This is all based on several concepts:

1. Location, i.e., environmental exposure. I live on the gulf coast, hence
rust is a major issue here.

2. Storage - I converted our garage (detached) into a garage apartment for
my older daughter, so lost that storage area. I do have a shed but with a
pool, and six kids, it has more camping gear, pool supplies, etc. Even with
covers purchased for my past smokers, grills, fryers, etc. They still get
soaked during our rainy season.

3. Usage - I enter into a lot of competition cooking so I may use my cooking
appliances more, furthermore with six kids, three of which in college, they
tend to request parties more than most kids. I grill weekly, smoke brisket,
hens, pork at least twice a month. Crawfish and fish fry at least once a
month. Now the above mention is just for my family. Throw in competition
cooking during the fall and summer, that is a lot of usage.

4. Price - I see no difference! From the higher end, after two years I see
rust, burners clogging, internal gas feed lines rust way before the body
starts to rust. All I would do is cry and buy a new one. I would gut the
system for spare parts, with everything else going out in heavy trash.
Cheaper systems have lasted longer at times and others lasted just two
years. I have learned to keep it at between $100.00 to $150.00 on portable
smokers, e.g., Smokey Mountain. They have 6 racks that can be relocated for
grilling or smoking. Although it is called a smoker it can grill just fine.
I am not endorsing said product, for at best it is on it's last leg after
three (3) years.

5. Repairs and up-keep - As noted above and also in this group, how often
you clean the internal parts will determine how long they last. I have
noticed that the body will last longer than internal parts but replacement
parts may exceed total replacing of the system.

I am 1/2 way through building a brick smoker and have considered spending
the big bucks on the egg (komando cookers) for competition cooking since it
is portable.

NOW I THROW THIS QUESTION OUT TO DAVE AND THE GROUP:

Although my background is in physics I have worked in the oil and gas
industry for years. My question is, quality of LP gas. We live on the gulf
coast and produce a lot of LP gas. BUT the quality varies from refinery
just like we have sour natural gas and sweet natural gas down here. Most of
our sweet natural gas is shipped up north while the southern states get
dumped with the sour natural gas. Heating is never an issue but you notice
it in confined spaces, like water heater storage areas where you can smell
the sour gas burn-off. Sour gas clogs, decreases the overall life of
burners, and destroys systems when the sulfur content gets too high.

Is there anyone who knows if there are different grades of LP gas for
cooking? I know that there are some different grades for those who utilize
LP gas for home use, i.e., heating and have storage tanks. But is there any
different grades in the smaller bottles for cooking. There are several
grades for calibration and testing (EPA/ANSI) that the refineries utilize.
I suspect the portable bottles get dumped with a lower quality of LP Gas!

"DK" wrote in message
...
Sqwertz wrote:
Sheldon wrote:

Sqwertz wrote:
Steve Calvin wrote:
May be interesting if we post the Make, model, age and use frequency
just for comparison. A cheaper grill that you have to rebuild/replace
frequently may actually cost more in the long run
I buy an El Cheapo Brinkman smoker every ~2-4 years for about $32
each. ?Not beacuse they wear out, but because I move around a lot
and they're not practical to travel with. ?I travel light. ?What I
can't carry, UPS ships to me.
Of course you need to travel light... normal folks have a home, they
don't constantly get evicted from their one room basement appartment
hovels... sqwertz never lived long enough in one place to use an
entire roll of terlit paper.

I can't imagine living like you. You never get out of the house and
do 99% of your shopping sitting on your ass in front of the
computer.

Some of us get out and experience the world, and still have a life
in front of us. We don't sit down one last time and get rancid,
like yourself.

-sw

Don't forget that Shelly has *six* cats! I can't imagine the stench in
that hell hole.

-dk