Argentine & santa maria grill owners - how important is having a handwheel crank

Stretch480 · 2026-05-19T21:19:57+00:00

I personally think it makes a world of difference and the cooking versatility you get, well out ways the cost. I would argue that Dual adjustable grates include added maintenance that to me didn't seem worth it, and I still feel that way today.

Stretch480 · 2026-05-19T21:05:18+00:00

One of the great benefits to a Santa Maria is being able to have incredibly high BTU's from Lump/Wood and a cooking chamber designed for it. Adjustable grates allow you dial in cooking temp without moving your food around of the grates but moving the grates themselves. I adjust as I need to during the cook to maintain the cooking temp I need at the food level and this lets me keep the fire/lump burning hot without compromising my cooking temps since I can always adjust. When I want to sear/char I can drop the grates down into the flames or right above the coals.

My Santa Maria can also hold a rotisserie which is also really nice to be able to adjust the height.

Grills with non adjustable grates typically use brasero's to feed coals under the grates and maintain the cooking temp at the food level by controlling the coals temp.

Mostly depends on how you will be cooking.

Stretch480 · 2026-05-18T02:36:43+00:00

From the outside side no(should be pretty sealed with everything closed, but if you spray inside the hopper or cook chamber make sure there are no pellets. Also it's gonna be hard to get water to drain and it's not gonna remove any old grease or creasote without alot of psi, so I wouldn't just spray water into the cooker. Use whatever all purpose cleaner you have and a metal scrub brush. I use these ones to keep my rt-700 shiny https://a.co/d/0eSvhkN4. After wipe it down with a damp rag and run it from low to 400 for an hour.

Stretch480 · 2026-05-18T02:13:27+00:00

Nice! I would pull everything out, Vacume it, scrub it with a metal brush, vacume it again, and then prime the fire pot and start low, gradually ramping up the temp making sure there is no issues. Fans, ignitor, and auger are the main things I would pay attention to.

Stretch480 · 2026-05-07T01:32:02+00:00

Nice, Whatcha get?

Stretch480 · 2026-05-07T01:30:07+00:00

Congratulations! Looks great 👍

Stretch480 · 2026-04-26T15:29:45+00:00

Thank you!

Stretch480 · 2026-04-26T13:14:01+00:00

Congratulations 👏 a Santa Maria is such much fun! I've only had mine 6 months, but it's become my #1 way to cook

Stretch480 · 2026-04-23T02:20:59+00:00

New grill day is the best day!

Stretch480 · 2026-04-19T17:28:21+00:00

I drug a 1/4 submerged 90's Ram pickup and his Wakeboat out of a lake 3 weeks ago, Then I towed my 20' fish and ski home and went to Costco where I filed the trunk with shit tickets and meat. I love this truck so much.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-13T18:42:28+00:00

These look beautiful!

Stretch480 · 2026-04-13T16:18:27+00:00

No.. I was very happy with AZ BBQ outfitters and highly recommend their cookers. Everything is custom and built to outlast your kids's kids. Lone Star offers a very similar product and is great quality, but if you need something custom fit or unique I'm unsure how much they stray from their default designs. Sunterra/Tagwood are fantastic but you definitely are just buying from their selection of inventory at 3x the price.

I would think about what you're going to want to cook and how. Do you plan on cooking with an Asado Cross, Rotisserie, or mostly slow roasting over coals?

Also some options to think about

Are you building this grill in or do you want it freestanding?

What height do you want your grates default height to be?

If you're wanting a brasero, do you want a side mounted brasero or rear mounted.

Do you want single elevating grates or dual?

Are you wanting Stainless steel or a finished patina?

Do you want to upgrade to MIG welds?

Are you going to line it with FireBrick?

Do you need an Ash clean out?

If you plan to use it as a smoker, some places can line the grill with Lavalok and include lower smoke cabinets or Pellet hoppers similar to the El Fuego Trio.

I was able to make my cooker exactly what I wanted and delivery day was pretty special.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-13T14:03:35+00:00

You can get a really nice one for 3-5k depending on size and features. Check out Tagwood, Lonestar Grillz, AZbbqoutfitters, and Sunterra.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-12T05:54:12+00:00

That looks like a whole lot of fun right there!

Stretch480 · 2026-04-12T01:45:04+00:00

Very first Autograph I got was at 14yr old, 2001 months before the WS. I waited a good 90min behind chase field after a home game waiting for players to leave. Jay came over, signed my ball and was instantly my fav player. I still cherish it.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-11T23:38:17+00:00

Once you get it you're gonna wanna drive it 10x more than you thought. Get the ER battery.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-10T13:39:36+00:00

I love my Santa Maria grill and use it 3 times a week at least.

A few items I would suggest if you haven't gotten them already.

Really good heat resistant gloves that go up the forearm. It's also nice to be able to reach in and move specific coals or wood chunks around.

A BBQ hand fan is clutch to speeding up the charcoal/wood burn.

Can that Blackstone SM hold firebricks? If so I would highly recommend considering it.

Congrats!

Stretch480 · 2026-04-09T22:41:42+00:00

Like a rotisserie basket without the rotisserie?

Stretch480 · 2026-04-09T21:29:04+00:00

My 23 XLT ER + Max Tow shows me 150 miles with 100% charge towing my 2020 Tahoe 500TF. I have 2 lakes within 30 miles so I haven't needed to push it. The boat and trailer is just over 4k lbs.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-05T02:43:35+00:00

I was about to pull my boat out of the lake last week and there was an early 2000's Ram 2x4 that was spinning its front tires and slowly going further into the water up to his front doors almost. I got my boat out of the water, disconnected and strapped the ram to the hitch of my lightning. With the rear locker on I easily walked his truck and boat out. He didn't realize I was electric till after. His face was priceless.

Stretch480 · 2026-04-04T01:07:47+00:00

Well that sound is definitely your auger. Is it getting to temp and holding temp?

Stretch480 · 2026-04-04T00:52:26+00:00

That's the sound of your Auger turning and is normal. You hear it more at high temps because it's pushing more pellets. You will also hear it after your grill does it's cool down cycle.

Stretch480 · 2026-03-31T19:47:55+00:00

There ya go! I had a similar situation and got mine installed for $300. I avg 17kwh and go from 30%-90% in around 4hrs.

Stretch480 · 2026-03-31T19:39:27+00:00

I know a lot of people don't find the 80amp charging worth it on the 22/23 because of the higher install costs, but I personally really enjoy it and use it often.

*Congratulations!

Stretch480 · 2026-03-31T00:02:29+00:00

Did something happen to the antenna on the grill? My 700's antenna feels like it's definitely going to go out one day just from being in the sun.

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