SUNLIFER Large Coal Barrel

Is the SUNLIFER Large Coal Barrel worth buying?

Yes, the SUNLIFER Large Coal Barrel is worth buying if you cook for five to eight people and want the most grate for the money: £94.75 buys 5,160 cm² of charcoal cooking surface, enough for 24 burgers, four whole chickens or five racks of ribs in one load. Seventeen owners have rated it 4.8, the highest average of any smoker on this page. It suits a garden that hosts often and a cook who wants a real offset firebox without spending £200.

It is not the right buy if you want a plug, an app, or a first smoker with hundreds of owners behind it. This one arrives in pieces, it is 126 cm wide, and the fan base of 17 ratings is the thinnest here. Anyone who wants more reassurance for less money should look at the SUNLIFER 3-in-1 at £56.99.

What does 5,160 cm² of grate actually mean in use?

Divide the £94.75 by the cooking area and it comes to 54 cm² for every pound, the best return of any smoker here above 3,000 cm². The same area is 800 square inches. Spread over 24 burgers that is 215 cm² a patty, so the food sits with space around it and the smoke can move rather than sit.

That figure is what separates it from the expensive end of the range. The CosmoGrill XXL at £212.44 offers 3,024 cm², or 14 cm² a pound, so £117.69 more buys 2,136 cm² less cooking surface. Only the pellet and electric units on this page reach further, and both of those need a socket within cable reach.

What comes in the box and what is it like to live with?

The unit arrives unassembled and stands 117.5 cm tall, 126 cm wide and 73 cm deep once it is built, rolling on wheels. The grates and the lid thermometer come in the box; charcoal and a cover do not, so both are part of the outlay. Storage is generous at this price, with a 63 x 22 cm front shelf, a 36 x 22 cm side shelf and a 63 x 40 cm bottom rack that carries up to 20 kg.

Two-piece cooking grates are the detail that makes it liveable, because you lift one section and drop in more charcoal without moving the food off the heat. A separate firebox chamber feeds smoke into the main barrel, and a side chamber vent lets you clear the ash once it has cooled. Powder-coated alloy steel and stainless steel handles are the parts you touch most.

Where does the SUNLIFER Large Coal Barrel fall short?

Only 17 owners have rated it so far, against 819 on the cheaper SUNLIFER 3-in-1 and 551 on the CosmoGrill XXL. A 4.8 average from that small a group is encouraging rather than settled. Anyone who wants a long record of buyers behind the decision is better served elsewhere on this page.

It is also a footprint rather than a portable, at 126 cm wide and 73 cm deep. Assembly is required before the first cook, and the fuel and cover are extras on top of the £94.75. None of that stops it working, but it does mean the smoker owns a corner of the garden rather than a shelf in the shed.

How does it compare with the other smokers on this page?

Against the CosmoGrill XXL at £212.44, the barrel gives 2,136 cm² more grate for £117.69 less, and it does not carry 33 kg around the patio. The XXL answers with two cast iron grills, a warming rack and a 600D cover in the box, which suits a buyer who wants a heavier, covered unit and will pay for it.

Against the SUNLIFER 3-in-1 at £56.99, this barrel buys 2,237 cm² more cooking surface for £37.76 more, and it is the only one of the two with an offset firebox. Take the 3-in-1 if 2,923 cm² already fits your table and you would rather have 819 ratings behind the choice. Take the barrel if a crowd turns up and you want the fire to one side of the meat.