So after nearly 10 years of smoking pursuits I finally broke down and ordered what I consider my Dream Pit - all the bells and whistles I would have wanted the very first go-round but didn't know it at the time. In addition, I knew there were things that I would eventually create and didn't want to tear up a brand new pit mounting them. But first - you need to start with the right platform.
After my research I chose Lone Star Grillz to build a 24x40 offset. It's the best size for my needs and where I intended to park it. From there we start adding LSGz farkles.... insulated firebox, gas-assist, larger wheels, folding shelf, ball valve, counterweight - pretty much everything except the ash pan and stainless shelf. A good start for sure but I wanted more. With some doodling on paper and discussions with Chris @ LSG I made some subtle changes as you'll see.
One of the most important items to be was the ability to store the propane cylinder on the shelf under the cook chamber. The cylinder was too tall to fit the stock expanded metal shelf. In similar fashion to trailer pits, a cut-out was made to allow the cylinder to be recessed into the lower shelf. Here's a picture of the pit right after moving into place. You'll notice the stack of plywood, which had to be leap-frogged so the pit would roll on the soft ground. This thing topped out at over 1/2 a ton.
Here's a close up of the propane cylinder mount - notice the expanded metal shelf was replaced with a full sheet of steel. I love the gas assist and have had one on every offset I've owned.
As I mentioned, I knew there were items I wanted to add later. I had LSG add some extra pieces of pipe in various locations to match the exhaust damper hinge material. I also moved the exhaust damper hinge to the far left side of the smoke stack - you'll see why later. First up on my mod list was to fly the Great State of Texas flag. Real Texas BBQ ain't real without a Texas Flag.
You can see the extra pipe above the firebox in the first picture. A carriage bolt was drilled out to accept the "flagpole" and slipped right in.
While I gather up pictures of other mods I'd like to say this is one cooking machine. It comes up to temp quickly for it's size. Temps are quite steady for an offset pit. I'm still learning the finer points of fire/temp management for this particular set up but the smoke flavors have been outstanding, no matter what cut of meat I've tossed on. It's a real pleasure to cook on for sure.
More pics coming......
