Pitmaker Vault or the R&0 vertical

[JBROOKS3]

Im thinking about getting a new pit just for comps. Im stuck between R&O vertical and Pitmaker Vault. Could anybody give me some info on these, is there any difference between the two pits.

[CrazyD]

My Safe (little brother to the vault) is a great smoker. Quality is top notch on it and the guys at pitmaker are awesome to deal with.

Ive also heard nothing but great things about the other but never any hands on.

[JBROOKS3]

My Safe (little brother to the vault) is a great smoker. Quality is top notch on it and the guys at pitmaker are awesome to deal with.

Ive also heard nothing but great things about the other but never any hands on.

[Southern Pride BBQ]

I just picked up my R&O Cube this past week and couldn't ask for anything better, hands down the best cooker ive ever used !!! Excellent build quality and customer service from Doug and Billy !!!! I posted pics on an earlier thread on mine.....

[JBROOKS3]

My Safe (little brother to the vault) is a great smoker. Quality is top notch on it and the guys at pitmaker are awesome to deal with.

Ive also heard nothing but great things about the other but never any hands on.

How many briskets can you put on the safe?

[JBROOKS3]

I just picked up my R&O Cube this past week and couldn't ask for anything better, hands down the best cooker ive ever used !!! Excellent build quality and customer service from Doug and Billy !!!! I posted pics on an earlier thread on mine.....

Does Billy build a smaller version of the cube like the safe?

[Southern Pride BBQ]

The cube is the smaller version, the fat girl is the larger version...... mine is 34"hx28"wx24"D, three 20x20" racks, perfect for comp cooking IMO.....

[CrazyD]

The safe has 4 - 15"x20.5" grates.

Its perfect for my at home and for comps. Itll hold everything i need to do a cook comp with.

The cube is r&o's equivilant of the safe. Each have a bigger size tho.

Here is my safe.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17726&p=158154&hilit=Pitmaker+safe#p158154

[JBROOKS3]

The safe has 4 - 15"x20.5" grates.

Its perfect for my at home and for comps. Itll hold everything i need to do a cook comp with.

The cube is r&o's equivilant of the safe. Each have a bigger size tho.

Here is my safe.

http://www.texasbbqforum.com/viewtopic. ... fe#p158154

Nice pit bro. The paint job is slick. I have a powder coating business I wouldnt need mine painted, but that is fine smoker you got.

[CrazyD]

Since u mentioned it, is powder coating a pit dependable and last longer then high heat paint? Im debating on having my next one powder coated instead of painted.

[Butter]

I've seen both. Both are very nice. Now , the Fat girl is not much bigger than the safe and it's not as big as the vault. I would start with your budget and then figure out which options you want and find the one that fits in your budget. You won't go wrong with either.
.....

[JBROOKS3]

Since u mentioned it, is powder coating a pit dependable and last longer then high heat paint? Im debating on having my next one powder coated instead of painted.

I think its better if the outside of the smoker doesn't get over 800F. Powder coat cures at 370-400F.
The guys at Pitmaker said their pits are insulated so the outside doesn't get hot like most pits. I have used high heat paint on my smoker and I end up painting it every 2 years.

[CrazyD]

Well my firebox will be insulated and the cook chamber will probably never see over 500 degrees. At least i dont think it would.

[*SL*Celaya]

I have a vault and love it, I looked into the Fatgirl as well. To me Pitmaker just edged out the R&O in quality. Not trying to say anything bad about R&O, because their stick burners are amazing!! If your looking into the verticals though, you have to look at your budget and how much you want to cook. The vault is a little bit bigger so can hold more food, but also is a little more expensive. It just comes down to what you prefer. Pitmaker and R&O both produce amazing products, but to me Pitmaker put out a better product and I went with them.

[Texas BBQ Syndicate]

The safe is big enough to do comps with, if that's all you want to do. I usually will put 2 split chickens on the bottom grate, 2 trimmed St Louis style spares on the second rack and then, I can put a 10-12 lb brisket on the 3rd rack. If I cook the brisket in a pan sometimes I may pull the top rack out when I foil it. Or move the Brisket up and add more spares.
The Vault is pretty big, but if you are not cooking big volumes, It seems to me a waste of fuel to heat the Vault up for just 1 or 2 briskets. JMHO. My safe is very easy to operate and is consistent.
I thought about a Vault but got the 58" Sniper for big cooks and I use the Safe for smaller cooks. Sorta best of both worlds.