Hasty Bake wannabes

[yakima]

Anyone with experience with brands like Dyna Glo or Expert Grill, that have adjustable height charcoal trays?
I just picked up a BBQ Grillware; crank and charcoal door in front, enameled cast iron cooking grates, dampers on both ends below charcoal grate, and dampers on both ends of lid. $125. Barely used. Cannot find much re BBQ Grillware. Looks like both Lowes and Walmart have similar house brands.

[ecowper]

None at all for me, but that sounds like a heckuva buy

[dpearce]

Ride that horse till it drops dead in the desert. And post pics!

[yakima]

Yes. Stuff like this is gonna force me to learn pics.

[yakima]

It was on Facebook Marketplace for some weeks, listed at 150. I asked the young man selling, Why?
We got it as part payment for some work on a house. Don't need it, have 3 other grills.
It appears unused based upon the grates, but evidences some weather exposure.
Heavy, well built for the most part. double walled lid. 2 side shelves and bottom shelf.

[Huskee]

I used to have the Dyna-Glo and I really liked it. On sale at Walmart for $80 back in '18 so it was hard to pass up.

BIG caveat: it absolutely would *not* hold a steady low & slow temp so might as well not try. The vent sliders were useless, it leaked like a large cheese grater. But if you're doing steaks/chops/burgers I thought it was great and I enjoyed it. Gave it to a buddy of mine and he still uses it and loves it. But he doesn't do low & slow.

[Uncle Bob]

Those are brands targeting big box shoppers who focus first on price. As such they're built down to a price point, not up to a quality standard. That said they perform a purpose for the casual user (not the hardcore nut jobs we here tend to be). Based on a neighbor's experience the one he had lasted about a year and a half before rotting out at the bottom. I'm sure that was part his fault for not diligently cleaning the accumulated ash, but I doubt he's all that unusual in that.

[jayjordan]

"hardcore nut job" - guilty as charged!

[Hulagn1971]

Uncle Bob you had me at "hardcore nut jobs". 🤘🏼🤘🏼🤘🏼

[jfmorris]

If you got a grill that is built anything like a Hasty Bake for $125, then you got an amazing find.

Most of the "big box" store charcoal grills that I've looked at that attempt to look like anything other than a kettle seem to be built leaky as heck, where any vents that were on there were almost meaningless, as the hinged lid didn't actually seal to the body and had large gaps.

[yakima]

Built a small fire tonite. Did hamburgers. All vents wide open. got up to about 700 degrees. Leaks some around lid, but prolly not significant.
Rig does not have a grease drain.

[yakima]

I closed all vents/dampers last nite.
All charcoal burned, so not like BGE which when closed saves charcoal.

[ecowper]

Hasty Bakes are pretty leaky until you seal the door and hood and get some cooking done in them. I would expect that inexpensive look alikes would be even more so. One of the things I had to figure out was how to quite burning up half a bag of charcoal every cook.

[yakima]

Postin g some pics, mainly for practice.

[yakima]

v

[yakima]

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[ecowper]

Cool