Akorn Steel Kamado or ProQ Frontier Elite???

  • Afternoon team. First post here - awesome forum, the resources and community here is unreal.

    The question is pretty straight forward but I have worked myself into paralysis of analysis! I predominantly use Weber Spirit at home and BabyQ when camping. Over the last 5 years or so I have been using a range of Weber Kettles with some pretty good success.

    For a while now, I have been tossing up with getting the $499 kamado from Bunnings or alternatively the Frontier Elite.

    I am mainly cooking shoulders / ribs / roasts and occasional brisket and am looking for the next step so am looking for some guidance from the experts.

    The kamado looks to allow for this and more, although I am a bit cautious of quality (although great value for money).

    I realise they are two different bbqs but any advice or thoughts would be appreciated! :cheers:

  • I can personally, and I am sure many others on this forum will too, vouch for the quality of the Akorn (Bunnings Steel Kamado)

    Mine has copped a hiding in the 8 or 9 months I have owned it and not once have I had a single problem with it, fantastic BBQ.

    Smite The Shepherd And The Sheep Will Be Scattered!

  • I can personally, and I am sure many others on this forum will too, vouch for the quality of the Akorn (Bunnings Steel Kamado)

    Mine has copped a hiding in the 8 or 9 months I have owned it and not once have I had a single problem with it, fantastic BBQ.

    +1

    There is a US forum where people have had them for 5+ years and still running strong.

    One member records every cook. Temps/weight & type of meat/ charcoal/ vent settings and weather. He has just ticked over 200 cooks on his akorn.

    My possessions: GMG DB - Ziggy Triple

  • Thanks. Maybe I have been swayed by the skills of the Bunnings team in putting their display together

    I am not afraid to branch out further so looks like the Akorn could be the goer.


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  • I'm sold on the Kamado already. I don't have one yet. I have a wedding to pay for first and as you can imagine I would be carstrated if I purchased one before hand. It's the only BBQ for me that rounds out the whole arsenal and I feel confident it will be my go to cooker.

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    Jumbuck 7 burner with hood. Baby Weber kettle. 52" Kettle. Weber Go Anywhere. 5' SS Spit rotisserie. Offset smoker. Akorn Kamado. :) ASMOKE AS500N. Hibachi.:bbq:

  • They are both great cue's. I own an Akorn and its a great thing, I know many with ProQ's and they all say its a great Cue.
    The Akorn will go to higher temps for pizza etc but for purely low and slow the ProQ probably has the edge.
    Both are outstanding options


  • The Akorn will go to higher temps for pizza etc but for purely low and slow the ProQ probably has the edge.

    Interesting point. I don't need it for high heat cooking to be honest. I have other options for that. If it is mainly for low and slow what do you think makes the ProQ better?


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  • If you plan to do a lot of low and slow, fuel usage and heat stability is important. Kamados are miserly fuel users and hold temps well. Especially in cold and windy weather the Akorn is good as it is insulated.

    If you want to cook a lot the ProQ is better as it has more cooking area.

    I mentioned before the Kamado uses different fuel to the ProQ. Lump adds different flavour to your food compared to say a heat bead.

    What city are you from? It might affect what lump charcoal you have available at a decent price. No use buying a BBQ and can't afford to run it.

  • What do you have for high heat?

    Actually what other q's do you have, this could help.

    Pro q csn cook a heap, but akorn is so flexible.



    Traeger - Weber Family Q - Ziggy Twin Burner - Charcoal Grill - Akorn Kamado - Hark Tri Fire - Jumbuck Pizza Oven - Go Anywhere - Asmoke Pellet Grill - Hibachi Grill - Anova Sous Vide x 2

  • What's stopping you from using lump in a Pro Q? We've used lump in the Pro Q at comps with no problems. Same fuel we had running the Akorns :D

    You can use lump but in general people are so used to using briquettes they don't like the fact lump sizes are different and you can get different burns time/heat output compared to the consistency with the manufactured briquettes in q's like the kettle/pro Q/WSM. It's no fun trying to make a snake in a kettle with lump :(

  • You can use lump but in general people are so used to using briquettes they don't like the fact lump sizes are different and you can get different burns time/heat output compared to the consistency with the manufactured briquettes.

    Fair enough. I've only ever seen people really use lump in their bullet type smokers but I'm sure there's plenty of heat bead users too. I know we get a pretty consistent heat out of the Pro Q without much trouble. They do use more fuel than the ole kamado though.

    If I had to choose I'd go a kamado for its versatility and low fuel consumption... but a Pro Q is also a great unit to have and gives a bit more cooking space if needed. Can't really go wrong either way in my opinion

  • I agree, both are great Q's. Great fun if you buy either and if you can buy both :D

    Bullet like Q's vs Kamados is a pretty common question by people along with the kettle vs kamado question.

    It's interesting how this guy set-up his WSM using the minion method with Kingsford briquettes.

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  • +1 for the kamado, I've got a dragon and an Akorn and they're bloody good. Low n slow they use very little fuel (comfortably cook on mine for 20+ Hours with plenty of fuel left) and they hold temps really well - just don't overshoot it and learn to burp it if you go for high heat. They can turn into a fireball if you let it go.

    I ran some high heat silicon around the vents and compressed and rebolted the hinge and it made it even more easy to maintain temps, nice not to have to get up in the middle of the night to tend the que and the insulation makes me more comfortable with leaving it unattended.

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