Best Rack Expansion Setup

westernbbq · January 2019

Call ceramic grill store in Denton TX. Talk to tom

tjv · January 2019

Good discussion on this thread. Lot's mentioned, so much, we'd need a full keg behind the bar rail to hammer through all the talk. It's as simple as, we appreciate the support from y'all and if you will, keep spreading the ceramic grill store word. thanks tom

SonVolt · January 2019

Here's an actual concern I have with Tom's unit vs the OEM version and what's stopped me so far from making a purchase at the CGS. I haven't seen one in person so someone please correct me if I'm wrong or not understanding what I'm looking at, but from all the pics it seems like there's a good bit of wasted space around the perimeter. Maybe it's an optical illusion, I'm not sure. From what I can tell, the EGGSpander doesn't replace your bottom grate so it maintains almost 100% of the original cooking surface. The pic below looks like a custom bottom grate with big gaps on the left and right; enough to shove a corn cob through.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/m0/yuzsgdfst4pj.jpeg

caliking · January 2019

SonVolt said:

Here's an actual concern I have with Tom's unit vs the OEM version and what's stopped me so far from making a purchase at the CGS. I haven't seen one in person so someone please correct me if I'm wrong or not understanding what I'm looking at, but from all the pics it seems like there's a good bit of wasted space around the perimeter. Maybe it's an optical illusion, I'm not sure. From what I can tell, the EGGSpander doesn't replace your bottom grate so it maintains almost 100% of the original cooking surface. The pic below looks like a custom bottom grate with big gaps on the left and right; enough to shove a corn cob through.

If you’re worried about the gaps with this setup, then what you really need is another egg. Not an inferior rip-off that lets you squeeze 8 more tater tots in there

Carolina Q · January 2019

@SonVolt, not sure why you continue to argue the point. The CGS product is a Made in USA item, designed and made by a small business guy just trying to make a living... and it is the original design. The BGE product is a higher priced design stolen from CGS and made in China of inferior IMPORTED steel.

But suit yourself...

stlcharcoal · January 2019

SonVolt said:

Here's an actual concern I have with Tom's unit vs the OEM version and what's stopped me so far from making a purchase at the CGS. I haven't seen one in person so someone please correct me if I'm wrong or not understanding what I'm looking at, but from all the pics it seems like there's a good bit of wasted space around the perimeter. Maybe it's an optical illusion, I'm not sure. From what I can tell, the EGGSpander doesn't replace your bottom grate so it maintains almost 100% of the original cooking surface. The pic below looks like a custom bottom grate with big gaps on the left and right; enough to shove a corn cob through.

@sunvolt The picture you posted is the Adjustable Rig......not the Woo with Expander (aka the EggFringer).

On the AR, the bottom grates pulls out, that's why its oval and cant take up the whole perimeter

This pic below is a Woo and the bottom grate is the full 18" (not pictured).....you use the existing bge grate. @Shawnodell83 has dibs on this one!

Legume · January 2019

I have a woo and AR for my XL, probably 2-3 years old so it looks a little different. I can put the woo in, stock BGE grid on top of that, then AR on top of that. No gaps, plenty of room for one more row of tater tots (or wings) on the outside, but of course I never put any there because it’s outside of the shadow of whatever ceramic I’m using for indirect. That space isn’t helpful anyway, that’s where wings and tips of rib racks go to die.

mEGG_My_Day · January 2019

Here is a pic of the woo and expander in action as described by @stlcharcoal and @Legume - not much usable wasted space IMO.

JohnnyTarheel · January 2019

mEGG_My_Day said:

Here is a pic of the woo and expander in action as described by @stlcharcoal and @Legume - not much usable wasted space IMO.

That is my setup and is awesome!!

littlerascal56 · January 2019

Never owned a plate setter. Was used to the KJ system, so I mix and match stones on my Woo, and made the square rack for smaller ABT’s, veggies, etc. I do a lot of 2-zone cooks on my XL.

pgprescott · January 2019

littlerascal56 said:

Never owned a plate setter. Was used to the KJ system, so I mix and match stones on my Woo, and made the square rack for smaller ABT’s, veggies, etc. I do a lot of 2-zone cooks on my XL.

But the egg is round?

Yno · January 2019

I am sometimes frugal (cheap!) so when I bought my XL Egg, I bought an aftermarket 20" grill, added some bolts, and now have a raised grid. I don't need it all the time, so I never bought an AR. But as soon as CGS added handles to the XL Woo I bought one, and it is used every cook. It makes it so much more convenient to the plate setter out and put the grill back on for a sear.

SonVolt · January 2019

Carolina Q said:

@SonVolt, not sure why you continue to argue the point.

It was a legitimate concern I had with CGS's rack expansion setup, but @stlcharcoal cleared that up for me. I know you guys love CGS, but keep in mind I haven't been around long enough to establish brand loyalty (yet), so pardon me if I don't toe the line.

unoriginalusername · January 2019

I’ve read the egg version has less clearance than the woo and extender. Having just done four pork shoulders which were almost touching I couldn’t find the same utility in a design that has anything less

SonVolt · January 2019

stlcharcoal said:

@sunvolt The picture you posted is the Adjustable Rig......not the Woo with Expander (aka the EggFringer).

@stlcharcoal That makes sense, thanks for clearing that up. Unfortunately CGS doesn't make the Extender for the BGE XL. But, it looks like you can set the adjustable rig on top of the stock grate..... so, I may be making a purchase soon.

Legume · January 2019

I haven’t checked lately, but I think the woo for XL hasn’t been platesetter friendly. I use a round and a half moon stone from CGS, you can set it lower in the egg with the woo and there is better airflow, IMO. Still have my PS but never really use it.

tjv · January 2019

SonVolt said:

Here's an actual concern I have with Tom's unit vs the OEM version and what's stopped me so far from making a purchase at the CGS. I haven't seen one in person so someone please correct me if I'm wrong or not understanding what I'm looking at, but from all the pics it seems like there's a good bit of wasted space around the perimeter. Maybe it's an optical illusion, I'm not sure. From what I can tell, the EGGSpander doesn't replace your bottom grate so it maintains almost 100% of the original cooking surface. The pic below looks like a custom bottom grate with big gaps on the left and right; enough to shove a corn cob through.

as mentioned the picture is the adjustable rig. the lower grid is designed to slide in and out. with two grid set-ups, something has to move to access the lower grid - either bottom grid moves forward or upper grid moves back. with the rig you have both options depending on grid position.

on your question, yes the lower grid in the picture is approx. 13" wide and 17" long, built to hold ribs butts, brisket...the long meats. the effective cooking diameter in the large egg is something less than 16", the inside diameter of the fire ring. so, in the set-up pictured, you loose something less than 1.5" on each side. but note the 1.5 is along the curve of the fire bowl, so actual area is minimal. Most folks won't use the lost area when smoking, unless they try to put 3 butts on the bottom grid.

the top grid in the picture is built on a 16" diameter, same as the fire ring. EGG's expander's top grid is based on a 13.75 diameter.

Most folks don't realize the 16" grid in the picture also fits inside the Rig. So you could swap the grids in the picture above. The 16" grid won't side in or out but goes provide more area and with the flat front face an easy way to add smoking wood to the fire during the cook.

One final note, the above cook, could not be done on the EGG's expander, not enough room between or above the grids, at least do it right.

tom

stlcharcoal · January 2019

SonVolt said:

stlcharcoal said:

@sunvolt The picture you posted is the Adjustable Rig......not the Woo with Expander (aka the EggFringer).

@stlcharcoal That makes sense, thanks for clearing that up. Unfortunately CGS doesn't make the Extender for the BGE XL. But, it looks like you can set the adjustable rig on top of the stock grate..... so, I may be making a purchase soon.

The AR is a much better route to take on the XL. That's why they don't have a Woo Extender for the XL. The XL is the height of the Medium (its short than Large), with the dome curvature and the plate setter in, you are really limited on height to begin with (and that's AFTER they have modified the heights of dome, fire box, fire ring, and platesetter multiple times, and added the notches.) I still like the XL woo setup, because you can use it with smaller stones and grids INSIDE the fire ring rather than above it. You lose a little charcoal capacity, but it buys you several inches in available height unde rthe dome. Watch the video on CGS's website with the Woo+AR setup on the XL and you'll see what I'm taking about.

Go take a look at the XL BGE Eggsploiter version before you buy it, I don't think you're going to be happy with the amount of room between the lower grate and the upper grate.....it's minimal. All the pics online in use with food show them using a Large, but if you look at the only pic of the XL unit, it's bare and I'm curious how much clearance is actually there. It doesn't look like you could put a pork butt on the bottom, and I'm how many you could get on top....again because of the dome clearance. Take a balloon or wad of packing material to your local dealer and see where you can place them to get the dome closed. (That's what makes the AR a better unit--you control the height of the grates so you can set it up for pork butts, ribs, brisket, and any combo thereof.)

You might also consider this set up.....the Smokeware GrateStacker. Doesn't do anything with the plate setter, but does give you an 18" raised swing grate. You can use it with the plate setter installed, as long as it's down in the notches. https://smokeware.com/collections/grill-grates-fire-grates/products/stacker-and-16-grill-grate-combo?variant=40909646478

Kent8621 · January 2019

I have 2 of the Ceramic grill store set ups and there is nothing better out there in my opinion. i have used the BGE version as well as a make shift stacker version and have had far better luck with the CGS setup. i have done 4 butts at a time on one egg and 2 briskets on the other.

SonVolt · January 2019

stlcharcoal said:

You might also consider this set up.....the Smokeware GrateStacker. Doesn't do anything with the plate setter, but does give you an 18" raised swing grate. You can use it with the plate setter installed, as long as it's down in the notches. https://smokeware.com/collections/grill-grates-fire-grates/products/stacker-and-16-grill-grate-combo?variant=40909646478

That's what I'm using now - it's been really handy. I was just looking for something a little more stable that doesn't bounce up and down or lean down with heavier items, like a cast iron pot of beans etc. I'll eventually move the GrateStacker to my kettle-style charcoal grill.

The_Buffalo · January 2019

XF15Loader said:

So, I want to add some cooking area to my LG BGE and I'm looking for suggestions. I've seen some acronyms thrown around but have no clue as to what you guys are talking about...lol.

With that said, let the suggestions fly. Can't wait to check em out.

Thanks,

--J

As you can imagine there are many aftermarket products that would work but I will recommend our new EGGspander system! Here is a link with a ton of info https://biggreenegg.com/product/eggspander/ Available for Large and XL.

SonVolt · January 2019

*flagged*

alaskanassasin · January 2019

....

cookingdude555 · January 2019

The_Buffalo said:

XF15Loader said:

So, I want to add some cooking area to my LG BGE and I'm looking for suggestions. I've seen some acronyms thrown around but have no clue as to what you guys are talking about...lol.

With that said, let the suggestions fly. Can't wait to check em out.

Thanks,

--J

As you can imagine there are many aftermarket products that would work but I will recommend our new EGGspander system! Here is a link with a ton of info https://biggreenegg.com/product/eggspander/ Available for Large and XL.

@The_Buffalo, or anyone that knows, what does the eggspander cost?

The_Buffalo · January 2019

MSRP is $159.95 for the 5 piece kit

SonVolt · January 2019

The_Buffalo said:

MSRP is $159.95 for the 5 piece kit

@The_Buffalo - How much for the XL version?

Yno · January 2019

Legume said:

I haven’t checked lately, but I think the woo for XL hasn’t been platesetter friendly. I use a round and a half moon stone from CGS, you can set it lower in the egg with the woo and there is better airflow, IMO. Still have my PS but never really use it.

@Legume I just bought an XL Woo and my platesetter fits in perfectly. But it the ceramic cracks, I will probably go with a round stone for replacement.

Legume · January 2019

Yno said:

Legume said:

I haven’t checked lately, but I think the woo for XL hasn’t been platesetter friendly. I use a round and a half moon stone from CGS, you can set it lower in the egg with the woo and there is better airflow, IMO. Still have my PS but never really use it.

@Legume I just bought an XL Woo and my platesetter fits in perfectly. But it the ceramic cracks, I will probably go with a round stone for replacement.

Good to know, could be the design has changed. I will say, my woo takes quite a beating because I leave it in 90% of the time and while it certainly looks like it’s been in a fire, it’s as solid as it was when I bought it. Had to be at least three years ago for the woo, I added the AR after that.

SmokeyPitt · January 2019

Can anyone confirm- can you use the Woo and extender without the main grid? I see this picture from their web site and it looks like you can. However in other pictures I don't see the bend in the leading edge so it seems like it needs the main grid in place to support it.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/tv/ocfid8mp0tgg.png

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5017260/uploads/editor/ty/4el8hbnoa3g2.png

Legume · January 2019

Best bet is to call Tom directly at CGS if you have questions. He won’t oversell you and can speak to the current models where many of us have older versions of things.

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