Would this be throwing away money stupidly or just mildly so?

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Greetings-

My local grocery store has put an Akorn grill, fully assembled, with all the normal pieces included, on sale for $199. This is well below the normal cost of this grill and I am pretty close to pulling the trigger, my rationale being the following:

For $200 I can get a serviceable grill that can live in the garage when not being used and will only be used when we have big parties. How often do we have big parties(10+ people) you ask? Three or four times a year. My main grill will still be the Egg for daily use. I have a broken plate setter (busted leg) that I believe I can MacGyver into working on the Akorn to make it work as a smoker without having to buy their version, a further savings. I read about keeping the temp below 700° and since it would be the auxiliary unit for big cooks I don't foresee that I would need to do really high temp cooking on the Akorn. If/When it finally wears out, I am only out $200.

So, should I do this or am I just throwing money away? One other key factor, I do have the full support of SWMBO to make the purchase

Standing by to hear the thoughts of wiser folks than me, thanks for reading.

Cheers,

lousubcap

Not wiser by any means, but for that investment I would go for it.  A second cooking appliance, however you get there provides a whole lot of flexibility.  But it's not my $$ so easy to suggest you spend.  FWIW-

Wolfpack

Yep I'd buy one

Foghorn

I'd do it. 

jaydub58

Sounds smart to me for the reasons above.  $200 frankly doesn't seem like an awful lot for the flexibility you'd be picking up.

Jupiter Jim

I would do it for sure.

caliking

If you pull the trigger , check out threads on BBQ brethren and other sites about mods you can do to optimize it. 

Have you you thought about a weber smokey mountain bullet smoker? Lots of happy customers. Weber warranty and service are also top notch. 

bud812

Hell yeah.

DoubleEgger

My BIL has one. It's worth that price all day long 

lousubcap

@northGAcock - Disagree and no counter post...

stlcharcoal

ChrisgrillsSTLMO said:

Greetings-

My local grocery store has put an Akorn grill, fully assembled, with all the normal pieces included, on sale for $199. This is well below the normal cost of this grill and I am pretty close to pulling the trigger, my rationale being the following:

If you miss that one, the Schnucks in Eureka still had one as of yesterday.

northGAcock

lousubcap said:

@northGAcock - Disagree and no counter post...

Must have been a fat finger. My apologies.

Botch

ChrisgrillsSTLMO said:

So, should I do this or am I just throwing money away? One other key factor, I do have the full support of SWMBO to make the purchase.

The hard part is over.    Now you simply have to ask yourself, "During the past annual parties I host, have I needed, or really wanted, an extra grilling surface?"  

78 T140E

I am not certain, but I think that the Acorn is a few inches larger than the Egg.  Your plate setter may not work like you wanted.  It might be worth checking before you buy - if that was a major factor in your justification to buy the Acorn.

Jeremiah

Guess I'll be the outcast again. I'd skip it and buy a weber or barrel chargriller. Take the lessons you've learned from using your egg, and apply them to what ever vessel you choose and really wow your guests. 


Or in my case, blow the whole meal and look like the dumbass I really am. 

texaswig

It could make a good traveling setup also. 

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Thanks for all of the information and alternate choices. @stlcharcoal - thanks for the heads up, I will use that as plan B.

I will look into the Weber and barrell. Thanks to @78 T140E I will take a tape measure and double check.

Any other thoughts are still welcome!

Cheers,

78 T140E

Both Lowe's and HomeDepot sell the Acorn and they spec 314 sq. in. of primary cooking space.  314 sq. in. = 20 in diameter.

NPHuskerFL

Our friends in GA have one and it works just fine. They've had theirs a few years with no issues. Go for it.  Why not especially for the purpose you have given. But, I wouldn't pigeon hole myself...look at other cookers with similar price point. Good luck. 

ThrillSeeker

It's a great supplement to the egg and with the right accessories and know how, it can produce results similar to an egg.

WeberWho

If you belong to Sam's Club they had medium Vision grills on clearance last fall for around $200. I would have picked one up without hesitating if I had the room and was looking for extra space

Dredger

That sounds like a great deal. I have been eyeing a pellet grill lately, but still haven't decided. You may not use it all of the time, but it would be very nice to have when you need it. The way I look at it is, anything that makes the job easier, then why not? I like to enjoy entertaining rather than stress about not having the proper tools to cook with.

mshump

I owned one of those before my egg. I gave it away when I got the egg. I sometimes regret that move when I have to cook for quite a few people. The price is good and there's nothing wrong with an Akorn.

JohnInCarolina

When I saw this thread title, I thought for sure it was going to be another discussion of the KickAsh Basket.

blind99

If you have space then go for it. It's not much more than a weber kettle. You'll use it for parties. If you get into baking you can keep it "smoke free."  If you don't use it as much as you want I bet someone would buy it from you next year for $100.

ChrisgrillsSTLMO

Greeti

Got it today, thanks for all the advice! Will post pics once it is in place and running.

Cheers,

GlennM

I have an akorn jr at our vacation place and it's great