Reverse flow Pitmaker magnum sniper vs BBQ vault?

J

jmoney7269

Guest
I am contemplating between a BBQ vault and a magnum sniper. The only reason I would consider the sniper over the vault would be the reverse flow feature. I called and spoke to victor and he said they can and will do it but he recommended the vault. the ability of dry heat from burning wood helps also Becaise I love the pecan and post oak. But then again I like the ability of the vault to to be a miser on fuel especially with a guru. About 1/2 of my cooks are comps. I would like to hear some opinions of people who have Cooked on one or both. Thanks in advance for replies
 
Nobody eh? Maybe perhaps if I inquired about how good of a smoke ring I could get from one of these I would get alot of answers based on the replies fro a previous thread. I have seen the magnum in action, surely someone has seen or cooked on both?
 
Trumpstylz said:
Are they both by pitmaker?
Click to expand...

Yessir. Have seen them both and they both seem spectacular in their own aspect. At this moment I'm leaning towards the vault for the ability to use the guru, charcoal and metered amounts of wood. I been thinking long and hard if I actually wanna start chopping wood again and derived my own answer, absolutely not.
 
I have been wondering about their stickburner for a while now. You hear a lot about their verticals, but I don't think I've ever seen a review of their stickburner.
 
This is the only video of one that I have seen in action. The pit is super spacious @ over 4000" of cookspace, alot more than the vault. Will I ever need that much cookspace probably not. Can you get a really good barky brisket like pitmasterT does on his Brazos, on a vertical, probably not. Just seems to be too much moisture in the verticals. It's hard to ignore that a majority of briskets inhave seen at cookoffs that win were cooked on offsets.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKAv12Iguc&feature=youtube_gdata_player"]Pitmaker Magnum Sniper Smoker BBQ Brisket Test Cook and BBQ Trailer Walk-Around! - YouTube[/ame]
 
Although we've not cooked on either, we had a chance to talk for a good while with George at the Decatur, AL comp. We are currently using a CTO for vending and larger cooks for catering. We're really considering swapping it out for a Vault for more capacity and the ability to NOT need electricity if we don't have to have it.

We haven't considered the Sniper, but only because we already have a Jambo for competing and burning sticks.

George showed us around the vault a good bit and we really like the construction, capacity, efficiency and versatility. PLUS....they can have one ready in 4-6 weeks.


I guess it really comes down to what you plan to use it for. It's been my experience that stick burners, although sometimes larger, have some "unusable" space due to hot or cool spots. Yes, sometimes these areas can be put to good use, but if you plan to load it up to do a large cook, you'll have some issues (at least I did when I loaded the Jambo to the gills). The vault, on the other hand, should be more consistent throughout and if needed, every square inch can be used.



My $0.02, FWIW.
 
BillywannaQ said:
Stick burners are fun, insulated verticles are easy.
Click to expand...

THIS is a good point as well.

George said there was someone out there who built a charcoal "cage" or "snake" for his Vault firebox and was getting something like 12-16 hour burns out of one load of fuel. Good luck making that happen on the Sniper (or any stickburner for that matter).
 
I have a Pitmaker Safe and love it. I would recommend the vault if you're looking for something with capacity.
 
I cook on a trailer that has the sniper, vault and a safe on it. I really like the sniper. It is by far the best offset I have ever cooked on. Alot of space easy to maintain temp and with the insulated firebox pretty fuel efficient. It does have its hot and cold spots like any offset but man does it have alot of cooking space. I love the vault also. I would say the vault is not as fuel efficient as I expected it to be. I get about 5-6 hours on a load of charcoal then have to reload. I don't run a guru so maybe if you were using one it would be different. I don't see anybody getting 10-12 hours on a load of charcoal. I don't care if they are using a guru. That being said I love the vault. Easy to maintain temp, lots of cooking space, extremely well made just like the sniper. More even temp across all cooking grates then the sniper.

I don't think you can go wrong with either one . If you like cooking with an offset and tending more to the fire then get you a sniper. If you want more of a set it and forget it then go with the vault. Both of them turn out excellent product and are very well made smokers. Good luck.
 
My teammate bought the whole shabang this year, vault, sniper, grillmeister and all the goodies. I have cooked on both and honestly, they both rock. The Vault is a monster and is reverse flow vertical. Massive water pan on the bottom of it and the channels in the wall make it the vertical reverse flow so that the smoke must fill the box and escape at the bottom through the wall channels.

The Vault is EXTREMELY efficient on fuel. Much more than the Sniper, although I dig the sniper doors, they are so cool. The Vault is easy to preheat with a weed burner and holds temps like nothing I have ever cooked on before. That being said, my preference is for the Vault. It is built like a tank and will probably last a lifetime. The slam latches and finish are bar none the best I have seen for efficiency use and appearance. A small row of briquettes in a U shape around the charcoal basket, with a couple hunks of hardwood mixed in....will easily do shorter cooks like ribs with very little fuel usage.
 
I have cooked on both and I prefer an ofset smoker. I sold my Vault and if I bought again I would buy a sniper. Only my opinion
 
The answer is simple, buy both and you can't go wrong :thumb:. Put them both on one trailer and you have the best of both worlds!
 
The best stick burner made is a Ben Lang reverse flow, offset smoker. We cook at least 200 lbs a week through it at our roadside pig shack. check him out at www.pigroast.com.
 
Vault is reverse flow too. Cooking on mine this year, 9 comps and 7 walks. 2 KCBS, the rest Texas cooks. Two firsts in brisket, one with 84 teams. Three seconds a 5th and a 7th. Vault is good. However, it's still the cook and not the cooker.
 
All sanctioned by the way J$. :shocked:
 
SDAR said:
All sanctioned by the way J$. :shocked:
Click to expand...

Wanna try and rub something in? A sanctioned event has nothing to do with the type of cookers I'm asking about! Go texan la Bahia, sanctioned! $20 every Categeory! whoever finishes higher in each wins. I'll take that bet all day. Now i will let your probable acquiescence speak for itself, but if you have any more USEFUL information to divulge, feel free on the topic subject.

SDAR said:
Vault is reverse flow too. Cooking on mine this year, 9 comps and 7 walks. 2 KCBS, the rest Texas cooks. Two firsts in brisket, one with 84 teams. Three seconds a 5th and a 7th. Vault is good. However, it's still the cook and not the cooker.
Click to expand...
Damn, i had 5 walks in my last comp unsanctioned and had 4 walks in chappel hill sanctioned with some of the best cookers in tx! Sorry bud, your way behind if your guaging your walks compared to mine.
Basic math sir.
J$= 9 walks in 2 comps with 3 1sts> SDAR= 7 walks in 9 comps
 
Last edited by a moderator:
J$, my son and his buddy just got a vault 3 weeks ago and so far they love it. Did you do comp this week?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

F
Reverse Flow Smoker Question
Replies
2
Views
269
seattlepitboss
S
Headgear
Taste Difference, Reverse Flow or Standard Offset?
Replies
11
Views
740
Headgear
Headgear
F
Pitmaker vault vs Lone Star large cabinet
Replies
4
Views
485
Inthewoods
I
F
Vertical smoker similar to Vault
Replies
10
Views
2K
MustGoFast
M
S
If not a Shirley 250G trailer traditional flow smoker, who?
Replies
11
Views
591
Sid Post
S
Back
Top