Pitmaker "The Vault"

[dobdabomb]

Ha, asked him the same by email. I have two green eggs and if I get a vault, this would be perfect as long as I can drive it under a pop up tent.

i guess it sounds like the added valve solves the big issues from the previous threads from a year or two ago. Thats an expensive valve addition but if it cures it I guess its good then.

[hardijd]

Unfortunately I don't have any other pics.....yet. We keep the trailer in our warehouse, but we've got a comp coming up next weekend so I'll take some pics then. Anything specific you want to see?

[MI Smoke]

Originally Posted by garzanium

sweet man, any more pics of the trailer set up?working on my bws 6x10 trailer and need some set up ideas.

I would like to see some more also!
Can u show some of how you have it strapped down? Thanks

[podidol]

Sorry, I can't comment on the vault, but I have had a safe for a couple years. The posts regarding the slide door are spot on. I had horrible luck with the stock slide and ended up having a guy mill an aluminum adapter with dual ball valves before Pitmaker offered them as an option. I also added a diverter plate and made a little larger firebox. I did a comp yesterday and easily went 14 hours with some lump left over. If using a power draft system, I have found that shutting it off for a bit and letting the smoker come back up to temp on it's own before turning your blower back on will prevent over-shoots in the event you have to open the cook chamber. I don't have to cook with water anymore to control the issue of overshoots. I have found water reduces fuel efficiency by about half. I have used with both a Stoker and Guru. My "magic place" is with the stoker (it has a metal damper flap that closes when fan doesn't blow) and the ball valve closed to about a 1/4 open. I have used both lump and briq. About 9 pounds of briq will give me about 20 hours at 225 when cooking dry. So far, I haven't experienced any corrosion or rust. There has been a slight warping of the metal between the firebox and cook chamber, but it hasn't caused any issues. All the welds are solid. Like many others, I was disappointed in the fact that I had to come up with a solution for the air intake issue, but I have to say that after doing so, I love the safe. I think you would be satisfied with your purchase. Sorry for the long post, but it's a big expenditure. I'm sure you want as much feedback as you can get. Good luck!

[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.

[dobdabomb]

Bump for other owners, much appreciated.

[ribslayer]

I've had a Vault for 3 years now and love it. Consistent every time.
However, that was not the story when I first used it.
Mine had the slide doors- one on each side. Way too much air leak. Fires were out of control- usually too hot. Adding water to the tray brought the temps down so I didn't ruin too many cooks.
Sealed up the one side completely and attached my Guru to the other side.
I can easily get 12 + hours on one full tray of RO lump and a few chunks of wood using the water tray dry.
Double the fuel requirement, maybe even a little more than doulble, if using the water tray with liquid in it.
Mine Vault is stored inside. No outside corrosion at all. Inside is all intact- no water tray leaks or seam separation.
I clean my grates with a large weed burner. I also use a diffusion plate in the fire chamber.
Middle of the winter Minnesota cooks, below zero outside temps and the Vault just chugs along.
I absolutely love this cooker.

[dobdabomb]

Originally Posted by ribslayer

I've had a Vault for 3 years now and love it. Consistent every time.
However, that was not the story when I first used it.
Mine had the slide doors- one on each side. Way too much air leak. Fires were out of control- usually too hot. Adding water to the tray brought the temps down so I didn't ruin too many cooks.
Sealed up the one side completely and attached my Guru to the other side.
I can easily get 12 + hours on one full tray of RO lump and a few chunks of wood using the water tray dry.
Double the fuel requirement, maybe even a little more than doulble, if using the water tray with liquid in it.
Mine Vault is stored inside. No outside corrosion at all. Inside is all intact- no water tray leaks or seam separation.
I clean my grates with a large weed burner. I also use a diffusion plate in the fire chamber.
Middle of the winter Minnesota cooks, below zero outside temps and the Vault just chugs along.
I absolutely love this cooker.

Figured you would get more for a full load of charcoal, pretty rough to double if using water...big difference.

Also diffusion plate? Does it not have one? I saw there was a slide I think under the water pan, does the diffusion plate slide in the half L shaped bracket? Does it come standard on the vault?

[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. ;)

[discmen95]

Is it just me, or does the idea of having to make mods to a $3000 smoker seem screwy? I mean, I bought a $265.00 Akorn, and did $25.00 worth of mods, which seemed reasonable, but if I buy something for three grand, it better work.

[ribslayer]

Diffuser plate did not come with mine. I picked up a piece of metal and installed it myself. No big deal.
I'm talking 3.5 -4.0 gallons of water- I'm approximating, haven't actually measured it. Takes a lot of energy to keep it all simmering. Ribs are wonderful- full of moisture, juicy. I do not foil using the water tray.

[QorDie]

I've got a Vault, with the ball valve design, and a WiFi guru. Here's my thoughts:

1) If you go with a Vault, get the ball valve design - it's a must
2) If you go with a Vault, get a guru - not a must, but it's been really nice
3) If you plan on moving your Vault, have friends available - they say those casters can roll on anything, but it took me and 3 friends, and lots of plywood, to move it 150 feet into my backyard
4) If you decide to do business with Pitmaker, stock up on pain killers - doing business with them isn't that easy

At the end of the day, I love my Vault. I've got 4 smokers in my backyard, it's the only one I've lit a fire in over the last few months. But here are just a few of the issues I ran into:

1) Lengthy delays while waiting for a quote
2) Lenghty delays waiting for a call back to place the order
3) "There's no more extensions available for me to transfer you" when calling the receptionist asking to talk to Sales/Support
4) Pit was late being shipped
5) Was told shipping would be 1 day (Houston->Dallas), it took a week [Side note: not really their fault, but don't say 1 day....]
6) Was shipped the wrong adapters & guru that I paid for
7) Took about a month, many unanswered emails and phone calls, before the correct Guru & Adapters were shipped

Justin (J$) ended up helping me a ton during the process, they should give him some commission as he kept me from canceling/returning the Vault, and now I'm a happy owner.

----

Regarding burn rate, I loaded up 6 pounds of lump this weekend to cook a brisket - here's my chart:



There's still some coals left in the basket - and you can see the Guru barely had to run once it got up to 225-250.

[Dirt Daddy]

I bought a SS Vault with the sliding intake damper..I cook with lump wood and chunk, its kinda like doing a long cook with my Primos XL Oval when you get up to about 200-220 start shutting it down big time on the intake...1\4 inch max and she will creep to 225 and stay there for a long time..I highly recomend this smoker if you want a Life Time pit.... Harl Sims

[garzanium]

Originally Posted by hardijd

Unfortunately I don't have any other pics.....yet. We keep the trailer in our warehouse, but we've got a comp coming up next weekend so I'll take some pics then. Anything specific you want to see?

Nothing specific- just trying to get a better idea of a competition rig in regards to set up. Some things I am debating now is propane/cooker(as well as placement), brackets to hold my coolers vs having to strap them down any anything really that would make getting all my stuff together for a comp easier.

[ribslayer]

I agree about the factory casters. I thought they were way too small. I ended up fabricating a new chassis and wheels for mine. 12 inch wheels on the back with 8 inch casters on the front. I extended the wheel base length and width for a wider foot print. I am less nervous about winching it up into to my trailer now. It seemed very top heavy before with smaller foot print. I never had a tip over, but I was concerned. I don't know how I would ever get it back upright if that happened.