Tucker

so, it'll sit on the stone. ok, that should be fine. All of mine have lived on the pavers I created the back area with.

what is interlock?

Is it a wood deck or a concrete pad you'll be putting this beast on? Wood deck - I'd advise ensuring you have it severely reinforced.

The cover AZ BBQ sells is heavier than the covers Dennis sells for the KK's.

Managing the cover off and on is easy. Mine was ~15-20% of the cost of the cooker, but because it is made for it, it fits correctly, looks good and provides excellent protection. The cover has heavy duty velcro for closures and comes with a cover for the hand wheel as well. you're spending probably 3k on the cooker, might as well make the investment in the cover to protect your investment in the cooker.

AZ bbq can provide custom covers, I have one for my grill, it is very heavy , good quality, reinforced at wear points and reasonably priced.

I have now owned mine for 2+ years.it is under a canvas cover on a roofed pavilion. You can see pictures of it in the forum 'see a kk in your area'. I live in NE Florida, a lot of rain & insects, spiders, etc... I do not have either a rust issue or an insect issue. The steel and finish they use for these is top notch. However, I do expect rust at some point because it is only natural, hell I get surface rust on the best stainless at times. You just clean it up an move on; its called 'life' and it always happens. If you buy the cover they offer and use it once the grill

Grill Gun, I think it is over-priced. I use a cane shaped weed burner. The lighter is built in on the shaft. I use the small camp stove propane cans. This reaches down into the KK very nicely and allows me to stand back from the Santa Maria grill to light it. Price point is ~$30.00

If your considerations are to smoke meat, then the KK is the choice, hands-down. Yes, you can get eight 8-10# butts on a 23", there is a post here from Chris Lilly showing him doing it. Regarding the lid on the scottsdale, the youtube videos I have seen lead me to believe the lid does not encumber the grate lifting mechanism. I wanted the lid to allow me to cover the grill when doing a roast, rotisserie, dutch oven; also to use it as a windbreak.

I have the AzBBQ Tuscan, which is the Scottsdale minus the cover. If I were to do it over, I would have ordered the Scottsdale. Regarding the brick lined model, just email the company with that link included, I am sure they'd be happy to build one.

I suppose the point you can take from my approach is to ensure the temp probe is not over direct heat and it is suspended in the air. I don't have a 32, so I cannot relate to the variation of temp.

From your phot w/ the two butts, I always put the probe with the probe tree directly in the middle on the main grate just back over the drip pan or your heat deflector. This gives me the pit temp at the top grate level, the level where the meat is sitting. This method has always given me the temp I set the guru for. I do not pay attention to the dome thermometer, it is usually a few degrees higher than the guru setting

My 2 cents; I'll pass. I have the older 19.5" and 23" In either this box would sit in the bottom below the charcoal basket and only catch a small percentage of the over all ash produced. Removing ash from the cooker is easy enough without adding more steps, which I see this doing.

I have a recipe for Speedy Sauce my Aunt gave me. They live in Binghamton, have friends in Syracuse and have several cottages at the Great Lakes outside of Clayton. I use it whenever I get my hands on some good venison.

I use 220 f and no matter the size, it seems to take 12-16 hrs to hit internal temp of 195 f. I usually allow for overnight cook, then wrap/hold in a cooler until serving time.