Had a one touch gold 22.5" in Boston and sold it out there when I moved back to California a few days ago. Looking to buy another one touch gold but thinking about upgrading to the 26.75" The only problem is the price; the 22.5" is around $150 and the 26.75" is about $300.
Seems crazy for an extra 4.25" its double the price. Anyone upgrade to the large size and appreciate the extra space. I figured bigger is better and it will serve well for some indirect cooking experiments.
What’s The consensus, worth the extra money? Anyone have a good cheap source on either?
So in the end I wound up going with the One Touch Platinum 22.5". Grilled for the first few times this past weekend and I really like it. The tables on the side are nice and provide ease of use. I really like the mechanism in the back to allow for the lid to slide back without taking it completely off.
Tyler, our POS gas grill has just about completely rusted out and I’m looking for a replacement. Getting back to basics with a kettle sounds appealing. What does the “Platinum” designation get you? The side tables? Any other upgrades from the Gold?
Four vs. three leggs
The cool side prep areas
A device that allows you to just move the lid back and it rests on the grill vs. having to remove the entire thing and place it on the ground
They both have the quick clean ash collector and the same grill grate
The thermometer is kind of handy, I guess. An extra leg doesn’t seem all that compelling, unless I’m totally missing something. Side prep area is a definite plus.
Can you guys clarify what the lid feature does? On my old Weber kettle, the lid had a hook to hang it from the rim of the kettle - seemed pretty practical to me. Is this new feature intended to assist peeking - as opposed to full-on flipping, adding charcoal, or whatever - I’m assuming in those latter situations you would still remove the lid all the way.
I thought at first that the lid mechanism would be kinda lame but I found it to be really handy. Using this mechanism I can do everything from lighting the chimney, cooking, cleaning and adding charcoal. I have not run into one situation where I have completely removed the lid for any purposes.
Check out the weber website, they have some good pics.
Oh, you also get Two Char-Basket charcoal fuel holders with the platinum, these could be useful for keeping charcoal localized for indirect cooking.
If on a budget, consider one of these: http://bit.ly/bHKdxm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I’d give construction/materials a B/B-, but at $140 you really can’t beat the size. Plus the charcoal tray is adjustable for height, and the grates are cast iron. You can buy the smoker box attachment, or just do an indirect (way more indirect than a Weber) slow cook.
I purchased one to use at my Mother’s house for big groups and have been impressed.
I have one of these with the side-fire box, and it works like a champ. I think I’m heading into year 3 with mine. I bought it after reading so many great reviews on the bulletin board at Steven Raichlen’s site (Board Dressing - BarbecueBible.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). It has quite the reputation in the BBQ community, and seemed like a no-brainer for the price.
I still use a Weber for small grilling jobs where I’m just cooking for my family.
