Smoke`N Pit Smoke King Deluxe????

My father in law has something very similar to this and I've cooked on it before. It's made out of very thin 1/8" metal and doesn't hold temps well. A lot of baby sitting.

That my friend is a backwards clone/knock-off of the New Braunfel's Bandera...

Here's all the quick answers... the Bandera 101 document...
http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42718

Many have used one form or another... its a beast on fuel tho...
Still have mine (Brinkmann Smoke King Deluxe).

I owned / cooked with one for 3.5 years. It is a decent cooker. IMO it is a good "beginner" cooker. It cooked better and was easier to maintain a steady temp than the old NB Black Diamond it replaced. They are also known as a backwards Bandera. Here's a link to the Bandera 101 document...

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=42718

There are some good tips & mods in there you should check out if you buy one. They all will rust easily on the firebox. The steel is a very thin gauge. The meat chamber is made from galvanized steel and will never rust. I bought mine new. The temp gauge was off by 75 degrees. When mine read 150 F, it really was about 225 F at the same level inside. Make sure you test that before cooking. All in all it will cook some good Q. You just have to learn what works for you. I only used charcoal in mine to get it going. I used all wood after that. One thing I didn't care for was that the meat chamber leaked grease during cooking. It always seemed to leak on the wheels. I put some old pie tins under the wheels and foil on the wheels. That helped, but it still made a mess of the patio from time to time. I did just upgrade to a Lang this past summer. I can honestly say I don't miss the old BSKD.

carpetbagger1 said:

Thanks guys. Really wanted the next purchase to be a BGE, but would also like to get something that allows me to cook larger quantities at a single time. Love the UDS, but just somewhat limited in cooking area, particularly when it comes to ribs. Unfortunatley, money doesn't grow on trees.

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Thank god for that! I wouldn't have a stickburner if it did. LOL :smile:

Bogus Chezz Hawg said:

Thank god for that! I wouldn't have a stickburner if it did. LOL :smile:

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Amen brother, what a great line.

I've got a BSKD. Had it for a few years.
Fuel hog, yep.
Thin metal, yep.
Factory thermometer, POS.
My favorite cooker when I want to sit outside and play with fire? Absolutely.
I consider mine a stick burner. Did a lot of modifications, all listed in the Bandera 101 doc posted earlier. There's just something about babysitting that thing and feeding it just the right amount of preheated wood at the appropriate time.

Kevin said:

I've got a BSKD. Had it for a few years.
Fuel hog, yep.
Thin metal, yep.
Factory thermometer, POS.
My favorite cooker when I want to sit outside and play with fire? Absolutely.
I consider mine a stick burner. Did a lot of modifications, all listed in the Bandera 101 doc posted earlier. There's just something about babysitting that thing and feeding it just the right amount of preheated wood at the appropriate time.

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I have to agree with you Kevin. That's exactly how I used mine. Of course babysitting & drinkin' go hand in hand! LOL :icon_smil