Have $3-4K to spend....what to do???

I like my gravity feed Rebel 17.
Easy to get going, low maintance.
Cooking some chicken today on her:-D:clap2:

who the heck priced a fatboy to you for $ 3,400? Should be more like $ 2,500 delivered to your door. + $300 if you want a guru. $ 2,800 turn key.

And do yourself a favor. Check a brother on this site named Phubar and what he cooks with a 70$ Weber GA. The light switch cord just got longer

abangs said:

who the heck priced a fatboy to you for $ 3,400? Should be more like $ 2,500 delivered to your door. + $300 if you want a guru. $ 2,800 turn key.

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The other mods for the $600 is an 8ball of blow and some hookers. But don't tell his wife!

wow thats a lot of money to spend

if it were me, I would get the $400 WSM and a $400 Ok Joe, if you want a temp controller get that for another $300 or so

leaves you plenty of cheddar for meat.

And you would have an offset and a set and forget.

UDS is a good option too if you want to that route

thats what I would do

22 wsm for sure especially if you have enough room for a covered enclosure for those cold / windy / rainy days! That mod rocks!! I unfortunately don't have that much room in my yard. along with a stacker, rotisserie, ribolator, temp controller, pellet convertor, the options are endless!!!

Anxious to hear what you decide!

aawa said:

The other mods for the $600 is an 8ball of blow and some hookers. But don't tell his wife!

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Oh, well that is definitely a good deal then...!

Aaaaa...the perverbial question...which pit!!! LOTS of great pits out there. When you decide what you want: water, gravity, or stick then stick with a main player and you'll be fine. There are some great dealers around too. For your budget you have a world of options.

ntmeyer said:

Not looking to spend all the 4k if i can help it, but have permission if I need to

Several folks have posted about humphreys, so looking there now too. Love wsm, just wish it was a cabinet style. Jambo would be great, but can't get a hold of Jamie it seems.

Exploring other gravity fed as well.... Any recommendations or things to look out for? Build quality and such... Brands that are known for issues..?

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Humphrey's, BWS, Rebel, Abe's, Backyard Bombers, Assassin, PitMaker and the other 10 I can't think of at the time are all quality cookers that you can purchase. None of them are perfect but all of them will work great. Everyone is going to recommend the one they have because they love it.

You need to call every builder. Ask them questions about your concerns (have a list before you call). You will find some too busy to return your call or emails. This is not acceptable, mark them off your list because you will get the same response if you have an issue later. You will find 90% of them will not discount anything or negotiate on prices or options but don't get annoyed this is the industry norm. You will find that "one" builder that you feel comfortable with more than the others. This will be the one you need to buy as long as the product meets your needs or they can customize it to fit your needs. Take detailed notes of every call. I even made a spreadsheet because I called and emailed so many builders. I was looking for an insulated cabinet smoker and it took me a few months to finally pull the trigger. I spent more than I intended but I feel I am getting exactly what I want and did not compromise on anything. I really don't want to do this twice. :-D The only issue I had was I found 2 builders that were really great to work with and answered their cell phones every time I called (I am a pain but it's my money and I expect the builder to earn it). Everything else being equal I went with the one that negotiated with me. Sorry for the long response but you sounded like you were in the exact same position I was in last year. Good luck with your decision.

Good idea looking at the Humphey's - it's a nice cabinet smoker.

Other option, given your price range, is a pellet smoker. The Yoder pellet cookers cook a lot like offset pits, but you don't have to stay up all night babysitting them. Even the largest is under 4k, and the YS640 is a nice backyard size for around $1600. You are almost in range of an FEC100 pellet cabinet smoker too - $4125.

Blow $3,700 on coke and hookers and then buy a 18.5 WSM for $300.

I got the Assassin a few months ago and love it. I also liked the superiors but the price & options were better on the assassin for me. Do a search on gravity fed on the forums - tons of info will come up. Good luck - it took me months to decide & I have no regrets with my choice

For what it is worth: for the money:
My top ones would be:
Water = Backwoods G2 Fatboy or a G2 Party
Gravity = Superior SS-2
Stick = Shirley Fab w/ warmer
Pellet = Yoder YS 1500

I know Mike and Chase w/ Backwoods and they are the best and not far from you. Kevin w/ Superior is a great guy. Paul and Tyler w/ Shirley are just golden folks. Don't know any Yoder folks, but that YS 1500 is supa' nice.

Decisions, decisions!

For the budget, versatility, longevity, safety and ease of use, I gotta put in a vote for the largest kamodo you can get your hands on (BGE being of course the Cadallac of kamodos).

It'll serve all your purposes, and unless you're looking to compete on a large scale, or cook BBQ for your 40 closest friends, it'll do a great job for ya long term.

Take that extra $$$ and buy a HUGE freezer to load up on meat at HEB when it's on sale.

.02

Lot of space between 300 and 4K. Old guy I use to work with asked me what car to buy, he was having a hard time , he couldn't decide between a Ford Falcon and a Lincoln

Who said go ceramic?

I say the same thing. Versatility and efficient. I'd do it again!

www.kamadorocket.com

Jamie's backyard model is awesome. I stored one for a friend for several months and loved cooking on it. I'll add a couple of points based on my experience with it.

1. It cooks faster than just about any offset I've ever cooked on. I attribute that to the airflow. A good example would be competition cooks. Instead of the big meats going on before midnight, most Jambo cooks won't light their fire until 2 or 3 AM.

2. Burning primarily wood you can get a great smoke flavor, but it's rarely overpowering. The insulated firebox is incredibly efficient and it's easy to burn a clean fire. Cooking at 275 it takes a split every 45 minutes or so. Adjusting the temp is as easy as nudging the damper on the exhaust slightly to see the cooker settle in to the new temp just a few minutes later.

3. It handles wind and cold well. Wind and cold weather just doesn't bother it as much as some of the more inexpensive options out there. Recovery after opening the pit to do something is quick.

4. I've heard a lot of people talk about how even the cooking temps are across the grate. Partially true in my experience with the J3, J5, and backyard. There is a slightly cooler spot, and two hotter spots (not counting the chicken rack if you can talk Jamie into one). That's an advantage in my opinion and experience, if I need to slow something down or speed something up.

5. It's solid and built like a tank. It would take criminal neglect or abuse for one to not outlive a WSM by a considerable margin, as you expect based on the price difference. It's also not so heavy that it's difficult to move around.

One other factor in your particular case may be shipping costs. Burleson isn't far from you, and that translates to some savings. If you ever need work done on the pit, there is some added convenience there as well. That may or may not make any difference to you.

Good luck, picking the pit that works best for you and your needs.

Faced a similar decision last summer when we were looking for a new comp cooker. After a lot of research it came down to the Backyard Jambo or the Superior SS2. We went with Superior so we could get a little sleep during contests (plus, it's about half the weight of the Jambo).

Assassin, Superior and Rebel are all built by the same fabricator; if you're comparing GFs, they're all solid choices. The smaller Assassin compares to the Superior SS2, biggest difference is shelf configuration. I liked the larger space offered between the SS2's shelves, but that's because I'm cooking multiple larger cuts. Even with only three shelves it's got plenty of room.

Pricing is a wash - the Assassin prices include the Guru ($225) but they're $150 more (A = $2500, SS2 = $2350). Kevin from Superior offers his fellow Brethren members a $100.00 discount, he's also easy to get in touch with and very responsive to his customer's needs. Of course, all these smokers can be customized to your specs if you want to spend the $$. Obviously I'm pretty happy with my decision, YMMV. Enjoy the hunt!

I vote offset. With your budget you can get just about any backyard-sized pit from the best builders, I'm partial to Klose. If you are patient, you may find a great deal on Craigslist. (If I don't beat you to it.:mrgreen

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=155460