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.