happy anniversary to you as well. Enjoy the new smoker/grill!!!