pjtexas1
somebody shut me the fark up.
My Entertainer arrived this week and I finally had time yesterday to season it.
Heavy: All 16g cold rolled steel and it weighs 425lbs. I struggled on my own to get the casters on. It has to be heavier than 425lbs.
View attachment 94229
Casters: They were inside the smoker and had to be mounted with self-tapping screws (included). I like the red color but I have the larger off-road tires that will be shipping from Abe's this week. He was out of stock and wanted me to have casters until he could get the correct ones.
View attachment 94226
Exhaust Stack: Similar to other cabinets but no cap to keep out the rain. Measure 2”x4”.
View attachment 94230
Slam Latches: 1 on firebox and 2 on cook chamber. Nice feature to help keep the seal tight. They were hard to shut at first but are beginning to loosen up with use.
View attachment 94231View attachment 94232
Thermometer: Large 5” Tel-Tru, can’t describe how nice this really is. It is within 5 degrees of the middle of the rack.
View attachment 94236
Intakes: 1 on each side of the firebox that are 2”x4”. Adapter available for a Guru. They line up with slots on charcoal basket. Nice for better airflow to the charcoal.
View attachment 94230
Water Pan: Built in with drain valve on the back. After seasoning I am convinced that this smoker will require water to keep the temps down. No surprise because that is how it was designed. I will probably use a disposable/removable pan for water to make cleanup easier. For the seasoning I lined the built-in water pan with foil with no issues.
View attachment 94237
Rack Sliders: comes standard with 5. I had them add an extra slider for better arrangement choices. Any more and the rack catches get in the way of a full size hotel pan.
View attachment 94234
Racks: The frames are very nicely built out of ½”solid steel not thin L-brackets. Extremely heavy and measure 21”x17”. It comes standard with 2 racks. I ordered 5. Full size hotel pans fit. They are shorter than racks framed with L-brackets and give you a little more clearance. These are really heavy.
View attachment 94235View attachment 94233
Doors: They are inset and open a little over 90 degrees. This puts them well out of the way of the racks.
View attachment 94228
Charcoal Basket: 15”x16”x6” hanging, all 10g steel, slots on side line up with intakes, plenty of space for tons of charcoal and any size chunks, will require maze or water to keep temps down. 4.5" between charcoal basket and water pan. 2.5" between charcoal basket and heat diverter. My heat diverter is also shipping this week. This thing is very well constructed and HEAVY. Did I mention this thing was heavy? It is almost too heavy if that is possible.
View attachment 94227
Ash Pan: This is shipping this week.
Opinions.....
Kevin at Abe's is a really nice guy but is extremely busy. The best way to reach him is by text. My smoker had a dent and scratches that occurred during shipping. The shipping company removed it from the original pallet and did not strap it down to the new pallet. It obviously moved around in the back of the truck. I was not happy. Kevin has offered to have a local company in my area sandblast and re-powder coat the smoker as well as fix the dent.
It holds temps very well but will require water or a maze to keep temps below 350. It is built like a tank and I cannot wait until my next cook.
Seasoning Notes.....
60 degrees out, 30 mph winds, no water
9:00am: started with ¾ chimney of fully lit Stubbs briqs (3lbs). No other charcoal or chunks were added.
9:15am: 225 / 9:22am: 250 / 9:27am: 280 / 9:37am: 325 / 9:45am: 350
9:50am: biscuit test / 10:05am: biscuits done / top rack is 15 degrees hotter than bottom rack, all others are within 3-4 degrees of each other
2nd pic is how they were on the racks from top (far left in the pan) to bottom (far right in the pan).
View attachment 94238View attachment 94239
11:00am: 355, added 1lb of unlit briqs, only small pieces left in firebox
11:00am: put naked fatty on
View attachment 94243
11:45am: fatty at 170, done (well a little over-done)
View attachment 94242
1:20pm: added another 2lbs of unlit briqs and 2 large pecan chunks
1:25pm: 350 / put spare ribs on (cut in half to speed up cooking because we had surprise guests wanting to taste-test some ribs)
2:30pm: foiled / 3:00pm: pulled 1st half-rack, tender. Unfoiled 2nd rack / 3:30pm: pulled 2nd half-rack, darker color, even more tender
Forgot to take pictures of the ribs. Here is all I have.
View attachment 94245
4:30pm: 350 / 5:15pm: 345 / 6:00pm: 295 / 6:30pm: 250
9 hours on 6lbs of charcoal at roughly 350 the whole time.
Heavy: All 16g cold rolled steel and it weighs 425lbs. I struggled on my own to get the casters on. It has to be heavier than 425lbs.
View attachment 94229
Casters: They were inside the smoker and had to be mounted with self-tapping screws (included). I like the red color but I have the larger off-road tires that will be shipping from Abe's this week. He was out of stock and wanted me to have casters until he could get the correct ones.
View attachment 94226
Exhaust Stack: Similar to other cabinets but no cap to keep out the rain. Measure 2”x4”.
View attachment 94230
Slam Latches: 1 on firebox and 2 on cook chamber. Nice feature to help keep the seal tight. They were hard to shut at first but are beginning to loosen up with use.
View attachment 94231View attachment 94232
Thermometer: Large 5” Tel-Tru, can’t describe how nice this really is. It is within 5 degrees of the middle of the rack.
View attachment 94236
Intakes: 1 on each side of the firebox that are 2”x4”. Adapter available for a Guru. They line up with slots on charcoal basket. Nice for better airflow to the charcoal.
View attachment 94230
Water Pan: Built in with drain valve on the back. After seasoning I am convinced that this smoker will require water to keep the temps down. No surprise because that is how it was designed. I will probably use a disposable/removable pan for water to make cleanup easier. For the seasoning I lined the built-in water pan with foil with no issues.
View attachment 94237
Rack Sliders: comes standard with 5. I had them add an extra slider for better arrangement choices. Any more and the rack catches get in the way of a full size hotel pan.
View attachment 94234
Racks: The frames are very nicely built out of ½”solid steel not thin L-brackets. Extremely heavy and measure 21”x17”. It comes standard with 2 racks. I ordered 5. Full size hotel pans fit. They are shorter than racks framed with L-brackets and give you a little more clearance. These are really heavy.
View attachment 94235View attachment 94233
Doors: They are inset and open a little over 90 degrees. This puts them well out of the way of the racks.
View attachment 94228
Charcoal Basket: 15”x16”x6” hanging, all 10g steel, slots on side line up with intakes, plenty of space for tons of charcoal and any size chunks, will require maze or water to keep temps down. 4.5" between charcoal basket and water pan. 2.5" between charcoal basket and heat diverter. My heat diverter is also shipping this week. This thing is very well constructed and HEAVY. Did I mention this thing was heavy? It is almost too heavy if that is possible.
View attachment 94227
Ash Pan: This is shipping this week.
Opinions.....
Kevin at Abe's is a really nice guy but is extremely busy. The best way to reach him is by text. My smoker had a dent and scratches that occurred during shipping. The shipping company removed it from the original pallet and did not strap it down to the new pallet. It obviously moved around in the back of the truck. I was not happy. Kevin has offered to have a local company in my area sandblast and re-powder coat the smoker as well as fix the dent.
It holds temps very well but will require water or a maze to keep temps below 350. It is built like a tank and I cannot wait until my next cook.
Seasoning Notes.....
60 degrees out, 30 mph winds, no water
9:00am: started with ¾ chimney of fully lit Stubbs briqs (3lbs). No other charcoal or chunks were added.
9:15am: 225 / 9:22am: 250 / 9:27am: 280 / 9:37am: 325 / 9:45am: 350
9:50am: biscuit test / 10:05am: biscuits done / top rack is 15 degrees hotter than bottom rack, all others are within 3-4 degrees of each other
2nd pic is how they were on the racks from top (far left in the pan) to bottom (far right in the pan).
View attachment 94238View attachment 94239
11:00am: 355, added 1lb of unlit briqs, only small pieces left in firebox
11:00am: put naked fatty on
View attachment 94243
11:45am: fatty at 170, done (well a little over-done)
View attachment 94242
1:20pm: added another 2lbs of unlit briqs and 2 large pecan chunks
1:25pm: 350 / put spare ribs on (cut in half to speed up cooking because we had surprise guests wanting to taste-test some ribs)
2:30pm: foiled / 3:00pm: pulled 1st half-rack, tender. Unfoiled 2nd rack / 3:30pm: pulled 2nd half-rack, darker color, even more tender
Forgot to take pictures of the ribs. Here is all I have.
View attachment 94245
4:30pm: 350 / 5:15pm: 345 / 6:00pm: 295 / 6:30pm: 250
9 hours on 6lbs of charcoal at roughly 350 the whole time.
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Congratulations on your choice of smoker. Now go forth and cook lots of Q in it.
