@mcgolden are those craycorts worth the $ ? Obviously you love them, what are they like to care for?
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First off Weldboy, you've got an awesome collection. Very nice!
With regard to the whether the Craycorts are worth the money, that's a pretty subjective question. What I can do is tell you what I like and don't like about them. Granted they are pretty expensive, but I've bought all of them during times when Craycort has offered discount codes anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. They only do that 2 to 3 times per year as far as I'm aware. You can always count on a discount (15% was the last one) a little before father's day. The one exception was my set for the 22". I recently picked that one off eBay. There's a guy currently selling a bunch either for $69 BIN, including shipping and accepting best offers. I made a couple of offers and we settled on what I thought was a great price. He's also got sets for $79 with the Wok (normally $32 just for the wok) but no option for an offer. Not to say if you contacted him he wouldn't work with you. Just saying.
Okay, so on to what I like and don't like.
Like:
- SECTIONS: I like the way they are sectioned into quarters on the 22 and 26. It makes indirect really easy. You can just remove a couple of sections for the coal side and have easy access to your coals. And the quarter sections make it vey easy to move quarters between direct and indirect. BTW, you need to have their handle. Other handles may work but the actual Craycort handle is definitely worth it for ease of use. The 18" is sectioned in thirds which also work nicely for indirect. For that I just remove one section for the coals. On the Go Anywhere, and SJ I like the halves because you can remove just half to get to the coals. Also the regular grates on the portables are pretty thin and also a single section. Having 2 halves actually makes indirect pretty easy, especially on the Go Anywhere.
- QUALITY: These things are built solid. If you take care of them they will last a very long time.
- SEAR: All of them get very hot an provide a great sear.
- NON-STICK: Being cast iron, if you keep them seasoned properly, they're a great non-stick surface
- ACCESSORIES: I've got hotplates for the 26 and 18, a wok (1/4 section) for the 22 (great for veggies), and a chicken seat for the 22". Admittedly, I don't use the chicken seat much, but the hotplates and wok are awesome. I really love to do burgers on the hotplate. A little more grease but man they are juicy.
Don't like:
- MAINTENANCE: this really isn't too big a deal but you definitely want to be sure to clean and oil regularly. I coat with vegetable oil before every cook and try to clean and do after cooks too. But before cooks is probably sufficient.
- POTENTIAL FOR RUST: This is probably the biggest annoyance but if maintained, you should be fine. If you're not good about keeping them oiled, there is the potential for some rust. I've had it happen in sections and it's pretty easy to remedy. If it's a small area, just scrape (and maybe sand depending on how extensive) and re-coat with vegetable oil. If it's extensive, you might have to do a significant amount of sanding and then re-season as you would any cast iron pan. My portables are in the garage so I don't have much risk of rust on those, but on the ones I keep outside, where there may be more humidity, it takes a little more effort. Also, for grills I leave outside in the winter, I switch back to the original grates. The wild swings in temp, between freezing cold, and then the sun on a black kettle can lead to some moisture build-up which can lead to rust if you're not using the kettle for long periods of time (which can happen in winter).
- HARD TO USE ON A PERFORMER GAS START: If you like using a chimney starter on the performer, you would basically have to lift the whole set out to fit the chimney over the gas flame. If you're just using charcoal trays, it's really not an issue.
So that's my really long answer to your short question.