MichelleDT unfortunately those particular Kamado's (komodo) are garbage. The guy making those is a scam artist and I wouldn't buy one for $100. The one I have is the "Vision Grill" which is sold by Costco for $540, complete with cart, side boards and very nice cover. It is about the same as a Big Green Egg although they are usually in the $1000+ range. The one I have is a "real Kamado" type grill, comes with a lifetime guarantee. The company seems to be top notch and very responsive. On mine the first time I used it the firebox developed a crack which is not all that unusual for these types of grills, however I emailed the company, got a response from the CEO in 5 minutes and without any questions sent me a new firebox that very day that I received 6 days later free of charge. I now have 2 fireboxes, as the one that is cracked could last another 10-20 years or more then I have a lifetime of fireboxes. I just took the new one left it in it's popcorn packaging and heavy box and stored it away for when its needed. "Most" Kamado style cookers are actually in the $800-$1400 range, Big Green Eggs are probably the most popular, Primo's, Kamado Joes, Grill Dome, Saffire. There are numerous ones, I chose the Vision Grill because I could buy it from Costco which means both excellent price and best return policy ever and I could just go and buy it and not order online. It was a chore for my wife and I to move it to our back deck however because it weighs like most Kamados about 250# and we have 37 steps to go down from our car to front door. For the price I do not think there is a better BBQ/Grill/Smoker available anywhere. This is ours on our deck smoking away, have cooked on it 5 times so far and everything has come out perfect especially the Prime Rib. this is the inside firebox. Comes with very nice heavy duty thick stainless racks, it is 19" across. and a nice heavy well made cover.

Hi Jessica, I just found your original posting and also wondering where you are now in your process? I am also considering installing both induction and gas hobs after a less than totally satisfactory experience with a countertop induction unit. I liked a lot about the induction unit, much better than the smooth-top electric in the rental house in which we are living while our new home has been in planning and now construction phases. But when the oven failed and the landlord asked if I wanted it replaced with a gas stove, I said "YES", and haven't used the induction countertop again. The responses you got have helped a lot with some of the problems I encountered (granularity of control, cycling), but I'm still not convinced about the problems I had with my cast iron pans, my go-to pans for much of my stove-top cooking. These well-seasoned jewels cooked unevenly and things stuck badly; they even lost their seasoning. I have since learned that I may have heated them too quickly or maybe it was the characteristics of the countertop unit but I am leary of totally relying on construction. Our new house is planned as all-electric (highly energy-efficient and with PV solar). There is no gas on the property although it is nearby in the street. Running a gas line just for my one gas burner seems a little extravagant. So decision time is here. I'm leaning much as you were in your original posting - 30" induction and single gas burner (looking at the Miele 12" or 15" combiset unit), with a 48" hood. This is more than I really need; I rarely use more than 3 burners at a time but really want to be sure I have a large (I don't mean to hi-jack your posting but could use some of the info you may have gained and the decision you made. Also comments from anyone else on possibilities for induction cooktops with less than 4 burners but with at least one large one.

I have cooked on all three and the TEK IR is the only gas grill that cooks as well as charcoal. It's advantages over charcoal are that it is quick to set up, easy to clean up and does an excellent job of creating the charcoal taste. As many here know, the flavor is created by the smoke from the fat striking the hot surface be it charcoal or something else. The higher the IR energy (from gas or charcoal) and the less the flame, the more smoke generated rather than being turned into additional flame. The TEK creates a great deal of smoke because the IR glass sits between the flame and the dripping grease. On older style IR burners there is still an open flame to ignite the grease drippings reducing the amount of smoke to add flavor. With charcoal, once the embers are glowing red, it is emitting a lot of IR and much less to no flame and hence produces a lot of smoke and flavor. I have owned the FireMagic and I would not purchase another. The burners are cast SS but they still do rust over time and the flavor grills wear out too. They are very hard to clean and the heat was not anywhere near as good as the advertisements. If you are the type that never clean a grill and don't mind a gritty looking grill it may not matter. I am the type that wants it to look clean and inviting each time and the self cleaning feature along with the dishwasher removal panels makes the TEK a breeze to clean and keep looking nice. For me that was worth a lot. The more conventional grills like the Firemagic, even with their ceramic infrared burner are not even a close match.

I kept my trusty Weber for about a year when I bough mine, and it quickly became a charcoal storage unit. Things that the egg-shaped cookers do "better" than a kettle or gas grill, are, in my biased opinion, and in no particular order: * High temperature sear -- I can easily get the coals to a yellow-orange temperature. It is hot enough that the stainless-steel grill "self cleans" and I get a beautifully marked and seared steak. * Capacity -- I can easily get a 25# turkey *and* four full slabs of ribs into mine (equivalent of a 22 1/2" Weber grill size) * Temperature control -- with the top and bottom dampers, I can much more easily control fire temperature than I ever could on a charcoal kettle. I can be at 700 deg (dome) temperature and shut it down to a 400 deg "dwell" in a minute or two -- basically puts the fire out and cooks using the heat stored in the dome (this also means that unused charcoal is not consumed) -- see warning below * Cook pizza -- Real pizza. 700 deg isn't at all hard to obtain and maintain. * No cover needed -- It's pool tile. Hose it off with the pressure sprayer from time to time. Disadvantages -- its harder to have a "hot" side and a "cold" side. It is clearly cooler around the edges when using it as a grill and I generally deal with it that way. WARNING -- Get yourself a good set of mitts and a ideally a fire-resistant apron, and always, always look away when opening any charcoal-fired cooker of any sort that has been "shut down" in this manner. The high temperatures that remain can "vaporize" all kinds of combustibles, that basically burst into flame when the oxygen rushes in when you open the top. Think turning on the gas in the oven and then tossing in a match. It has never happened to me, but I'd hate to find out that I lost the roll of the dice. Here is a link that might be useful: Cooker Flashback