Jambo vs LSG vs Johnson Reverse

Welcome to the site. They are all great pit makers. What's your price range? I am saving my nickels for an LSG 24x36 offset cabinet model or a Shirley Fab 24x42 off-road backyard
Leaning towards the LSG just because they are only a 4hr drive
Larry

Those are all great pits, but they are also $$$. If you are truly new to smoking, buy a cheaper, smaller pit, and make sure it's really what you want to do first. Trust me, I speak from personal experience... (search for threads I started and you find one from a couple years ago about my stick burner ordeal)

That being said, I have had both a stick burner and a cabinet from LSG, and they are hard to beat for what you get for your money, and the quality of their builds.

I've got a Johnson Smokers cooker and I will recommend it to everybody until I die. haha It's a great pit and is just so easy to use... very small learning curve.

Something to consider about offset cooking is that it's kind of a lifestyle compared to something like a UDS or a kamodo. You'll need access to wood splits, a place to store the splits, and you'll also need the time to run the cooker. Once I get my pit up to temp I generally put on 2-3 smaller splits every 30 minutes or so. So cooking on an offset is certainly a commitment and you'll need to be out there pretty often checking on it, making sure your wood is burning properly, good clean smoke, etc.

You living in Texas gives you quite a few options and all of them you listed are fantastic. Personally I love the Reverse Flow cookers because it gives you access to the entire cooking chamber. My cooker is 60" and it's usually within about 5° from the far left side to the far right side. So I don't have to rotate meat or worry about any kind of major hot zones and so far I've cooked in 12° weather, in rain, and now in snow and so far this cooker just purrs along nicely.

Good luck with whatever you choose but you can't go wrong with any of the options you listed.

Being in Austin you should look at:

Jambo - Dallas
Pitmaker - Houston
Gator Pit - Houston
Klose - Houston
Lone Star Grillz - Houston
Pits By JJ - Houston

There may be some others I cant think of right quick.


All are top notch. All will make the same quality BBQ. Some will be more expensive than others or have features that other are missing. It will come down to personal preference. In the end they are all well built stick burners and you won't go wrong with any of them.

My opinion of then:

LSG: Top notch high quality. I did not buy them cause they had a 16 week wait and I did not want to wait.

Pitmaker: Only pipe offset they have is the Hitman which is 24x48. That was larger than I need so I did not buy.

Gator Pit: I really wanted one bad and tried to justify it. But prices are on the high end of the builders and it did not make sense.

Jambo: High end builder, but backyard units look odd to me. Did not buy

Klose: I ended up buying Klose. High end builder thats been around for decades, low price (20x42 is $1800), has a 2 weeks wait when everyone else was 12 weeks+.

Pits by JJ: Same quality and design as Klose, low price. But I did not look at them till I already bought my Klose. Worth a solid look.



If you have a $2500 budget, dont waste it on a Old Country Academy rig. Go to any of the places and look and touch them. Then drive to the nearest Academy and look at Old Country. Its not even close. The Old Country will look and feel like junk compared to them. Buy once, cry once.

THoey1963 said:

Those are all great pits, but they are also $$$. If you are truly new to smoking, buy a cheaper, smaller pit, and make sure it's really what you want to do first. Trust me, I speak from personal experience... (search for threads I started and you find one from a couple years ago about my stick burner ordeal)

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This is like telling someone who's shopping for a Mercedes to go buy a Ford Pinto first to see if they like driving nice cars.

The Shakar said:

...
However, the Old Country pits from Academy seem to be a lesser expensive option compared to the 3 I listed.

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Go for the Old Country Brazos. Solid pit, all welded, thick steel. It should be easy to sell when you're ready to upgrade.

Based on your list I would go with LSG as Chris & Amber make a great product and have great service. LSG has Approximately a 4 month wait. If time wasn’t an issue I would have Tyler the owner at Shirley Fabrication build as he makes an amazing product and great person to deal with. Time frame approximately 24 months. $300 deposit with build sheet of what you want to get in line. Your build can change and will up until final cut off.

www.shirleyfabrication.com

I have an insulated cabinet from a LSG as shown in picture and it is awesome.

Please keep in mind LSG makes a standard offset and Shirley Fab builds reverse flow which I prefer. Good luck and enjoy the process.

Mark

Do you want a reverse flow or traditional flow offset stick burner?

You can get a good 1/4" to 3/16ths" smoker in a nominal 24"x36-48" size for ~$600 to ~$900 depending on exact specs and who builds it from a non-big name shop.

Bell Manufacturing outside Tulsa is one that comes to mind but, there are others that may be better or worse. Someday, I hope to swing by Tyler smokers and see what they have. Alabama, Mississipi and, Tennessee all have a big smoker communities and a lot of smaller builders without huge name recognition that can build a great smoker too.

THoey1963 said:

Those are all great pits, but they are also $$$. If you are truly new to smoking, buy a cheaper, smaller pit, and make sure it's really what you want to do first. Trust me, I speak from personal experience... (search for threads I started and you find one from a couple years ago about my stick burner ordeal)

That being said, I have had both a stick burner and a cabinet from LSG, and they are hard to beat for what you get for your money, and the quality of their builds.

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Great advice here.

The op is doing the right thing trying to buy a high quality cooker but I think going from never smoking to buying a stick burner is like not knowing how to ride a motorcycle and wanting to buy a repsol Honda. It's doable but may not be fun

I'm not sure I agree with the motorcycle analogy. Super Sports and other 'race bike' wannabes are a whole lot different from most entry-level motorcycles and are a great way to get in "over your head".

Something like a Shirley, Klose, etc. is a much better machine to learn on than your normal "big box store" smokers from China and won't depreciate like your 'almost new Super Sport".

el luchador said:

Great advice here.

The op is doing the right thing trying to buy a high quality cooker but I think going from never smoking to buying a stick burner is like not knowing how to ride a motorcycle and wanting to buy a repsol Honda. It's doable but may not be fun

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Maybe the OP is a real smart guy and can handle a basic task. This ain't rocket science.

Johnson Double Reverse Flow T Pit

SmoothBoarBBQ said:

I've got a Johnson Smokers cooker and I will recommend it to everybody until I die. haha It's a great pit and is just so easy to use... very small learning curve.

Something to consider about offset cooking is that it's kind of a lifestyle compared to something like a UDS or a kamodo. You'll need access to wood splits, a place to store the splits, and you'll also need the time to run the cooker. Once I get my pit up to temp I generally put on 2-3 smaller splits every 30 minutes or so. So cooking on an offset is certainly a commitment and you'll need to be out there pretty often checking on it, making sure your wood is burning properly, good clean smoke, etc.

You living in Texas gives you quite a few options and all of them you listed are fantastic. Personally I love the Reverse Flow cookers because it gives you access to the entire cooking chamber. My cooker is 60" and it's usually within about 5° from the far left side to the far right side. So I don't have to rotate meat or worry about any kind of major hot zones and so far I've cooked in 12° weather, in rain, and now in snow and so far this cooker just purrs along nicely.

Good luck with whatever you choose but you can't go wrong with any of the options you listed.

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Tuning plates will provide the same access as you discuss plus the ability to achieve different temperature zones if wanted. Both designs work well.

The Shakar said:

First time posting and a total beginner when it comes to smoking.

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Something I would suggest is that you sign up for "Smoke 101" class at Schmidt Family BBQ in Bee Cave. Next class is January 20th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The owner Chad Franks is the son-in-law of Don Schmidt, one of the owners of Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Class includes brisket and all the beer you can drink. Topics are types of smokers, buying a brisket, trimming, seasoning, cooking, resting, slicing, etc. Class is $75. By the time you drink $75 worth of beer the class is essentially free.

I learned a lot from taking the class. Also when I try to cook something I've not cooked before I can e-mail Chad and get his advice.

Eads Ranch said:

Something I would suggest is that you sign up for "Smoke 101" class at Schmidt Family BBQ in Bee Cave. Next class is January 20th from 2:00 to 4:00 pm. The owner Chad Franks is the son-in-law of Don Schmidt, one of the owners of Kreuz Market in Lockhart. Class includes brisket and all the beer you can drink. Topics are types of smokers, buying a brisket, trimming, seasoning, cooking, resting, slicing, etc. Class is $75. By the time you drink $75 worth of beer the class is essentially free.

I learned a lot from taking the class. Also when I try to cook something I've not cooked before I can e-mail Chad and get his advice.

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That sounds like money well spent! Wish there was something like that in SC!!

I jumped into stick burning with both feet and bought a LSG. If you have nicely seasoned wood, you'll be producing thin blue smoke while maintaining temps before the 6-hour seasoning process is complete. If you get to the point where you just aren't using the pit, you can probably sell it for a $500 loss to someone who isn't willing to wait 4 months. If you buy a piece of junk, the resale value will be next to nothing so your total cost of ownership may not be much different in the end between each unit. That's what I tell my wife anyway when I want to buy nice things. A cheap offset could kill your enthusiasm for stick burning because they are more difficult to maintain temps. As far as waiting for what you want to get built, I strongly suggest you do it. The amount of time you own it will be far greater than the time you waited for it and you will forget about how long you waited once it arrives. Having something to look forward to is fun and while you wait, watch some videos on fire management and hang out around here. You will learn everything you need and more to produce very good BBQ on your first try.

to the OP, have you done any outdoors cooking with wood or charcoal?

do you have a kettle grill or any other type of charcoal cooker yet or is this your absolute first foray into cooking over coals/wood

JokerBroker said:

I jumped into stick burning with both feet and bought a LSG. If you have nicely seasoned wood, you'll be producing thin blue smoke while maintaining temps before the 6-hour seasoning process is complete. If you get to the point where you just aren't using the pit, you can probably sell it for a $500 loss to someone who isn't willing to wait 4 months. If you buy a piece of junk, the resale value will be next to nothing so your total cost of ownership may not be much different in the end between each unit. That's what I tell my wife anyway when I want to buy nice things. A cheap offset could kill your enthusiasm for stick burning because they are more difficult to maintain temps. As far as waiting for what you want to get built, I strongly suggest you do it. The amount of time you own it will be far greater than the time you waited for it and you will forget about how long you waited once it arrives. Having something to look forward to is fun and while you wait, watch some videos on fire management and hang out around here. You will learn everything you need and more to produce very good BBQ on your first try.

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Great advice. Your thought process is exactly what went through my head when I decided to finally pull the trigger on putting a deposit down with Shirley. I've never cooked on a stick burner, but know it is something I want to do. If it doesn't work out, I'll have an asset that hasn't depreciated much at all.

I was really torn between getting the Shirley and LSG vertical with the warmer above the fire box. Jambo doesn't really do anything for me. I'm sure it is a great unit, but I like the unique design of the Shirley and LSG.