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XL review

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jbnelson502
jbnelson502 Posts: 18
edited November 2011 in EggHead Forum
I have a medium and am planning to get either a large or XL. I have read all the discussions about size, but am still unsure about the performance of the XL. Does anyone out there own an XL that can give a review of how it performs as compared to the other, more "conventional" shapes/sizes?
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  • onedbguru
    onedbguru Posts: 1,647
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    I have only ever used an XL so, not able to give comparison, but, my brisket, pork (pulled, chops, loins, ribs), steaks, burgers and pizza have all turned out GREAT! And friends have stated it was better than a local chain...
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  • davidb
    davidb Posts: 1
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    I have a large and think it provides quite alot of space to cook.  I seriously considered the XL and have no doubt it is awesome as well.  In the end it was cost and weight that kept me in the L camp.  I share onebdguru's experience with his XL, and feel the food off my L egg to be fantastic, so in the end it becomes personal which is best for you.  Truthfully I do not feel you can go wrong...
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  • paulheels
    paulheels Posts: 457
    edited November 2011
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    I have an XL. I do cooks that need to feed up to 100 people , so I knew I needed the XL. I still have my old chargriller offset for the BIG cooks as help. It depends on what you think you might need to cook for.

    Paul
    thebearditspeaks.com. Go there. I write it.
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  • jbnelson502
    jbnelson502 Posts: 18
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    Thanks for the input! I guess I really became concerned when the sales people tried to talk me out of the XL saying it has problems getting as hot as the large, using way more lump, maintaining temps for long cooks, uneven temps at grid, etc. Sounds like y'all aren't having many of those problems.
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  • paulheels
    paulheels Posts: 457
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    I don't have a large, but my XL does everything from fully loaded to one rack of ribs or a steak. I have some coal separators I got from lowes for when I cook small stuff. I have used them often and they work great. Before that, I would just lite one area of coal and cook over it, usually the back right.

    I can't speak for comparing. But maintaining long cook temps has been a breeze.
    thebearditspeaks.com. Go there. I write it.
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  • Little Steven
    Little Steven Posts: 28,817
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    I have some larges and an extra large. They all work great. A large and medium gives you a lot of capacity.

    Steve 

    Caledon, ON

     

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  • stilllaughing
    stilllaughing Posts: 143
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    I have a Med, L and XL and have experienced everything the sales people talked to you about. It's bigger therefore it has more mass to heat up. It also has a larger "air" space in it so it does in fact use more lump. But that's in comparison to the other two. My "go to" one is the Large mostly because there were a lot more toys available to use with it. Each one has their own characteristics. If I had to choose 2 of the 3 I would keep the M and L. But that's because they fit my needs. There's nothing wrong with the XL if it fits yours.
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  • TheLazyC
    TheLazyC Posts: 97
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    I only have a XL, but I know it gets hot, I have cooked ribeyes at 750 degrees and brisketts at 225, I had rather have extra space then not enough.

    I smoked two turkey breast AND a fourteen pound turkey all at the Sam time, I can smoke three or more Boston butts at the time, and I have smoked eight full racks of ribs.
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  • Jonnysouth
    Jonnysouth Posts: 162
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    I only have an XL, I have not experienced any of the issues the dealer mentions...I've buried the gauge, 200 for low/slow and everything else in between.  I need to pick up some coal seperators(only 3 of us) but I just did 3 large "butts" at one time and had room for more.  I've done brisket for 18hrs and had lump left over.  I guess the only draw back would be that it's not very portable in case you wanted to take it with you some where else to smoke/grill.  Just my thoughts.
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  • BikeHike
    BikeHike Posts: 10
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    I also have a XL and love it. It's the only BGE that I have owned so I cannot give you a comparison. I have had no issues with my XL at all, I have done 18hr butt cooks and still had lump left over. I did three beer can chickens a little while ago and was able to put veggies and potatoes on also for the entire meal. I think having to much space is better then not having enough. By the way I have made the Cow Licken Chili two weekends in a row now on it and that recipe is awsome!! Sometime in the future I think I would like to get a smaller one for portability purposes.

     

    Happy Thanksgiving!!

    Rob M

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