Just Purchased Large Egg w/ Woo & Spider - Will it fit my needs ?

Hi Folks,

I am a new poster here on the forums, and new to Kamado style cooking. I have been looking at getting a Kamado style grill for about a year now, and moving to middle TN has given me the opportunity to sell my gas grill and buy a BGE. I've have been reading alot of posts on this forum, as well as youtube videos, to learn as much as I can about cooking on the BGE. 

For the longest time, I was debating whether I should purchase an XL or Large BGE. Since, its just me and wife (and we don't host), I decided to go with the Large. Plus, I like the depth between the firebox and grid on the large compared to the XL. After reading many discussions, I got the feeling that aftermarket grid accessories from CGS would be a good investment (especially compared to the eggspander). I called CGS, because I wanted to explain my cooking style and wanted to see if purchasing the Large Woo would fit my needs. The lady on the phone was very nice and was able to help me determine that the Large Woo can be configured to fit some of my needs (exception of pizza - she mentioned cooking pizza at the felt line was bad, as i would burn the gasket), but the addition of the spider would be beneficial for the searing closer to the lump. Because I am a visual learner, I wanted to post here on this forum to get additional insight from you folks to ensure the large Woo will meet my needs - or if there is something better suited for what I am trying to do.

- Egg & Size:
Large BGE w/ Nest & wood eggmates (its just me and my wife, and we do not host any people or parties)

- What I normally cook:
It's a must that I need to be able to cook a steak (reverse sear w/ ease), chicken wings/thighs, pork butts.
I am very interested (although have never done it) in cooking briskets and pizzas on the BGE.

- What I purchased from CGS:
    - KAB w/ Can 

   - Large Woo  with 16inch half Stones and drip pan (At this point, since my cooks are very simple, I did not look at getting the AR Combo… want to be as simple as possible, but still meet my needs)

   - Spider (was told I could drop the spider lower into the fire ring to get a better sear closer to the lump)

   - 14.5inch CGS Stainless Steel Grid (This will set on the spider within the fire ring)

   - 15 inch full ceramic stone (for pizza)

Again, since I am a visual learner, I drew up some pictures to be able to see how I would configure the Large Woo to meet my cooking needs. Can you folks read the below sections and let me know if I am thinking about this correctly? Within each section, I have some questions that I would like to get insight on

For Reverse Searing Steaks (usually only cooking 2x steaks at a time):

-  Place the spider on the fire ring so that the ring of the spider sits below the fire ring close to the lump

 -  Place the L Woo into the BGE with 1x 16” half ceramic stone on one side on the lower ring of the L Woo, and the other side of the lower ring open to allow access to the 14.5" SS grid on the spider below

-     Place the BGE Factory 18" cooking grid on the top ring of the L Woo

Question:

-     Am I thinking about this correctly?

This should allow me to cook the steaks on the18" grid on the side that is over the 16inch ceramic stone, and then when the steaks gets to the appropriate temperature, I would take out the 18" grid, and place the steak on the 14.5" SS grid for a direct sear on the spider close to the lump

 I guess, i could also use both half stones for a better indirect cook, and lift the entire Woo out of the egg whenever i am ready to sear the steak. The reason I preferred the first option, is because it will be easier for me to lift and store the hot 18" Grid, rather than lifting the entire hot Woo w/ stones and setting that down somewhere.

For Smoking Low & Slow:

-     Place both 16" half stones on the bottom ring of the XL Woo to deflect the heat.

-     Smoke meat on the top 18" BGE Grate

Question:

-  Will I be okay using the 2x 16inch half ceramic stones versus a conveggtor? Is their an advantage of using the ceramic stones vs a conveggtor for low and slow smoking?

- Is is okay to keep the Spider in the BGE while doing low and slow? I don't have alot of places to store equipment, so i would prefer to leave it in there as long as it won't damage the equipment or interfere with the cook.

For Cooking Chicken directly at Felt Line:

-     Place L Woo in BGE with nothing on the bottom ring

-     Place18" cooking grid on the top of the L Woo ring at Felt line

 Question:

 - Again, Is is okay to keep the Spider in the BGE while cooking at higher temperatures?

For cooking Pizza:

-     Place both 16" half stones on the bottom ring of the L Woo to deflect the heat.

-     Place 18" stock cooking grate at Felt Line

-     Place full 15" ceramic pizza stone directly on the cooking grate

Question:

-      I know this may not be the best way to cook the pizza, since the pizza won’t be as high in the dome, but is this an acceptable configuration to bake pizza ? I've seen so many youtube videos where pizza is being cooked at the felt line, but the representative from CGS was pretty adamant about not cooking pizza at the felt line due to the head burning the felt. Again, i want to be as simple as possible and not have to buy an extra extender or spacers to cook pizza, but if cooking pizza at the felt line will damage the felt, then it looks like i may have no other option.

Thanks in advance  for reading through this lengthy post and providing insight