Pitmaker "The Vault"

Sliding door inlet. That prob not the right term.
Ball valves are extra, but worth the money (to me).
I thought there was a thread about it somewhere.

MI Smoke.....

I'm very happy you got your Vault dialed in! The food that comes out of a Vault/Safe is nothing short of fantastic!!:clap2:

We absolutely LOVE our Vault. :clap2: Like others have said would go with the ball valves vs. sliding draft door. Didn't know the valves were an option until it was too late. Figured out the sliding door and haven't had an issue since though.

hardijd said:

We absolutely LOVE our Vault. :clap2: Like others have said would go with the ball valves vs. sliding draft door. Didn't know the valves were an option until it was too late. Figured out the sliding door and haven't had an issue since though.

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I should add....we DO use water in our Vault. Might make a bit of a difference!

Yes. The sliding doors are the little things on the bottom, but there's only one on a standard new Vault. They're a little loose and leaky so the valve solves that issue and you connect your Guru straight to the valve.

Not sure on the valve cost as we didn't know it was an option until it was too late.

No real corrosion issues so far (other than maybe a little rust on a rack) and we cook with water so you'd expect some rust.

We transport ours on a modified car trailer with heavy duty straps crossed over the top. Thing doesn't budge.

I own the safe. It is very well built. I am still in the process of learning it. Any pit requires some time to get used to. If you want to set it and forget it then electric or pellet might be the way to go. There are so many variables with most wood and charcoal pits. Pitmaker makes a solid product. I would go for the ball-valve option if you pull the trigger. I like the safe more than my last gravity feed.

I have been cooking on my new Safe (picked up Memorial Weekend) and absolutely love the BBQ it cooks up. I find it very fuel efficient and easy to control temps, I also did the ball valve upgrade for $225.00 but well worth it IMHO.

hardijd said:

Yes. The sliding doors are the little things on the bottom, but there's only one on a standard new Vault. They're a little loose and leaky so the valve solves that issue and you connect your Guru straight to the valve.

Not sure on the valve cost as we didn't know it was an option until it was too late.

No real corrosion issues so far (other than maybe a little rust on a rack) and we cook with water so you'd expect some rust.

We transport ours on a modified car trailer with heavy duty straps crossed over the top. Thing doesn't budge.

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sweet man, any more pics of the trailer set up?working on my bws 6x10 trailer and need some set up ideas.

Unfortunately I don't have any other pics.....yet. We keep the trailer in our warehouse, but we've got a comp coming up next weekend so I'll take some pics then. Anything specific you want to see?

garzanium said:

sweet man, any more pics of the trailer set up?working on my bws 6x10 trailer and need some set up ideas.

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I would like to see some more also!
Can u show some of how you have it strapped down? Thanks

Pitmaker safe

Sorry, I can't comment on the vault, but I have had a safe for a couple years. The posts regarding the slide door are spot on. I had horrible luck with the stock slide and ended up having a guy mill an aluminum adapter with dual ball valves before Pitmaker offered them as an option. I also added a diverter plate and made a little larger firebox. I did a comp yesterday and easily went 14 hours with some lump left over. If using a power draft system, I have found that shutting it off for a bit and letting the smoker come back up to temp on it's own before turning your blower back on will prevent over-shoots in the event you have to open the cook chamber. I don't have to cook with water anymore to control the issue of overshoots. I have found water reduces fuel efficiency by about half. I have used with both a Stoker and Guru. My "magic place" is with the stoker (it has a metal damper flap that closes when fan doesn't blow) and the ball valve closed to about a 1/4 open. I have used both lump and briq. About 9 pounds of briq will give me about 20 hours at 225 when cooking dry. So far, I haven't experienced any corrosion or rust. There has been a slight warping of the metal between the firebox and cook chamber, but it hasn't caused any issues. All the welds are solid. Like many others, I was disappointed in the fact that I had to come up with a solution for the air intake issue, but I have to say that after doing so, I love the safe. I think you would be satisfied with your purchase. Sorry for the long post, but it's a big expenditure. I'm sure you want as much feedback as you can get. Good luck!

I've had a Vault for 3 years now and love it. Consistent every time.
However, that was not the story when I first used it.
Mine had the slide doors- one on each side. Way too much air leak. Fires were out of control- usually too hot. Adding water to the tray brought the temps down so I didn't ruin too many cooks.
Sealed up the one side completely and attached my Guru to the other side.
I can easily get 12 + hours on one full tray of RO lump and a few chunks of wood using the water tray dry.
Double the fuel requirement, maybe even a little more than doulble, if using the water tray with liquid in it.
Mine Vault is stored inside. No outside corrosion at all. Inside is all intact- no water tray leaks or seam separation.
I clean my grates with a large weed burner. I also use a diffusion plate in the fire chamber.
Middle of the winter Minnesota cooks, below zero outside temps and the Vault just chugs along.
I absolutely love this cooker.

I am in the market for a new pit myself. I would love to order a Pitmaker pit but I think the shipping costs to Canada would be ridiculous.

Keepin' an eye on this thread. Maybe making that pit dream come true is worth the expense.

Is it just me, or does the idea of having to make mods to a $3000 smoker seem screwy? I mean, I bought a $265.00 Akorn, and did $25.00 worth of mods, which seemed reasonable, but if I buy something for three grand, it better work.