Potential BGE owner - Egg-Cons

cost vs. size

yeah, it's great,  but yer still dropping a major chunk of cash at an 18 inch grill (for the large)

The felt gasket will fail and have to be replaced.

Stike & Hogsfan nailed the most common "complaints" - it's "Egg-spensive" and ceramic isn't very forgiving if you drop it. And yes, it's not as easy to move around as a smaller, lighter grill. And it's green (and some folks think that makes it unattractive from a "curb appeal" standpoint).

BTW, re: the "expensive" debate - I rationalized that by looking at the top-end stainless grills / islands, which, nowadays can cost in the thousands. At the end of the day, you'd still have a propane powered "grill" which, in my opinion, is basically an outdoor stove - which is to say it's NOT a "BBQ grill."

In my opinion, making BBQ, and "grilling" should be done w/ charcoal (either lump, or briquettes) and wood, as that is what imparts the SMOKE flavor on the food - grilling w/ propane doesn't really add any "flavor" that I'm aware of, and can be done just as well inside on your gas powered stove...

It is pricy but you only need to buy one for the rest of your life (disclaimer...you will likely end up with another:))  The challenge with any besides the XL is cooking area as stike mentioned.  Depending on your anticipated cooking volume, you will need to "go vertical" to get more space.  There are ways to achieve this with little $$ or big $$ so that should not be a factor.  The versatility is the biggest advantage.  Low&slows forever (okay-20+ hours on one load of lump) to pizza cooks in the 600*F+ range to hot sears on the lump, all in one rig.  And did I mention the $$ you will save by staying home and egging vs a trip to the local restaurants. 

The gasket will require replacing but you can get a high-heat nomex from BGE HQ on their dime and there are numerous other options.  There are a few forums that will provide all the help you could need and people are more than ready to assist. Don't look back-somethin might be gainin on ya!

As said, the basic gasket fails, often early on, but certainly eventually. Its irritating.

The dome can go somewhat out of alignment, and it can take some fussing to get it back where it belongs.

The dome thermometer needs occasional re-calibration.

There will be ashes to clean out.

There is a learning curve. For me, it took several months to unlearn 20 yrs. of habits built up from various metal cookers.

Many restaurant meals will start tasting like junk.

Draw back is that it is more addictive than crack and oh yeah you will have to replace the gasket

The big reason not to buy an egg is that everyone on this forum and the other forum is wrong.

1. Cost, you may want another one.
2. Wife may get jealous of egg, but she will enjoy the food!

I would recommend a BGE to anyone who was interesting in grilling/smoking and was ready to own one for life.  I've had nothing but good times with mine so far (all of 1.5 weeks). 

That said, there are trade-offs:
-Heavy!  You will not be moving/repositioning this thing without friends (and even then you will do a considerable bit of hand-wringing and fretting!)

-Learning curve.  BGE has the most intuitive temperature control system I've used on any BBQ.  That said, it's not like you just set a knob and walk away, you do need to spend time learning how to use your egg to the fullest of its capabilities.

-Difficult to make changes to the fire once you've set everything in place.  Run out of charcoal or smoking wood?  You'll have to remove the grate/plate setter to add/move anything.

-Difficult to cook multiple things at once.  I'm used to having at least 2 temperature zones and plenty of space (gas grill), so I'm still getting used to preparing a whole meal on the egg.  What I've been doing so far is cooking veggies while my meat rests.  This should cover 95% of the cooking I do.  Still haven't experimented with multiple tiers of cooking. 

As I said, I still think the BGE is a wonderful thing, I wouldn't trade it for anything. 

You feel something is missing when you're forced to eat leftovers and don't get to do a fresh cook?

It's a lotta work, but worth it. It's a lotta money, but it's worth it. After talking with people that owned the egg it did not take me long to buy mine, but I love to cook, and I love to cook good food. I still like cooking on a gas grill and I can get some flavor out of it, but nothing like the BGE. If food does not really mean that much to someone and cooking is a pain in the butt, I would not buy a BGE. I would go to the frozen food section and call it a day.

The food tastes too good and you will want to BBQ a lot more.

I bought an Egg for low and slow cooks.    Had a reasonable outdoor kitchen to begin with - but have always loved that smoky flavor you only get one way.    Had cycled through different types of smokers over the years and decided to give the Egg a try.

First - it exceeded my expectations in the low and slow department.   Can go 15 to 20 hours easy without opening the lid - or having to maintain a fire.   Moistness of the meat - fantastic.

Now I am learning a whole new list of things that the Egg will do very well and having fun every step of the way.  Would echo the sentiments above - its heavy, gotta make sure you never ever let it tip.    Will only do a fraction of the quantity of my old side box vertical chamber smoker ( guess I like quality over quantity now ).   Mine sits in one place - not moved around.  

I have a large, and for the cost, it has a relatively small cooking surface.  That said, it's never been a problem for my family of 5.

I have large egg and I can feed a familly of four no problem! Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe are both excellent grills! Go with what you feel comfortable with and what you can afford!