Charcoal Consumption: Large vs. XL

MSM

I was having a discussion with a fellow Egger that owns a Large BGE, and of course bragging about my XL. He countered with the fact that he was glad he had a Large because it uses far less charcoal for a quick grill, which is mostly what he does. My instinct was that that was hogwash. It seems to me that firing up the Egg for a quick grill would require pretty much the same amount of fuel. I would agree that if he wants to stabilize the temp for a 600-700 degree charbroil that it might take a relatively larger amount of fuel, but just getting the grill grate to a specific temperature should be fairly close between the two.

Have there been any studies on charcoal consumption of the Large vs the XL? Any experience with this? Opinions?

fishlessman

dont know about the xl, but the small is a miser compared to the large. ive literally cooked riblets for 5 hours with a double handful of spent/used lump in the small. maybe an inch and a half of lump covering the lump grate.

Buster Dog BBQ

Depends on how much charcoal you put in there. On quick cooks I only use what I think I will need. If you fill the fire box up then yes, I could see the XL using more because it takes more charcoal to fill.

MSM

That's kind of what I was thinking. If you load both with excess charcoal it would seem that the only difference would be how much more burns after you shut out the airflow. Obviously the XL has a greater internal volume, therefore will have more oxygen left after closing down. That will cause a bit more fuel to burn, but my guess is that would be almost too little to measure.

I was hoping someone had published some tests on charcoal consumption that would give me exactly the evidence I need to show my buddy that I am smarter than him.

Chef Charles

Why not try a quasi scientific experiment. Start with an equal amount of lump based on weight (with similar size) in the large and XL and then as much as possible, conduct a similar cook. Then, shut the units down. Once the fire is out, weigh the left over lump.

Rascal

I was having similar thoughts but think one might have to do a few burns and average the results in order to consider variables in lump quality, lighting techniques, etc. My money would be on the Large but either way it would be interesting to find out.

Fire Walker

I have had the XL for over a year and have low and slowed for over 24 hours without repenishing the lump. The majority of forum patrons own larges, like nearly everything in life people make decisions according to curtain wants and needs and then defends that point of view. For instants the guy that owns a VW Beetle will extol all the virtues of the beetle, zippy handling, great gas mileage so on and so forth. The cadilac owner reports roomy interior great handling smooth ride. BGE owners are no different, both great cars. both great cookers. I have cooked on both and would still have purchased the XL, sure I could clown car the large and pinch and poke a massive amount of meat into it with the use of extensions and the like, I prefer the sheer realestate of the XL the largest ceramic cooker in the known universe and if it burns a nearly impersevable amount more lump in the process what the hell.
FireWalker

Inksmyth

Well said!!!