Efficiency Test: Slow N' Sear vs Weber Charcoal Baskets 

Many thanks ! Good info

Thank you, Tracy. Someone had made a similar video about the same time that I didn't think was fair. I wanted to rerun the tests and see the results. Staring at a kettle with no food in it for 8 hours was worth it to get the information out there.

I really like how even the cook temp is on the Slow N Sear. It makes me look good! Thanks for the sub. Let me know if there is something you'd like to see.

Thanks! I tried to keep this one unbiased by maintaining the temperature.

Thanks, man. I limited as many variables as I could without the lab. I figured most people don't have one to cook in either. I plan on checking your channel out too. Thanks for coming around.

Thank you JD. I wanted to see what it would do under a fair test.

Nice! You are all set and ready to go for anything that comes up.

Thanks Bryan. I've always said if a pellet grill is what you need to make good BBQ, get one. If something makes your cooking life easier and makes you do it more. Get it!

That's another good method that people use to get similar results. That's the cool thing about the kettle. There are lots of mods you can do. Find what works for you and make great food.

That's definitely a good mod on the two baskets. They just aren't big enough by themselves to go low and slow for a long time. Thank you for the tips.

Glad to help! Learn from my fail and make sure the fire bridges to the other side.

Glad you like them! That first "cook" was rough. All the work of watching the kettle, but without the payoff. People wanted to know, so I tried it out.

Thanks Spence. That graph was from the first test, but it was interesting to see how quickly it dropped when the first basket started to burn out.

That one surprised me too. Individual briquettes vary widely, but a random sample of 80 evens that out.

I agree. Less hassle means spending more time doing other things!

You're welcome. That was a long night with nothing on the kettle!

Thanks, Christy. Winter is coming and I'll have a chance to try it. The big charcoal capacity should help with staying inside too!

That's a great tip to get good vent hole alignment. I hadn't considered that or seen anyone else talk about it.

Thanks Kevin. There are lots of accessories. The one benefit of sticking with the basics is you'll always be able to grill with whatever they have. A kettle is a kettle.

Slow and sear is the bomb. Hard to trust and let go of the money. Works great

While I do agree with you, I did buy the slow and sear and I really love it. I am an old stick burner guy who recently bought a weber kettle to play around with, now I want the SNS kettle. Lots of fun.

The microphone is a Sony ECMCS3 lav mic hooked up to a a Tascam DR-05. I clean up the audio in Audacity and sync it to the video in post. The only bummer is it only works with 1 person and picks up the neighbors dog really well. I’m looking at trying a shotgun mic to see if I can get around that. I hope life is getting back to normal for you after the hurricane! p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica}

Thanks Lew, I tried to be even. If I had to cook four pork butts I would probably use the UDS too. That way you only have to tend to one fire. My UDS likes to burn stuff on the bottom rack if I'm not careful though.

silly either go for trial and error or read a book lol

I love Project Farm. Thanks for the compliment. I watch his videos just to see how he tests things and am always surprised. I'm working to do a few more tests because they are fun!

Thanks Jeff. Let me know if there is a video you'd like to see made.

Thanks for the idea! I'm also thinking about making a Bro 'N Sear to see what happens.

Thank you for checking it out Tom.

Good idea Lasse! Hobol wants the test done on the North Pole and you are the closest person I know. :)

I don't normally pay as much attention to the SNS, but I had to keep the temps consistent for the sake of the experiment.

Thank you! Cheers! This one was a lot of work, but worth it since so many people were interested.

Grill Top Experience - have you ever tried a tandoor clay oven?

Never a tandoor, but I have a kamado and had really good luck with that too. I haven't dialed it in well enough to make a video.

Grill Top Experience - ok it seems the “deeper” the bbq or grill the better the meat seems to taste. That’s been my experience. Excellent videos.

It's important to not the timeline of events. I was not working with them when this video was made. My first video with them came much later.

They sell a Drip 'N Griddle pan that has a wire rack that goes inside of it. It fits perfectly in the empty space next to the SNS. I haven't tried it, but I know people who have. The only gotcha is the temperature is about 40 degrees lower than the cooking grate level so things take a bit longer to cook.

Ha! I forgot that I did that. It's still fun to play!

Thank you Mr. Bones. I wanted to be transparent in the process so others could give it a try too.

I wish I was that cool and could have used an app. I had an action camera set to take a frame every 30 seconds. I had the XR-50 and a digital clock in the frame. I manually copied the data over after the test was done. I repeated the test when it was 15 degrees F and got similar results. They burned out a lot quicker though. Meat Cranium did a test comparing it with a different method and the Slow 'N Sear was more efficient, but he showed that the temps weren't as even. It's interesting to see the different test methods and results.

@@GrillTopExperience You're even cooler. I'm pretty good at workarounds, but this takes the cake! Thanks for the fast reply. Do you know if anything charts and saves a long cook?

Thanks. I'm glad to see you back on RU-vid. I'm excited to see the new place.

Thank you. There will be water in the next test though and each will use the best method I could find to cook with them.

Thanks, Kent. I made a bro n sear last week and have been testing it. We'll see what comes of it!

Ryan , that's cool. I can't wait to see the results. I have never compared the two at all. Keep up the good videos ! Thanks Ryan.

That's a good point, but I wanted to keep everything as even as possible. The Slow 'N Sear would be more likely to boil off the water, which could reduce it's efficiency. The follow up video I did cooked two pork shoulders and compared the results.

Grill Top Experience Right the water would boil off, but at what point? It is probably a variable time, based on weather, etc., but by not using the water reservoir in a low and slow comparison, which SNS says to use on low and slow cooks, won’t give you a true reading of the SNS’s efficiency.

It was just to hold the probe off the charcoal grate so I could get a good temp.

Do you get good results from the smokenator? I've seen those for a long time and wondered how they work.

Thanks for checking it out. This one took some work to put together!

I can tell. Great audio. What kind of mic did you use?

I use the Tascam dr-05 and a Sony lav mic. Most of the magic is done in post with Audacity. I also got some help in this video from a big wildfire. The air was bad and everyone kept their kids and dogs inside.

You got it! It is a pain to use two baskets and I did one test where the 2nd one didn't light. In this test, the first charcoal basket didn't burn all of the charcoal. I'll stick with the Slow 'N Sear too.

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it.

I was on the phone with tech support and she said as in "Girl, Baby, Daddy". Like what? Oh you mean Golf, Bravo, Delta!

Coming up with the experiment was the easy part. Staring at the kettles for 8 hours . . . not so much! Thank you for checking it out Michael.

Grill Top Experience on the second test did the baskets still require more adjustment?

They did require a bit more adjustment, but I didn't calculate the deviation on the second test. I didn't adjust the vents at all on the pulled pork test and the Slow 'N Sear was more consistent there too.

Grill Top Experience good to know, thanks! I just ordered a kettle and some of the baskets, I guess if I have troubles I'll consider the sns. It seemed tough to justify for the extra cost compared to the baskets.

Abc says the drip n griddle pan helps with efficiency. You could simulate that by blocking off the charcoal grate on the other side maybe? Also did you use any water in the SnS? It helps even out the temp swings etc....

I blocked off the charcoal grate and used water when I cooked the pork butt in my upcoming video. Water would kept the temps more consistent, but would have been hard to keep even between the two, so I left it out.

Everyone should use what works for them. I tested both and the SNS produces more even temps on the indirect side because it blocks more radiant heat from the coals. That's an interesting result. I would have thought the same temp would result in the same cook time.

That's a good question. I'm not sure what would happen, but I have a couple questions that it would answer: 1) Could you get the temp down if you lit both sides and 2) Would lighting at both ends make it burn out faster?

Thanks for noticing! About 3 months after this ABC asked me to make the how to light the Slow N Sear video. I skipped the water because it would evaporate in the SNS and not in the baskets. It takes a lot if energy to boil water and it would have been less efficient. This made it a fair fight.

I've tried that method, but not in an efficiency test. Separate baskets makes this complicated too because you have to manage two fires and it can be harder to get your temperatures down. I'm sure there are people out there that have mastered it.

Thanks! My only goal was to make a fair test and see what came of it.

I used two black kettles for an even comparison. My black one gets well over 100 degrees if it's in the sun and I don't have a red one to test. I bet there is a small difference, but your best bet is to get the one you like the best. The Canadian Spring Green or Slate Blue kettles are my favorites.

I haven't used the vortex, but I have seen it burn up grill grates. They are really different products. You wouldn't use the vortex for low n slow, but you can sear and cook slow on the Slow N Sear. It really depends on how you want to use it.

I don't have a 26", but I'm surprised that the time doesn't match the smaller kettle since it holds more charcoal. That's good to keep in mind though.

You know, I don't remember! Those potatoes do a great service to the rest of the cook, but don't get any credit for their service.

Great point! The challenge is that water takes an incredible amount of energy to boil and evaporate. The Slow 'N Sear would evaporate all of the water, but putting a water pan in front of the coals probably wouldn't and that would skew the results.

The Slow N' Sear is $127, but the company is looking at selling the reservoir and charcoal basket separately if all you want to do is sear. My UDS cost me about that much + a couple weekends. I'm excited to do the low n slow comparison.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but pumpkin spice bologna is just fake news! I thought that might be better than the roadkill other people ask about.

Grill Top Experience that is hilarious 😂 thanks for the laugh

I haven't seen any that'll fit anything less than the 18" grills. You may need to make something custom. You might try making a wall of aluminum foil as a test so you can get the size right.

SNSGrills did that same test with some fan controllers. I won't spoil the results, but there were differences. I would be interested in testing to see if there are differences in the end result of your meat.

@@GrillTopExperience I do not have a SnS so it will be hard to test. The brisket I did this WE in the Weber 26" using the snake method was pretty good but I have no point of comparison. Will head out to SNSGrills to see their test. Or even try making a Bro n Sear who knows! Good content.

Exactly, or a cloud or the setting sun. All of those should be the same between the two grills since they were right next to each other. Some people are really particular about hitting the perfect temp, but I'm not. My bigger concern is that the temps would run away when I'm not looking. Less variability gives me the confidence to walk away for a bit and not worry.

​@@GrillTopExperience I suppose the variability would be diminished considering the fact that they two cookers have lids and a base, with, I imagine, identical vent positions. The only variable to consider elsewhere is airflow and inconsistency among said airflow. But, I suppose another important data point is how long does that differential stand true? With a spike in temperature if it was from 275 to 450, sure, but 275 to 260 (as an example), I don't think that really matters for practical purposes. I won't get into the whole, how was the grill oriented, was one biasing in an open area, etc. However, paying $100 for a 5-10 fahrenheit temperature differential is a moot point when compared to a basket that is $20 for 2. Hell, I could buy five sets of basket for the price of a single slow and sear and use the other four orders as test dummies for the water tray. Also: a cloud isn't changing much, maybe relative ambient, but this is a "closed" system so let's not get too ahead of ourselves. There are some of us out there that actually understand heat transfer, and in a pinch, could produce, via a simple sheet metal model utilizing an engineering software to simulate this "ingenious" (maybe even the draft angle that makes it so good at dispensing coals lol) design of a sheet metal holder. Hell, in fact, this is like a 5 minute model., a few extra minutes for the basic simulation. Furthermore, the whole talk about efficiency is also, just a tad bit, comical. Maybe price to performance and define those variables of efficiency, since, ya' know. Efficiency is relative.

Just make a bro N sear

Both methods are more efficient than just piling it up because they retain the heat.

That's the bro N sear. Not as good, but a lot cheaper.

@@GrillTopExperience Haven't seen the video that shows it's not as good.

I've seen people do that with regular bricks. The firebrick is a better option than a standard red brick for sure! I guess it just depends on how much hassle you want to deal with. Some people like a pre-built solution.

The only reason the baskets lasted longer was because the temperature dipped in the middle of the test when it didn't jump baskets. In this same video, I repeated the test with a successful bridge and they both went out at the same time. I don't think I would change the design of the Slow 'N Sear. The follow up video to this one showed that the Slow 'N Sear kept a more even temperature across the cooking surface. Is the SNS more efficient than the baskets? No, but it makes it much easier to cook on.

@@GrillTopExperience If you're going to the trouble of cooking on a Weber kettle, how much easier is easier gonna be? I honestly don't see that much difference in the effort required between the two methods (excepting the failed bridge of course - but that's just a matter of experience) Anyway, good stuff. Cheers!

It's true. They are too small to be useful.

The Weber baskets are handy for high temp grilling using indirect heat and reverse sear, at least on the 26" weber. They don't hold enough to do low and slow. I got a Smoke-EZ for my 26" weber and use the snake method. Similar to a UDS and works great. @@GrillTopExperience

I have never accepted anything other than products to test from any company for any content on this channel. I was compensated to make a few videos for the Adrenaline BBQ channel (Now SNS Grills) and it shouldn't be a surprise that the primary purpose of those videos is an advertisement for their products. This video was made several months before they approached me about making content for them and that was only for a short time.

One basket won't hold enough charcoal for a long cook. That's one benefit of the SNS

Meat Cranium BBQ and Review did that test if you want to check it out.

@@GrillTopExperience Did the ones yall make have to be pulled cause of sponsorship issues?

Yep, I bought a SS dog bowl at a second hand shop, 3 bucks.

I think they call that the bro 'n sear!

I did 😀 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-yuUysmBhhyQ.html

@@GrillTopExperience I should have guessed - You the man! Let me ask - Do you use the fire cube starters or the Chimneys more and why?

I appreciate the feedback. This one took more work than most of my videos, but I wanted to get the test right. This test might get redone in the cold to see if there is a difference since this one was done at about 90F.

What is that! We have a ton of Grasshoppers in August, so that might have been it. I haven't seen any lizards running around my yard though. I can tell you paid attention to every detail. Thank you for the support!