So I've joined the cult.

[Draznnl]

Congrats on the kettle.
I read the title of this thread and thought, “Yeah duh. You’ve been here longer than I have.”

[FireMan]

Ain’t no cult, just Merican way of life, yessir. Always room & need fer a kettle. Good score!

[DaveD]

Nice! Looking forward to seeing you fire that puppy up!

[drobinson]

The Weber Kettle is all you need---it fulfills all needs---just my opinion, but then I've only been using a Weber kettle since 1970----so what do I know?

[Grillin Dad]

The kettle is pretty awesome. With 4 small kids, extended family in town, and multiple neighborhood bbq's each year, I'm eventually going to outgrow my 22" performer. With this on mind,I often dream of other cookers (namely the WSK or hasty bake), but I'm about 90% sure I'll replace it with a 26" kettle. There's just nothing the kettle can't do, and do it well. Now if Weber would just make a 26" performer ...

[mrichie1229]

I replaced my 22" with the 26". Love it! Do it, you won't regret it. I also have a PBC if I really need a lot of real estate.

[Grillin Dad]

mrichie1229 Aww man, love your setup. That's my long term goal, 26" kettle with a PBC!

[BBQandLove]

My SnS gathers dust. I’m just not sure why it’s so revered.

A snake seem to work better for low and slow smoking. The Weber baskets seem to work better for indirect, and searing. The Vortex seem to work better for searing and air fryer type applications, like wings, but then, the SNS isn’t really known for air fryer type applications.

So I’m just not sure where the value is. I’ve used mine, and I suppose it’s fine. But it just gathers dust.

Maybe I’ll try it again.

[jfmorris]

My SnS gathers dust. I’m just not sure why it’s so revered.

A snake seem to work better for low and slow smoking. The Weber baskets seem to work better for indirect, and searing. The Vortex seem to work better for searing and air fryer type applications, like wings, but then, the SNS isn’t really known for air fryer type applications.

So I’m just not sure where the value is. I’ve used mine, and I suppose it’s fine. But it just gathers dust.

Maybe I’ll try it again.

Hmmmm. I have the opposite results. A lot though depends on the charcoal you use, and the lighting method used, in making the SNS work well.

I can get 10-12 hours on a load of B&B briquettes and some wood chunks in my kettle with the SNS. I doubt I ever got that long with a snake burning around the cooking grate, then I had to add to the end of the snake to go longer - much harder to refuel than the SNS. And to be honest, the snake on the charcoal grate tends to limit the cooking grate space more than the SNS does, for things like slabs of ribs or more than one butt. Remember - the charcoal grate is much smaller than the cooking grate, and you don't really want the snake passing under the meat.

For indirect, I just use the 2/3 of the grate that the SNS is not occupying, then have a nice searing zone over the SNS for front or reverse sears. I also put an elevated grate above the SNS itself if I want the sears a little farther above the heat.

I do think that the Vortex is better for high heat indirect cooking of chicken, mostly because it is centered in the grill. But I've done a 20 pound Thanksgiving turkey spatchcocked on a kettle with the SNS - just had to wrap the ends of the drumsticks in a little foil as they hung out a little past the water reservoir area.

[mrichie1229]

Great find realdocBBQ! Persistence pays off.