Hi There: I want to give a Smokey Joe as a gift. I have the old Silver grill with the vent on hte bottom and it works fine. The Gold has a handle so you can carry it around (nice addition) but there are no vent holes on the bottom. I have read threads on this web site and Amazon about this lack of bottom vent issue, but with no real conclusion. I'm a huge Webber fan myself having a kettle, WSM, Q, Old style Smokey Joe. I can't belive that Weber would put a grill on the market that wouldn't "draw".
My question is, Does the Smokey Joe Gold burn OK or is lack of bottom vents a real problem.
Thanks.

quote:

Originally posted by Paul VW:
My question is, Does the Smokey Joe Gold burn OK or is lack of bottom vents a real problem.
Thanks.

Weber says it doesn't affect function. I think it does. However the SJ Gold and Platinum do have some benefits such as handling and convenience of portability which may make up for the other. I suspect the less efficent air flow could be made up for by using a greater amount of lit. Most of the use of these portables will be for direct grilling and maintenance of the heat source over a long period of time is not a primary function of the grill.

I don't think the location of the vents would deter me from purchasing the other units if I felt they had a special feature I wanted. However, I still contend the vent system on the Silver is better from the standpoint of providing air to the fire.

Paul