First of all, my brothers are die-hard BGE guys, so it took some real selling to get me to go my own way. All kamados work in basically the same way. It does not take a lot of care to make any of them last a lifetime. That is to say, the ceramic can last a lifetime. So if all Kamado brands give such a generous warranty, why not buy the brand that is built so you are less likely to have a warranty claim. It becomes an issue of the trouble of submitting a warranty claim. So, I bought a grill with stainless steel hardware. Also, efficiency of a grill is partially a function of how well it insulates, so I bought the grill with thicker ceramic.
Also, from reading reviews online, I realized there is another great advantage to owning a Grill Dome...the customer service. I sent an email to their customer service at 10PM regarding whether or not Amazon was an authorized dealer (they are), I got a response in 10 minutes. Check other online forums, you'll hear the same thing.
Last note on competitive factors: GD offers many colors. I chose the silver to keep the solar loading down as I just moved to Phoenix.
Now for my actual experience with the grill. I grill 2-3 times a week with temps ranging from 250 to 600 without any issue. I've cooked steaks, salmon on alder planks, and various pork cuts. This grill is so consistent that I can easily tell the difference between charcoal brands. I have baby back ribs on the grill and I'm really not worried about checking them for a while. I had a 6' steel drum-style smoker before and it took a lot of work to make that thing sing. The GD is so easy it feels like I'm cheating.
The price is a little hard to swallow, but I took a big chunk out of the bill by getting 30 bones in Amazon GC's by signing up for Amazon Visa AND they were running a promotion for 20$ off lawn garden and patio items.
If you have any technical questions about the GD, just email their customer service. Don't talk to Amazon, they really don't know too much about what they're selling, which happens to be an awesome product.
Update: I forgot to mention that the GD I ordered was delivered by CEVA. It came a day late, which was a bummer. BUT, everything you need to start grilling was included...Ozark Oaks charcoal, fire starters, thermometer, sliding chimney. You just need a lighter and something to grill. I recommend you also order the drop rack and a ceramic disk for indirect cooking.
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I've owned a blue large grill dome for 3.5 years now, and love cooking on it. This is one of the best ceramic kamado smokers out there! The stainless steel hardware is great in that it doesn't rust or need adjusted, the paint stays glossy, and the most important part is the cooking. I use my grill about 2 to 3 times weekly all year, sometimes more. You can cook anything in this grill and have great reviews! It hold heat so well, you can cook for 22 hours without a reload of charcoal. The customer service is top notch, I have had a couple of problems with a ceramic fire grate cracking, but it was no big deal. I contacted the company and TK sent one out to me. They do charge shipping, but it wasn't a big deal. I wouldn't hesitate to buy this grill, you will love cooking on it!Best Deals for Grill Dome Infinity Series Ceramic Kamado Charcoal Smoker Grill
I have owned a large Grill Dome Kamado since August of 2010. When it arrived, the inner firebox was cracked in about 5 pieces. I called customer service and they asked me to take a couple of cell phone photos and email them. Within 4 business days, I had a new firebox no charge. Later that year, the cover had torn under a heavy snow load again Grill Dome replaced the cover no charge, no freight. No 140 mile drive, no hassle, just a stand up company making things right.Just as important, this is a great grill/smoker. I have slow cooked ribs, made pizza, jerk chicken, shish kabobs, and grilled vegetables and countless other dishes, all with excellent results. Unlike my Weber gas grill that has a small collection aluminum cesspool underneath that needs to be emptied regularly like a loaded colostomy bag (that thing STINKS and it's a huge mess) the Grill Dome is simple to maintain sweep out the ashes from the bottom vent every few uses. This grill has great utility and a allows for a vast amount of creativity in cooking. The stainless hardware is permanent, the screw on smoker cover is easy to adjust and I built a table using company supplied plans and it came out great. My one issue would be for better instructions for adjusting the hinge for the top in 2010, they were not good, perhaps they have improved.
In summary, despite a rocky start, Grill Dome stood tall and addressed the initial and subsequent issues quickly and went above and beyond with the torn cover. This unit is far better quality than the Big Green Egg. I had two of those in the 1980's and 1990's the hardware rusted out and the ceramic outer shell cracked and fell apart after 3-4 years and the company ran and hid when I reported the problems. I put about 4 pounds of retort cement on all the cracks that was the Big Green Egg "fix" for my cracking problems. NEVER again would I buy Big Green Egg. Grill Dome stand behind their products and this grill smokes, cooks and performs like a champ.
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