Smokey joe vs go anywhere charcoal

[Geezer]

Wow, I guess you really do learn something every day.  I just learned that I need a WGA.

[Neil_VT00]

I'm with you @Geezer, this is making me want a charcoal WGA. 

[mcgolden]

Just to be clear, the dirty martini was also an add on.


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[Travis]

Very nice job installing that thermo @mcgolden. Along with those handles and especially the craycorts; that's a fine looking cooker.


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[order66]

That thing is fat!! I would cook on that all the time. I want to like my Smokey Joe but cooking on it is a pain. I am stuck between an 18 or a Jumbo Joe for smaller cooks.

[hawgheaven]

Speedster had a couple of question so I'm following up.

"How does the lid hook sideways like you posted on my post! It has a bale?"

     No bale needed.  The lid has hooks already built in.

"Could u add more pics of the wga u have... like to see temp gauge also"

    Here's a pic with the lid closed.  It's a little dirty but it cleans up really nice. 



FYI, I put a couple of coats of varnish on the handles.  They were bare wood before.  Really made the color come out and they're well protected.  I don't have a picture handy but the Craycorts are a really good addition to this grill.  They come in two pieces so you can lift one side out if you need to get to the coals.

Dang, that is a nice setup! I love my SJ, but I think I need to try one of these! Does it come with the martini...? 

[mcgolden]

Speedster had a couple of question so I'm following up.

"How does the lid hook sideways like you posted on my post! It has a bale?"

     No bale needed.  The lid has hooks already built in.

"Could u add more pics of the wga u have... like to see temp gauge also"

    Here's a pic with the lid closed.  It's a little dirty but it cleans up really nice. 



FYI, I put a couple of coats of varnish on the handles.  They were bare wood before.  Really made the color come out and they're well protected.  I don't have a picture handy but the Craycorts are a really good addition to this grill.  They come in two pieces so you can lift one side out if you need to get to the coals.

Dang, that is a nice setup! I love my SJ, but I think I need to try one of these! Does it come with the martini...? 

It does not.


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[Erich]

Go anywhere.

When I did a lot of car camping that was my "daily cooker"

Burgers, steaks, salmon filets on direct.
Cornish game hens  indirect.

I made a wooden box with hinged lid from 1/2 inch plywood to hold the GA.  Keeps the vehicle clean and it provides either a stand to raise the GA higher off the ground or work table next to it.  I use it both ways depends on how my knees feel and what I am cooking.

[pbe gummi bear]

I am so-so about my CGA. Here's some points about it from an old post:

CGA

Pro:

Great shape, holds a lot of food.

Due to the shape it works well for roasting or higher heat smokes. Put the charcoal on the left, and the roast on the right, you get the idea. I made a frenched rack of lamb like this that was amazing.

Legs fold in nicely, holding the lid. More portable imo than a SJ.

Legs hold in the charcoal grate, so cleanup is easy. Just dump the coal, and hose off.

Two side handles on the body so you can move it while hot easily.
Con:

Vent system is hard to adjust. Due to the design it binds very easily. I found I needed to pull on the legs to get them to move. This is very impractical when the grill is hot and dare I say unsafe? It deals off well to choke the coal, but I almost never wanted to move them to kill it. I just dumped the coal somewhere safe

The vents are on the side and don't give direct airflow to the coals. Temp control is best done with quantity of charcoal.

It would have been nice to have two zone vent adjustments for left and right but this is not practical because of the above points.

The lid hook mechanism works ok but not great.

The legs are kinda wobbly but they work ok.


SJ

Pro:

Cheaper

Silver version good for higher heat, gold should be similar to CGA

Parts are locally available

Vents are significantly easier to adjust

Legs are marginally more stable

Comes in cool colors

Con:

Small circular shape is less convenient than larger rectangle. jmo

Silver doesn't have a lid holder.

Legs don't tuck in making it slightly more awkward to pack on trips

[Speedster]

Arrived G code 1985


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[Erich]

You chose ........ wisely.