Help me decide between Franklin Pit and Millscale

L

LaddieLad

Found some matches.
Joined
Sep 5, 2019
Location
New...
Name or Nickame
Jeff
After years on the waitlist i finally got offered a Franklin Pit yesterday. I havent seen much on it yet other than two youtube videos from our friend over the pond. The Franklin Pits team was light on details with the pdf flyer they sent me, other than cooking grate size (33" x 19").

My question to you guys is, what questions should i be asking the Franklin Pits team to decide between this one and the Millscale backyard pit. I was going to ask about steel thickness, firebox insulation and whether it was a new piece of pipe or a reclaimed tank. But could use a little help making an informed decision.

Also, does anyone have a Franklin Pit and could share their thoughts?
 
Why don’t you call them and ask the the difference? This is a big purchase, I’m sure they’ll spend as much time as needed with you.

I’d be curious about Workhorse as well if looking at that type of pit.

I doubt Franklin is cutting corners with used pipe or stuff like that.
 
I went with a Shirley 24x36 but between the Millscale, Franklin and Workhorse........I’d go with a Workhorse 1975 and not look back. If between the two pits from TX, Franklin would get my $$$.
 
LaddieLad said:
After years on the waitlist i finally got offered a Franklin Pit yesterday. I havent seen much on it yet other than two youtube videos from our friend over the pond. The Franklin Pits team was light on details with the pdf flyer they sent me, other than cooking grate size (33" x 19").

My question to you guys is, what questions should i be asking the Franklin Pits team to decide between this one and the Millscale backyard pit. I was going to ask about steel thickness, firebox insulation and whether it was a new piece of pipe or a reclaimed tank. But could use a little help making an informed decision.

Also, does anyone have a Franklin Pit and could share their thoughts?
Click to expand...

Just curious. What did your flyer say? I received an email from Franklin Pit the other day saying "Your wait is over" and some pictures of the pit and then a deal at the bottom that says "Want to find out more, email us" and then under that "No longer interested, click here"

I don't remember ever getting on their buy list only that I was interested back when they first said that they would be making these. Was your flyer like that or something else?

There is a guy on here that has one and he answered a lot of questions about his and there was a large thread about it. You might do a search for it.
 
Mill Scale may as well be an Instagram story with pretty pictures and men with beards. Want info? Good luck. Their website is completely devoid of any useful information*. But hey, you can buy a coal shovel keychain for $500. I emailed them on the price of a 500 gallon offset from a spent propane tank on a very basic trailer and they quoted $17,000. That's a thousand dollars, times seventeen. That's so overpriced it's criminal.

Franklins backyard pit is pretty but it's just too small, especially for the price. Same for Mill Scales's 94 Gallon. It's $4,150 for a 1/4" thick steel offset in the size you'd expect at Academy Sports.

My advice? Save your money and get a Shirley.



**I just checked their website and they at least have basic info up now. That's a start I guess.
 
Last edited:
Mill Scale is slightly larger at 94 gallons. 88" long, 88" high, 28" wide, and is 1/4" thick steel all over weighing in at 775 pounds. A brethren posted pictures of one here a few years ago and it was even thicker than the advertised 1/4".

Franklin Pit is 80" long, 81" high, 1/4" and 5/16" steel construction weighing in at 600 pounds.

Between the two I would probably go for the larger, thicker Mill Scale, especially considering the brothers used to work for Franklin and helped him design smokers. Either way I don't see these backyard models depreciating, especially with steel costs continuing to escalate.

Just my $.02 cents.....
 
For my money, between the two it would be Franklin, mill scale is selling a lifestyle, but as mentioned above they’ve got $500 shovel and shop rags to sell you...
 
I realize my response doesn’t answer your question but a short story about many makers now offer the design of Franklin pits. Just an observation you didn't ask for

I have an attorney friend that just picked up one of these. It has taken position with his Jambo trailer, Shirley trailer, Hunsaker Drum, Shirley Patio, Biggest Kamado Joe, a crapton Of Webers, well ...you get the idea. Top notch nothing but the best cookers.
This is what he selected for his latest Offset

https://bigphilssmokers.com/
 
Last edited:
70monte said:
Just curious. What did your flyer say? I received an email from Franklin Pit the other day saying "Your wait is over" and some pictures of the pit and then a deal at the bottom that says "Want to find out more, email us" and then under that "No longer interested, click here"

I don't remember ever getting on their buy list only that I was interested back when they first said that they would be making these. Was your flyer like that or something else?

There is a guy on here that has one and he answered a lot of questions about his and there was a large thread about it. You might do a search for it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I got the same email and hit the "want to find out more, email us" button and then they sent me a pdf flyer. It was a lot of photos and explanation of how to take care of the raw pit along with some accessories like the water pan, drip bucket and optional cover. Prices are good for a month, which probably has to do with raw materials going up in price, so i have some time to decide. Im going to call them this morning and find out a bit more about their materials etc. Good news is that if i pull the trigger i can have one in 4-8 weeks, in time for a nice spring/summer of cooking.
 
Bacchus2b said:
A brethren posted pictures of one here a few years ago and it was even thicker than the advertised 1/4".
Click to expand...



Was that a confirmed real brethren or product placement bot? I seem to remember that account posting pics and then poof disappeared forever.
 
I just pulled the trigger on the Franklin pit. I had been planning on getting a pit soon but getting the Franklin email upped my time-table. We also just got our stimulus check. The Mill-scale was 3/8ths inch steel in the cook chamber and 1/4 inch on the firebox at one time but now it's all 1/4 inch. They didn't change the price. The Franklin pit has a semi-insulated firebox so that's going to add some cost plus the end cap on the exhaust side. So it's just a matter of do you want the added cookspace vs. the double walled firebox, arguably better exhaust.

The cook chamber is 5/16ths but that end cap is 1/4 inch I believe. The firebox is 1/4 inch steel but double walled. I believe both walls are 1/4 inch. There is only an airgap in-between the walls, no insulation thus "semi-insulated."

I don't think you can wrong with any of those pits. I'm never going to need more space than what the Franklin pit offers. If I do for some reason I still have my WSM which I can fire up without thinking at this point. My current offset is an Old Country pit with thin walls etc. The Franklin pit is a massive upgrade.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I just pulled the trigger on the Franklin pit. I had been planning on getting a pit soon but getting the Franklin email upped my time-table. We also just got our stimulus check. The Mill-scale was 3/8ths inch steel in the cook chamber and 1/4 inch on the firebox at one time but now it's all 1/4 inch. They didn't change the price. The Franklin pit has a semi-insulated firebox so that's going to add some cost plus the end cap on the exhaust side. So it's just a matter of do you want the added cookspace vs. the double walled firebox, arguably better exhaust.

The cook chamber is 5/16ths but that end cap is 1/4 inch I believe. The firebox is 1/4 inch steel but double walled. I believe both walls are 1/4 inch. There is only an airgap in-between the walls, no insulation thus "semi-insulated."

I don't think you can wrong with any of those pits. I'm never going to need more space than what the Franklin pit offers. If I do for some reason I still have my WSM which I can fire up without thinking at this point. My current offset is an Old Country pit with thin walls etc. The Franklin pit is a massive upgrade.
Click to expand...

This is extremely helpful. Thank you. I was going to pull the trigger on an Old Country to hone my stick burning skills this summer, but now that i got this email, my timetable has moved up as well. I'm more of a pork rib guy, so the cook space is slightly concerning, but im pretty sure i can get 6 racks of St Louis cut ribs on there if i trim them right, so I can still cook for a small crowd. The quality of the airflow shown in the Wilson's BBQ youtube video from the English chap looks hard to beat. I love the shot of the flames being pulled toward the cook chamber.

Did you get yours painted or raw?
 
LaddieLad said:
This is extremely helpful. Thank you. I was going to pull the trigger on an Old Country to hone my stick burning skills this summer, but now that i got this email, my timetable has moved up as well. I'm more of a pork rib guy, so the cook space is slightly concerning, but im pretty sure i can get 6 racks of St Louis cut ribs on there if i trim them right, so I can still cook for a small crowd. The quality of the airflow shown in the Wilson's BBQ youtube video from the English chap looks hard to beat. I love the shot of the flames being pulled toward the cook chamber.

Did you get yours painted or raw?
Click to expand...

I went with the raw. The powdercoat paint jobs they offer look awesome but I didn't want to spend the extra money and It's fairly dry around here. On my Old country pit I'd just spray down the outside of the firebox with Pam and it would cook on. The cook chamber generally didn't get hot enough for this to happen.
 
Dustin Dorsey said:
I went with the raw. The powdercoat paint jobs they offer look awesome but I didn't want to spend the extra money and It's fairly dry around here. On my Old country pit I'd just spray down the outside of the firebox with Pam and it would cook on. The cook chamber generally didn't get hot enough for this to happen.
Click to expand...

Cool, good to know. I'm in the northeast so its pretty wet and i feel like this is the only strickburner ill ever buy so i might as well make it last a lifetime. Coal looks very cool
 
Just got off the line with the Franklin Pits office. No surprise but the other Brethren knew what they were talking about. Its 600lbs, cook chamber is 5/16ths except for the rounded side, which is 1/4 inch thick. Stack and collector are 1/4 and the firebox is semi-insulated with an air gap between inner and outer tube, which are each 1/4". They make em in batches of 20 at about 3-4 weeks per batch with another 3-4 weeks to quality control and paint.

I agree with you all that cook chamber is smaller than other builds, office said 5-6 racks of pork ribs. That said, I think the tradeoff might be worth it for me with the large firebox and the increased airflow from the bimetallic strip on the baffle and the "bulge" on the left side of the cook chamber (so air doesnt get stuck in the corners).

I appreciate everyones input and advice, learned about a lot more pit builders than were on my radar before.
 
If it was me between the two i would go with the Franklin pit. I like the rounded end at the collector design. I don't think you could go wrong with either one but i prefer the Franklin design.



I was interested in a Millscale 250 but they quit building them and a 500 is way overkill for my needs.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

J
Premium/high end offset
2 3
Replies
55
Views
5K
cayenne
cayenne
G
Help me decide on offset
2
Replies
20
Views
2K
Fsonicsmith
F
S
Equipment switcharoo (warning, stupidly long and likely boring!)
Replies
10
Views
438
DBBQ
D
K
Second Cook on the Big Phil’s Blue Smoke Smoker: Chicken!
2
Replies
25
Views
2K
K.W.
K
dward51
Insulating a Pit Boss Copperhead 5 cabinet?
Replies
3
Views
460
Itsdone
I
Back
Top