Kamados at my local grill dealer

pgprescott said:

distanceman said:

Focker said:

Has anyone figured what a side-by-side cost difference is by adding up all of the a la carte items like AR, stone, spider, mates, smokeware, nomex, nest etc etc which are OEM for KJ?

@CarolinaQ, help a brother out. 

I've more or less done this, and I believe it comes out about the same price (assuming roughly MSRP for both)

2017 Big Joe II: $1,900

BGE XL: $1,200
Nest: $180
Mates: $160
Ash/Gripper: $60
CGS Woo/Spider: $50
CGS: AR (no extra grate, since KJ only comes with one grate): $90
CGS Heat Deflectors: $60
CGS Ang-L Brackets: $30
Smokeware Chimney Cap: $60
Total: $1,890

I looked around locally near GA, and the cheapest I found the BGE + CGS + SW was about $1,580 -- and you can buy a BJ II at Costco for $1,500 + $50 membership (I think) for those that don't have one.

Sooo...overall, about the same, give or take. 

I'm still painfully undecided between BGE, KJ, and even a Pit Barrel Cooker ($300). I am mostly looking for a low maintenance charcoal smoker--I have a smaller Akorn JR where I grill 85% of my meals, and I think for the purposes of steak, chicken, burgers, chops--one could prob not tell a major difference between a MM/KJ Jr and Akorn Jr, except for the price tag ($150 for Akorn Jr).

You tried real hard to make the bge cost as much as the Joe. It won't. Also, many people won't purchase those items, ever. 

Photo Egg said:

pgprescott said:

distanceman said:

Focker said:

Has anyone figured what a side-by-side cost difference is by adding up all of the a la carte items like AR, stone, spider, mates, smokeware, nomex, nest etc etc which are OEM for KJ?

@CarolinaQ, help a brother out. 

I've more or less done this, and I believe it comes out about the same price (assuming roughly MSRP for both)

2017 Big Joe II: $1,900

BGE XL: $1,200
Nest: $180
Mates: $160
Ash/Gripper: $60
CGS Woo/Spider: $50
CGS: AR (no extra grate, since KJ only comes with one grate): $90
CGS Heat Deflectors: $60
CGS Ang-L Brackets: $30
Smokeware Chimney Cap: $60
Total: $1,890

I looked around locally near GA, and the cheapest I found the BGE + CGS + SW was about $1,580 -- and you can buy a BJ II at Costco for $1,500 + $50 membership (I think) for those that don't have one.

Sooo...overall, about the same, give or take. 

I'm still painfully undecided between BGE, KJ, and even a Pit Barrel Cooker ($300). I am mostly looking for a low maintenance charcoal smoker--I have a smaller Akorn JR where I grill 85% of my meals, and I think for the purposes of steak, chicken, burgers, chops--one could prob not tell a major difference between a MM/KJ Jr and Akorn Jr, except for the price tag ($150 for Akorn Jr).

You tried real hard to make the bge cost as much as the Joe. It won't. Also, many people won't purchase those items, ever. 

True, but it is a nice comparison. Except with the XL Adj Rig you must add the 20" round cooking grid to top the unit @ $54.

pgprescott said:

distanceman said:

Focker said:

Has anyone figured what a side-by-side cost difference is by adding up all of the a la carte items like AR, stone, spider, mates, smokeware, nomex, nest etc etc which are OEM for KJ?

@CarolinaQ, help a brother out. 

I've more or less done this, and I believe it comes out about the same price (assuming roughly MSRP for both)

2017 Big Joe II: $1,900

BGE XL: $1,200
Nest: $180
Mates: $160
Ash/Gripper: $60
CGS Woo/Spider: $50
CGS: AR (no extra grate, since KJ only comes with one grate): $90
CGS Heat Deflectors: $60
CGS Ang-L Brackets: $30
Smokeware Chimney Cap: $60
Total: $1,890

I looked around locally near GA, and the cheapest I found the BGE + CGS + SW was about $1,580 -- and you can buy a BJ II at Costco for $1,500 + $50 membership (I think) for those that don't have one.

Sooo...overall, about the same, give or take. 

I'm still painfully undecided between BGE, KJ, and even a Pit Barrel Cooker ($300). I am mostly looking for a low maintenance charcoal smoker--I have a smaller Akorn JR where I grill 85% of my meals, and I think for the purposes of steak, chicken, burgers, chops--one could prob not tell a major difference between a MM/KJ Jr and Akorn Jr, except for the price tag ($150 for Akorn Jr).

You tried real hard to make the bge cost as much as the Joe. It won't. Also, many people won't purchase those items, ever. 

bigbadben said:

chuckytheegghead said:

Pretty funny that Bobby has to troll here though because his forums are so inactive. But seriously which one of you guys is actually BB?

You think bobby has time to read this forum. That is comical.  

Look at the FB comments here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/500015733460665/permalink/1046297692165797/

I assume one one of his loyal followers sent him the link. 

I have never seen bobby make a negative comment about the competition. 

HeavyG said:

bigalsworth said:

@Whirly comes outta the woodwork again lol.  I agree @Ozzie_Isaac, the prez has got me rethinking a Joe jr, he seems like a super huge piece of dog $hit. 

Geez...one funny/snarky little comment made amongst his audience and you jump to calling him a "super huge piece of dog $hit". That's pretty telling...about you.

Say what you want about Brennan (and by all accounts I have read he is a great guy) but he certainly enjoys and is active in engaging with customers and soliciting their input and wanting to hear the good and bad. He is also willing to share info about what they are working on. Something which a lot of companies won't, or are very reluctant to, to talk about future products. 

Perhaps some of the old timers here can correct me but I have never seen anyone from BGE officially talking about BGE products/plans/prototypes/etc. or answering questions or engaging with their customers in any way here or any other forum. 

Maybe that's just a result of the different company cultures - one old company formed before the internet and one new 21st century company that embraces the internet and social media.

That thread on Facebook spawned a lot of posts one of which I got a kick out of and I just know you'll really appreciate:



In case you're not aware, Dennis is the owner of Komodo Kamados so now I guess you can not only not buy a KJ Jr. but also cancel your order for a 32" Big Bad.

HeavyG said:

bigalsworth said:

@Whirly comes outta the woodwork again lol.  I agree @Ozzie_Isaac, the prez has got me rethinking a Joe jr, he seems like a super huge piece of dog $hit. 

Geez...one funny/snarky little comment made amongst his audience and you jump to calling him a "super huge piece of dog $hit". That's pretty telling...about you.

Say what you want about Brennan (and by all accounts I have read he is a great guy) but he certainly enjoys and is active in engaging with customers and soliciting their input and wanting to hear the good and bad. He is also willing to share info about what they are working on. Something which a lot of companies won't, or are very reluctant to, to talk about future products. 

Perhaps some of the old timers here can correct me but I have never seen anyone from BGE officially talking about BGE products/plans/prototypes/etc. or answering questions or engaging with their customers in any way here or any other forum. 

Maybe that's just a result of the different company cultures - one old company formed before the internet and one new 21st century company that embraces the internet and social media.

That thread on Facebook spawned a lot of posts one of which I got a kick out of and I just know you'll really appreciate:



In case you're not aware, Dennis is the owner of Komodo Kamados so now I guess you can not only not buy a KJ Jr. but also cancel your order for a 32" Big Bad.

Ozzie_Isaac said:

pgprescott said:

I will also point out something less than obvious to most of you, you all are not the typical customer. You are the 1% ers. You likely don't view yourself this way, but trust me, you are. People assume their thought process and research and knowledge is shared by all. It isn't. Most of what we discuss here is nonsense to the prospective buyer. Not every buyer, but 90+%. 

My thoughts exactly.  BGE has the brand recognition.  KJ still seems like the RTIC to me.

Honestly guys, who believes Joe Public even knows how to use all the KJ gadgets?  I have a bunch of friends with BGEs and they are content to just grill on the fire ring.  Many are amazed by my FB posts and had no clue the BGE was so versatile.

pgprescott said:

distanceman said:

Focker said:

Has anyone figured what a side-by-side cost difference is by adding up all of the a la carte items like AR, stone, spider, mates, smokeware, nomex, nest etc etc which are OEM for KJ?

@CarolinaQ, help a brother out. 

I've more or less done this, and I believe it comes out about the same price (assuming roughly MSRP for both)

2017 Big Joe II: $1,900

BGE XL: $1,200
Nest: $180
Mates: $160
Ash/Gripper: $60
CGS Woo/Spider: $50
CGS: AR (no extra grate, since KJ only comes with one grate): $90
CGS Heat Deflectors: $60
CGS Ang-L Brackets: $30
Smokeware Chimney Cap: $60
Total: $1,890

I looked around locally near GA, and the cheapest I found the BGE + CGS + SW was about $1,580 -- and you can buy a BJ II at Costco for $1,500 + $50 membership (I think) for those that don't have one.

Sooo...overall, about the same, give or take. 

I'm still painfully undecided between BGE, KJ, and even a Pit Barrel Cooker ($300). I am mostly looking for a low maintenance charcoal smoker--I have a smaller Akorn JR where I grill 85% of my meals, and I think for the purposes of steak, chicken, burgers, chops--one could prob not tell a major difference between a MM/KJ Jr and Akorn Jr, except for the price tag ($150 for Akorn Jr).

You tried real hard to make the bge cost as much as the Joe. It won't. Also, many people won't purchase those items, ever. 

stlcharcoal said:

jeponline said:

Personally, it was a big advantage to start out with so few accessories.  I got what I considered the necessities (nest, mates, plate setter, pizza stone, ash tool, grill gripper) and was cooking everything I wanted to.

From there I added a PSWoo and extender for raised cooking and extra grid (not available with KJ), and a spider and Wok for stir frying.  It's the perfect setup for me and I don't see how I could have duplicated it with KJ.  Every time I've looked at divide and conquer, I'm not impressed and have no interest in the split grid.

What if you already had that stuff because you already owned one?  You don't need two grill lifters, ash tools, rarely two plate setters or pizza stones.

Or what if you were going to put it in a table or custom cooking island?  Don't need the nests or mates.

Yeah, if you're buying it at Costco, it makes it easy it's all in one box.  But when you're buying it from a knowledgeable dealer who is going to work with your needs (and most will likely deliver and assemble it) then who cares if it's all in the same box??  Especially when the price is now comparable or less.  You're not getting a free nest or accessories, everything in that box costs something. 

da87 said:

Are the customer service issues limited to Canada or dealer by dealer?  LBGE fire ring broke into 2 pieces (noticed after a za cook), called dealer, they contacted BGE, and I picked up my replacement 1 week later - no follow up by me, no charge, no questions, and no hassle...  I can't comment on the innovation piece - during my pre-purchase research I found this forum and "lurked for a while, you guys sold my egg.

Ozzie_Isaac said:

bgebrent said:

Ozzie_Isaac said:

pgprescott said:

I will also point out something less than obvious to most of you, you all are not the typical customer. You are the 1% ers. You likely don't view yourself this way, but trust me, you are. People assume their thought process and research and knowledge is shared by all. It isn't. Most of what we discuss here is nonsense to the prospective buyer. Not every buyer, but 90+%. 

My thoughts exactly.  BGE has the brand recognition.  KJ still seems like the RTIC to me.

Honestly guys, who believes Joe Public even knows how to use all the KJ gadgets?  I have a bunch of friends with BGEs and they are content to just grill on the fire ring.  Many are amazed by my FB posts and had no clue the BGE was so versatile.

And my roto molded cooler has RTIC on the top.

I guess thats a poor comparision.  I see a ton of RTIC cups at work too.  And they don't even bother to pretend to innovate.

tjv said:

2017 Big Joe II: $1,900

BGE XL: $1,200
Nest: $180
Mates: $160
Ash/Gripper: $60
CGS Woo/Spider: $50
CGS: AR (no extra grate, since KJ only comes with one grate): $90
CGS Heat Deflectors: $60
CGS Ang-L Brackets: $30
Smokeware Chimney Cap: $60
Total: $1,890

I know a place in texas, I've known the owner since he was born, where you can get all that for ~$1350 but that includes a bag of rockwood and fire starters too 

You're right many won't buy those items, but again, the question was asked to do a direct comparison between the two.

From my research, the listed BGE/CGS/SW set up will get you more or less the same features as the new KJ--whether the Nest, Mates, and hinge will be as good of quality remains up for debate.

And to answer the question below me, I did not factor in the cost of an additional grate because the KJ only has one grate (albeit split). I tried to keep the "apples to apples" as best as I could, but in fairness, the KJ does allow two heights with one split grate--so an extra 20" round would make the MSRP of the Egg slightly higher than the Joe.

 let me help clarify a bit.  just a quick list.

-  ask the joe guys for the set up to smoke up to 9 racks of ribs (babyback or st. louis) flat & whole and still get to each rack without taking any of the set-up apart.  
-  ask the joe guys how you get two level of pork butts or brisket between the grids on the divide and conquer.  
-  ask the joe guys, how you lift the divide and conquer out when it's loaded with stones and food.  
-  ask the joe guys how you push a big pizza stone high in the dome without the thermometer interfering with it.
-  ask the joe guys how you can set up for a simple one grid cook, direct or indirect and have direct access to the lump without handling the set-up
- ask the joe guys how you do multi-level cooks and have easy access to the lower grid.
- ask the joe guys how you do a double divide and conquer set-up on the classic.....half stone under a full size lower grid and half stone under a half size upper grid with direct access to the lower gird.  this set-up is great for steaks or burgers with side dishes. 

simple answer to all is......you can't. 

t

SaintJohnsEgger said:

Innovation and competition can be good or bad. Yes BGE could improve some. But I don't want it to be like the Digital SLR market.

Canon makes a camera with more pixels or better X than Nikon. So Nikon then introduces a model with more pixels than the Canon top of the line and with some new whiz-bang feature. Then Canon does the same to Nikon. Its a vicious circle and the price keeps going up an up.

I bought BGE for the quality and the community. I will customize my Basic large to meet my needs. I am at the point where I prefer quality over cheapness.

An example, the KJ comes with a plate setter and an ash tool. I bought an ash tool and plate setter when I got my LBGE. But I really don't need the ash tool and I now use a pizza stone as much if not more than the PS. So, having those things included doesn't really gain me much.