Pitmaker "The Vault" - Page 4

grantw · 06-12-2013, 09:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spedly

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. ;)

i just got a backwoods from great canadian bbq store check em out itl save some boarder hassle. pitmaker was almost another grand

garzanium · 06-12-2013, 09:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grantw

i just got a backwoods from great canadian bbq store check em out itl save some boarder hassle. pitmaker was almost another grand

Woot woot! Congrats! Did you end up going with the Fatboy?

jmoney7269 · 06-12-2013, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobdabomb

I need those in depth posts, especially with the slide vent issue. Guess I have to pony up the $250 for the ball valve, which should be on there standard just like every other vertical types like this. That is disappointing, as its going to be a $4k smoker now at a min.

I was one of the first vault owners ever to have a ball valve intake system in late 2012 and to my knowledge I am the only vault owner that has a 3/4 valve and a 1/14 valve. When the pit is loaded up with meat, you need the extra airflow of 2 valves. I cook dry and rarely ever use the large valve except when I need it to recover from massive amounts of food in it. Get the ball valve a 3/4 and 1 1/4 and never look back. No rust whatsoever but I clean my pits after any large cook or comp and reseason with canola oil. I can run my vault 180 degrees to 450 dry any day of the week. The ball valve design fixes any runaway temp worries of that pit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by grantw

i just got a backwoods from great canadian bbq store check em out itl save some boarder hassle. pitmaker was almost another grand

A vault is also twice the pit as a backwoods. Look at the weight and that alone will tell you what you need to know. Backwoods are awesome pits, not dogging them one bit

spedly · 06-13-2013, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grantw

i just got a backwoods from great canadian bbq store check em out itl save some boarder hassle. pitmaker was almost another grand

Another Canadian...awesome! Where are you from?

The Backwoods is my ace in the hole. It's not my #1 pick but I have a fat boy spec'd out "just in case." I talked to a sales guy from Stumps yesterday and the quote I got for shipping was very close to what Great Canadian is charging for shipping. I sent an email to Pitmaker today but haven't hear anything back yet. Right now if I had to pick between the Backwoods and the Stumps I think I'd pick the Stumps.

dobdabomb · 06-13-2013, 09:06 AM

[QUOTE=jmoney7269;2514018]I was one of the first vault owners ever to have a ball valve intake system in late 2012 and to my knowledge I am the only vault owner that has a 3/4 valve and a 1/14 valve. When the pit is loaded up with meat, you need the extra airflow of 2 valves. I cook dry and rarely ever use the large valve except when I need it to recover from massive amounts of food in it. Get the ball valve a 3/4 and 1 1/4 and never look back. No rust whatsoever but I clean my pits after any large cook or comp and reseason with canola oil. I can run my vault 180 degrees to 450 dry any day of the week. The ball valve design fixes any runaway temp worries of that pit.

Is that the standard option for the value, those sizes? I wanted to make sure and check and see if that is something I need to ask George about. He mentioned that the option was like $230 to add but I need one for the guru which I assume will fit on the 3/4 and the larger is closed at all times unless you have to ramp it up. Correct?

Your the only owner? Thought I heard a couple on here with this option? Not sure if you saw the Venturi rig they built but a guy I know here is the owner and I get to use it shortly to make sure if the vault is for me. It's gotta be a $40k rig.

jmoney7269 · 06-13-2013, 09:44 AM

Yes to my knowledge I'm the only one that has a 3/4 an a 1 1/4 valve. It wa my idea that George tried to talk me out of. Turns out everyone likes it that has it. I would not recommend buying a vault withough this setup unless you plan on chasing temps. George said eventually this will be their standard setup.

I also have a reducer in the water drain valve so if I ever want to cook direct on the vault, I just put the charcoal basket in the cook chamber. Works really nice for finishing up meats like ribs and briskets after they rest and are ready or glazing

My vault is so airtight, you cannot close the cook chamber door without a valve open. This is a video of how tight it actually is. It whistles when I close the door. I adjusted the slam latches and now it's impossible to slam without a valve open.
This was months ago, last 30 sec of the video is where it's at

dobdabomb · 06-14-2013, 09:29 AM

Ah great.

Ive followed you on youtube and added you on facebook recently, interesting to see how many guys on here are connected elsewhere. Good to attach faces and teams to all on here. Those are great pictures.

So if I do the ball valves they install, there is no guru adapter needed correct? I am about to buy a new guru to have a second and needed to know if I should get any additional adapter if I choose the pitmaker route or does the fan just slide right on in?

jmoney7269 · 06-14-2013, 11:05 AM

There are no slide dampeners, just 2 ball valves that are 1 1/4 each you have to specifically request that one of the ball valves be a 3/4" instead of the 1 1/4. Order the guru with the 10 Cfm fan and UDS adapter. Email them so that you get the order on paper otherwise they could not make it to your specifications properly. They put my ball valves on the wrong side. I told them and they were like no problem it's gonna be another 6 weeks since they make vaults in batches. I had a big Cookoff and a few catering jobs lined up already so I just took it as is. You want the ball valves on the same side as the handle in case you ever want to upgrade to a trailer

dobdabomb · 06-14-2013, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jmoney7269

There are no slide dampeners, just 2 ball valves that are 1 1/4 each you have to specifically request that one of the ball valves be a 3/4" instead of the 1 1/4. Order the guru with the 10 Cfm fan and UDS adapter. Email them so that you get the order on paper otherwise they could not make it to your specifications properly. They put my ball valves on the wrong side. I told them and they were like no problem it's gonna be another 6 weeks since they make vaults in batches. I had a big Cookoff and a few catering jobs lined up already so I just took it as is. You want the ball valves on the same side as the handle in case you ever want to upgrade to a trailer

Gotcha, great info. So the guru fits on the 3/4. I am ordering a new wifi one here this week that will not be coming from them, so I just needed to make sure what adapter was needed if I do order a vault here soon. I guess that makes sense on the side the valves need to be.

dobdabomb · 06-14-2013, 01:20 PM

If both came in a 1 1/2, wouldnt this work? I thought it would be a little bit better to have the valve the larger size for air flow being better.

You have the 3/4 but I am just curious as if the 1 1/2 was used it looks as if guru has this adapter. Maybe I am not thinking correctly here.

http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborder...alve%20Adaptor

jmoney7269 · 06-14-2013, 05:25 PM

Why speculate? Just order what we discussed. Your over thinking it.

dobdabomb · 06-15-2013, 09:50 AM

Not speculating, just curious as a larger value opening should help more. If that link from bbq guru hold correct you can have two equal 1 1/2's for aesthetics purposes as well as efficiency.

How did you tweak the slam latches to be that sealed. Looks as if the exhaust ends are different now than when you bought yours. Seems to be one built in the middle instead of a slide at the top.

jmoney7269 · 06-15-2013, 03:36 PM

I ordered it how I wanted it. Just keep adjusting the slam latches tighter till the gasket flattens out. The vault is not something you can just throw a bunch of airflow to and expect to hold temps. Very minute air changes are needed to change temps. It's just better to pick a temp and cook at it. It takes 30 min for temps to go up, and 2 hrs to get them down. You have all the answers needed to order yours. If you want it different than what the owners with great success with temp control, that's your gamble. Good luck.

Zenbbqmaster · 06-17-2013, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dobdabomb

Not speculating, just curious as a larger value opening should help more. If that link from bbq guru hold correct you can have two equal 1 1/2's for aesthetics purposes as well as efficiency.

How did you tweak the slam latches to be that sealed. Looks as if the exhaust ends are different now than when you bought yours. Seems to be one built in the middle instead of a slide at the top.

Hi Dobdabomb,

We can provide you with a 1-1/4" to 3/4" stainless adaptor for $20 to go into one of the identical drain valves. It works great. We recommend the larger dual drain valves, because we want to maintain full unpowered draft functionality, that we believe the single 1-1/2" Valve may not provide.

jmoney7269 · 06-17-2013, 05:34 PM

Good reply George. Every Pitmaker owners needs are different. i do feel that 1 single valve is not enough airflow to adjust for the shock of a big load, but still, its real easy to overshoot the set temp with a big roaring fire once the meat heats up. I'm pro Pitmaker. One piece of advise I can offer from one of your posts on the Facebook about always wanting to hear from customers about feedback to make a better product. If you ever just made the vault solely with ball valves, you would alleviate the temp problems of some new vault owners therefore lowering the concern for temp control all together. When it gets windy as hell or rainy, I close up the exhaust a little and let the guru do the rest. Everyone at cook offs that sees mine, and how little I work, they are jealous and call me a cheater lol. Work smarter not harder.

06-13-2013, 09:06 AM	#50
dobdabomb Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 06-01-13 Location: Huntsville, AL	[QUOTE=jmoney7269;2514018]I was one of the first vault owners ever to have a ball valve intake system in late 2012 and to my knowledge I am the only vault owner that has a 3/4 valve and a 1/14 valve. When the pit is loaded up with meat, you need the extra airflow of 2 valves. I cook dry and rarely ever use the large valve except when I need it to recover from massive amounts of food in it. Get the ball valve a 3/4 and 1 1/4 and never look back. No rust whatsoever but I clean my pits after any large cook or comp and reseason with canola oil. I can run my vault 180 degrees to 450 dry any day of the week. The ball valve design fixes any runaway temp worries of that pit. Is that the standard option for the value, those sizes? I wanted to make sure and check and see if that is something I need to ask George about. He mentioned that the option was like $230 to add but I need one for the guru which I assume will fit on the 3/4 and the larger is closed at all times unless you have to ramp it up. Correct? Your the only owner? Thought I heard a couple on here with this option? Not sure if you saw the Venturi rig they built but a guy I know here is the owner and I get to use it shortly to make sure if the vault is for me. It's gotta be a $40k rig. __________________ Team Smokin' Hot Racks, Assassin 28, 2 L BGE's/Weber 26.75/Guru DX2 & Wifi/Thermapen Orange!

06-13-2013, 09:44 AM	#51
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	Yes to my knowledge I'm the only one that has a 3/4 an a 1 1/4 valve. It wa my idea that George tried to talk me out of. Turns out everyone likes it that has it. I would not recommend buying a vault withough this setup unless you plan on chasing temps. George said eventually this will be their standard setup. I also have a reducer in the water drain valve so if I ever want to cook direct on the vault, I just put the charcoal basket in the cook chamber. Works really nice for finishing up meats like ribs and briskets after they rest and are ready or glazing My vault is so airtight, you cannot close the cook chamber door without a valve open. This is a video of how tight it actually is. It whistles when I close the door. I adjusted the slam latches and now it's impossible to slam without a valve open. This was months ago, last 30 sec of the video is where it's at J$ BBQ vault ribs with charcoal - YouTube

06-14-2013, 09:29 AM	#52
dobdabomb Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 06-01-13 Location: Huntsville, AL	Ah great. Ive followed you on youtube and added you on facebook recently, interesting to see how many guys on here are connected elsewhere. Good to attach faces and teams to all on here. Those are great pictures. So if I do the ball valves they install, there is no guru adapter needed correct? I am about to buy a new guru to have a second and needed to know if I should get any additional adapter if I choose the pitmaker route or does the fan just slide right on in? __________________ Team Smokin' Hot Racks, Assassin 28, 2 L BGE's/Weber 26.75/Guru DX2 & Wifi/Thermapen Orange!

06-14-2013, 01:20 PM	#55
dobdabomb Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 06-01-13 Location: Huntsville, AL	If both came in a 1 1/2, wouldnt this work? I thought it would be a little bit better to have the valve the larger size for air flow being better. You have the 3/4 but I am just curious as if the 1 1/2 was used it looks as if guru has this adapter. Maybe I am not thinking correctly here. http://store.thebbqguru.com/weborder...alve%20Adaptor __________________ Team Smokin' Hot Racks, Assassin 28, 2 L BGE's/Weber 26.75/Guru DX2 & Wifi/Thermapen Orange!
	1 members found this post helpful.

06-15-2013, 09:50 AM	#57
dobdabomb Full Fledged Farker Join Date: 06-01-13 Location: Huntsville, AL	Not speculating, just curious as a larger value opening should help more. If that link from bbq guru hold correct you can have two equal 1 1/2's for aesthetics purposes as well as efficiency. How did you tweak the slam latches to be that sealed. Looks as if the exhaust ends are different now than when you bought yours. Seems to be one built in the middle instead of a slide at the top. __________________ Team Smokin' Hot Racks, Assassin 28, 2 L BGE's/Weber 26.75/Guru DX2 & Wifi/Thermapen Orange!

06-14-2013, 11:05 AM	#53
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	There are no slide dampeners, just 2 ball valves that are 1 1/4 each you have to specifically request that one of the ball valves be a 3/4" instead of the 1 1/4. Order the guru with the 10 Cfm fan and UDS adapter. Email them so that you get the order on paper otherwise they could not make it to your specifications properly. They put my ball valves on the wrong side. I told them and they were like no problem it's gonna be another 6 weeks since they make vaults in batches. I had a big Cookoff and a few catering jobs lined up already so I just took it as is. You want the ball valves on the same side as the handle in case you ever want to upgrade to a trailer

06-14-2013, 05:25 PM	#56
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	Why speculate? Just order what we discussed. Your over thinking it.

06-15-2013, 03:36 PM	#58
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	I ordered it how I wanted it. Just keep adjusting the slam latches tighter till the gasket flattens out. The vault is not something you can just throw a bunch of airflow to and expect to hold temps. Very minute air changes are needed to change temps. It's just better to pick a temp and cook at it. It takes 30 min for temps to go up, and 2 hrs to get them down. You have all the answers needed to order yours. If you want it different than what the owners with great success with temp control, that's your gamble. Good luck.

06-17-2013, 05:34 PM	#60
jmoney7269 Banned Join Date: 02-07-11 Location: brenham, texas	Good reply George. Every Pitmaker owners needs are different. i do feel that 1 single valve is not enough airflow to adjust for the shock of a big load, but still, its real easy to overshoot the set temp with a big roaring fire once the meat heats up. I'm pro Pitmaker. One piece of advise I can offer from one of your posts on the Facebook about always wanting to hear from customers about feedback to make a better product. If you ever just made the vault solely with ball valves, you would alleviate the temp problems of some new vault owners therefore lowering the concern for temp control all together. When it gets windy as hell or rainy, I close up the exhaust a little and let the guru do the rest. Everyone at cook offs that sees mine, and how little I work, they are jealous and call me a cheater lol. Work smarter not harder.