site set-up tips to share?

[watg?]

I am looking for a few ideas or suggestions for an article I am writing to try and make things easier for folks with their site set-up at a contest. You know, like using PVC pipe cut to length to raise your work tables to a comfortable height, or using a bungee cord to hang a roll of paper towels from your EZ-up. I can’t forget my personal favorite; always have a new roll of TP in your supply box, spot a pot supplied material tends to be a bit thin and flimsy http://www.mabbqa.com/phpbb/images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif If you have any of these tips that you don’t mind sharing with others either post them here or shoot me a note. Thanks in advance for your help.

[This Is How We Que It]

I am looking for a few ideas or suggestions for an article I am writing to try and make things easier for folks with their site set-up at a contest. You know, like using PVC pipe cut to length to raise your work tables to a comfortable height, or using a bungee cord to hang a roll of paper towels from your EZ-up. I can’t forget my personal favorite; always have a new roll of TP in your supply box, spot a pot supplied material tends to be a bit thin and flimsy http://www.mabbqa.com/phpbb/images/smilies/icon_e_smile.gif If you have any of these tips that you don’t mind sharing with others either post them here or shoot me a note. Thanks in advance for your help.

The Coleman hot water dispenser for washing dishes. It will cost you a couple of bills, but the wife loves it for cleaning and if you have a happy wife then you have a happy life.

[Ford]

Take less stuff. Best advice I ever got.

[Dan - 3eyzbbq]

No matter how nice the weather is.....tie the damn canopy down!

[ModelMaker]

Get a dry eraser board to hang up, put your schedule on it and stick to it.
Do purchase a $35 atomic clock, it'll save you a DQ.....
Keep your wife from inviting the whole dam family to watch you make boxes and have snacks between catagories..
There's more, I'll be back.
Ed

[Meat@Slim's]

Duct Tape, Head Lamp, Leatherman. Dedicated gloves for specific needs.

[HBMTN]

A towel under the cutting board to keep it from walking around is one.

[boogiesnap]

the eraser board is excellent idea. put a subcategory with what ifs and the solutions also.
sometimes in the heat of the battle and fatigue of the day, a little reminder of what to do when the ttrain goes sideways might help.

i LOVE the original thought. will do. don't think you can remember every step, and every one is crucial.

tie the effn thing down. learned that one at my first kcbs this week-end...oh, and get walls.

[Captain P.J.]

I make up a schedule of events and print out a copy for everyone so we are all on the same page. No questions about what happens when for the night crew allows a little sleep... And rope lights for the canopy which has to be tied down! Everyone else has a lot of great stuff too!!

[Captain P.J.]

The Atomic clock is great! I have one that is from the Weather channel (got it from wally world) that has the temp and humidity which is great to know too!

[Ron_L]

The disposable cutting boards from Smokey Mountain Smokers are a great time saver! Also, if using hotel pans, either line them with foil or use pan liners to help with cleanup.

For those of us who sweat, a little corn starch helps the latex gloves side on no meter how sweaty your hands are.

[Brauma]

Do a complete dry run at home. Set up everything as if you were at the comp. Don't go back in the house for anything. Make a list of everything you forgot.

Music.

Gold Bond.

[boogiesnap]

more than 1 chimney.

[Uncle Buds BBQ]

More than one LIGHTER. Preferably one with fluid! Not that it has EVER happened to me.

[DickQ]

I use a plastic laundry sink with a 5 gal. bucket under it for a drain. use a Y and hook up a short hose with a garden sprayer. The sink is deep and great for soaking cutting boards and pots. The sprayer makes it nice to hose off the boards and you have it to add water to your water pans. The legs on the sink pop right off and the sink makes a nice bin to carry stuff to and from the cookoff.

Dick's BBQ
__________

[Sweet Breathe BBQ]

When setting up the site layout be sure to put one of your tables between the prep area the smokers that way you can use it from either side, to prep meat or to have a place to put meat that you've pulled off the smoker.

[beerguy]

Y water connector stays under the front seat of the truck year round. Its never forgotten, and easy to find.

[rksylves]

I try to remember to check the weather forecast before going. Not only for temperature and rain predictions but more importantly wind, speed and direction. That way when I get to the site I can set up my WSMs to be downwind of the EZ-Up. Sure does save gagging and choking on the smoke. If the wind speed is expected to be up then I may put up a wall or two. Then my WSMs get a bit of a wind shade.

One other tidbit. Before you go setting everything up, be sure to scope out the water/electric situation. Kinda sucks to get most everything in place only to find that the water is 50 feet further than you've got hose for. Same for electric. This way if there's a problem you can find the contest organizer and figure out some sort of answer that may include changing sites.

Russ

[Rich Parker]

Gloveliners for those times when your hands are damp and the rubber gloves give you hassle.

[Rick Hamilton]

If your cell phone allows multiple alarms...put in all your important times. For example, 10:00 prep chicken, 10:30 put chicken on cooker, etc. When away from site visiting the alarm is a great reminder.

[Stoke&Smoke]

The Coleman hot water dispenser for washing dishes. It will cost you a couple of bills, but the wife loves it for cleaning and if you have a happy wife then you have a happy life.

AND, if you pick up a collapsible porta-potty enclosure, it works as a shower too!:thumb:

[Spydermike72]

No matter how nice the weather is.....tie the damn canopy down!

Wholeheartedly agree with this one!! :thumb:

[Rich Parker]

Wholeheartedly agree with this one!! :thumb:

I read this post two weeks late. :)

[Boshizzle]

What about judges? I take Tylenol, soap, a clean t-shirt, and a clamp on umbrella. I have judged comps where, due to some screw up by somebody, there was no place to wash your hands and you had to use hand sanitizer. Getting a headache in 100+ degree weather sucks and, I need a clean shirt because I always end up getting chicken or ribs on my shirt.

The bolt on umbrella comes in when your seat is in the sun, which I have experienced. Plus, it comes in handy if it starts to rain.

Also, get to the comp early and scope out the seating. Find out where the air flow is based upon where the fans are located and grab a seat in the middle of the table that gets the best air flow. Middle seats are always either the 3rd or 4th pick from the turn in box.

Don't put your fingers that you have been licking all over the entries that you are not eating when picking out a piece of meat from the box. Don't take up so much room at the judging table that the ones sitting beside you are cramped. Be considerate of the other judges.

When judging, consider the fact that the team that cooked that meat toiled over it and put a lot of time, money, work and care into it. Take it seriously. You are not there merely to eat good BBQ.

[Greg60525]

I bring a sheet metal dryer wall vent cap that will fit the stack on my pit. If it's windy I place it over the stack and turn it so that the opening is downwind, so that the wind won't back draft into the cooking chamber.

Heater for cold weather comps.

[TN_BBQ]

Use a tablecloth on your prep table (either a disposable one or several sheets of foil). Makes cleanup so much easier.

Towels w/caribiners (golf towels).

Bring a pair of waterproof boots (if it doesn't rain, your neighbor will surely get carried away with the water hose).

Band-aids.

Earplugs (count on your neighbors partying into the wee hours).

[slowerlowerbbq]

Here's a great tip I got from another MD team (Pork and Deans...gotta give credit). For our dishwashing/sanitation system we use a Camp Stove along with 8" steam table pans to both heat the water and also use as a table to hold the pans. I wish I had a pic of our setup, but we basically put the steam table pans on the stove, fill with water, turn on the burners and we usually have scalding hot water in about 5 minutes. The best part is, the steamer pans nest together and the camp stove folds up so it takes up very little space.

Here's some links:
Camp Stove (http://www.campchef.com/store/item/88/GB90D_pro_90_3_burner_propane_stove.html)
Steam Table Pans (http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=8%22+steam+table+pans&cid=8761996081059027069&ei=Cz9HTKKLIozywAWTrrXbDA&sa=title&ved=0CAcQ8wIwADgA#p)
We got about 11 of these pans at auction for about $6 apiece. We use the other pans for meat prep, especially injecting. The deep walls of the pan keep the mess contained real well.

[ZILLA]

Wear two pair of latex gloves and just remove the dirty pair. Much easier to get a new pair on.

[Mister Bob]

It will rain and there will be a power failure. Prepare for both.
Ponchos and side walls for your EZ-Up (tied down of course).
Small car battery to run the fan controller(s), a quiet inverter generator if you need more power.

A very comfortable reclining chair so you can catch some ZZZZZs
Crocs for your feet. Super comfortable and OK if they get wet.

[Muddy River Boy]

My contribution is this. KISS!!!! (keep it simple stu....) The more stuff you take and get out at a contest, the more you have to clean up. I have gotten my set up down to about 15 min of set up time and about 30 minutes of clean up. Makes it SOOOOOO much easier than the days of lugging everything you could imagine around the country. I use the motto that if I dont use it at every contest I dont take it.

Clint

[Poker Smoker]

If you own a cell phone, you own an atomic clock.
Less is more.

[watg?]

Thanks folks, a ton of great ideas here, thanks!!

[chambersuac]

as someone who would love to compete one day, these are great. watg, are you going to make your article available here? IMO, this would make a great sticky so the tips can help many people now and in the future. Mods?

[Alan in Ga]

Yes I found that very informative as we are also getting ready to join the comp ranks

[Jeff S.]

I mounted my paper towel holder(the folding plastic kind) in the recess under my folding table. It keeps the towels dry and they dont blow in the wind.

When folded closed for travel, it is thinner than the recess, so it cant get broken.

[Buster Dog BBQ]

I trim everything at home and have a knife for each category that needs slicing. That leaves me with about 8-10 dishes that go in a bus tub and home to the dishwasher. Most of those 8-10 are used during turn in so they are not sitting around long.

[Buster Dog BBQ]

Wear two pair of latex gloves and just remove the dirty pair. Much easier to get a new pair on.
I put my pork and brisket on the same smoker at the same time. Doing this I can load the smoker much quicker and only have to open it once.

[Ron_L]

as someone who would love to compete one day, these are great. watg, are you going to make your article available here? IMO, this would make a great sticky so the tips can help many people now and in the future. Mods?

We have too many stickies as it is, but I will add this to the KCQuer Roadmap To the Competition Forum so it can be found easily.

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=13677

Thanks, Dan!

[watg?]

as someone who would love to compete one day, these are great. watg, are you going to make your article available here? IMO, this would make a great sticky so the tips can help many people now and in the future. Mods?


I will keep you posted on the article, got some great stuff here, thanks again to everyone for your suggestions.:-P

[Rookie'48]

What about judges? I take Tylenol, soap, a clean t-shirt, and a clamp on umbrella.

And a wet wash cloth in a baggie. I also bring masking tape to hold down the plate on windy days and toothpicks (the plastic ones with floss).

Middle seats are always either the 3rd or 4th pick from the turn in box.

I like the end seats - fat guy mod.

Don't put your fingers that you have been licking all over the entries that you are not eating when picking out a piece of meat from the box. Don't take up so much room at the judging table that the ones sitting beside you are cramped. Be considerate of the other judges.

Ditto on the fingers - yuck! As for taking up too much room, see above comment ;>)

..... You are not there merely to eat good BBQ.

You are 100% right on that! Take at least two good sized bites of each piece so that you can give a fair score.

[KnucklHed BBQ]

If you own a cell phone, you own an atomic clock.
Less is more.

My blackberry is one of the few phones that will let you set the time to whatever you want, I always sync it to the official clock just in case!
If it's slower than the official, I usually adj it so that its 30 sec fast if anything...

I will keep you posted on the article, got some great stuff here, thanks again to everyone for your suggestions.:-P

Thanks for this!

One thing I plan on implementing is to STOP using wash tub type things as a means of transporting stuff to and from the comp... when it's time to set up the tubs, you have to empty all yer crap out of 'em and then the joint looks like a mess (not to mention it sucks to try and find the things you need then)
I plan on getting some 3 drawer plastic carts and giving everything a permenant home, that way set up and break down are quicker and smoother. Also, items can actually be put away when finished being used instead of just tossing somewhere to the side.

Something I've also been bad at is having to pack too much stuff from the kitchen before leaving.
I'll be getting duplicates of everything, that way there's no robbing the favorite tongs or whatever from the kitchen, there's already a pair in the comp gear... same goes for shakers, knives, baggies, foil, etc...

Bring small wooden blocks of different thicknesses to level out tables & tents... even if you're cooking in a parking lot, you'll end up being the guy with the busted up asphalt and a rocky table and a tent pullin some 3 wheel motion (http://i275.photobucket.com/albums/jj304/jokers_last_laugh/My_Impala.jpg). Hopefully you've got the sick beats and metal flake paint to pull it off and still look cool. :cool:
Use a wood boring bit to make a slight impression in the block on 1 side so that the table leg/tent leg has something to sit in and won't just slide off the block.

[bbqdavarrow]

Instead of constantly looking up at the clock I also use a "audio clock" by that I mean I play "Elected" by Alice Cooper which is about 4:20 long. I have played it so much that I know when the song is about 1/2 way done or getting close to the end. And it has become sort of a subconscious clock where you know exactly how much time you have without looking at the clock.:confused: It works for me!

[Yleekyoti]

Hey George I just did my first comp ever at Easton (18th overall ,7thplace pork) Yea Im happy LOL. YOur book was a big help in that direction. I left friday morning with five gallons of hot water in a drinking cooler and it was still hot when I got home sat night , Thanks for that tip.
One good thing I did was to have enough table space so that every thing I needed was On the tables or under it. No walking back and forth to the truck or trailer looking for stuff.
Looking forward to reading your article.. Thanks again!!!
BoB

[Sticks-n-chicks]

I don't think this was mentioned but what has helped me more than anything is practicing in my driveway and doing it with how I would set up at a comp. This helped me get my layout down and organize what I needed and what I didn't. Observation of how other team set up and what they use. must have's to me are;
- coleman hot water heater
- table leg extensions
- Comfy chair (making sure the beer cooler is within reach)

But the most important thing to bring to a comp...patience and a sense of humor!

[CBQ]

Head mounted lights. They make 'em for skiers. Ever try to peer into the back of your smoker at night while trying to mop something and hold a flashlight? Ya, I look like a coal miner, but I always have light where I need it and free hands.

[bam]

If you can find it use a block of ice in place cubes or cruched last longer. Boots for your ez up.

[watg?]

thanks again to everyone!

[yelonutz]

I refill my wife's plastic water bottles with water and freeze them. I then use them for my comp meats. It is lots easier to unload the meat for inspection then return to the cooler. I also have a separate cooler just for the meats. I don't want to take a chance on getting raw chicken juice on my beer. On the plus side, I always have cold water when the damn things melt!

NUTZ

[comfrank]

Just got the new Bullsheet today. George Hensler's got an article on how to set up your site. Check it out!

--frank in Wilson, NY

[Anchors Smokeshop]

Just got the new Bullsheet today. George Hensler's got an article on how to set up your site. Check it out!

--frank in Wilson, NY

George started this thread and based the content from the thread on the article in the Bullsheet. Got mine today, good read. :clap2: