Bandera or Brinkman

B

bcrow

Guest
I've been researching the smokers for several months and am going to pull the triger this weekend. Had pretty much settled on the Bandera, but after reading some post on this site, noticed that folks are happy with Brinkmans.
My first judgment on the brinkmans are that they are not as well made as the Bandera.
Also, I cant find the Bandera on the Charbroil website anymore...
Plus, I live in Atlanta, home to HomeDepot, and can only find the Bandera at one HD. I have looked for them at over 15 in the area just to try and look (stare) at them. I can't even find them listed on HD's web site. Whats up with that...
I think the Brinkman is about $150 cheaper than the Bandera, but again, I dont think it as well made. I like th heaver duty feel of the bandera.

Thoughs, Sugestion, Coments, Opinons??????

PS, I'm on top of the mods listed on this site. I'll get started on them this weekend also.
 
Welcome your questions will be answered, people here have opinions on everything. Go to Cattle Call and introduce yourself.
 
I have had a Bandera for lots of years and if you find one then get it. I have never needed to go back to NB or Charbroil for anything. So if I was buying the thing I would not eliminate the Bandera even if it was the last one on earth. On the other had I would not eliminate the Brinkman just because it is not as well made as the Bandera. The lower price might be worth it to you and it might also get you into a pretty good pit sooner. I have seen the Brinkman and I bet I could cook some mighty tasty stuff in one of them. I guess this post has not helped you make up your mind. If I had to replace my Bandera today I would look for another one just like it. If I couldn't find one then I would look for a Brinkman.
 
Both good smokers. Would not go wrong with either. Saving $ 150 is a bonus. The Bandera is the original, but the BSKD is a good clone. The USA made Bandera was better made, but after the Co. was bought, they started making them in China and the quality went down. So I would only reccomend the Bandera if it were US made, which I doubt is the case.
 
What BigDog said. Either one will do a fine job for you. I have a Bandera - several on here have the BSKD. What you're buying here is capacity with an offset firebox. Both are thinner gauge metal and so won't hold temps for hours like a Klose or something like that. Both will provide you with stick burning capabilities and let you produce good Q.

$150 savings? Unless the Bandera was made in the US, I'd go with the BSKD.

JMHO
 
Price is not main concern.

The bandera at HD is $298 plus $20 for someone else to put it together. I figure I will take me an hour or more to assemble and my hourly rate is a good bit higher than $20/hr.

Not too concerned about price at this level.
 
My opinion here, but I've always had to go back over something HD or any hardware store assembles. I would save the $20 and do it yourself. Besides, then you can bolt the baffle in as you do it rather than take it apart again later.
 
Living in Marietta, I also started looking for a Bandera, as it was what my buddy had. My wife and I could only find two in this area, but both were left overs and in pretty bad shape for the price they were asking!! We finally ordered the BSKD from Northern Tool in Marietta, and are impressed with this smoker. As stated above, the BSKD is pretty much exactly like the Bandera, and even the Bandera mods work perfectly with the BSKD. However both smokers have their own issues, as the Brinkmann door handle suck, and the Bandera wheels fall off. My neighbor with the Bandera is pretty impressed with my BSKD, because it comes with a thermometer, it has more racks, and the water pan slides out. As far as everything else, there are no differences accept that the BSKD is a mirror image of the Bandera. After replacing the springs on the handles, and doing the required mods, I am very pleased with my BSKD, and it adds a little security that this unit is still in production.
Noah
 
I am the proud new owner of the BSKD and so far it's worked great for me. It wasn't perfect out of the box, but with a little tweaking and a few mods it's doing great. Since I have never owned the Bandera I can't compare the two, but I'm very happy with my purchase.
 
For the new brothers, let me explain the "E".

KCQuer was (I believe) first here on the board to have a BSKD. When he started talking about it being backwards to the Bandera, the extra "E" got added to his reference, thus KC cooks on the "queer", because it is backwards. You'll see several posts that refer to "E", that's a nickname given to KCQuer, for the missing "E".

Make sense?? :?:
 
Thanks Mr. Kick. Appreciate you bringing us newbies up to speed! I've seen the references a bunch of times and never asked. Too funny
 
Solidkick said:
For the new brothers, let me explain the "E".

KCQuer was (I believe) first here on the board to have a BSKD. When he started talking about it being backwards to the Bandera, the extra "E" got added to his reference, thus KC cooks on the "queer", because it is backwards. You'll see several posts that refer to "E", that's a nickname given to KCQuer, for the missing "E".

Make sense?? :?:
Click to expand...

Hmph...I always thought everyone was just calling queer in general. That's why I never joined in. Learn something new everyday...
 
if that Bandera is an original New Braunfels version. I would grab it. Its much better made than the Charbroil one, and slightly better in fit n finish than the BKSD. But the BKSD has some nicer features like the slide out waterpan and better ribracks than the bandera.... If I had to rate them... . the order would be

New braunfels Bandera
BKSD
Charbroil Bandera.
 
thanks, i believe that the bandera that I am looking at in HD is a charbroil. I'll run back over to Lowes and take another look at the brinkman.

Does anyone know why if you google Brinkman BKSD or all spelled out that you cannot find them for sale anywhere in cyberland?? Same with the Bandera?

Are Manufactures moving away from the vertical grill/smoker model? Is there something that I'm missing here? Why are they so hard to find???

Brian
 
Apparently, the BSKD is a specialty item that only certain retailers carry. As far as I know, the Bandera is OOC.
Noah
 
Re: Price is not main concern.

bcrow said:
The bandera at HD is $298 plus $20 for someone else to put it together. I figure I will take me an hour or more to assemble and my hourly rate is a good bit higher than $20/hr.

Not too concerned about price at this level.
Click to expand...

My rate is a little bit higher, but depending on where you live in Atlanta, I will put one of these things together for you for an 8-pack of the black Irish stuff in the can.
Noah
 
I am gonna Roadmap this thread and some of the other ones about the same topic tommorow.
Got a "rainy day in Fl" to deal with :lol:
Topic comes up all the time and it is a good one.

TIM
 
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