Propane Grills

[Kim Schoedel]

It may be time to upgrade my old/very old Magna gas grill. I have the 14.5" kettle style with the screen and fake briquetts.

Push button start, anti blowout venturi, 17" party kettle with 50 more square inches of cooking area, hinged lid. How is the new technology fairing? Looks like the Magna has more features than the WM. More $$ too. I am open to suggestions and what works for you. BTW I do cook alot on the grill. I will do the stern rail mount again with the arm that holds it out.

Talk to me ye old BBQ guru's.

 

[Kevin Johnston]

Grills

Kim
I have always favored Force 10. I have both their cabin heater and a grill. Well built with quality materials and an exceptional value.
KJ

P.S. Hopefully I can take you up on the sail when I am back in the state in May.

 

[Loren Beach]

Kim,
We use the standard size Magma kettle, for about 5 years now. Mounted on the stern rail.
Before that we had the smaller-size cylinder-shape Force 10. The F-10 kept blowing out in any kind of breeze at all. Really Frustrating... Worked fine on windless days at anchor, though.
I was later told that there was a way to adjust up the flame range, and that the factory had deliberately set the range low to please their liability lawyers, or something like that.

Anyhooo... the Magma works great. Ours has the ss heat spreader disc under the grill. It will blow out in strong breezes, but not easily.

Here's to hot burgers and cold beers!


Cheers,
Loren

 

[treilley]

I like the Force 10 sto and go. I had a magma that had blow out problems and was generally too small. The sto and go blows out much less and it has fold out legs and a carrying bag. Nice for taking to shore where fires are restricted. I think I paid $115 for it. Plus $30 for the rail mount. It came with the bag though.

http://www.defender.com/product.jsp?path=-1|406|552|322399|655502&id=610514

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Thanks for all of your responses. After doing a bit of research and look see at our local WM, the new "windproof venturi" seems to have reduced blowouts on the Magna. I guess this helps my concern with the fixed position hinged lid. My old one has the movable lid to place as a windbreak.

I think I want to stay with the kettle design so it can hang out over the transom and not encroach the stern rail.

The question at hand now. Has anyone out there made the switch from the 14.5" to the Party size, 17"? I would appreciate input on this. Thanks.

 

[Kevin Johnston]

Kim,
I am just curious if Magna makes an update kit (new burner, venturi, etc). It may save you a few bucks but it won't increase your grill surface area. I am into sustainable practices (Ph.D. in Conservation Social Science thing), so if it can be saved and upgraded, have any of you considered that?
KJ

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Kevin,

Replacement parts for the burner and the screen (holds the fake briquetts) are available. Since I would spend approx $50 for these parts, I decided to look into a new one. Kind of tired of the blow outs, the biquetts shifting around and generally looking for a good excuse to get a new one. And while I am at it, if we can gain some extra cooking surface, it would be good. Just wondering if anyone has gone to the newer 17" Magna and how they have been working.

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Oops, I did ask about an upgrade kit. No such luck.

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Party Size

Kim~
I have the Magma Party Size Grill/Stove. I enjoy it. When I first purchased it and grilled out with it. I cremated some meat products. I was not familiar with how hot these grills get. Once I learned its temperment, great.
I have the stanchion mount and the floor stand. It is really handy to take it to shore and grill out. I have had the flame blown out, but it really has to be windy. Hope this helps!

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Thanks Rob! Just what I needed to hear. Have you used the stove feature on it yet? Not sure if I would but it is intriging in case things are too tight on the galley stove.

 

[Rob Hessenius]

Stove

Kim~

Yes, I have used the stove feature for frying pans and to heat water. The truth be it, I just put the pan a on the grill grates and it works fine. I got sick of handling greasey components. I could do what ever I wanted in a reasonable amount of time. Sure it would be minutes faster to boil water right on the flame, but I have not been in any crazy rush. When using the stove platform you need frying pans that are deep. Too shallow and the handle hits the side of the grill. I have really learned to cook with the Magma, it is different than a typical grill. The grill is my only method of preparing warm food on my boat, so it is used frequently. I make complete meals all at once on the grill. I enjoy cooking low and slow! Hope this helps you out.

 

[WhiteNoise]

size matters?

The question at hand now. Has anyone out there made the switch from the 14.5" to the Party size, 17"? I would appreciate input on this. Thanks.

I have moved to the 17" myself for many of the aforementioned reasons but I will say, on my boat, the 14" used to fit in a readily accessible compartment that the 17" does not. Now I have to store it elsewhere when not on the rail and it can be a bit of a pain.

My point is, if you store it off the rail, measure to be sure you can store it in a place convenient for you.

 

[treilley]

I think I want to stay with the kettle design so it can hang out over the transom and not encroach the stern rail.

Kim, my Sto 'N Go mounts on an arm that allows the grill to hang over the transom the same way as the kettle models.

 

[Loren Beach]

Cautionary Note

I have moved to the 17" myself for many of the aforementioned reasons but I will say, on my boat, the 14" used to fit in a readily accessible compartment that the 17" does not. Now I have to store it elsewhere when not on the rail and it can be a bit of a pain.

My point is, if you store it off the rail, measure to be sure you can store it in a place convenient for you.

Speaking of grill storage, if you have to store that larger grill somewhere else, like the quarter berth, when/if the larger grill does not play well with the lazerette entry or contents...
be reeeeeal sure that the grill enclosed in its carry bag is "grease proof" lest the congealed contents of the grill's innards seap out onto your cushions on a hot afternoon while the boat is slam tacking in some big air.

Please do not ask how some of us came by this bit of messy trivia.


LB

 

[Steve Swann]

Magma on a Trailerable

Kim & other BBQ grill worshippers,

One of our boats came with an older Magma and when we looked to purchase replacement parts that we needed, the cost was 70% of the price for a new one! We purchased a new one and salvaged more use with the older one for beach BBQ's with charcoal briquettes and we also take in it the airplane with us. The mfg's want to have you purchase new ones, not restore the older ones - at least this is the impression I have with Magma.

We have the new 14.5" Magma on "Seahorse" and I built the stern mount for it with some solid stainless bar, a couple of dinghy pintles from WM, and a block of teak. I positioned it on the transom where I can swing it out over the water for cooking or inboard onto the split backstay and hold it there with a bungee. It remains outboard of the stern, completely out of the way of the entire cockpit and all sailing operations. We are usually on fresh water and the grill seems to weather there just fine under its blue cover. We haven't noticed the wind blowing out the flames yet. We remove it when trailering and store it indoors when the boat is sitting at the house. I did replace the virtually useless, under-engineered "string" holding the top to the base with a swaged piece of SS rigging wire to prevent losing it overboard.

I also installed a quick disconnect fitting and set up the correct pressure coming from the refillable propane tank located in the cockpit to the grill. I have tee fitting that sends another propane line down below to the propane galley stove, also with a quick disconnect, but naturally, I had to deal with a different gas pressure. I have now spent something north of $170 for a dual purpose gas hose with different regulators to eliminate $2.00 bottles of propane. I am self-smarted, but it actually works really well.

I can post pictures if anyone is interested in seeing my complete setup.

Steve Swann
E25 c/b

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Pictures would be great Steve. Tim, I didn't realize that you can get the arm to hang the Sto n go. Thanks for the info. Hummm.....The plot thickens.

 

[WBurgner]

Party Kettle

We use the party size Magna. It takes some getting used to so as not cremate your dinner as was mentioned earlier. It fits in our aft lazerette if tilted just right. I too have set it up to run on the ships propane rather than the disposable tanks.

As for using it as a stove, I am very leery of doing so. I can't seem to get the connection tight enough where the rail mount connects to the kettle to allow it to hold the weight. Keeping it level is a challenge.

In short, I am basically satisfied with it.

 

[Kim Schoedel]

I too utilize the spare onboard propane tank rather than the small green canisters. Once it is on the rail, it stays there until winter, so storage isn't an issue.

It is great to get all these replys from everyone. I didn't think there were so many cockpit chefs out there. Now I just need to grab the wallet, pucker up go buy a new Barbie.

Thanks again for all the help on this. Happy grilling!

 

[Kim Schoedel]

Thanks again for everyone's input on the BBQ thing. I went with the Magma 17" party machine. Have used it a few times now and it is working great. It is amazing how much difference the extra 50 square inches of cooking surface makes. In addition, this baby gets much hotter then the old one! Great for searing steaks and other meats to seal in the juices.

Happy cooking to all.

 

[JoeH]

35 3 stern rail size?

Hi all,
I need to order a mount for the grill. Can someone tell me what size the rail is?
I can't get to the boat to check.
Thanks,
JoeH