"George B. Ross" > wrote in message
> Wally Bedford ) opined:
>
> Mine is about 5 years old (and retired) and quite rusty. It
> sits uncovered on my porch in northern Indiana, so it gets its
> fair share of rain and snow. I used to have the custom cover,
> but the cold weather took its toll on that. It lasted about
> 3 years. The firebox paint lasted about 3 cooking sessions, so
> it started rusting almost immediately. Just be sure to remove
> the ash as soon as it cools and spray/wipe down the outside with
> vegetable oil to slow the rusting down. The main chamber is
> still painted, just the firebox is rusty. I think this unit
> would last another 5 years in these conditions, which makes it
> 10 years for $200. Not a bad deal in my opinion.
>
> --
I'm with George, same experience, well, my firebox paint didnt last even one
fire, but otherwise yeah, some rust, nothing that's going to kill it too
fast though.

I'd reccomend that you get the grill unit and order the firebox extra, it's
a simple bolt on operation, your wife could do it. That way you got a great
grill and a smoker/bbq. It's the best grill I've ever owned, and it makes
BBQ too. Good stuff. Mine's often as high as 450-500F in the main chamber
when grilling chicken or whatnot. If you're handy with metal you might want
to reinforce the existing metal tines on the coal/firetrays as they are a
bit thin and will burn through faster than you might expect. Even better in
the firebox would be to remove the existing tines and put new (and thicker)
ones as high as possible so you give yourself more room for ash build up.


I'd point to a link to what I mean but you didnt furnish one for us.