Lone Star grillz Vertical Offset (Pics & Review)

[oldbill]

Well I've got my new pit and I thought that I would share some photos of her as well as my experience with her performance. Lone Star Grillz is a small business in Conroe TX and they build a really nice pit for a pretty reasonable price. From trailer pits to patio pits, insulated smokers to charcoal grills and fire pits, they can make just about anything that you want and in any style that you prefer. I always liked the design of the old NB Bandera and I decided to have a vertical offset built by LSG that would give me the versatility that the Bandera offered but with the quality and craftsmanship of a good pit builder and here she is! I've done a few cooks so far and I couldn't be more pleased. The pit is all 1/4 " construction with a 1/2 " firebox and all of that thermal mass equates to excellent temp control, while hardly using any more fuel than my old NB Black Diamond. It's kinda like going from a Ford Pinto to a Lexus! LOL! The heat deflector and tuning plates allow very even temps from left to right while also offering the option of creating a cooler spot if I wish by simply adjusting the tuning plates. This pit has nearly 6000 sq. inches of cooking area between the main chamber, the warmer/oven and the grill top. While I was smoking at 250 in the main chamber last week the oven was holding at about 350 with the pinwheel dampers half open, so that tells me that I could probably get 400 to 450 in there pretty easily and be able to bake cornbread or simmer sauce while never interrupting the main cook! I converted it to a mini vertical smoker the other day and smoked some chicken, which I also reverse seared by removing the handled steel plate inside and exposing the grill top. I'm looking forward to many experiments with my new toy and posting some pron in the future. So here are some pics.. Sorry about the lighting, they turned out a little dark.

[peeps]

very nice! I looked at LSG's vertical offsets but it was just too far out of my budget plus I would have to get it shipped. I found a local fabricator and we worked out a design similar to a NB Bandera, but larger...

Can't wait to hear how your performs. I should have mine in a couple weeks.

[TuscaloosaQ]

Beautiful very nice setup and you can certainly see pride was taken in building it, I know you are happy congrats

[landarc]

Wow, that is a beast of a cooker

[MilitantSquatter]

Congrats again Bill... That's really big !!!

Looking forward to receiving my Lonestar in a maybe 4-6 weeks or so.

[oldbill]

Originally Posted by MilitantSquatter

Congrats again Bill... That's really big !!!

Looking forward to receiving my Lonestar in a maybe 4-6 weeks or so.

Thanks! Yeah it's a monster. It stands about 7 feet and weighs in at around 1400 lbs.! Yours will be really nice with the insulated firebox, I always thought that as stick burners go that the vertical offset design always made more sense as it allows heat and smoke to travel as it naturally wants to, which is up! With the insulated box, I'll bet that you'll get efficiency close to that of a Jambo!

[oldbill]

Originally Posted by peeps

very nice! I looked at LSG's vertical offsets but it was just too far out of my budget plus I would have to get it shipped. I found a local fabricator and we worked out a design similar to a NB Bandera, but larger...

Can't wait to hear how your performs. I should have mine in a couple weeks.

Good for you! I think that the design just makes sense efficiency wise and the cooking capacity of verticals is scary! The only drawback is that you can't do a whole hog with it but we don't do a lot of that down here in Texas anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics of yours when it's done!

[peeps]

Originally Posted by oldbill

Good for you! I think that the design just makes sense efficiency wise and the cooking capacity of verticals is scary! The only drawback is that you can't do a whole hog with it but we don't do a lot of that down here in Texas anyway. I'm looking forward to seeing some pics of yours when it's done!

I agree. It will work great on my patio without taking up too much space. Also, I don't need to remove shelves to access other shelves like in a UDS.

Here is his cleaned up sketch of what we worked up.



I have never even thought of doing a hog, so I doubt I ever will. A neighbor has a big trailer smoker if either of us ever decides to do that.

[oldbill]

Originally Posted by TuscaloosaQ

Beautiful very nice setup and you can certainly see pride was taken in building it, I know you are happy congrats

Thanks! Yeah, I've seen Gator pits, Klose pits, Langs and many others up close and I'd put Lone star Grillz right up there with them in quality. I think that Chris Goodlander is doing it right out in Conroe TX and his time is coming to be recognized as one of the elite pit builders.

[jeffturnerjr]

Sucker's huge! I looked a little at lone Starr's website a while back... Really great looking pits...

[Smokinwright]

Very nice cooker. Chris at lonestar grillz is a great person to work with and builds a quality product. I am more than happy with mine, but more times than not it is more cooker than I need.

Can't wait to see what you cook with it!

[oldbill]

Originally Posted by peeps

I agree. It will work great on my patio without taking up too much space. Also, I don't need to remove shelves to access other shelves like in a UDS.

Here is his cleaned up sketch of what we worked up.



I have never even thought of doing a hog, so I doubt I ever will. A neighbor has a big trailer smoker if either of us ever decides to do that.

Yep, that's the old Bandera alright! I think that you're going to be a happy camper when you get that baby home!

[peeps]

Originally Posted by oldbill

Yep, that's the old Bandera alright! I think that you're going to be a happy camper when you get that baby home!

Yessir! Can't wait!!!

I am jealous of your rig, though! I just couldn't justify it...yet ;)

[oldbill]

Originally Posted by Smokinwright

Very nice cooker. Chris at lonestar grillz is a great person to work with and builds a quality product. I am more than happy with mine, but more times than not it is more cooker than I need.

Can't wait to see what you cook with it!

Thanks! Which model did you get? I actually chose the design and size of mine because I plan to do some catering in the future and wanted to get as much capacity and versatility as possible in as small a footprint as possible. The 30" x 24" cabinet has six slide-outs and will hold twelve briskets and Lord only knows how many half chickens or racks of spares, all in a 2' x 4 1/2' footprint. I doubt that I'll ever fill the thing up, but if I need to cook a lot of food, I know that I can!

[htrisna]

I agree. Love my LSG stickburner still.

Originally Posted by oldbill

Thanks! Yeah, I've seen Gator pits, Klose pits, Langs and many others up close and I'd put Lone star Grillz right up there with them in quality. I think that Chris Goodlander is doing it right out in Conroe TX and his time is coming to be recognized as one of the elite pit builders.