Lang Smokers

[Big Dan]

Is anyone here familiar with Lang smokers? I am curious as to how the reverse flow system works and how you like it compared to regular offset smokers. Thanks.

[Mammoth Mountain]

I have a Lang 84 Deluxe with roof / trailer mods. I really like how it cooks. I also have a water pan in the cooker. The drippings drop down on the reverse flow plate and sizzle off. I put foil down on the plate now for easy clean up. I have done a 165 lb whole hog, Catered a 150 person wedding, and entered 1 BBQ contest. I took 6th in chicken out of 65 teams my first time out.

[BBQ Bandit]

Langs are a very popular and well made smoker. The reverse flow design helps reduce hot/cold spots by heating a full length baffle under the grates.

Also have a Klose (traditional) smoker which has various hot/cold zones which can be advantageous cooking multiple temp zones off one heat source.

[Big Dan]

So basically there is a plate on the bottom that directs the heat to the other side first?

[Mattmo]

You got it! When you look at them, you'll notice that the firebox and exhaust chimney are on the same side. Pretty sweet, wish I had one!!!

[BBQ Bandit]

Originally Posted by Big Dan

So basically there is a plate on the bottom that directs the heat to the other side first?

Its a full length baffle - starting directly above the firebox opening. From the firebox; the smoke and thermal energy runs under the plate (from the firebox) in a right to left direction until hitting the far left side of the smoker which changes direction (left to right) and passes over the meats before leaving thru the exhaust.

Below is a rough diagram - not exactly to scale.

[Big Dan]

K. So, I would think a big advantage of this is full use of grill space due to no super hot areas where the fire/smoke would enter the box. Any others? Those Langs on their website look good. I'm drooling over the 108" model.

[Mammoth Mountain]

I was drooling over the Twin 108 model. I never thought I would need a pit bigger than the 84 I got.

[QDoc]

The reverse flow has another, in my opinion, little talked about benefit. I believe the smoke flow rides along the top of the chamber resulting in a little less smokiness for your meat.

[dkryzer]

I'm currently building a reverse flow trailer model. QDoc is right that the smoke tends to ride to the top. For this reason my new pit will have 3 cooking grate levels.

[Gig'em99]

I've never noticed any issues with getting enough smoke into the meat with my reverse flow. It's not a Lang, but the concept is the same. I did lower the location of the smoke stack, so it ensures all cooking levels are getting kissed with smoke.

[Trumpstylz]

IIRC, when i was researching stick burners a while back, the big difference was the temperature variations that the reverse flow fixes (its a more uniform temp across the grate with less hot spots.

The temp differentiations on the normal offset can be used in your favor however, especially if you are cooking different cuts (ribs and a bird, for example. But, if you're going to be cooking one cut at a time (just ribs, just brisket, just butt), I would definitely go with the RF.

[Gerrit_Boys]

We like our Lang 84. I've never cooked on a standard offset but this rig has served us well. I grilled for our family reunion one day and slow BBQed the next. Personally I like having less variation in temps.

[sparky']

i've been looking at the lang 36's myself for my backyard.

[Utah Jake]

I use a Lang 60. The heat under the baffle cooks the meat from the bottom and then the top as the hot air/smoke travels back toward the stack. I have a full width upper pull out grate so there are two levels of cooking. The bottom left (towards the trailer hitch) runs a bit cooler than the area to the right (firebox end) because the heat comes out of the firebox and onto the baffle. This works for me as the left is used for ribs/butts and the right for chicken. I can run 225 on the left lower and 275 on the right upper.