Market Research :)

[Lanse]

Hey guys!! So, as I mentioned in the grinder thread, I finally sold that BBQ I made last spring!! It was fun to make, but I was glad to have it gone and have some cash in my hands...

Anyway, I've been thinking of making another one. When I sold the first, I was asking $1000 for it, which IMHO is possibly the biggest reason why it took so long to sell. I ran that idea past my fans on facebook and they seemed to agree...

So I got to thinking about it... "Why did it cost so much to build" and "How can I do it cheaper, without cutting the quality"...

And I got this idea...

Remember how that thing had like an 8 or a 10 sided main chamber? The steel to build that was expensive and it took hours and hours and hours of cutting and welding and grinding.

Ive since learned that I can pick up an 80 gallon air compressor tank on the local craigslist for around $100.

Why didnt I think of that sooner? If I buy a $100 tank to use as the main chamber, I can try to sell my next BBQ for $500, and cut my price in half. Granted I wont make as much in profit, it will only take me a fraction of the time to build, so I'm okay with that.

The only reason why I havent started yet... Is because we're already in September (holy crap, how'd that happen?) and I'm not sure I could sell this thing before next summer.

So I ask you guys...

Do people BBQ in the fall/winter? Keep in mind I live in Ohio...

What about the people that are "serious" about BBQing? They're the ones I'd be marketing most towards anyways...

Tell me honestly, if there are people who aren't afraid to put on a coat and go grill, I'd love to build another BBQ, and I'm sure my fans wouldn't mind watching another build series...

I'm looking for a "big" project to build and sell this fall...

Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance
 

[Buzzman72]

Lanse, I'm in southern Indiana, and I barbecue or grill year-round...one of the reasons I'm glad I have a garage. BUT...I've always been "dirt-poor," I guess, and I've never paid $250 for a grill...much less $500 or $1000.

I've got a 250-gallon round [as opposed to oval] fuel oil tank that hasn't been used in over 25 years, and I'm planning to cut and weld myself into a smoker I can carry on a trailer...as soon as I get some bucks to put into materials. My OTHER project on the grilling burner is a UDS: an upright drum smoker [or "ugly drum smoker," to some people]. I figure I can build a UDS for $100 or less, and that should keep me and the wife in smoked meat for a long time.

The fuel oil tank smoker will be for larger gatherings, like family reunions and such. I'll have a bit more money in it, but the tank comes with the stand made of angle iron, so I'm pretty sure I can just cut that down to a size that will work on a trailer.

BUT...the fact that I grill/smoke during the winter MIGHT just put me in the minority.
 

[Justin SE IOWA]

I live in south east Iowa and we grill year around. I also would never pay over $300 bucks for a grill unless it has stainless steel burners and grates. Keep in mind when you are building projects regardless of how much you have in it people are only gonna pay x-amount of money for something. just my 2 cents
 

[Kirk Grau]

We grill year round here in South Central PA. Have about $500 in a stainless grill with stainless burners and grates. Not sure I would put that much into a home built unit unless it was really special.

~Kirk
 

[Andy Moncman]

Lanse,

I live in Stark county, Ohio the BBQ never gets stored away nothin' better than a steak of any kind on the grill. I'll use a couple hundred pounds of lump charcoal a year. Remember one thing about first builds you are designing it as you go which adds time , you also are working out the small details and figuring out your set up. You need to think about mass production techniques, if you are fabing up one at time why not 3 or 4 then your set up become more efficient, your design is consistant and the small details are fill in work.
 

[TomH in PA]

Watch that the tank doesn't have oil from the compressor in it.
 

[GordoSD]

I grill in the winter here in SD. But I do cook most of the beef in the shop. I have a large SS table there, with a deep fryer, George Forman Propane grill, and a cast iron propane double burner on it. Steaks go into a 14 inch griswold cast iron skillet and are blackened rare. Chicken and fish and chislic in the fryer.
Kabobs and some fowl and waterfowl that get parboiled in a pressure cooker goes into the GF grill.
I think I could easily cook for a family of five on a grill no larger than 2 square feet. The smaller it is the less fuel it uses and the faster it heats up and cools down.
For your BIG cookers you need to seek out the commercial guys and the caterers and ask them how you can help them out.
Otherwise make some out of 30 gallon holy compressors.
 

[Stick welding]

I think you should concentrate on getting ready to go to the Hobart school instead of building another project you don't already have a buyer for. When ever you figure your profit, you have to figure out an amount for your time and deduct it. Selling a BBQ for $1000 that has say $500 in materials and took a week to build could be less profit than selling a $500 BBQ with $150 in materials that took a day and a half to build.
 

[the tractor vet]

Only nuts like me will as i like my stakes and pork chops and the burgers done on the grill . and if need be full Carhart attire is used in this process as i don't care if it is a full blowen Blizzard i am going to do my stakes on the grill. and i live in N E Ohio.
 

[John A.]

Lance, Yes I know you are further North than Us here in Texas. Folks here BBQ 360 out of 365 days a year. Small gas and charcoal rigs will always be popular for Chops, Hamburgers, Dogs/Brats, That can be used by a Family for Thur nite Supper.
Well casings, old NH3, or 150/250 LP tanks work great too. Just use an over abundant amount of precaution in removing and end cap. By in large most larger pits in this country are old LP tanks.
Hope this helps.
Later,
John A.
 

[don t. - 9n180179]

I don't BBQ as much as I grill on my charcoal weber in all 4 seasons. One of the best meals I had was on my birthday(December). Wind outta the north at 30 and huge snow flakes. One of the best dang pork chops I ever ate.

Good luck...don t. ....
 

[greygoat]

High Quality, and low price do not go hand in hand!
Buying at a lower price does not replace the
bitter taste of poor quality.
If you make good quality stuff, you'll get a
good reputation!
 

[Bob - MI]

You are hanging on to the idea that the $100.00 CL tank will always be there. If you are serious about trying to do these for profit then you need to really know what your materials cost you. That price on top of the labor will point you towards the selling price.

If you identify some materials that are really expensive then focus on those. If you have labor elements that stand out then look into a re-design of the parts and the process to get you in a better spot.

Weber gas grills are $700 and up. There is a market for high quality BBQ's