My only other stickburning experience is on the Old Country and I didn't cook on it a ton. This pit beats that hands down. Most of it is in the design. The Franklin has a what he calls a collector on the base of the stack that takes a hot spot out of the pit that's usually right in front of the exhaust and creates a ton of convection. It also doesn't have that baffle between the firebox and cook chamber the Old Country and a lot of other pits have. That baffle directs heat down and it would just come up in the middle of the pit and tend to scorch the bottom of your food. You'd get an illusion of even cooking but it's not really even.
The Franklin instead has a water pan shelf that sits higher and directs the heat more on top of the food. You can see it in Lynn's picture above. (By the way that brisket looks amazing, Lynn!) I've put some temp probes in and the Franklin pit is very even. It does tend to get hotter on the stack side if you shut the door completely but not by a lot. It's dead even with the door cracked. I will say that whatever is right in front of that water pan shelf will get hot. That's just a tradeoff in the design that I think makes sense. This cooker has a ton of airflow and convection. The semi-insulated firebox helps keep temps steady and helps force the heat and air into the cook chamber.
I will say this. This pit doesn't hold your hand at all. You have to develop good fire management. A lot of people complain about no damper on the door or exhaust. This is just Franklin saving you from yourself. It's really in learning to build a fire correctly.
What I've noticed on the food is way better rendering of fat and better bark. I also has far superior smoke flavor because you can run the fire very cleanly.
All that said I'm still a huge WSM fan. The WSM is my set it and forget it no fuss smoker. The Franklin is for when I absolutely wanna fuss with it. Tending a fire on a stickburner is addictive. I'll admit, it's not for everybody.
