The Texas BBQ Forum

Not sure in right thread ??

This is similar to what I'm currently using to "smoke" and grill food. Will probably keep it for a grill only.



There isn't enough room for a fire and food without burning it. Have to use very small fire, then a pie plate in the standing up in the middle to try to deflect the heat Cooks way to fast and I have had to cut a brisket in half just to fit. End up smoking for about 2-3 hr just to get some bark, then off to the oven to fully cook it.

It is normally just the wife and I but once I tell the kids(>21) that I'm smoking meat, it ends up like 5-10+ kids show up. So, I need something that can cook everything (beef, chicken, pork, turkey) but not normally all at the same time. It would be nice to put on a turkey and ham for Thanksgiving/Christmas tho.

This is for the backyard so don't need a trailer to move it around and don't want too big of a unit so it looks/becomes overwhelming to use.

I'm probably in the 1000-2000 price range. The wife won't like the 2k but she likes the idea of ME cooking outside.

QUESTIONS -

1. Reverse flow ? Why?

2. Vertical box only or as addition? Why the need for this?

3. Size - 16", 20", 24", 30", etc.

4. height from ground - does this cause issues? I'm tall so would like the grill to be at waist high


I've looked at following:

LANG 36"- http://www.langbbqsmokers.com
Johnson - http://www.johnsonsmokers.com
Lonestar - http://www.lonestargrillz.com
pitsbyjj - https://pitsbyjj.com
Gator Pits - http://www.gatorpit.net

Local via craigslist (Dallas area) - Lone Oak Smokers

I'm even considering Horizon (Bass Pro) - http://www.horizonbbqsmokers.com


So ladies/gentlemen.. thoughts/discussion?

Thanks,

Ken

Give Klose a look

https://bbqpits.com/

Are you kidding me? Not enough room? You could land a jumbo jet in there with all that space. I'll show you what I used to cook on!!

Hi Kenrockwall, I've been using a Lone Star Grillz 24x48 cooker for the last year and a half and have been very happy. I am in a similar situation in that it is usually just my wife and I that we cook for. Having said that I find the 24x48 to be the perfect size for us. I can cook multiple meats on different racks at different temps and cook enough to eat several meals throughout the rest of the week.

I used to have a smaller 20x36 reverse flow smoker and decided to sell it and move to the 24x48 standard offset. There were a couple of reasons for my decision. First I found the 20" cook chamber was a little cramped when cooking a turkey and other meats so it made sense to go with the 24" chamber. A 4" diameter increase doesn't sound like much on paper but to me it makes a big difference. Second, after several cooks I found that I personally did not like the flavor created by grease dripping and evaporating on the reverse flow plate throughout the cook. That is a purely personal taste preference, but for me it made a difference. Additionally having a temp difference (not using the tuning plates) while I cook has been useful to me. I can cook a brisket at 275 on the bottom rack close to the smoke stack and at the same time a chicken on the top rack close to the firebox at ~325. For me that is very useful.

As I said I have been very happy with the Lone Star Grillz cooker. Chris and Amber are a pleasure to deal with and the quality of the pit is second to none. I would not hesitate to recommend Lone Star Grillz. Keep in mind all of this is personal preference but I thought I'd share my experiences.

Good luck on your search.

Jesse

First I'd like to say that I've only made a few smokers/grills before, so I'm not a guru or anything, so if I say something that isn't entirely correct, or totally wrong, please correct me. This is a forum for everyone to learn on, and I'm all about learning more about BBQs.

Now, baffle plates (plate in the reverse flow), why?
As I understand them, they allow smoke (and therefore, heat) to diffuse into the plate, then into the meat at more even temperatures across the pit. This is more important with long and wide BBQs because if you have a firebox (goofy looking box hanging off the smoker) blasting heat to get the opposite side up to temp, then the meat closest to the heat source is going to cook much faster, and consequently burn if you're not careful. And the whole idea of smoking is to set it and forget it (for a while). I'm sure there's some way to get that to work in your favor, but for smoking, it's best to have a reverse flow (in my personal opinion).

As for height, I don't think that really matters, unless it's touching grass or something flammable, where it could be a fire hazard.

I'd like to say that this next part is not advertising myself, I'm just giving you an idea what I've done and what you can get when you get one custom built and for how much. (Although I wouldn't be offended off someone wanted on.) I have no idea what other people or businesses charge, this is my own experience.

This smoker is a 400+ lb reverse flow, offset smoker. It is a 24" diameter pipe that's 30" long and I really want to make it again for myself. I priced this one at $1500 because I added some specialty blacksmithibg elements to it.

I need to figure out what a vertical or Upright smoke box would be used for? I just don't see or could find what the additional space would be used for or how to use it.

I noticed that most of the top manufactures have a damper to close or limit the amount of smoke/heat from going into the vertical/upright chamber. Obviously, this is the best setup or is it?

update:
I went and looked at the Horizon pits (@BassPro) and noticed that the upright door didn't seal good. Probably could be corrected with some additional door clamps/hinges.