EcoQue update.
The weather finally warmed up enough to give the new grill a try, and it performed well.
The optional foil liner was used,which made clean up a bit easier. The grill reminded me of using a Weber as far as the hood being sufficient at keeping enough fresh air out to prevent flare ups. I used a piece of Fat Wood from Menards cut in half as kindling to start the charcoal which worked well. With air flow to the charcoal being somewhat restricted by the foil liner, it took about 20+ minutes for the coals to reach the all grey, ready for grilling point.
Burgers were done in about 10 minutes, and the 9 charcoal briquets used could have easily done a few more batches, but two burgers were all that was needed, so they were allowed to burn down, since unlike the Weber, this grill isn't quite air tight enough to put the coals out and save them for another grilling session. The foil liner helped keep the lower portion of the grill relatively clean, but the downside is the food grate, and hood still needed to be cleaned before packing it back up unless you don't mind nesting the soiled parts with the clean ones in its storage bag, which I wasn't willing to do.
So while it makes for a small storage foot print, it may differ from the other grills discussed in that you probably will want to clean it before repacking. The good news is that the stainless cleaned up pretty easily after letting it soak for a few minutes in warm soapy water. Others say they have just put their EcoQue parts in the dishwasher, but that might be hard to do while camping........ but maybe in the mysterious optional Camp-Inn Maytag....LOL
All in all, after one use I think it worked as advertised, being small, efficient, cooked well, and I would recommend it with the only real reservation being what I feel is the required cleaning before re-packing.
The weather finally warmed up enough to give the new grill a try, and it performed well.
The optional foil liner was used,which made clean up a bit easier. The grill reminded me of using a Weber as far as the hood being sufficient at keeping enough fresh air out to prevent flare ups. I used a piece of Fat Wood from Menards cut in half as kindling to start the charcoal which worked well. With air flow to the charcoal being somewhat restricted by the foil liner, it took about 20+ minutes for the coals to reach the all grey, ready for grilling point.
Burgers were done in about 10 minutes, and the 9 charcoal briquets used could have easily done a few more batches, but two burgers were all that was needed, so they were allowed to burn down, since unlike the Weber, this grill isn't quite air tight enough to put the coals out and save them for another grilling session. The foil liner helped keep the lower portion of the grill relatively clean, but the downside is the food grate, and hood still needed to be cleaned before packing it back up unless you don't mind nesting the soiled parts with the clean ones in its storage bag, which I wasn't willing to do.
So while it makes for a small storage foot print, it may differ from the other grills discussed in that you probably will want to clean it before repacking. The good news is that the stainless cleaned up pretty easily after letting it soak for a few minutes in warm soapy water. Others say they have just put their EcoQue parts in the dishwasher, but that might be hard to do while camping........ but maybe in the mysterious optional Camp-Inn Maytag....LOL
All in all, after one use I think it worked as advertised, being small, efficient, cooked well, and I would recommend it with the only real reservation being what I feel is the required cleaning before re-packing.