Oh yeah, baby! It's here, it's unpacked, it's assembled, it's burned it...It's great! And I got a FREE HAT!
I ordered my ProQ Excel 20 with the extra third stacker from an Ebay auction for $240 delivered to my door. From what I can tell there is only one authorized dealer here in the U.S. and they are currently out of stock. Plus, I saved a bundle of money, possibly half price or better if you factor in shipping charges. However, because I didn’t buy from an authorized dealer I didn’t get any factory warranty. Also, the newest, 2010 versions will have a more heat resistant finish on the stacker sections and better packaging. I haven’t seen any reports of the previous style of stacker coating being a problem. I’m now not at all concerned with the lack of a warranty. It appears to be very well built and at least as heavy duty and durable as only WSM I’ve ever seen. If I hadn’t had the option of buying it at such a discounted price and had to pay retail, (And assuming I could afford it) I would do so and still feel like I got my money’s worth.
I got my boxes yesterday and finally got a chance to check them out. While the unpacking of the parts and pieces was a PITA I'm relieved to say there isn't a scratch, ding, or bend in any of it. It's great! And what was totally unexpected was that it came with some new kind of charcoal in the packing materials for my first burn. But I wasn't impressed with the charcoal at all. It was this pink fluffy stuff and while it did light easily with just a match, a whole basket of it burned in just a few minutes. It gave off clouds of acrid black smoke and it smelled like burning styrofoam!
Really though, the guy who invented those styrofoam packing peanuts needs to be beaten to death.
I could've cut my unpacking time by 90% if I didn't have to deal with a few gallons of loose packing peanuts. And the vast majority served no purpose. They could've been easily and more effectively been replaced with more bubble wrap. But if that's my major complaint with the packaging/shipping then all is good!
The assembly was fairly easy. I had to attach one of the grill rack brackets and the legs. The bracket and it's associated fasteners were just floating loose in the large plastic bag that the 3rd stacker came in and the fasteners could've easily been lost. I'm not sure that they were supposed to be loose like that though. The rest of the fasteners were all sealed in small plastic baggies. It was easy to figure out how to attach the legs but it was much easier to do when my daughter held the base on it's side for me. An extra hand or two helps a lot, (But not absolutely necessary) since the holes didn't quite line up perfectly and the half dome base is sort of hard to handle.
My smoker came with the heavy duty, reinforced legs and after assembly they seem very strong. I don't know how much weight they would hold but I can't imagine that they will ever fail even with the smoker packed with meat. Very good job on the design! A wider stance would add to the stability but it also would be an area where someone might trip too. With just two stackers the unit felt very stabile and with the third stacker it still felt fine. Though I don't think I'd leave it stacked up in a strong wind. It might be aerodynamic enough that a 40mph wind won't topple it but I'd have to see that for myself the first time. We get winds here with gusts of 50mph and more at least once or twice a year.
I did end up tightening up just about every single screw and nut that was pre-attached from the factory as they were nearly all a little loose. But that only took a couple of minutes. The top handle was so loose it was almost rattling. I realize that over tightening can not only strip threads but also damage the finish under the screw heads and washers. But some were little more than finger tight. I wish I had some thread locker left in my old dried up tube. I think I might want to add a drop to the leg screws to make sure they don't work loose through multiple heat cycles. Ian, considering the problems you had with the original unreinforced legs you might want to recommend that people check and retighten the leg screws/nuts after a few heat cycles. All of the stacker rings and both domes fit together well. None were out of round at all.
Speaking of the top handle, the guy in that WSM versus ProQ showdown video commented that he liked the WSM handle better and sort of indicated that the ProQ handle maybe wasn't strong enough. But after I tightened it up a little it seems very sturdy and I doubt that it will ever fail within the life of the rest of the smoker.
The chromed grill racks are more heavy duty than I expected. But they also aren't as big as I expected either. I guess 20" refers to the outside diameter of the stacker rings. My grill racks measure in at about 18 3/4". How does this compare to the 18 1/2" WSM? Does the Weber's 18 1/2" refer to the rack diameter or the outside diameter? If it's the rack diameter then maybe ProQ needs to change their advertising a little bit. It's not a major complaint but the booklet that comes with the Excel 20 clearly states 20" cooking grates and I've seen it somewhere else too. That is incorrect. The grate diameter wasn't a deciding factor for me though so I'm not disappointed by this discrepancy. But it might be for some people. Ian? You really should make sure that anywhere it says, "20 inch grates" it's changed to reflect the actual diameter. It's also time to do away with the claim, "20 inches in diameter makes this the largest water smoker available today" since the introduction of the 22.5" WSM.
The aluminum access doors on each stacker open and close easily. But none of the three have a very tight seal. One is more open than the others. I was able to bend it a little bit to improve the seal but there is room for improvement. I only bring this up because it's an area where smoke and heat can escape and air/oxygen can enter. I have an idea for an easy fix for this though. I think I could use some high temp engine gasket silicone and, "Paint on" a thin layer around the edges of the door. It would have to be thin though to keep from over stressing the hinge. But maybe it's not that big of a deal. I've read about this complaint with the WSM door. It doesn't use hinges or latches but just slips into place. I do wish the ProQ doors were a little larger but if I had to choose between the two types I'd choose the ProQ design.
The only other minor complaint I have is with the latches. While they all function adequately they aren't all perfect. A couple of them could be better positioned. One is loose enough that I might attempt to slightly bend the latch. Since it's one of the latches on the base and I won't always stack them in the same order I guess I'll work on the latch instead of the hook. They're riveted on so they aren't adjustable without drilling out the rivets and replacing them with screws and nuts. Screws and nuts would allow for some slight adjustment. Since everything else uses screws, washers, and nuts I wonder why these didn't. I should note that when the unit is up to temperature all of the latches are sufficiently tight. Obviously the metal expands when it's hot so maybe the looser latch on the bottom dome wasn't an accident. Maybe so but one latch was much looser than the rest, loose enough to rattle even when latched.
Everything seems pretty heavy duty. After assembly the triple stacker smoker looked awesome! It was too heavy to move when fully assembled using only the side handles though. I attempted to pick up the smoker with 2 of the handles and I quickly realized that the handle brackets might bend if this is attempted. It MUST be at least partially disassembled before moving it as a triple stacker. I am considering making some sort of a round rolling dolly with locking castors for it. I will probably make it a little larger in diameter than the smoker itself and that will add to it's stability. Also, I will attach the legs somehow to the base.
End of part one...
Bruce
===============================================
I ordered my ProQ Excel 20 with the extra third stacker from an Ebay auction for $240 delivered to my door. From what I can tell there is only one authorized dealer here in the U.S. and they are currently out of stock. Plus, I saved a bundle of money, possibly half price or better if you factor in shipping charges. However, because I didn’t buy from an authorized dealer I didn’t get any factory warranty. Also, the newest, 2010 versions will have a more heat resistant finish on the stacker sections and better packaging. I haven’t seen any reports of the previous style of stacker coating being a problem. I’m now not at all concerned with the lack of a warranty. It appears to be very well built and at least as heavy duty and durable as only WSM I’ve ever seen. If I hadn’t had the option of buying it at such a discounted price and had to pay retail, (And assuming I could afford it) I would do so and still feel like I got my money’s worth.
I got my boxes yesterday and finally got a chance to check them out. While the unpacking of the parts and pieces was a PITA I'm relieved to say there isn't a scratch, ding, or bend in any of it. It's great! And what was totally unexpected was that it came with some new kind of charcoal in the packing materials for my first burn. But I wasn't impressed with the charcoal at all. It was this pink fluffy stuff and while it did light easily with just a match, a whole basket of it burned in just a few minutes. It gave off clouds of acrid black smoke and it smelled like burning styrofoam!
The assembly was fairly easy. I had to attach one of the grill rack brackets and the legs. The bracket and it's associated fasteners were just floating loose in the large plastic bag that the 3rd stacker came in and the fasteners could've easily been lost. I'm not sure that they were supposed to be loose like that though. The rest of the fasteners were all sealed in small plastic baggies. It was easy to figure out how to attach the legs but it was much easier to do when my daughter held the base on it's side for me. An extra hand or two helps a lot, (But not absolutely necessary) since the holes didn't quite line up perfectly and the half dome base is sort of hard to handle.
My smoker came with the heavy duty, reinforced legs and after assembly they seem very strong. I don't know how much weight they would hold but I can't imagine that they will ever fail even with the smoker packed with meat. Very good job on the design! A wider stance would add to the stability but it also would be an area where someone might trip too. With just two stackers the unit felt very stabile and with the third stacker it still felt fine. Though I don't think I'd leave it stacked up in a strong wind. It might be aerodynamic enough that a 40mph wind won't topple it but I'd have to see that for myself the first time. We get winds here with gusts of 50mph and more at least once or twice a year.
I did end up tightening up just about every single screw and nut that was pre-attached from the factory as they were nearly all a little loose. But that only took a couple of minutes. The top handle was so loose it was almost rattling. I realize that over tightening can not only strip threads but also damage the finish under the screw heads and washers. But some were little more than finger tight. I wish I had some thread locker left in my old dried up tube. I think I might want to add a drop to the leg screws to make sure they don't work loose through multiple heat cycles. Ian, considering the problems you had with the original unreinforced legs you might want to recommend that people check and retighten the leg screws/nuts after a few heat cycles. All of the stacker rings and both domes fit together well. None were out of round at all.
Speaking of the top handle, the guy in that WSM versus ProQ showdown video commented that he liked the WSM handle better and sort of indicated that the ProQ handle maybe wasn't strong enough. But after I tightened it up a little it seems very sturdy and I doubt that it will ever fail within the life of the rest of the smoker.
The chromed grill racks are more heavy duty than I expected. But they also aren't as big as I expected either. I guess 20" refers to the outside diameter of the stacker rings. My grill racks measure in at about 18 3/4". How does this compare to the 18 1/2" WSM? Does the Weber's 18 1/2" refer to the rack diameter or the outside diameter? If it's the rack diameter then maybe ProQ needs to change their advertising a little bit. It's not a major complaint but the booklet that comes with the Excel 20 clearly states 20" cooking grates and I've seen it somewhere else too. That is incorrect. The grate diameter wasn't a deciding factor for me though so I'm not disappointed by this discrepancy. But it might be for some people. Ian? You really should make sure that anywhere it says, "20 inch grates" it's changed to reflect the actual diameter. It's also time to do away with the claim, "20 inches in diameter makes this the largest water smoker available today" since the introduction of the 22.5" WSM.
The aluminum access doors on each stacker open and close easily. But none of the three have a very tight seal. One is more open than the others. I was able to bend it a little bit to improve the seal but there is room for improvement. I only bring this up because it's an area where smoke and heat can escape and air/oxygen can enter. I have an idea for an easy fix for this though. I think I could use some high temp engine gasket silicone and, "Paint on" a thin layer around the edges of the door. It would have to be thin though to keep from over stressing the hinge. But maybe it's not that big of a deal. I've read about this complaint with the WSM door. It doesn't use hinges or latches but just slips into place. I do wish the ProQ doors were a little larger but if I had to choose between the two types I'd choose the ProQ design.
The only other minor complaint I have is with the latches. While they all function adequately they aren't all perfect. A couple of them could be better positioned. One is loose enough that I might attempt to slightly bend the latch. Since it's one of the latches on the base and I won't always stack them in the same order I guess I'll work on the latch instead of the hook. They're riveted on so they aren't adjustable without drilling out the rivets and replacing them with screws and nuts. Screws and nuts would allow for some slight adjustment. Since everything else uses screws, washers, and nuts I wonder why these didn't. I should note that when the unit is up to temperature all of the latches are sufficiently tight. Obviously the metal expands when it's hot so maybe the looser latch on the bottom dome wasn't an accident. Maybe so but one latch was much looser than the rest, loose enough to rattle even when latched.
Everything seems pretty heavy duty. After assembly the triple stacker smoker looked awesome! It was too heavy to move when fully assembled using only the side handles though. I attempted to pick up the smoker with 2 of the handles and I quickly realized that the handle brackets might bend if this is attempted. It MUST be at least partially disassembled before moving it as a triple stacker. I am considering making some sort of a round rolling dolly with locking castors for it. I will probably make it a little larger in diameter than the smoker itself and that will add to it's stability. Also, I will attach the legs somehow to the base.
End of part one...
Bruce
===============================================