It's Nearly There!

The long awaited arrival of the ProQ Excel 20 is now imminent and is now scheduled to arrive in the UK next week.
As this is the 1st prototype, I will be posting some pics, and looking for comments... stay tuned

Admin wrote:The long awaited arrival of the ProQ Excel 20 is now imminent and is now scheduled to arrive in the UK next week...

...to be shipped to germany for proper testing the same day...


Cmon Ian...

How bout some details and specs ?
Any prototype pics ?

Cant wait to see that baby.

What are the differences to the frontier, apart from the size ?

Btw, the use of "Admin" and "Mack" as account is quite confusing for people who dont know you.
Most other forums i know, the holy "Admin" account only posts things regarding the forum.I like it more that way,
keeps a more personal touch.


DM

You'll be bringing me some to Austin, right

Sorry about the confusion Marco, not intended, just depends on which computer I'm using, so I'll keep an eye out to make sure I post as "Mack" in future for this type of post.

I have only seen the unit in it's raw state... it's being coated this weekend (all I can say is that it looks awesome), but there are a couple of minor adjustments I can see need doing, that is why I am having one rushed over, so I can test it and try to figure a way around the minor problems.

The main differences will be:
1. Size - It will be 20" in diameter and stand about 1200mm high, thus dwarfing previous models.
2. Material - Made from 1mm thick steel (same thickness as the WSM).
3. Handles - Fold down as used on the WSM Stacker.
4. Charcoal Basket - Larger and deeper, will have lifting handles included, plus thicker material.

I promise to post some pics as soon as she arrives.

Sounds good so far.

Does it have 3 bottom air vents and heavyer latches ?
When will you get the updated frontier ?


Btw, i still see a huge market for a "Stacker" for 22" Weber Kettles.

DM

It does have the 3 vents in the base and some heavier duty latches Marco.
The upgraded Frontier will be available as soon as I get rid of what I have in stock here, it may arrive sooner in Germany if the distributor there takes a container next season.

ZOWEEEEEEEEE!!

Besides being very anxious to see it. I wanna see lots of pics when you cook the pig on it.

Lets see . . . one to Germany, one to Austin, and one to California for me . . . that should cover it for feedback. Whaddya think guys???

Sweet smoke, U.J.

Uncle Jack wrote:ZOWEEEEEEEEE!!

Besides being very anxious to see it. I wanna see lots of pics when you cook the pig on it.

Lets see . . . one to Germany, one to Austin, and one to California for me . . . that should cover it for feedback. Whaddya think guys???

Sweet smoke, U.J.

UJ, there'll be loads of pics of the pig cook.

Can't wait to get the unit here and see how it compares to the WSM.

Sneak preview...



Unfortunately, this is all I can give you at the moment, as it's a prototype, so I don't want to give too much away and there are a few more things that need tweaking.
I can say that size wise, it's awesome!

Nice! Can't wait to see it full of food!

Very Cool . . . or should I say HOT?

Can't wait to see it all, U.J.

Will run some smoke through her tomorrow, sadly no food at this stage as the coatings on this one are just for show, not porcelain or powder coated.

A few more pics...

This Charcoal Basket is cool, it has separators (for indirect if you want to use it as a kettle), handles on the side and is big enough to hold a good load of charcoal for those long cooks.


ProQ Excel 20 base (left) Frontier base (right)


Big enough?

Ian, i want one of those RIGHT NOW !





Looks awesome.


Little thing to think about :

I dont know exactly without looking at my WSM, but your on your 20" model the vents seem to be a bit low and ashes can fall out of the smoker.
You can see it on the right vent :



If they are just next to the charcoal basket it should do just as fine with the airflow, but your patio keeps clean and its better as a portable grill.
Love the basket though, its way better than the weber ring and grate.
So easy to get rid of the ashes and keep the unburned charcoal.

DM

Thanks for the kind words Marco.
I really am pleased with the overall finish, but there are a few tweaks we have to do.
The vents are one of the points I noted right away, they'll be moved upwards by about 40mm (we had the same problem with the prototype Frontier).
We'll probably only have the finished unit ready for about Feb 2008, we really want this unit to be as perfect as possible, as it will be competing directly with the WSM.