Abe's 48" insulated cabinet smoker seasoning, first cook and thoughts

[pjtexas1]

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.
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.
Attachment 94226

Exhaust Stack: Similar to other cabinets but no cap to keep out the rain. Measure 2”x4”.
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.
Attachment 94231Attachment 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Attachment 94235Attachment 94233

Doors: They are inset and open a little over 90 degrees. This puts them well out of the way of the racks.
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.
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).
Attachment 94238Attachment 94239
11:00am: 355, added 1lb of unlit briqs, only small pieces left in firebox
11:00am: put naked fatty on
Attachment 94243
11:45am: fatty at 170, done (well a little over-done)
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.
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.

[tgstrang]

That thing looks like its built like a tank. Thanks for the review and congrats on the new toy!

[peeps]

That's a good looking cooker! Congrats!

[gun smoke]

great pictures and a great review thanks!!

[pjtexas1]

Originally Posted by gun smoke

great pictures and a great review thanks!!

Thanks! I tried to be objective. I will update when the rest of my parts come in next week and when I try the snake/maze in the firebox. I need to figure out how to keep the temps down without water. I know....it was designed to use water but I bet it can be done without it.

[cameraman]

I think you're going to enjoy that. Looking forward to your update.

[tsimm15]

Pit looks fantastic.

[retired trucker]

Great review and pictures help us "be there". Could almost smell the fatty cooking! Impressed that it only used 6 pounds of charcoal in 9 hours. You are going to love using this smoker and it will probably get lots of "surprise guests" showing up to "ooo and aaahh" over it and enjoy whatever you cook on it. (Peeps, Sliding Billy, etc ) Congratulations on your choice of smoker. Now go forth and cook lots of Q in it.

Blessings,
Omar

[pjtexas1]

Originally Posted by retired trucker

Great review and pictures help us "be there". Could almost smell the fatty cooking! Impressed that it only used 6 pounds of charcoal in 9 hours. You are going to love using this smoker and it will probably get lots of "surprise guests" showing up to "ooo and aaahh" over it and enjoy whatever you cook on it. (Peeps, Sliding Billy, etc ) Congratulations on your choice of smoker. Now go forth and cook lots of Q in it.

Blessings,
Omar

Thanks! Everyone is welcome...except that Smitty guy. I don't know if we can trust him around a new cabinet smoker.

[retired trucker]

Originally Posted by pjtexas1

Thanks! Everyone is welcome...except that Smitty guy. I don't know if we can trust him around a new cabinet smoker.

You are probably right, especially one on wheels. However, you did mention that it was heavy I think. Could be a deciding factor if you locked the wheels and limited his intake of "adult beverages"!

Blessings,
Omar

[Flobee1kenobi]

Thanks for the review. I am picking up my own, all black entertainer this Friday :hopefully:
I was really curious how the casters were attached, having ordered mine without. I have a set of huge offroad casters that will look great on it.

I will post pics when I take ownership later this week.....

[pjtexas1]

Originally Posted by Flobee1kenobi

Thanks for the review. I am picking up my own, all black entertainer this thursday :hopefully:
I was really curious how the casters were attached, having ordered mine without. I have a set of huge offroad casters that will look great on it.

I will post pics when I take ownership later this week.....

Congrats! Can't wait to see pics of those casters. 1 more member is getting his soon also. I wonder if there are any others? Maybe we can catch up to Mike and that group of Lonestar Grillz guys.

[alamar]

I too have one of the Abe's Smokers (the 60" model). It is very well built and weighs in at 475 pounds. I am local to Kevin's shop so I stopped by and took a look before buying. Everything is high quality with the walls filled with ceramic wool insulation that makes holding temp very easy. We had the harshest winter on record for the Detroit area with many days near 20 below zero temps. This cooker performed even in those temps. I am pulling together the cash for the guru and the wifi contoller to make the "system" even more automatic. It is a great purchase.

[alamar]

Here is a pic of the 60 incher...I know this is not legal in many states.....LOL

[alamar]

Here is a pic of the 60 incher...I know this is not legal in many states.....LOL