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Mini Max vs. Mini

Thinking about buying a 2nd Egg for my smaller 1 to 2 person cooks.   Advice?  
«13

Comments

  • Big_Green_Craig
    Big_Green_Craig Posts: 1,578
    Go with the Mini Max. The Mini is a toy. 
  • NPHuskerFL
    NPHuskerFL Posts: 17,629
    Both are quality units. However, the MM gives wiggle room for larger cuts of meat & larger cooks. I've done entire meals off the MM for 4-5 people. 
    LBGE 2013 & MM 2014
    Die Hard HUSKER & BRONCO FAN
    Flying Low & Slow in "Da Burg" FL
  • Big_Green_Craig
    Big_Green_Craig Posts: 1,578
    Chubbs said:
    Go with the Mini Max. The Mini is a toy. 

    This is what most will say and I think it is ridiculous. I use my mini 10X as much as my large. The mini is more portable if you want to take places. Hell you can almost buy 2 minis for the price of a mini max if that "extra" grid/dome space is really weighing on your mind. I have no problem smoking 5 lb shoulders or full chickens... if you are looking for a small cooker, not really sure what else you would want/need. @SpringChicken will be along to post his mini videos... err "toy" videos.
    The original question was Mini or MM. There's only a $100 price difference where I live. I'd go with the MM every time.  
  • smokeyw
    smokeyw Posts: 367
    Are they still making the mini?
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Chubbs said:
    Go with the Mini Max. The Mini is a toy. 

    This is what most will say and I think it is ridiculous. I use my mini 10X as much as my large. The mini is more portable if you want to take places. Hell you can almost buy 2 minis for the price of a mini max if that "extra" grid/dome space is really weighing on your mind. I have no problem smoking 5 lb shoulders or full chickens... if you are looking for a small cooker, not really sure what else you would want/need. @SpringChicken will be along to post his mini videos... err "toy" videos.
    The original question was Mini or MM. There's only a $100 price difference where I live. I'd go with the MM every time.  

    Got my mini new for $320 here. Mini max is $600 here. Crazy there is that much of a difference in price in different states I guess. For $100 extra I would go MM then, but if difference like I had, I would go Mini any day of the week
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • Blackwidow98
    Blackwidow98 Posts: 134
    Chubbs said:
    Chubbs said:
    Go with the Mini Max. The Mini is a toy. 

    This is what most will say and I think it is ridiculous. I use my mini 10X as much as my large. The mini is more portable if you want to take places. Hell you can almost buy 2 minis for the price of a mini max if that "extra" grid/dome space is really weighing on your mind. I have no problem smoking 5 lb shoulders or full chickens... if you are looking for a small cooker, not really sure what else you would want/need. @SpringChicken will be along to post his mini videos... err "toy" videos.
    The original question was Mini or MM. There's only a $100 price difference where I live. I'd go with the MM every time.  

    Got my mini new for $320 here. Mini max is $600 here. Crazy there is that much of a difference in price in different states I guess. For $100 extra I would go MM then, but if difference like I had, I would go Mini any day of the week
    That's pretty close to the price here in SC at my local dealer....  I believe I like the mini more than the mini max.  If I'm cooking for 4-5 people I'll go ahead and fire up the XL.  
  • Hotch
    Hotch Posts: 3,564
    @Blackwidow98 When you purchase either of these, be sure to give Tom a call at the Ceramic Grill Store and get yourself a Woo and Stones. It truly is a game changer on both. I have both.
    Large BGE, MiniMAX BGE, 2 Mini BGE's, R&V Fryer, 36" Blackstone Griddle, Camp Chef Dual Burner 40K BTU Stove
    BGE Chiminea
    Prosper, TX
  • Blackwidow98
    Blackwidow98 Posts: 134
    Hotch said:
    @Blackwidow98 When you purchase either of these, be sure to give Tom a call at the Ceramic Grill Store and get yourself a Woo and Stones. It truly is a game changer on both. I have both.
    That will be my next investment for my XL for sure! I been lookin at the woo/adjustable rig combo recently but haven't pulled the trigger yet.  I recently purchased a flameboss 200 from the St Louis Charcoal Company a few weeks ago. I feel like I'm cheating when I use it but it sure makes the low and slow super easy!  I highly recommend giving Jonathan Heslop a call if anyone is interested in a temperature controller. 
  • SoCalTim
    SoCalTim Posts: 2,158
    edited May 2016
    I'm in the @Chubbs camp. Thou I got lucky, I found a brand new Mini on CL for $200 - I use it religiously!

    If your patient, the deals on the Mini are there ... BTW, the MM sells for $599 here in Cali .. 
    I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca.
  • stompbox
    stompbox Posts: 729

    While on the Mini topic.... What is the price of those new handy carrier nests they have for them (Similar to the MM handler)?

  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,024
    I'd go with the mini every time.  It's a workhorse.  And much more portable than the mini max.  Now that I have the new carrier, I love it even more.  But that being said, the mini max is still nice. 
  • stompbox said:

    While on the Mini topic.... What is the price of those new handy carrier nests they have for them (Similar to the MM handler)?


    I want to say I paid around $70 for mine. 
    Glencoe, Minnesota
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
    I weighed this very question for quite some time before pulling the trigger. I have seen two of my local buddies and forum members (already commented above) and drooled over the work the Mini has put out. My decision came down to my desire for the larger grill surface. While I have no regrets, I have yet (in 6 months), taken mine on the road, but it will accompany me on vacations as they come. I think they are both portable enough...but the MM is quite a bit heavier. If your lifestyle is to tote it with you frequently.....you will be happier with the Mini....but for a second egg with the ability to travel....the MM is the better option. From what I have seen on here.....there is not really that much you can't cook on the Mini for a couple of people. You really don't have a bad option either way you go. Not sure this helps.

    Also...where in SC are you located?
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
  • SoCalTim
    SoCalTim Posts: 2,158
    stompbox said:

    While on the Mini topic.... What is the price of those new handy carrier nests they have for them (Similar to the MM handler)?


    I want to say I paid around $70 for mine. 
    I'd love to get one for my Mini, problem is that BGE dealers here in SoCal say it doesn't exist. I showed them a picture and part # but to no avail.
    I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca.
  • DaveRichardson
    DaveRichardson Posts: 2,324


    Id say your dealer needs to call the mothership for direction. It's clear on the website.....  Any other dealers that might have brain cells to rub together?????  It's a shame when you have to educate them on sales!

    LBGE #19 from North GA Eggfest, 2014

    Stockbridge, GA - just south of Atlanta where we are covered up in Zombies!  #TheWalkingDead films practically next door!

  • SoCalTim
    SoCalTim Posts: 2,158
    SoCalTim said:
    stompbox said:

    While on the Mini topic.... What is the price of those new handy carrier nests they have for them (Similar to the MM handler)?


    I want to say I paid around $70 for mine. 
    I'd love to get one for my Mini, problem is that BGE dealers here in SoCal say it doesn't exist. I showed them a picture and part # but to no avail.
    They can't sell them in CA because it can't pass emissions! :)
    CA has the worse BGE dealers on the planet.
    I've slow smoked and eaten so much pork, I'm legally recognized as being part swine - Chatsworth Ca.
  • Blackwidow98
    Blackwidow98 Posts: 134
    I weighed this very question for quite some time before pulling the trigger. I have seen two of my local buddies and forum members (already commented above) and drooled over the work the Mini has put out. My decision came down to my desire for the larger grill surface. While I have no regrets, I have yet (in 6 months), taken mine on the road, but it will accompany me on vacations as they come. I think they are both portable enough...but the MM is quite a bit heavier. If your lifestyle is to tote it with you frequently.....you will be happier with the Mini....but for a second egg with the ability to travel....the MM is the better option. From what I have seen on here.....there is not really that much you can't cook on the Mini for a couple of people. You really don't have a bad option either way you go. Not sure this helps.

    Also...where in SC are you located?
    I'm in the Anderson area.   I believe the mini will be best for my needs.  Cooking for 2 ppl tops.    Plus I like the price better than the mini max.  
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    the mini works well for two people, with my mini sized knockoff ive even done bigger cooks like low and sloe pastrami with the point section, over 20 wings in one cook using a fry basket etc.  i stopped using my small and it sits at a friends camp now after getting the mini
    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • The mini is a serious cooking machine... 400 degree dome for 4 hours on one load of lump, at least. It's easy to transport, 30 lbs. vs. 90 with the MM. I have taken it all over the state of FL and also on my boat... it's an awesome cooker. I also have the MM, but its too heavy to take all the places I have taken my mini. It depends on where you want to take it, not what you want to cook, in my opinion. 
    Happily egging on my original large BGE since 1996... now the owner of 5 eggs. Call me crazy, everyone else does!
     
    3 Large, 1 Small, 1 well-used Mini
  • fishlessman
    fishlessman Posts: 32,671
    just to visualize things a mini can do. i used to think it was a toy too =)

    wings in a basket
    image

    enough chicken breast for two
    image

    pot pies
    image

    pastrami


    fukahwee maine

    you can lead a fish to water but you can not make him drink it
  • Chris8938
    Chris8938 Posts: 156
    stompbox said:

    While on the Mini topic.... What is the price of those new handy carrier nests they have for them (Similar to the MM handler)?

    I just ordered mine and was quoted $59 from my dealer.  I will be picking it up this week.
    XL BGE, Lg BGE, MiniMax BGE, Mini BGE

    Appleton, WI 
  • Chubbs
    Chubbs Posts: 6,929
    Columbia, SC --- LBGE 2011 -- MINI BGE 2013
  • EggNashville
    EggNashville Posts: 243
    I love my mini...fired up a few strips yesterday for lunch! 
  • northGAcock
    northGAcock Posts: 15,164
    Dyal_SC said:
    A few pix from my "toy" mini.  :i_dunno:


    Like I said....drooled. 
    Ellijay GA with a Medium & MiniMax

    Well, I married me a wife, she's been trouble all my life,
    Run me out in the cold rain and snow
  • bhedges1987
    bhedges1987 Posts: 3,201
    I am debating the same.  But going with the MM

    Kansas City, Missouri
    Large Egg
    Mini Egg

    "All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us" - Gandalf


  • egret
    egret Posts: 4,168
    In the first place, the original question was whether to buy a mini or MMax. One of the comments that the mini is a toy is completely misleading and basically false. I've used mine for years just for the two of us. But, I haven't used it in over a year since I got the new accessory from Turbostream. This thing turns your large into a mini with an elevated half-moon raised charcoal grate that sits right under your grid. It can very easily be removed when you want to use your large as a large and it also acts like a Kick Ash basket to dispose of the ash. It can also be used as the heat source for indirect cooking. It's a lot cheaper than a mini as well. By the way, we're selling the MMax at the GA Mt. Eggfest for $499, eggfest price. Check out the Turbostream raised charcoal grate: http://www.turbostream.net/products.html
  • Dyal_SC
    Dyal_SC Posts: 6,024
    egret said:
    In the first place, the original question was whether to buy a mini or MMax. One of the comments that the mini is a toy is completely misleading and basically false. I've used mine for years just for the two of us. 
    Agreed.