ECB clone at Academy

Academy is selling an ECB clone for $49, Outdoor Gourmet brand, here are some pics compared to my Brinkmann.

Here they are side by side, almost identical sizes.



I like the full size door handle better on the Outdoor Gourmet version.



This one has a real thermometer, not that 'Low, Ideal, High' thing the Brinkmann has, and a vent in the lid.




Also, the legs are bowed out so you don't have to mount them on the outside to lift the smoker off the charcoal pan, I will need to grind down the tabs on the inside of the legs though, they are there to hold the charcoal pan, they get in the way if you want to have the charcoal pan free from the smoker for lifting off the smoker.

The metal seems a little thinner than the Brinkmann as well, but the charcoal pan and water pan are the same size as the ECB, so spares are available and the grates are just slightly larger than the ECB, and are interchangeable.

I think it is a decent alternative to the ECB, especially given the ECB is $47 or so now in price at Walmart.

I will try it out in the next week or so.

BBQ Bandit said:

Please don't take offense... do not buy it. Have gone thu a few of them (way back when) before seeing the light of thin blue smoke.

Its not a user friendly design - which frustrates many... including myself.
A better option is finding a used WSM.

Click to expand...

ECBs can be a lot of work, but plenty have cut their teeth on them and I still use mine once and a while and produce decent results, sometimes the baby sitting is half the fun.

ButtBurner said:

for $59, Lowes sells a much better unit, it has a closed off bottom, the center section is removable, the legs are better, its just a nicer unit all around ,its very similar to a WSM

I like it so much I bought 2 of them

here is one with my ATC on it

Click to expand...

I couldn't find those here at Lowe's, they have a $69 one now that looks shorter than that one.

I do have a UDS I built last year I do most of my cooking on these days, but do have a soft spot for the ECBs I started out on.

Well, I decided to also try out the Lowes version of the Brinkmann Gourmet that folks have mentioned in this thread.

They don't sell the taller one like someone posted above, but they have this one now that is shorter and $10 more expensive.



I did a few mods this morning, added an aluminum strip at the bottom to act as a damper for the air hole on the bottom.



Also added a damper to the lid.



What other mods do I need to do to it?