Expanding my arsenal


 
Steve Whiting

Steve Whiting

TVWBB All-Star
I want to add to my arsenal of cookers and have been bouncing between two totally different types of smokers. On the one hand I really think I would like the Big Drum Smoker for its ability to produce tasty meats. On the other hand I think I would like an off-set smoker for its ability to "play" with the fire and be more interactive. Price is not my main concern and I know I can find other cheeper drum smokers but for the sake of argument lets keep it down to these two.
This off-set is available on Craigs list so what do you think?
again, I know this is cheeper but that is not my concern. What knowledge can you guys and girls offer regarding these two different types of smokers.
 
Steve,

I looked at this smoker a while back and found it to be smaller than I wanted. Also, you will likely need to do some mods to it for it to perform better. Things like, lowering the smoke stack down to grate level, installing a heat sheild to help eliminate the "hot spot" near the firebox, etc. Here's a link to a bbq faq that covers these mods. I'll try to find some pics on another site where someone did these mods..

Good luck.

Bill

EDIT: Well, I can't find the link I was looking for but I did find this one that should help out a bit and there's this link to a similar grill/smoker that might help out as well.
 
I've also been looking at upgrading to a beefier smoker for extra capacity. I have found that offsets burn a lot more fuel, and have to be "refilled" a lot more frequent.
 
Strange as it may sound that is kinda the appeal of the off-set to me. I like the idea of being more interactive with the cook. With the off-set I will have to maintain the fire and with the BDS I will have to turn and keep an eye on the meat. I know these can sound like downers but occassionaly I want to participate more in the cook.
 
Steve,

I looked at the BDS for quite a while but ended up purchasing another WSM. You can cook some things without the water pan on the WSM, and treat it like a small drum smoker if you only use the top rack. I do chicken that way and it tastes great. Not sure if it's far enough from the fire for larger meats like brisket and butts.

Anyways, I think the drums are cool and will probably try building one in the future. I don't have any offset experience, though.
 
for the price and a few mods it will do nicely for ya. also for the price you can still make yer own bds for those days ya don't want to be interactive. if a bds is to big then you can make a drum smoker out of a 30 gal drum.
 
Has anyone ever made a smoker out of a beer keg. It seems like a nice size. Maybe it could be cut across a chord somewhat above the middle to give more room above the charcoal.

I admit to knowing very little about home grill construction. Any comments or ideas?
 
Zak, you made that?!?!? Holy crap. How the heck did you do that? Did you have a pattern or instructions? Did you photograph or video the process? Would love to see more!

Bill
 
It was a good amount of work, especially since the cooking chamber is an old oil tank i got from a friend and of course i was extremely careful when cleaning it out, which took the most time. I think it took about 6-8 cleaning w/solvents & then hot water and dish detergent to finally get all the oil residue out of it. Trust me, every single nook and cranny was cleaned very well. The trailer it's on was given to me by my buddy since he had no use for it anymore and plus we did the bbq exchange thing. And the firebox(firebrick lined) and grates we welded by his father who's a welding teacher and that cost me was a case of Skyy vodka. I added 1/8" flat stock to the door seams for added ridgity and used a stainless piano hinge. The handle is an off-the-shelf grab bar(stainless) from Lowes. The bracket that supports the front of the tank was something i had kicking around from an old picnic table. And the stack was simply 6" wood stove piping found at the hardware store. Once it was all assembled and cleaned, i shot it w/Rustoleum BBQ paint which took about 1 1/2 quarts. Then i wired the trailer and it's registered so i can haul it anywhere if needed. It probably cost me a total of $500. It does eat a good amount of wood and takes much more attentance than the trusty WSM, but when you got 100lbs of meat to smoke the ole WSM just wasn't gonna cut it. Even the wood for it, about 1 cord oak and 1/2 cord apple, was exchanged for BBQ. Oh the power of BBQ!!!!

No plans were used as i just winged it. It actually burns really good but still needs just a little more tweaking but it does the trick. If any one has any questions about it just ask.
 
I found a New Braunfels Silver Smoker, similar to the Black Diamond, rebuilt it and did all of the modifications to it and then struggled with it every cook I had. About the same time I built a drum smoker, and from the very first cook I've consistently turned out good Q with absolutely no hassle and found I really enjoy cooking on them.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1463.jpg
But I still had that yearning to tend a fire, so I kept at it with the offset, and found that it just was not the cooker for me. I've participated in a couple BBQ cooking classes with my WSM's and Drums and had people using the box store offsets and admit they are ready to give up on them! A few were even cooking without a thermometer in the door. They are drafty and don't hold a temp IMO. I finally let mine go to someone that had the same wide eyed expectations of sitting around tending a fire and eating good Q, but as I helped him load it in his minivan with 2 young kids realized it would probably only cook burgers and hotdogs then rust itself to death!
 
Thanks for the input guys-I have heard alot about problems controlling the temp in an off-set. I beleive I am going for the BDS.
 
Which BDS are you going to get? When I was looking at them I kept talking myself up to a larger model every few days until I was going to spend near $1,000 on a converted barrel.

I called and talked to Rocky, the owner, for about 45 minutes. He is very passionate and I have no doubt that these are great smokers.

One of the big drawbacks to me was the shipping costs. Very high, but not necessarily unwarranted.
 
I am looking at the Standard 2339 either 1 or 2 cooking racks. That should be big enough for my needs. Yea-shipping is high but as you said, not unwarranted.
 
Originally posted by Brian Moriarty:
I found a New Braunfels Silver Smoker, similar to the Black Diamond, rebuilt it and did all of the modifications to it and then struggled with it every cook I had. About the same time I built a drum smoker, and from the very first cook I've consistently turned out good Q with absolutely no hassle and found I really enjoy cooking on them.
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t310/swamprb/100_1463.jpg
But I still had that yearning to tend a fire, so I kept at it with the offset, and found that it just was not the cooker for me. I've participated in a couple BBQ cooking classes with my WSM's and Drums and had people using the box store offsets and admit they are ready to give up on them! A few were even cooking without a thermometer in the door. They are drafty and don't hold a temp IMO. I finally let mine go to someone that had the same wide eyed expectations of sitting around tending a fire and eating good Q, but as I helped him load it in his minivan with 2 young kids realized it would probably only cook burgers and hotdogs then rust itself to death!
Click to expand...

I used a non modified CGPRO/SFB for a long time. Actually until it was pretty much worn out. I really liked grilling on it. Liked smoking with it. Wood cooks, etc. Rotie cooks. The whole deal. That said other than cooking in the food chamber (grilling/rotie) - drafty and leaky is an understatement. So although I am one who misses that aspect of the horizontal cookers, it became evident to me that to get to one that actually does it well, I.E., tight, even heat (read damper system) you need to spend at least $1K including freight to your house, they are HEAVY.

I actually had a custom ordered, but ran into a host of problems with an unscrupulous builder and gave up.

I actually went with the WSM as an interim until I figured out what I wanted to do. Picked up the WSM just last year. So far I don't want to go back yet. Not because I don't like the fun of a horizontal and that whole genre, it's more of a thing where the size of my cooks are generally small and a good "patio or backyard" horizontal takes up a bit of space, is less portable, and fits less with my actual general use.

But don't let that distract you. I had a lot of fun for a long time with it. Great experience. Just realize that any of the thin metal box store horizontals are a challenge to use and not the same experience as the next step up versions .

You will definitely learn fire control. After all in the end it's not the equipment it's the pitminder/cook. The cheaper HZ's will demand your attention. The whole aspect of modifying is attractive to many. And there are a ton of folks who have done all kinds of mods to make them useful and better cookers than when they came out of the box. The mods can be a hobby in itself.
 
Granted I'm still new at this.

But I did send an E-mail to Klose, and they sent me one of their info CDs. Very impressive stuff. When I can finally afford one, I just may decide to make a vacation of it and trade the shipping costs for a "road-trip" type vacation
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If the idea of an offset turns you on - then, from the research I've done I would look for something made of some serious metal (the mass of the metal holds the temperature, once it's up to temp), plus the thicker ones usually hold their shape better, and thus leak less.

As for their appetite for more fuel - from what I've learned, they are usually intended to burn whole logs / larger chunks of "fuel".

Also, it appears that they are much more complicated animals than the good ol' WSM, and take longer to master. But that being said, once you master one - I'm certain that the results can be spectacular.
 
I've owned almost every kind of smoker made and cooked over 100,000 pounds of meat on them. If I won the lottery and money was no object the two cookers on my back deck would be a Ranch Kettle and a Large BGE.
 
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