Road Trip

[daverev]

It's been a few years since I fired up a smoker. Last one I built myself and it turned out decent but man it was a long project. Been wanting to get back into it and since the partner caters already I figured I would shop around and see what bargain i could find. Budget is limited so the Klose and Lang were out of the question for now, maybe someday we can all ways hope.

Ran across a guy in Alabama that builds smokers, first saw his page from the "Smoke Ring" link here. Beams Custom Smokers is where I'm headed in just a couple minutes. 10 hour drive and I hope it's worth it. You get what you pay for keeps ringing in the back of my mind.....hope this turns out to be a good investment. It's a mobile rig, offset firebox with rib box on a single axle trailer.

Will get some pics if we make it back home with the thing.

Awesome site you guys have here, gave me the inspiration to get back into q'ing.

Dave

[HeSmellsLikeSmoke]

Good luck with your quest. Glad to have you back in the sweet blue smoke.

[MilitantSquatter]

Be very careful...

Another member had a very bad experience with them and has the pics to prove it. See this thread:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ighlight=beams

[Norcoredneck]

Originally Posted by MilitantSquatter

Be very careful...

Another member had a very bad experience with them and has the pics to prove it. See this thread:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/sh...ighlight=beams

Man O Man, bet you just made his trip mentally hours longer Vinny.
Best of luck to you Daverev.

[syndicate559]

Holy moly, just read the other thread about the nightmare with Beams. What a d!ck that guy sounds like. Hopefully it goes better for daverev. If nothing else, I hope he'd cut his losses with the drive expense before he bought something as bad as what the other guy got. Maybe this guy rolls out the nicer ones for people who actually show up to buy. Hope it works out.

[daverev]

Well it was a good trip, home with the smoker in one piece. Had I read the post about Beam's first I probably would not have bid, yes I got this off of Ebay. But I bid and honored that bid by sending him a payment through PayPal. Granted if the smoker I went to pick up I would not have eaccepted delivery and fought the case through Paypal. Paypal insurers purchases like this and they don't play games. Buying from the website directly is another matter, then it's between you and him and admittedly he was too busy washing his tractor when I got there and I ended up talking to his brother or cousin or some kin.

The smoker I bid on was not a "buy it now" auction like he usually posts. This smoker started at $0.99 and 13 different bidders placed bids. Maybe some were his duplicate but you've got to have a different credit card in a different name to accomplish that. Had an ex wife sell clothes and yes< I was the other bidder< so I know how that game is played. Point to all this is I paid $1108 for this smoker.

Yep the jack is crap and will be replaced eventually. None of the torch cuts were ground off on the inside, fire box grate is way under supported, hinges are cheap and I can see one pin hole in the firebox at the end of a weld. I built my own cooker once and I know first hand the time it takes, why i opted for this model. If there's some welding to be done I've got a mig & stick just down the road a piece but I really can't see anything from first go over that really disappoints me. Light wiring is ran through the frame tubing, no rust but there are a couple skipped spots on the paint.

I paid $1100 and basically got an $1100 smoker. Wasn't expecting a Klose or Lang. I was expecting a smoker built by a country boy in his spare time, built with as little invested as possible. There are 2 intake dampers for the firebox, which I don't really understand why as one is sufficient. There's a damper going into the rib box which is nice. There is no damper going into the main but there's a plate welded just above the hole to act as a baffle. The main also has an addition grate welded in solid below the 2 cooking grates in case a person wnats to direct heat some burgers or such.

Overall it's a decent deal for what I've got invested in it. Can't say I would recommend nor would I turn some one away. A buyer beware might be in order though.

I'll get some more pics up, it's been a long day and 526 miles later I'm tired.

Thanks for all you guys input, good or bad, I like to hear them all.

Dave

[syndicate559]

Originally Posted by daverev

Well it was a good trip, home with the smoker in one piece. Had I read the post about Beam's first I probably would not have bid, yes I got this off of Ebay. But I bid and honored that bid by sending him a payment through PayPal. Granted if the smoker I went to pick up I would not have eaccepted delivery and fought the case through Paypal. Paypal insurers purchases like this and they don't play games. Buying from the website directly is another matter, then it's between you and him and admittedly he was too busy washing his tractor when I got there and I ended up talking to his brother or cousin or some kin.

The smoker I bid on was not a "buy it now" auction like he usually posts. This smoker started at $0.99 and 13 different bidders placed bids. Maybe some were his duplicate but you've got to have a different credit card in a different name to accomplish that. Had an ex wife sell clothes and yes< I was the other bidder< so I know how that game is played. Point to all this is I paid $1108 for this smoker.

Yep the jack is crap and will be replaced eventually. None of the torch cuts were ground off on the inside, fire box grate is way under supported, hinges are cheap and I can see one pin hole in the firebox at the end of a weld. I built my own cooker once and I know first hand the time it takes, why i opted for this model. If there's some welding to be done I've got a mig & stick just down the road a piece but I really can't see anything from first go over that really disappoints me. Light wiring is ran through the frame tubing, no rust but there are a couple skipped spots on the paint.

I paid $1100 and basically got an $1100 smoker. Wasn't expecting a Klose or Lang. I was expecting a smoker built by a country boy in his spare time, built with as little invested as possible. There are 2 intake dampers for the firebox, which I don't really understand why as one is sufficient. There's a damper going into the rib box which is nice. There is no damper going into the main but there's a plate welded just above the hole to act as a baffle. The main also has an addition grate welded in solid below the 2 cooking grates in case a person wnats to direct heat some burgers or such.

Overall it's a decent deal for what I've got invested in it. Can't say I would recommend nor would I turn some one away. A buyer beware might be in order though.

I'll get some more pics up, it's been a long day and 526 miles later I'm tired.

Thanks for all you guys input, good or bad, I like to hear them all.

Dave

I'm glad to hear that it turned out OK. As long as you feel like you got what you paid for, it's all good. The point that, for $1100, you can still make your own improvements and still be getting a great deal overall, is very valid.

[Ron_L]

It looks like a nice smoker. Let us know how you like it after a few cooks. Congrats!

[Brian in Maine]

Good luck with it. It seems as if you have the equipment, and skills to make it into a first rate smoker.