New pit decisions...

Any type of purchased BBQ Pit.

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JayTX
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New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Sat May 18, 2019 10:09 am

I've been kicking around the idea of getting a larger smoker for a while. The 18" WSM works great and turns out some fantastic food but there's not a lot of real estate. I would like a stick burner but at a fairly young age I'm having some shoulder issues and at 10 weeks out from surgery opening a traditional pipe smoker lid seems like a bad idea. :whiteflag:

I've spent some time researching shirley fab and lsg smokers. Looks like either one would be a great smoker. The lsg that I'm leaning toward is their 24x36 offset horizontal cabinet smoker. It similar to their vertical offsets but with the smoke chamber rotated 90 degrees. Does anyone know how they run? A lot of people like horizontal smokers that are a little longer it seems they are easier to maintain consistent temps across if tying to even everything out? There doesn't seem to be much information out there on these particular pits.

An insulated vertical cabinet is the second option depending on how this shoulder heals. My hope is I will heal up and be able to swing a maul to split wood if that happens then a stick burner will get the nod. I enjoy splitting firewood anyway its great for taking the edge off after a week at work. :D
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby GRailsback » Sat May 18, 2019 11:40 am

What ever size that you think you can get by with, go at least one to two sizes bigger. You won't regret it. Pits can be a significant purchase. You certainly don't want buyers remorse on size.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Sat May 18, 2019 11:58 am

GRailsback wrote:What ever size that you think you can get by with, go at least one to two sizes bigger. You won't regret it. Pits can be a significant purchase. You certainly don't want buyers remorse on size.


Agreed. The lsg 24x36 horizontal cabinet offset has 3 shelves and should be plenty for my needs. The main concern is if it can be set up to run fairly consistent temps across the chamber and also be setup to run hotter from one side to the other since its almost a square cook chamber. My first guess would be probably not.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby GRailsback » Sat May 18, 2019 12:15 pm

I don’t have any experience with cabinet smokers so I’m not much help there. But when it comes to steel offset horizontals i wouldn’t go any smaller than 24 inch pipe. And go twice as long as you think you need. And get all the upgrades that are in your budget range.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby k.a.m. » Sun May 19, 2019 11:47 am

Personally for a back yard cooker I would look for a 24" x 48" minimum. A 36" chamber is difficult to maintain even temps even with tuning plates.
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.



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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Sun May 19, 2019 6:43 pm

Thanks guys. KAM I have seen you post those numbers before guess I should've payed attention. I'll call both and see what something that size will run with cabinet doors. Shirley has their 24x42 patio offset for a good price but it looks like the cabinet doors may be an upgrade and not standard? Also I'm assuming Shirley Fab can do a traditional flow with tuning plates instead of reverse flow.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby k.a.m. » Mon May 20, 2019 5:57 am

JayTX wrote:Thanks guys. KAM I have seen you post those numbers before guess I should've payed attention. I'll call both and see what something that size will run with cabinet doors. Shirley has their 24x42 patio offset for a good price but it looks like the cabinet doors may be an upgrade and not standard? Also I'm assuming Shirley Fab can do a traditional flow with tuning plates instead of reverse flow.

I just noticed you live in Vidor. Small world so do I lol Tyler will make anything you want for sure but if you are wanting one kinda quick there are other options closer. Pitts by JJ in Houston makes a nice cooker and there are several others.
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.



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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby Chasdev » Mon May 20, 2019 6:48 am

My free advice is to look into a cheap log spliter, I got one at Home Depot pretty cheap and it works great.
You can pick up an electric 5 ton for under $300, and if you wait for a sale, less than that.
They also rent them if you already have a bunch of cut wood that needs splitting.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby flht01 » Mon May 20, 2019 11:52 am

Here's one on the used smoker site on bbq-brethern that might work

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showt ... p?t=272068

... edited ...

Didn't realize it was way up north
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Mon May 20, 2019 12:56 pm

I got excited until the ad said something about buckeyes. Hahaha... Thanks for the link. May be worth it to ship. Still waiting for verification over there to look at pictures.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby amusick10 » Mon May 20, 2019 1:36 pm

Check out Musick Metalworks LLC on Facebook, I’d love to get you fixed up.

https://m.facebook.com/MusickMetalworks/



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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Mon May 20, 2019 1:53 pm

k.a.m. wrote:
JayTX wrote:Thanks guys. KAM I have seen you post those numbers before guess I should've payed attention. I'll call both and see what something that size will run with cabinet doors. Shirley has their 24x42 patio offset for a good price but it looks like the cabinet doors may be an upgrade and not standard? Also I'm assuming Shirley Fab can do a traditional flow with tuning plates instead of reverse flow.

I just noticed you live in Vidor. Small world so do I lol Tyler will make anything you want for sure but if you are wanting one kinda quick there are other options closer. Pitts by JJ in Houston makes a nice cooker and there are several others.


Yes Sir it is! I'll add JJ to the list.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Mon May 20, 2019 7:29 pm

I looked up Pitts by JJ. Their 24x48 offset has a adjustable damper between the firebox and cook chamber and the 24x60 comes with tuning plates. I know they can make a 24x48 with tuning plates but how much can that damper adjust the temps compared to tuning plates on that size cooker?
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby JayTX » Mon May 20, 2019 8:55 pm

amusick10 wrote:Check out Musick Metalworks LLC on Facebook, I’d love to get you fixed up.

https://m.facebook.com/MusickMetalworks/



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks I'll take a look.
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Re: New pit decisions...

Postby k.a.m. » Tue May 21, 2019 6:42 am

JayTX wrote:I looked up Pitts by JJ. Their 24x48 offset has a adjustable damper between the firebox and cook chamber and the 24x60 comes with tuning plates. I know they can make a 24x48 with tuning plates but how much can that damper adjust the temps compared to tuning plates on that size cooker?

The damper in my opinion is not really needed I look at it as a way to shut off the heat while the chamber door is open. Jose can put plates in his 24" x 48" just ask them what the added cost would be.
Always remember slow and steady wins the race.



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