How worth it is the stainless?

[zblongladder]

I'm really tempted to upgrade to an LSG pellet smoker in the next year or two, but I'm a little intimidated by the carbon steel and how you have to season it. Is seasoning the carbon steel a pain? Does it add a lot of time & effort to the upkeep? Is the easier upkeep of the stainless model worth the eye-watering price difference?

[Jerod Broussard]

I have the carbon grates and they ain't bad. I might upgrade to the stainless grates next summer.

I have a stainless grill that STAYS dirty. Stainless surfaces are easily turned ugly.

[glitchy]

What ^ this guy said. I buy stainless steel grills and smokers for longevity. If you like immaculate looking cookers though, it’s much easier to keep powder coated or porcelain enamel looking clean than stainless or buy something that will take 100 plus years to rust through and go au natural.

I learned quick when I bought a Memphis pellet grill (hated for other reasons btw), keeping it spotless wasn’t worth the effort with bar keepers friend. Now once every 2-3 years I get out the oven cleaner and clean the MAK, Genesis, and KBQ to look good until the next cook.

Grates, I will always pick stainless if available, just for longevity.

[Henrik]

Th carbon steel is gonna last many years, that is less of a concern. In terms of maintenance, having oil in a spray bottle really helps. I do that with my offset (on the outside). I use regular black steel grates, I brush them off with a wire brush the day after the cook, that’s about it. They are greased up when cooking a pork belly or similar meats.

[Murdy]

I added aftermarket stainless grates to both my kettle and gasser, got tired of the rust, pricey but worth it in my opinion. I hit them with an SOS pad a couple times a year, but they are never pretty.

[jfmorris]

One question its whether zblongladder is talking about the COOKER itself (which LSG offers in stainless for a hefty fee), or the cooking grates in the cooker, which can be carbon steel or laser cut stainless.

I am assuming it is the cooking grates. And what I find interesting is that LSG only offers the pellet cooking grate in carbon steel expanded metal, or laser cut stainless.

I had a smoker for 30+ years, now handed down to my nephew, that my father's company built as customer gifts back in the mid 80's, and he used 304SS expanded metal as well as stainless angle for the cooking grates. I like expanded metal for smoker grates - just not sure why LSG can't offer stainless expanded grates. That would have more "open" area than their laser cut stainless grates in a smoker.

My thoughts are that if you do not season and maintain those expanded metal grates, they will rust in an outdoor environment, just from humidity. If you keep them clean and spray them with some oil after cleaning, they should be fine.

[Richard Chrz]

I cannot speak for black steel grates, I do have carbon in pans, a grill plancha, etc, love it all. It does not require nearly as much maintenance as I feel some people think, at least in those circumstances. I also have stainless pans, and occasionally they need some bar keeper's friend. Everything we buy needs some level of maintenance to keep it as close to original quality.

A question may be, when you are done grilling and are not going to grill for another week, or longer, are you someone who likes to maybe wipe down a grill grate once it is cooling, or just open it back up and burn stuff off with a fire? If the later, I might suggest Stainless. If you like to care and maintain your purchases even just a bit, then really either can be a great choice.

[ItsAllGoneToTheDogs]

My personal preference is stainless, I don't care if it gets a little ugly. With non-stainless a little ugly still needs maintenance or you begin to experience corrosion or rust. Plus, usually a quality oven cleaner and a few minutes soaking and then a pressure washer will get ya looking brand new with stainless.

[zblongladder]

I should probably apologize for not being clear -- I'd been referring to the cooker when I was asking about the stainless option, but I probably should've been thinking more about the grates as well. What'd inspired this question was reading through LSG's FAQ section about seasoning and getting worried -- I've had carbon steel knives, for example, that I've been too intimidated to use because of the potential for rust, and I didn't want to spend thousands on a grill just to never be able to to use it because the upkeep was too much for me. (I've got depression, and I can't always count on myself to have the energy to do the cleaning and maintenance I want to do.) Now that I've heard some more and done some more research, I think what I want to do is a carbon cooker with stainless grates. When I realized that the cooker wasn't going to need reseasoning frequently, it answered a lot of my questions...I was really worried that if I put away the grill without applying a coat of oil every time I'd end up with a rusty, damaged grill.

The grates OTOH...I could definitely see them getting damaged by lack of proper care, given my depression, and the ~$500 upcharge for stainless grates is a lot more palatable than $4000 for an all-stainless grill.

[Jerod Broussard]

I see no reason for an all stainless smoker. Stainless grates....yes.

[jfmorris]

With the gauge metal used by LSG, I also see no reason for stainless. And in fact, I kind of like a black cooker, as if it gets looking shabby a few years down the road, you can mask off the controls and give it a touch up with high temp grill paint. I've got grills with stainless on parts of the body, and the stainless is what needs the most wiping to keep looking nice.

From what I read, the seasoning is about the INSIDE of the cook chamber. Not the outside - the outside is painted.

[Hulagn1971]

I like the stainless option. Bought a Blaze high end cart grill 2nd hand about 6-8 years ago and every part is 304 stainless. It stays on our back deck uncovered 365 days a year. No rust, no stains, no pitting. A quick wipedown with some Sheila-Shine twice a year keeps it beautiful. Super low maintenance.

[Skip]

I have the Stainless Laser Cut Grates on my LSG Adjustable Charcoal Grill/Smoker. I would definitely buy them again. My MAK Pellet Grill has the SS Body which stains from the smoke quite badly which IMO is a PAIN to clean as glitchy mentioned above. It's my only complaint about the MAK.

[zblongladder]

But that's just aesthetic, right? My issue is that, if carbon steel gets ugly, it's usually rust, which can be structural.