Vision Grills Classic Diamond Cut B-series Kamado Grill Reviews
We've been using the Vision Grills Southward-Serial kamado as the master kamado cooker at The Barbecue Lab for most the last 6 months now, and information technology'south time for a deep dive review on the unit.
If you're new to Vision Grills, there are currently 4 series of kamado grills offered. First is the C-series which is offered at Truthful Value and Exercise-It Best centers. Second is the S-series, which is offered at Home Depot stores nationwide. The Pro and Pro Mega series can be purchased at Academy Sports stores.
Today we're reviewing the Vision Grills S-Series that you've probably seen at Abode Depot stores, and in the final half dozen months of testing this product, nosotros have plenty of corking tips and information to share with yous.
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Vision Grills S-Series Product Information
| Characteristic | Measurement |
|---|---|
| Cooking Surface area | 604 sq. in. |
| Temperature Range | 82°C/180°F - 375°C/700°F |
| Assembled Dimensions | D28.eight" x W22.five" 10 H47" |
| Width with shelves extended | 52" |
| Assembled Weight | 103kgs/227lbs |
Shipping
Our Vision Grills unit arrived via semi truck with a liftgate, and the commuter was kind plenty to bicycle information technology right into the garage for the states on the shipping pallet. We ordered a bag of lump charcoal with our unit, and it was strapped to the top of the grill box deeply. The grill box was in perfect shape and everything survived ship no worse for habiliment. This is actually something of a feat when it happens, because nosotros receive quite a few grills that come in damaged in shipping, but Vision Grills got the packaging right on the South-series.
Packaging
The grill ships in a cardboard box that is reinforced with cardboard edge protectors all around. Information technology gives the box incredible sturdiness, and I bet these grills would stack without any trouble at all with the strength of the packaging.
Once we snipped the plastic bands that tied the box to the pallet, we slid off the tiptop of the box easily to get to the goodness underneath. I really capeesh grill manufacturers who sympathise that assembling kamado grills is a heavy task, and sliding the meridian of the box clear off makes things so much easier. If yous haven't lifted a 200lb+ kamado grill multiple times, you'll appreciate this little perk all the more than after y'all've washed information technology ten+ times like we have.
Everything included was packaged deeply and nothing rattled around during transit.
Assembly
Assembling the Vision Grills South-serial grill was probably my favorite grill associates to date. Everything was packaged and then well and the directions made sense. Everything came together like a breeze. The master ceramic body houses most of the other parts that are needed for the grill, so the first task was emptying the grill of all the parts to become things built.
Edifice the stand and attaching the casters comes first, and the directions are articulate and to the point. One time you have the casters fastened, make sure to lock the wheels so that things don't proceed to slide around while you're building. There'south nil similar lifting upwardly a 200lb grill and having the stand up slide all over the place while you're supporting all the weight.
Lifting the grill on to the stand is the hardest part, and you'll definitely want 2 people (if not more) for this function. Once the grill is on the stand, information technology'southward attaching the side shelves and putting the top vent and you're prepare to get cooking.
Seasoning
There's no demand to season a kamado grill before the beginning use. The ceramics are cast in rut well in a higher place two,400°F temperatures, so you can grill depression and slow or hot and fast correct out of the gate. If you're new to kamado cooking, we would propose aiming for a temperature of 350 for your beginning few cooks. If you add too much charcoal and light too much of information technology up the start few times, you lot could easily have the grill temp get abroad from you and do harm to the grill. If y'all ever get to a point where you lot have a fire that'due south out of control, shut the top and bottom vents to starve the burn down of oxygen.
Condom Features
Like any grill, the outside tin get quite hot during a melt, then you lot want to be careful how shut yous have the grill to anything that's combustible. That being said, the ceramic outside of the Vision Grills S-series does a great chore mitigating the heat of a cook to the point that you tin touch on the outside of the grill without being burned. This isn't to say that you lot should make a practice of touching the outside of the grill while cooking, but if a child comes in contact with the outside of the grill they shouldn't demand medical attention. That'due south not something nosotros can say almost every grill on the market place, and so this is a definite safety feature on the Vision S-series.
Startup
Firing upward a kamado grill is rather easy, and in that location are plenty of tutorials online to help you out if you're new to kamado cooking. Hither's our favorite method:
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1
Brush the existing lump charcoal effectually the lesser of the grill to knock off any ash that might exist left from a previous cook. (wear a practiced set of thick rubber gloves.) -
ii
Add in some fresh lump charcoal that will light hands and create a mound. -
3
Create a small well between 2-3 pieces of larger charcoal and drop in a wax lighter cube or tumbleweed fire starter.
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four
Low-cal the firestarter, and get out the hat open up for about 5 minutes to allow plenty oxygen for the firestarter to do its task.
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5
Close the lid and open the lesser and top vents to permit for enough airflow to reach your desired temperature. More air = hotter temperatures, then if you're going for a depression and slow smoke, you'll want to limit the amount of air that can feed the fire from the moment you close the lid so too much charcoal won't low-cal and have you beyond where you desire to go.
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vi
As y'all're getting close to your desired final temperature, begin closing downwardly both the bottom and top vents so the temperature begins to settle in.
Fuel
For every kamado grill on the market, nosotros advise the apply of lump charcoal every bit the fuel source. Lump charcoal allows any charcoal that's left over from the previous cook to exist reused without turning into grit similar charcoal briquettes. Lump charcoal likewise burns hotter, so less fuel is needed to reach higher temperatures when compared to briquettes. There are many manufacturers of lump charcoal, and our electric current favorites are Rockwood, FOGO and of form Vision's own.
Grilling
Out of the box, grilling is where the Vision S-series shines. The grill is easy to operate after a few times managing the burn down and temperature of the grill. We like to grill in the 500°F-600°F range, which gives us an amazing sear while non burning thicker meats to a crisp.
The dual grate system allows quite a bit of infinite for kamado cooking, and the tradeoff with any of the dual tier systems is that in that location's limited space to work with the nutrient on the lesser grate. If you need to turn over 5-half-dozen steaks after 4 minutes per side, it's going to be a hassle using the second tier on this type of melt. We find the second tier the well-nigh useful when we're smoking things low and tiresome and won't need direct access to a cut of meat for hours on cease.
Two zone cooking is a method where you set up the fire up on ane side of the grill and place your food on the other. Two-zone cooking is possible on the Vision Due south-serial, merely like any other kamado this size, you'll need to manage the size of the fire you lot're building so it doesn't fall out onto the side where the nutrient is located.
Griddle
A griddle does not come standard with the Vision Grills S-series, simply y'all can purchase a half-moon bandage iron griddle every bit an add-on accompaniment. The claiming when using a griddle is that kamado grills are designed to be used with the lid downward throughout a melt, rather than having the chapeau opened at all times. When the chapeau is open, the fire has access to unlimited oxygen which can easily let the burn get out of control. The optional griddle accessories come in half moon shapes, and two of them added together can give you a circular griddle surface that covers near of the bottom cooking surface.
Smoking
To smoke with this unit, there are two things that I would recommend. Offset would be that you purchase the lava rock and subclass that allows for indirect cooking on the Vision S-series. Having a lava stone that sits beneath your cooking grate and keeps the fire from directly heating your food is the start step to success when smoking. The second would exist that you lot piece of work to limit how much charcoal is lit while y'all're cooking depression and tiresome. While some people volition lite the charcoal on their kamado in multiple places when they cook, smoking is when we recommend to limit your lighting to a atypical point. This will help yous manage the fire over a longer cook. If yous've merely got to fume something and don't have the lava stone accessory, one fashion we can recommend to hack the indirect procedure is to put a fire resistant pan in the bottom of the grill and build your coals up around the outside to get out a gap in the middle where your meat will rest. Another method would be the two-zone cooking method nosotros referenced above.
Storage
We kept the Vision Grills S-serial in the garage for the first iii months of its time with usa, and the grill stayed immaculate. At that place was no rust evident, no change to whatsoever of the parts of the unit, and it looked and operated just every bit adept every bit the 24-hour interval we get-go fired it upwardly. For the side by side 3 months, we put the cover on the grill and moved information technology outside to withstand the elements. Although we left the cover on whenever the grill wasn't in use, we still found that the embrace trapped moisture from the air against the outside of the grill over fourth dimension. This has led to some slight rusting on the tiptop vent also as some wet being trapped on the inside of the thermometer. And then, if you want your grill to say in tip acme shape, storing it within is going to be the best style to achieve that. Storing the unit outside won't make the S-series cook any unlike, but you'll want to keep an eye on the moisture trapped inside the cover that's sitting confronting the grill. We oasis't tested keeping the unit exterior without a cover, but since the S-series comes with a total-length, heavy-duty vinyl cover, you're probably going to use it, right?
What We Loved
New side shelf material - The side shelves are now made of a thermoplastic material, and nosotros're big fans of the upgrade. The cloth makes me think of Trex decking if you're familiar with that material. It doesn't really experience like plastic, but information technology's sturdy and has a good corporeality of weight to it. I don't desire my side shelves to be floppy and weak, so nosotros're really liking the material that the new side shelves are made of. The shelves are foldable and removable for maximum versatility.
Cart and wheels - The cart is really sturdy when compared to the kamado carts of other manufacturers. I don't know if this is from using thicker metal or from a more rigid blueprint, merely this cart pulls the grill around with ease and isn't phased by going over a bump or 2 in the route. Two of the wheels are locking to keep it from running around when y'all want it to stay put, and we haven't had it become away from u.s. yet, fifty-fifty on a slanted driveway.
Attachments available for pit controllers - When I first encountered the Vision kamado in my local Domicile Depot, I wondered correct away if there was any way to hook up a pit controller like the Flame Dominate to the unit. By no means do yous take to utilize a pit controller on a kamado, but there are times when I'm feeling lazy and just want the pit to run itself. I like being able to throw a pork butt on the grill and go back into the office and get 5 hours of work done before needing to nourish to things. Since the Vision S-series uses numbered dials for the air intake, in that location'south not a way that I knew of to attach a pit controller fan to the kamado until I spoke with Bob over at Flame Dominate about it. They brand an adapter that'southward made for the Vision that utilizes the electric starter port as the air intake vent. Instead of using the dials for air intake, you only apply the adapter and a pit controller fan in the lighter flap and you're good to go. Once again, you never accept to use a pit controller with any kamado, but I like to know that I can for those days when I don't experience like dialing the temperature in myself.
Easy ash direction - The quick change system institute in this model of the Vision Grills allows you to simply pull out the front of the grill and the attached ash drawer and dump it into the garbage once the ash is cool. Nosotros're a huge fan of the ease of this system compared to the more than archaic models where yous have to rake the ash and broken coals into a bucket. In older models of competitors grills, yous'd have to be on your knees awkwardly holding a saucepan with i hand and an ash rake in the other. I don't miss that with the Vision. Cleanup is a cakewalk with the quick modify system, and I know yous'll honey it.
Dual Fuel Organisation - The Vision Grills Southward-series truly is a dual fuel arrangement in that it can be fueled by either propane gas or charcoal. The quick alter gas insert is an optional accessory that allows yous to power the kamado with propane or natural gas instead of charcoal if that's your preference. You can nevertheless smoke, grill, sear and more with the ease of gas and the cooking feel of a kamado grill.
Multiple colors available - At the time of this writing, there are 5 colors bachelor for the S-series from Vision Grills. The grill comes in Black, Chili Red, Orange, Taupe and White.
Opportunities for Comeback
Focus on electric lighting just no lighter included - I'm sure that this is a toll savings bespeak to hit a target cost for a big box store, just information technology seems like a miss to exist to and then focused on using an electric lighting arrangement and not include one in the box. Like I said, I'1000 sure it's so that they tin hitting a toll target for a retail store, only I find myself using wax starter cubes and Tumbleweed lighters to become my kamado going and never using the electric lighter door. The only time I find myself using the electric lighter door is when I want to use a pit controller fan. I know that non everyone cooks like me or utilizes a kamado grill like I practice, simply I'd like to see an electric lighter in the box.
Quick change and electric lighter seal - One of the all-time features of the Vision Grills S-series kamados is the ease of quick change accessories. Y'all can change the fuel type of the South-series by simply pulling out the charcoal drawer front and replacing it with the gas zipper. Information technology's super like shooting fish in a barrel to dump your ash likewise by just pulling out the drawer and dumping information technology into the trash tin can. The drawback that I notice with this system is that when I'm piddling with the controls, I tin can accidentally allow a niggling air gap around the quick change unit of measurement, which messes with the amount of air I think I'm allowing for my fire. At that place take been a couple of times where I've left a gap after elimination the ash, and at present I have just made a part of my routine to push back in on the quick change insert every time I'k firing upwards the grill to brand sure it's secure. The same tin be said of the electric lighter flap. The flap does lock down, but if yous're not looking close enough, the flap can stay open and non lock down, allowing actress air in to feed the fire. Neither of these are deal breakers with this unit, merely they're points to consider as you create your own pattern of how to employ this unit.
Grate hinge handle & accompaniment usage, grill grates - Vision has made it like shooting fish in a barrel to elevator up the cooking grate so we can add in wood chips, chunks or actress charcoal without completely removing the grate. There's even an handle on the grate so it can exist lifted upwards with ease, but for me the handle gets in the style of the primary accessory that I like to apply with my kamado grills. I love using a set of Grill Grates when I'grand cooking hot and fast. Getting the Vision S-serial upwards to 600°F with a set of Grill Grates on height gives me the best grill marks that I've ever had on a slice of meat. The drawback to having this handle built into the cooking grate is that Grill Grates sit on top of your existing cooking surface. This just means that I tin can't use my regular size grill grates and have them fit over the entire surface of the grill similar I'thousand used to. I just end upward leaving off the last grill grate and but use 3 of the iv that I have on the Vision. Tin you get expert grill marks on the factory grates on this grill? Sure! But it's really hard to vanquish the wide sear marks that a good set of Grill Grates can make in one case you've experienced them in your cooking arsenal.
Tips
Shipping vs. Store Pickup - When it comes to picking this unit of measurement up in the shop versus having it shipped to your door, I would admittedly recommend letting the shipping visitor accept care of it. This is a HEAVY unit, and letting a truck with a pallet jack deliver it right into your garage is absolutely the way to go.
Assembly - The only thing y'all'll need a hand with is picking up the grill and placing it on the stand up, so when it comes time for this part of the associates, accept a friend come up over and promise to feed them after you have the grill assembled and burned in. We find that the promise of futurity BBQ is a neat motivator to get help with associates.
Startup - We usually programme about xx minutes for the Vision S-series to come to temperature when we're grilling. For smoking, we plan 10-12 minutes to get it upwardly to temperature. When nosotros're actually in a bind and demand to go things moving quickly, we plough to the Looftlighter to calorie-free our charcoal apace. Using the Looftlighter, nosotros can take our coals set up to go in simply nigh 3-5 minutes.
Conclusion:
The Vision Grills S-serial kamado is a fantastic option for anyone who wants a quality kamado that can do everything from high heat grill to low and slow fume. Vision has made all the correct moves to make it easy for anyone from the professional contest bbq team all the way to the person cooking with charcoal for the first fourth dimension to observe success with the S-serial grill.
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Source: https://thebarbecuelab.com/vision-grills-s-series-kamado/
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