New to this forum, need help deciding


 
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Rick S

TVWBB Fan
Hi,
I'm new here, but I've got to tell you I love this web site. It's enough to make me want to go out and get a WSM. In fact I'm trying to decide between a WSM cooker and a New Braunfels Universal water smoker. The NB model claims to hold several grates where the WSM can hold up to 4(?) with modifications. The WSM looks like it would be easier to regulate your temp with than the NB Universal. Does anyone here know enough about the NB Universal to help with a comparison to the WSM? I want to get a good smoker that will last a long time. No Doubt you will be biased to the WSM here /infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif . I own 2 Weber products, a One Touch Gold kettle and a Bar-b-kettle that I've had for 4 years. I know Weber's good, just trying to compare the two. I can't find much info on the net about the NB Universal.

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
 
The New Braunfels water smoker has a serious design flaw.

The charcoal pan has a solid bottom. This means that there is poor airflow to the fire and as the ash builds up, the airflow to the fire gets worse and worse.

With no bottom vents, there is no effective way to adjust the temperature of the fire except by closing the top vent. That is really a poor way to control temperatures. Choking off the exhaust vents is a sure-fire way to get sooty, blackened food.

Whether it's the WSM or something else, you really want a smoker that has the fire on a raised grate above the pan or bowl that catches the spent ashes and you want adjustable vents at the fire so you can control the temperatures. Without those two key features, trying to maintain steady temperatures over many hours is going to be an excersise in futility.

If New Braufels would correct that design flaw, it looks like it would be a good smoker. But, as it sits, it's not going to cook any better than the $59 Brinkmann.
 
A NB is tough enough to maintain cooking temps but with four grates full of meat, would be hell.
Jim
 
Thanks for the info. Honestly I've ruled out the NB Universal based on what y'all have said. Now, I'm either going to convert one of my Kettles to a smoker like you did Webb, or I'm gonna buy a WSM.

Regardless I might try the conversion anyway. I was going to give my old Bar-B-kettle away. I have Kettle Mate add-on tables on both the Bar-B-Kettle and the One touch Gold. I might put the spacer on the old Bar-B-Kettle to just make that one the smoker. The Kettle Mate add-on tables have a support ring that encompasses the outer diameter of the kettle body. If I need additional weight support since it only has tri-pod legs I could bolt support legs to the Kettle Mate support ring.

There's a gas starter on the New Braunfels weg site for their Black Diamond ( I believe) smoker. I wonder if I could adapt this thing to the old Bar-B-Kettle first. If it works, I could put it on the One touch Gold.

Looks like it will be fun.
 
As the proud owner of the Red Bullet that Christ modified and auctioned off. I'm amazed at the constant temps.I'm able to hold with no problems at all. Not sure if this is the case with all WSM's, but i for one would not use any other product for BBQ-ing in the future. Just my two cents worth.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Rick Stamey:
[qb]There's a gas starter on the New Braunfels weg site for their Black Diamond ( I believe) smoker. I wonder if I could adapt this thing to the old Bar-B-Kettle first. If it works, I could put it on the One touch Gold.[/qb] <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Weber sells the starter kit for the Performer. It's a one piece unit with the gas tube that goes into the kettle, the brackets that mount it to the kettle, and the ignition button. You would have to order the supply hose/regulator and a propane tank separately.

You would have to drill three holes into the bottom of the kettle: one large one
for the tube and two small screw holes. Ideally, the large hole for the tube needs to be oval shaped, which would be impossible to do at home. However, it would work perfectly fine to drill an oversized round hole and use aluminum tape to seal up any air leaks around it after you've mounted the tube and bracket. It would not be that hard to do. Believe me, I was tempted when I found out the the cost of the replacement kettle bottom with the "pretty" hole was MORE than the cost of a complete One-Touch Gold grill at Home Depot!

A five-pound propane tank would be the minimum useful size. The little cannister on the New Braunfels unit would be empty in no time at all. I refill the 5-pounder several times a year; and would not want anything smaller.
 
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