A money question

Well my wsm and stoker got up in price very quickly

No, not me. I bought a 18.5 WSM no upgrades needed. I bought a Cajun Bandit conversion kit and put it on my Weber 22.5 OTG.

My UDS cost me the most. All the bells & whistles on it. But it was a lot of fun making it and collecting all of the parts.

BBQ and the quest for more and better BBQ pits is an addiction. The best thing you can do is be in denial. Just put it out of your mind and you won't even think about it. Rationalize your purchases however you have to, and when your wife says "is that new?", say "no, I've had that a long time".

Hey, that is my basic strategy for any new pit. I only feel an obligation to report the initial cost to "Cost Control". Those add-ons are very hard for her to notice. :biggrin1:

I have 2 WSMs, I've done mods to them. I am happy with the mods and would do them all again!

I love to tinker, so every little item I pick up, whether I need it or not, adds up.

Money spent on hobbies don't count

Handsome Jack said:

Money spent on hobbies don't count

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That's the spirit. My excuse for the wife is "but baby I need it"
My UDS replicas are $700 my cost including BBQ guru. It adds up quick

Handsome Jack said:

Money spent on hobbies don't count

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...lol... True. At least this hobby produces food as end result and feeds the family. This is one hobby of mine my wife does not complain about. )

My stepfather gave me a smoker that he built years ago. Initial investment ~$7 for a new water pan.

My brother in-law and I really liked the way it did a hot and fast brisket, so we decided to improve on it and start using it for comps. So we added urethane casters, sealed the bottom, had a heavy duty firebox made, new grates, fitted it to work with a guru, new handle on the lid, counterweight on the lid, holes for probe wires, a guru shelf, and a water "pan" that can be filled from the outside of the smoker. I had a fabricator friend do this, and it somehow ran up to $450 :shock: After one contest, it's started to pay for itself already

The water "pan" is an old bottle of some sort (oxygen or a fire extinguisher or something). It's only about 5" wide, but it's 3/4 the length of the smoker. It has holes down each side at about 10 and 2 oclock, with a channel to keep drippings from going into the holes. This way, the drippings still get in the fire, and we still get the steamy goodness.

The day after I picked it up, I decided that since the smoker looked ridiculous, it needed a ridiculous paint job, and I've always been a fan of the P40 nose art, so another $60 went into some ceramic paint.

Here it is with the paint almost done


Here it is, dirty, mid cook, and showing off the part I forgot to paint.




So, initial investment $7.
Present investment, around $517.

Bring on the "shoulda built a UDS!". :twisted:

I find that over thinking certain things ruin the experience – I mainly include BBQ and Sex in that thought.

Besides the guy in the office next to me has spent more on Bass fishing than I ever will on smokers and grills – many a weekend he comes home hungry and smelling my BBQ.

Started mine with a $14 drum. Then basket, paint, cleaning, wire wheels, drum dolley, grates, nut bolts and doo dads, bottle opener, handle, thermometer, BGE vent........ then I added it up......$350......:roll: But boy does it make good Q:-D

Just a lid for my UDS. Most of the rest came VERY cheep.

My offset was supposed to be 500 bucks and a couple weekends worth of work. matter of fact it wasn't supposed a smoker at all at first.. but me and my dad kept adding and adding.. and 2500 dollars and 5 months later :twitch:... its a smoker.. lol.. it happens.. its better to build what you want instead of trying to change it later.. even if that means breaking the bank in the short term.. you have what you want in the end. and you are more proud of it because you build it with your own hands.. :thumb:

wife: "What do you want for Father's Day?"
me: "Don't worry about it. I bought myself something."
wife: "Whad'ya buy a new smoker?"
me: :icon_blush:
wife: :mmph:

Neonnblack said:

This is mostly a UDS question, but other smokers absolutely apply. How many of you built/bought your smoker for a good price, and slowly added add ons to it, to realize down the road you have spent a lot more money on this than you ever expected?

Example, my UDS cost me about 80 bucks to build. Then i needed a bigger basket, then i needed different venting system, then i needed another venting system, then i needed a table on it, then i needed a weber lid, then i wanted to paint it, etc.

All of this has happened over about 2 months. I jsut kept saying, oh its only gonna be 15 bucks to add the table, oh im good found a weber lid on CL for cheap, and this and that. Then i added it up (something i shouldnt have done, and suggest you dont do) and realized im up to like 200 bucks. Where did this money even come from!!!!

Is this a common occurrence for you guys also?

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No....cough..cough....Yes....but it happens with most anything you buy.

You buy a DSLR camera. You need an external flash. You need close-up and tele lenses. You need bigger SD cards. BOOM! Money is gone.

You buy/build any rig. You add grates, lids, ATCs, baskets, etc. BOOM! Money is gone.

You start with chicken thighs, you move up to ABTs, fatties, ribs, bellies, tri-tips, chuckies, butts, and finally.....brisket. BOOM! Money is gone.

Just tell your other half to enjoy the fruits of your smoking labor. :-D