Smoker Question

W

Wicked_Too

Guest
First of all I would like to say this is an awsome site. I always learn something new here.

 I’ve been looking at buying the Bar-B-Chef Offset Smoker by Barbeques Galore. Everywhere I read it has gotten good reviews after a few mods are made. Now I see on their website they have a new design with some of the mods already made.


What I would like to know has anyone used both old design and new, and how much difference is there between the two?


TIA


W2
 
That's the old design. Since I can't post links, replace the number at the end of your link with "7617303" and you'll see the new design.


W2
 
Lower fire box, exhaust extended lower into the smoke chamber, thermometer lowered to grate level, baffle installed. And that looks just like the thermo I got from Spice that is a good one. Looks to me like all of the neccesary mods are taken care of for you. I have a Chargriller with cast iron grates and think they are a nice touch. I can't speak from specific exerience with either, but it looks like a good cooker for the money to me.

http://www.bbqgalore.com/store/item.bbq?invky=7617303
 
Yup, looks like it is "pre modded":


barbeques galore at their web site said:
"This is the new Barbeques Galore Bar-B-Chef Offset Smoker, which features a lower firebox, an interior baffle, a chimney that extends further down towards the grilling surface, and a thermometer hole in a lower, better position. All in a attractive new shape!"
Click to expand...

When I looked at the bar b chef late last year as a gift, I thought they were fairly well made, and fairly sturdy. You can get a slightly lesser quality construction/steel yet similar design for a much cheaper price in other brands. All things being equal, i think the new design, decent construction, and the 'goodies' for 299 is a fair price, if you are looking for a relatively small, affordable, horizontal offset.

In general, I kind of like Barbecues galore. My experience with sales and service, as well as general quality, has been good. They are not terribly price competitive, but that is a trade off.
 
That modded one you're looking at looks like a decent unit, W2, but I know nothing about the brand.
 
The reason i ask is because I have a chance to get the older style for 50% off the price. I guess they are trying to get rid of the old design and make room for the new. That's why i was wondering if the new design is much better than the old. I guess I could do all the mods except for the lower fire box and they should be the same? What do you all think?
 
i have one of those that i used to use until i got a wsm. you still need to raise the charcoal grate a bit for better airflow and i extended the baffle a bit for better heat dispersion. personally i think they're a step up from the chargriller/silver smoker types because it's made from a heavier gage steel.
 
For that much difference in price and if you are able to do the mods yourself, you could do what you said and buy 10 briskets to cook on it! The new model says it is internet order only, so you'll have the cost of shipping involved too.
 
brian j said:
i have one of those that i used to use until i got a wsm. you still need to raise the charcoal grate a bit for better airflow and i extended the baffle a bit for better heat dispersion. personally i think they're a step up from the chargriller/silver smoker types because it's made from a heavier gage steel.
Click to expand...

Brian, why do you perfer the wsm over the Bar-B-Chef?

I have a brinkman water smoker now, but I needed more space to smoke so I thought going with the off-set smoker was the way to go. I would like to be able to smoke a couple pork butts, couple racks of ribs and a chicken or two at the same time.
 
The WSMs are great cookers-- very fuel efficient, nicely designed, but if you're already thinking about cooking that capacity of food at one time, you'd be better off looking at something bigger. The most significant difference between the WSM and any offset is that the offset will require more tending to the fire (not a bad thing in my book), whereas the WSM will be more likely to let you be hands off for a longer period of time....
 
"That capacity of food"

You make it sould like i cook alot of food....LOL

Every weekend a couple of us families get together and eat supper together. So a couple 6-7 lbs pork butts just barely make it, thank god for the hamburgers and hot dogs.

W2

P.S. I also like tending the pit, it makes the "Q" more enjoyable. Especially when your surrounded by friends and family.
 
Wicked_Too said:
P.S. I also like tending the pit, it makes the "Q" more enjoyable. Especially when your surrounded by friends and family.
Click to expand...

Go for the offset. You can burn sticks in there if you want to. Me like fire.
 
Wicked_Too said:
You make it sould like i cook alot of food....LOL
Click to expand...

Nah....now this is alot of food:
DSCN1727.jpg


Fire Good!!:twisted:
 
Nope....that's a pic of MOAB that Phil posted.....This is on Wubby, tho...
DSC02363.jpg
 
Wicked_Too said:
Brian, why do you perfer the wsm over the Bar-B-Chef?

I have a brinkman water smoker now, but I needed more space to smoke so I thought going with the off-set smoker was the way to go. I would like to be able to smoke a couple pork butts, couple racks of ribs and a chicken or two at the same time.
Click to expand...
you're gonna need something bigger than the bbq chef to cook all that food. there is not much difference in capasity between the 2 though the bbq chef is a little bigger.

backyardbbq described the differences pretty well.
 
You can still do some damage with the Barb-B-Chef. This is an older version that has been modded
 
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