Do you use your collection ?

[Troy]

@Troy Did you ever get your replacement vents on?  It would be cool if you post some pics using the half rivets.

Yes!

Will be photo shooting soon.
Come to think of it,  I don't think I ever cleaned the inside of the lid.  I gave the lid to Brian to paint while I worked on the bowl cleaning.

This was before we discovered razor scrapers.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[mcgolden]

I use most of my collection:



I've got a couple that haven't been used (1996 18" Budweiser/Olympic 3-wheeler and an old style (not the beer) 18" Smokey Joe Platinum - NIB) only because I have a 1970s 18" that I use when I need an 18".  I've also got a really nicely cleaned up C-code SJ, but I might cook on that sometime.

I'm really hoping to find a nice old 22" with some color, that I would cook on, but I never find them in my area.  Iowa sucks when it comes to finding good old Webers!

[WNC]

I'm a cooker for sure, after all that's what they were made for!

If I had a sweet, never used, like @harris92 showed off, with that sweet Aristocrat, yeah probably wouldn't use that one. But if had been cooked on before, it would/will be cooked on again.

Let them live their glory once again!

My oldest cooking

[SmokenJoe]

@WNC  That's a beautiful  MBH Avocado  ...  so clean and so happy  ...  I love that light blue smoke  ...  like a fine premium cigar.                   SJ

[Troy]

I use most of my collection:



I've got a couple that haven't been used (1996 18" Budweiser/Olympic 3-wheeler and an old style (not the beer) 18" Smokey Joe Platinum - NIB) only because I have a 1970s 18" that I use when I need an 18".  I've also got a really nicely cleaned up C-code SJ, but I might cook on that sometime.

I'm really hoping to find a nice old 22" with some color, that I would cook on, but I never find them in my area.  Iowa sucks when it comes to finding good old Webers!

WOWWWWWWWWWW
You've got the complete CrayCort collection!

[weldboy]

All used and all have battle scars


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[weldboy]

@mcgolden are those craycorts worth the $ ? Obviously you love them, what are they like to care for?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JDD]

I do not have a single kettle that is off limits to cooking on.  Although, I do have a few that I have never could on. I have 2 that have never been cooked on by anybody.   The only reason I have not cooked on all of them is laziness.  I don't like cleaning grills or pulling them in and out of storage. If I had more room on the patio I would probably use more of them.  I'm starting to move towards the @SmokenJoe technique of dedicated kettles.  I dedicate one for the roti, one for the kettle pizza and one for the shish kabob ring.  Kind of like my fishing poles, one for each type of fishing so I don't have to keep changing set ups.

[mcgolden]

@mcgolden are those craycorts worth the $ ? Obviously you love them, what are they like to care for?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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. 

[weldboy]

@mcgolden great write up, I actually saw them on eBay for $69 which is why I became intrigued. Thanks a lot for taking the time to give me (and the rest of us) a review!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Tommy B]

I do not have a kettle that is "off limits" to cook on. I do have a 1990 SJ new in the box. I am not against using it I just have 3 other SJ and don't really see the point in opening the 1990.... I only use my SJ when I fire up my mini as is. If for whatever reason I needed to use 4 SJ's at once I wouldn't feel bad firing it up.

[dazzo]

After many a fine meal in the early pageant days, the Beauty Queen's job now is to sit back and relax.

The rest of the crew chips in to cover, and what a great job they do...

[Jon]

That is a pretty kettle. I would cook on that. And sit in the yard and admire it while it was making my supper.

These things are made to cook. They are not yard art that your spouse brought home. Cook on them! Let them make food.

[swamprb]

I'm just hoarding mine so my kids will have to deal with them when I die.

[Josh G]

Nice setup!