Any Comments or Opinions

My main concern is how well will it hold the coals. I mean whenever you use the coals for 2 cooks they get so small anyways and sometimes you get the small pieces of lump as well. So my concern is am I going to lose alot of the small pieces of charcoal every time I cook or what? Overall I am thinking about ordering this thing and I think it would be convenient as hell but I want to wait around and see if anyone else has tried it.

Keep us posted on the grate and how it works for you.

Dave,

That grate has nothing to do with controlling your fire. That is handled by the top vent (daisy) and the lower vent 'ONLY'. They allow the combustion air in and exhaust out.

The problem I in-vision is one of letting too much through and setting on the floor of the egg. Like after an afternoon of cooking I could see the possibility of having a pile of coals continuing from the fire grate through to the floor of the egg and betch'a that is pretty hot situation.

If you haven't seen it yet, BGE came out with a new fire grate and the thing is about twice as thick as the last stock grate.

Everything seems the same as the old, just on roids.

I have one and installed it after using my stock 2011 grate for about a week.

To be completely honest it isn't a slam dunk. I think the Egg does heat up faster; on the other hand, as others have suspected, you do get more small coals and ash falling through. In my experience, it is not a problematic amount, however... just noticeably more.

I think the coals that slip through are really borderline useful even with the stock grate--I wouldn't say that I am unhappy with the new grate by any means.

I would only suggest buying one if you feel like you want a faster-responding egg, or if you feel like you have to mess with the ash and fuel bed too much in order to reach high heat.

It may be a better product for people who prefer fuel that comes in bigger pieces. I am using Lazzari now, and with those logs, this grate is no problem for sure.

horseflesh,

Those aren't the kind of afternoons that will produce a pile of small orange lump. It's more the grilling setting that I'm picturing, not so much using it as a smoker. When at 400-500 for a few hours, you get a healthy amount of the glowing orange lump and too much of that may be a problem, may not.