large vs.xl

DHW · July 2008

I have a large and love it but ideal of extra space would really come in handy at times. I have been reading the postings compairing the two. Can someone give specific draw backs with the xl concerning the cooking, dose it get as hot, can I get the good burns on my steaks, is it as airtight, will it hold temps as good, when it is really cranking, do you get even heat. Am i giving up any performance for the extra space?

Thanks

mattm · July 2008

I have an XL and a Med so I can not comment on the comparisons between the LG and XL. That said, the XL holds temps great, is airtight, gets plenty hot for Trex steaks and heats even...sometimes a hot spot on the back side for some reason.

The drawbacks I see are:
1. the legs on the plate setter are only about 1 inch long so you get relatively little airflow between the platesetter and the cooking grid, and there is little room to create a drip pan. People have suggested that I put the plate setter between the firebox and the fire ring but I have not tried that yet.

I am getting the Egg Accessories delivered tomorrow and I will see how those help. I like the XL.

Fire Walker · July 2008

The only drawback in having an XL is like having a Xlarge backpack or XL suitcase with all that extra space you tend to want to fill it, which isn't a bad thing, just add another mile on to your evening run or an extra hour at the Gym other than that I can see no drawbacks.

FireWalker

OKCegger · July 2008

I have an XL and would agree with the above posts. It may use more lump but I don't have anything to compare with. To me it doesn't seem to be too much. I had mine going from 11 am Saturday until 7 pm Sunday. I added about a pound late Sat. night before starting a brisket, then Monday I put in about 3 more lbs of lump before I started another cook on Monday. I realize for the most part I was cooking at 225 to 250, but 4 lbs of lump in 32 hrs doesn't sound to bad to me.

BigGreenDawg · July 2008

I wish I had the time to use my egg that much, I can say the large also gets that hot spot in the back but I've only noticed it on cooks above 300* I am actually thinking about buying a small for cooking just for me and the wife; only problem is I like the food that comes off the large so much that I take leftovers for lunch at work

Mahi-Mahi · July 2008

I have a XL and did not buy a placesetter because it does not have much flexibility.
I ordered from eggaccessories the hanger, flip ring, two rods, the top grate, 18 inch pan and a 19 and 16 inch stone from laguana clay.
I like the 19 inch stone the best.
The XL is short and the accessories turn the xl into a great egg.
I like the setup called 2a on the XL page of eggaccessories. You put the hanger in and than the stone. Now you can add two small rods to keep the 18 inch drip pan off the stone and cooler so the fat does not burn in low and slow cooks. I line the pan with aluminun foil and throw it away after each cook. Than set the flip ring to raise the top grate up. This even allows to put larger drips pans on top of the 18 inch pan if you want apple juice in a pan below the ribs.

Or you can just flip the flip ring and have the orginal grate at the split just above the drip pan.

You can also stack two grates to cook on two levels.

Bottom line is if you understand the XL it has a lot of flexiblity.
And if you grill a lot the on weekends for like four to six couples the xl is the answer.
I have a friend that bought a large and I really do not get to excited when I see it.

OKCegger · July 2008

I normally don’t have that much time either. It was just a long weekend and Monday’s cook only lasted 45 minutes. I had to make poppers for my wife’s Bunco group. 12 females can eat a bunch of poppers! :laugh:

large vs.xl

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