EZ up Canopy

carter422

I got my Egg about 3 weeks ago and can't cook enough.  But sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate so I am thinking about something like an EZ up for shelter while cooking.  Anyone got any recommendations?

michigan_jason

Go get one, but try to get a heavy duty one, the ones with the cheap nylon will rip easily. I have a couple of them and the ones with the higher quality metal and top really are worth the extra money.

Lit

I have a Coleman 12' * 12' that is very well made. I got one of the cheap ez ups and it lasted about a year and the Coleman is easier to put up.

HDmstng

Look for ones that have drainage holes in the canopy.  If it happens to get caught in a rain storm the weight of the water can bring it down.

nolaegghead

HDmstng said:

Look for ones that have drainage holes in the canopy.  If it happens to get caught in a rain storm the weight of the water can bring it down.

Doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose?

Little Steven

They are great for eggfests

Mickey

I buy commercial ones for the dealership and they last years. The $99 at SAMs, not so long.

Skiddymarker

I gave up on the easy-up, too much wind and rain in the Pacific northwest - so I bit the bullet and retired the table, and gave my egg a house. The side benefit is I stay dry. 

Mickey

Skiddymarker where are you in the Pacific Northwest?

henapple

Nice set up skid

GreenhawK

I have an EZup that we use in competitions.  It has held up well. It has some grease stains on the canopy though.  Battle wounds.

STANGOJE

Skiddymarker,  Nice rig!  But what is the black square thing with the white bottle under it???  LOL  :-0

Fred19Flintstone

Does it kill mosquitoes?

Eggdam

STANGOJE said:

Skiddymarker,  Nice rig!  But what is the black square thing with the white bottle under it???  LOL  :-0

That is the shelf to hold his plate setter when not in use!

Skiddymarker

Eggdam said:

Skiddymarker,  Nice rig!  But what is the black square thing with the white bottle under it???  LOL  :-0

That is the shelf to hold his plate setter when not in use!

Thanks, Yep, it is good storage shelf for anything hot and as you can see it is doing just that. It is also a great warming oven and when the four grandkids show up, it still does hot dog duty, 5 year olds want it all want it now. 

@Fred19Flintstone, no need to kill mosquitoes, we really don't get many, when we first moved into this house, there were no screens. 

@Mickey, Delta BC is home. 

Mickey

Skiddymarker what a great part of the world. We were in Bellingham a couple of years ago and going to come back to the area this summer. You have those things called trees.

Lit

This is my 12'*12' Coleman about 2 years ago. I use it alot and it still looks brand new. Its not good in strong winds though I would say over 10 mph I would take it down. The thing is huge its like a wind sail. Its under $150 at Wal Mart.

HDmstng

nolaegghead said:

HDmstng said:

Look for ones that have drainage holes in the canopy.  If it happens to get caught in a rain storm the weight of the water can bring it down.

Doesn't that kinda defeat the purpose?

Water will pool in the canopy and if you don't get rid of it, the weight of the water will collapse the tent.  Happened to ours last summer.  My wife left it up and out and we had a rain storm during the night.  The weight of the water broke about 25 of the various plastic brackets that hold it together.  Luckily I was able to get the parts and repair it for about $20.  

This isn't ours, but that is basically what happened.

michigan_jason

Skiddymarker said:

I gave up on the easy-up, too much wind and rain in the Pacific northwest - so I bit the bullet and retired the table, and gave my egg a house. The side benefit is I stay dry. 

nice, but how does it travel? lol

Lit

The Coleman has enough supports all the way around it that they don't allow it to pool. There is a tiendown about every foot to the metal support and then every corner has a support that adjusts to the pole and also you can stake it if you want added support. I have never used the stake tie down.

ShedFarm

Without shelling out the big bucks for a true commercial canopy, I really like the Undercover models, over the EZ-up ones. The Undercover canopies have an adjustable peak, that allows you to tighten up the roof panels, using a dial. It really helps keep the rain from pooling. The legs are also sturdier, and the release mechanism is much easier to work with. The rolling bags are made pretty tough, too. You can usually find the Undercover UC-3 at Lowe's website. More info is available at www.iundercover.com

One other thing to keep in mind, when looking at canopies, is whether they have "straight" or "angled" legs. Some manufacturers give the dimensions, based upon where the feet get planted (versus the size of the canopy, itself), so a 12'x12' unit with angled legs, may actually only provide you with a 10'x10' canopy. The angled legs may give you a bit more bracing in a wind storm, but for Eggfests, they tend to get in the way, and you risk people tripping over them.

carter422

I am looking at the one Sam's carriers for $200.  It says it has a commercial grade top.  I just wish I could see one before I buy it to see how well it is actually made.

Mickey

I just went and checked. Ours are the Professional Duty line of EZ up. Some are 8 to 10 years old. Also imprinted.

But get the credit card out.

carter422

Mickey said:

I just went and checked. Ours are the Professional Duty line of EZ up. Some are 8 to 10 years old. Also imprinted.

But get the credit card out.

Yeah it's a little pricey

NibbleMeThis

I leave a pop up like that up all year round and they have lasted a little over a year each.  I use the el-cheapo First-Up models from Walmart for $99.  

This year we bought a unit from Big Lots that is a more permanent structure but we'll see how long the canopy lasts.    If it fails, I might just have a boat canvas place make a new one that will last.

travisstrick

I had one and just like HDmstng, mine collapsed and broke. If you buy a cheap one you will end up like me. Mine broke and I tried to cook on it one last time before I threw it away. I turned the wrong way and poked my eye on a broken end. I suggest buying a pro one and be done with it. 

jfm0830

I know I'm a bit late to the party here but I ran into this thread and thought there is something I should add about old vs new EZ-Ups. I had a 10'x10' EZ-Up that covered my grills for 7 years. It finally died last fall when I was taking it down. I got a new model this spring which was the 2012 equivalent of the one I had before. I notice right away that they had "value engineered" it so the roof used less trusses and in different places than the old one. This model didn't even last the summer. I took it down at 2:30 AM in a pouring rain storm because it was needing to be drained every 30 minutes and was in danger of collapsing and taking out my new Egg.

The problem was the redesigned roof supports. The old model had sloped roof support trusses under the roof ridges. The rainwater that collected did so at the bottom of the sloped roof midway between the two corners. This resulting sag in the roof could be fixed by stretching the roof material and taping the bottom of the roof to the side trusses. The new model does not have any sloped trusses. There is a single pole that is supported by "ceiling level" horizontal trusses. This pole extends up to the peak of the roof. I was worried about this new design when I saw it in the spring. There is far less support under the roofing material. On this model the rain collects in the corners on either side of the corner post. You can't stretch and tape the roof material like you could on the old model. There are reinforced pockets at the corner that prevent the pole from tearing through the roof. These also keep you from stretching the roof material to try to eliminate sags. 

So I could recommend the 2005 vintage EZ-Ups as a semi-permanent solution. I did take mine down from November to March.  But the new design with a single pole supporting the roof at the peak failed in 4 months for me. Granted these EZ-Up tents aren't intended to be left up all the time. I would look into the models some folks mentioned here that has a way to retension the roof material. 

Jim

Fred19Flintstone

Travis, I love that picture of you in your eyepatch.  I keep thinking of the ad on tv that says "When you wear an eyepatch, people think you're tough.  When people think you're tough, they want to see how toough you are..."  Your pink shirt makes you look tough!

travisstrick

Fred19Flintstone said:

Travis, I love that picture of you in your eyepatch.  I keep thinking of the ad on tv that says "When you wear an eyepatch, people think you're tough.  When people think you're tough, they want to see how toough you are..."  Your pink shirt makes you look tough!

:ar!

BigWader

For those of you using the temporary canopies - have you had any sparking issues with the cover while doing pizza or other searing?

I guess it would be fine for low and slow but going full bore this thing shoots flames.  How much clearance is required?

Mickey

Grasshopper has a pink shirt (and he carries) :ar!

I feel very safe at lunch with him <:-P