Has Weber ever commented on why they don't make an Offset Smoker?


 
B

Bryan B

TVWBB Fan
Seems like offsets are a huge money making opportunity as that is what most of the serious BBQ comp teams seem to use (this is an opinion gleaned only from watching season 1 of BBQ pitmasters, so correct me if I'm wrong).

To my knowledge, Weber has never gotten into this business and I wondered if they had ever commented on why that is.

Do they just feel the design is inherently worse than their vertical/kettle design?

I had a Chargriller offset and it was terrible compared to the WSM. Air leaks, hard to control temps, refueling every hour, etc.
 
I think you answered your own question with your last comment. I don't know if Weber has ever considered an offset, but the better ones are all made from 1/4" or thicker steel and that's not a market Weber has ever been in as far as I know. It would also take all new tooling machinery I would think.
As for design, heat wants to go up and an offset is trying to force it sideways.
I haven't taken inventory lately, but I would guess about half of the competition teams around here use offsets.
 
Just my opinion, but I think Weber makes pretty good money with what they offer. Most true BBQ offset companies specialize in what they offer, heavy guage steel offsets that have been engineered. Their factory or workshop has been designed with building those smokers in mind. They have worked on and perfected what they make and sell. Its a totally different market than what Weber offers. Weber caters to the backyard enthusiast. With the exception of maybe the Ranch kettle, that is their market. To start producing big offsets would require a whole new facility with tools to start producing these types of pits and of course live up to the famed Weber quality. Thats a HUGE investment of capital, and puts them in competition with places that have been making such pits for a long time with the quality reputation already in place due to competitons, etc.
Good quality offsets are pretty efficient, but also have so much space. I mean a good quality offest is into the thousands and tens of thousands of dollars. High quality THICK steel helps with heat retention. High quality gaskets keep them efficient.
I too owned an offset chargriller. Talk about having to babysit a smoker...and all the charcoal that thing burned through. But I will say it taught me how to smoke, and how to maintain temperatures. Going from that thing to a WSM was an easy transition for me...and I could actually sleep during an overnight smoke...
 
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Aint broke don't fix it. Plenty of comp teams use 18 and 22WSMs, and weber products in general are regarded as one of the top brands in the market for BBQ and grilling equipment. No reason to mess with a formula that's been working for decades in order to mimic competition or capture a market segment that is already well-occupied by the higher quality offset makers like new braunfels.

Not to mention the significant capital equipment investment that would be required to convert to heavy-gauge metal manufacturing...
 
Weber makes and markets cookers for the general public and is very good at doing that. But their WSM's appeal only to a very small market segment, not to the masses, and I don't think they've ever considered offsets. That would end up costing them money.
 
George L said:
Weber makes and markets cookers for the general public and is very good at doing that. But their WSM's appeal only to a very small market segment, not to the masses, and I don't think they've ever considered offsets. That would end up costing them money.
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george hit the nail on the head. given that the WSM was basically a collection of other weber parts when it got created we know weber doesnt consider this a major market.
 
the wsm does a darn good job of cooking as it is. at comps i have gone to everyone seems to have at least several wsm's and those are what seems to be doing the cooking.
 
Bryan,

You might want to find some serious bbq contests in your area and see first hand. Would be an excellent opportunity to find out what they are using out there. You might be very surprised!
 
Dave from Denver said:
Not to mention the significant capital equipment investment that would be required to convert to heavy-gauge metal manufacturing...
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Indeed. Just look how long it took them to produce the 22" WSM which (from a wishful layman's pov) would have been a relatively easy setup.
 
Thanks for everyone's responses. I was just curious so I thought I'd put the question out here. It wasn't a criticism of Weber in any way as I absolutely love my WSM, performer, and smokey joe.

I plan to start getting into competitions soon so it will be interesting to see how many people in my area use WSM's vs offsets.

One reason I ask is because one local competition is very unique. On the positive side, there is no entry fee and they pay for all your meat, which seems to be very rare. However, they also require that you sell to the public as well as compete, and they require you cook 16 boston butts or a whole hog.

obviously I cannot go whole hog on the wsm, and it would take 3 WSM's at least to be able to handle that many BB's.
 
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