Stok Tower

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Great Grill. At this pricepoint you NEED to look it over. Enameled cast iron grate w/inserts. Same thickness as the Weber, enameled finish, taller, very strong legs. The charcoal grate is the same size as a Weber 18. The grilling grate is the same as the 22.5 The Stok has more taper in the bottom kettle.

Weber acc's fit. I bought a Weber tool holder and am using a Weber 18" grill as a 2nd grill shelf  (I added legs) 

Weber is KING but Stok is offering a strong choice.
 
I've looked at these models in Home Depot several times the last couple months since my Weber 22.5 went back to original owner. Display model was always dented/severely damaged and they always had 10+ boxes of them that weren't moving. Today they were marked down to $49 after being $149. Came home to research, found this thread then raced back and bought the last one (were three 20 minutes before).

Can't wait to assemble and fire it up, but since it is one of my "Christmas" presents, I may have to wait a couple days. Love the cast iron grates, integrated thermometer and insert system. Will keep you posted on the results soon!

$49 - how could I turn that down!
 
It is strange looking but seems to be solidly built.  I'm not about to give up my Weber, but I would be interested in your evaluation.

Good luck and good smoking.
 
My wifey bought me a Stok Tower charcoal grill for Christmas.  I've always used my gas grill, but haven't touched it since the Stok arrived.  Charcoal is a new cooking experience for me and we've all benefited from the new grill and smoking process. Aside from my first time with the pizza stone when I burnt the crap out of the first pizza, then learned to spread the coals to the outside of the grate.  I feel the for $49.00, I got a grill that's comparable to, or better than, the $149.00 Weber at the same store.  Plus, my wifey got every grill add-on for %75 off.  Home Depot liquidated the Stok line over the 2011 Christmas holiday season and we took advantage of it.
 
I had hands on one in Palm Coast Florida the other day at a tool store in the outlet mall. Was on sale as a factory blemish (i couldnt find the blem) for $99

It would not fit in the Miata

icon_eek.gif
 
I would strongly  recommend against purchasing as Stok Tower grill.

Pros:

1. They look cool.

2. They appear to built sturdy.

3. The grill top is very nice, cast iron.

Problems:

1. Lousy customer service, if you need parts the factory has no time for you. 

2. The plastic parts (the handle, the grill insert lifter) are very weak.  I dropped the grill top and the handle exploded (scores of pieces all over the porch).  I lifted the grill with the included grill lifter and the plastic handle broke in my hand. These problems occured at 2 yes 2 uses.

3. enamel paint is very brittle and can not be repaired.

I got mine for $49 and would not buy another.

Save yourself the trouble and buy a 22.5" weber.
 
It's been a few months now with the Stok Tower charcoal grill and I wanted to provide and update for anyone who may find this discussion. First, I like the grill and for $49.00 it was a great introductory grill to charcoal cooking. That said, it's a Chinese made knock-off of the Weber 22.5" kettle with some some nice additional features; particularly the iron grate and removable center grill piece.  The removable center piece is convenient to add more charcoal.  It also stands higher than the Weber kettle, but that has made it very difficult to find a grill cover that fits. I suspect that finding replacement parts for this grill is going to be challenging, if not impossible. I'll buy an American made charcoal grill when the time comes because I've caught the cooking meat over coals fever. BTW, a friend has a Weber kettle and we compared them over beers, so this isn't scientific. The Stok tower grill brought me back to the fun of cooking over briquettes and wood chunk coals.  Thanks to everyone for sharing on this forum, I've learned a bunch from this forum and another Weber grill forum.
 
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So, it's been a couple years now with my Stok Tower charcoal grill and, despite this being an old discussion, the search engines put this as one of the top results when searching about the Stok Tower charcoal grill. I wanted to add my experience over the past couple years with the grill. The Stok Tower charcoal grill has served me well for over two years with both indirect and direct grilling and smoking. I've also made several modifications to improve upon the original design. First, let me address some of the negativity.

Parts are now available online at Amazon and several other e-tailers and at the brick-n-mortar stores Cabella's and Target. The orange enamel paint has never chipped on my grill, but then I'm cautious with banging it against something. The plastic lid handle did have me worried, but again, I'm cautious about handling the lid and feel confident that I could make a replacement handle myself if it did break. Heck, even Weber sells a replacement handle for their kettle grill.

These are some design issues that I've overcome through modifications: the wheels, lid sealing, the lower vent, charcoal accessibility, and bi-metal temperature indicator (notice I didn't call it a thermometer). Because the wheels were individually attached to each rear leg, I created my own axle rod that spans across both legs and now the wheels aren't going anywhere. The lid seals much better when I use some strong metal clamps that I got from Harbor Freight; I just removed the clamps rubber parts. The lower vent was modified by cutting away with my Dremel Tool about 3/8" of metal where the bottom pan slides on the pins to allow the adjustable vent to fully close. And for access to add charcoal, I cut off a small portion of the iron grate and wired it together as a make-shift hinge, which allows me to flip up a small part of the grate to enable adding charcoal to the lower portion. It appears that Weber now sells a hinged top grill grate, so this idea is a popular one. And one of the best investments was a wireless temperature probe that I use on both my charcoal and gas grills. Because the "temperature indicators" on both my grills are far from accurate. This digital thermometer has dual probes, for the grill and meat, and it keeps me from opening the lid. And the temperature alarms are a great feature to have when low-and-slow cooking.

Some of my additional grilling gadget purchases have included: some stainless steel Weber charcoal bins for indirect heat. Initially, I used some modified aluminum pans, but eventually bought the "real deal" when the Weber bins were on sale. Other items that I bought and have found useful is a Weber chrome multiple tool hanger, some galvanized S-hooks on which I hang the metal clamps, some long heavy duty grilling gloves, and an official Stok Tower cover, and several smoking related items. The cover has lasted two Michigan Winters, albeit the grill is stored on a covered part of my deck. Many of the additional grilling things that I purchased would probably have been purchased if I had bought a Weber kettle, so I don't feel this indicates something is wrong with the Stok grill.

In conclusion, I have found the Stok Tower charcoal grill to be a great value, especially for $49.00 that my wife paid when the product line was liquidated from a big box store. This is grill has many positive features, with it's taller stand, iron cooking grate, and the circular grill insert with built-in charcoal chimney starter, and inserts that allow for specialized cooking. The grill insert design concept is even something that Weber now sells as the Weber 7420 Gourmet BBQ System Sear Grate Set. I have learned the art of cooking on a charcoal kettle grill and made some useful modifications, which is what many Weber grill owners have done with their grills too. So, would I buy another Stok Tower charcoal grill, probably, but I'll review the competition too. Happy grilling on whatever works for you.
 
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Here's another update on my Stok Tower grill as someone may find this thread while researching Stok Charcoal Grills.  My Tower grill is still working great and I've learned how to regulate and maintain the temperature.

- I've come to appreciate that the Tower grill sits up higher than most drum grills.

- I use the charcoal starting system every time. When the basket is removed, the briquettes spread across the grate, but I often keep the charcoal basket in place for direct and indirect cooking.

- One addition I made was a bead of high temp silicone on the lid rim, which really helped to seal the lid, especially when I clamp it down.

- The cast iron grate was losing the ceramic coating and rusting, so I added a Weber 22.5" stainless steel wire grate this Spring. I may get another Stok cast iron grate because I have all of the cooking inserts. And the cast iron grill grate heats up evenly, like an iron skillet.

- The charcoal grate was also badly warped, so I added a Weber grate on top of it.  The Weber grate wire is thicker and, when off-set 90 degrees to the original grate, it really helps to keep the charcoal from falling between the wire. So I kept the original grate in the grill for that reason.

- The ash can on this model is pretty flimsy and a "sticking" point with me, literally, it's getting harder to remove as the thin metal has been bent over the years.  I see that the new Stok Drum Grill has a different ash can. 

-  The plastic lid handle can get really hot and I noticed that the newer Stok Drum grill added a heat shield under the handle; something that I may do myself.

- The Stok grill cover is still good, although I keep the grill in a protected area.

So, after a few years with this grill, would I buy another one?  Sure, for $49.00 that I paid when it was being liquidated, but probably not $150.00.  For $150 I'd probably buy a Weber kettle.  Anyway, they don't make the Stok Tower Grill anymore and Stok has replaced it with a Drum Grill model.  Happy grilling!
 
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