Don't Get Your Expectations Up

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auscos

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I always feel its better to exceed low expectations than fail at mediocre ones.

I have just moved baclk to Texas after 10 years in Colorado and California. I am in Austin, where I never should have left 20 years ago. I that time I have swelled to the size of a small school bus. Yep, Atkins time. ANd while the local cue spots are great, they are breaking me financially. TIme to do it myself.

I am on the fence trying to decide whether to go with the Bandera or the WSM. Being incredibly lazy, the set it and forget it aspect is hugely appealing. BUt I have always wanted an offset, so now I have to decide. I can actually get the CB Bandera for the same price, so that seems a superior value.

I guess what I am mainly doing here now, is trying to decide just how much temp control and babysitting I will need to do with the Bandera. I like to cook at extremely low heat. Can the Bandera be adjusted to hold at 200? And how long will it hold there without input from me? I love the idea of going to bed and getting up in the moring and the cue be cooking at the temp I left it, But wtf, I usually ahve to get up and p once or twice anyway.

I will be searching and scouring for the answers to my questions, but if someone wants to reply and help me cut to the chase, that'd be cool, too.
 
Welcome Brother auscos, good to have you with us. Another Texan the south pit is getting up there in numbers. The ultimate set it and forget it Q machine (IMHO) would be a Traeger. Unfortunately not in the same price catagory as Bandera or WSM. Wish they were, I'd have one already for when I don't have the time to stoke the fire on the offset. Lots of WSM owners here, I'm sure they will hook you up with some quality input. Best of luck on you choice.
 
Howdy!

The WSM will fill your needs (que wise :D) better but the Bandera or another offset is a lot more fun - at least if you're part pyro!

Also, how much do you look to cook? I use my ECB for single slabs of ribs (like tonight) and sometime for my pork butts (if I'm doing two I'll use the ECB) -- anything more goes into the horizontal offset (haven't been able to affor the Bandera! :D).

So, if you like que but want to take it EZ - WSM. If you like to tinker or cook more than a couple slabs of ribs or if you're going for an HEB 16 pound brisket or two then the Bandera will be the way to go.

The mods make a huge difference (even on my horizontal) and take some of the tediousness of fire maintenace down to a managable level.

Again, welcome. Have a longneck for me, please!
 
sure, the WSM can be more forgiving fire control wise. But capacity is king on the Bandera.

Sure, you gotta fark with the fire, but when you got 7 or 8 different things going, its worth it.

Look at Jorges? post like 3 days ago. He (or that person) had the dear packed with a weeks worth of food.

So add "what is my needed capacity" to your equation
 
Welcome Brother Auscos.
I don’t usually chime in on these types of discussions and questions, since the only major smoker I have is the Bandera. With Mothers Day upon us and most of the Brethren having to fulfill their husbandly or otherwise duties, I’m inclined to think the website is going to be lacking in participation (I could be wrong).
From what I’ve read and heard on this site, and from (other) people, the WSM is the way to go for “lazy Q” if you want the flavor. As a matter of fact I’ve recommended it to some folks that are wanting to jump in and give it a try. BUT! I’m a believer. The Bandera has served me well, and with some common sense and the advice of the “Knuckleheads” on this site it will last for years to come.
I’ve done most of the mods that are suggested here, with the exception of the fire bricks, and the cushions (that’s an entirely different story). I have a basket, not as good as Al’s, and am going to change that at the first opportunity. The basket cuts way down on fire tending.
With the heat shield I can do small cooks as well as large ones, without the shield.
I’ve been able to hold temps at 200 for several hours with the mods, but not all night. Hell, I have to pee too
The WSM only affords the smaller cooks (relatively speaking).
I guess I sound a little biased, I guess I am. What ever you decide on, chime in ask questions, answer some.
Believe me there is not a larger wealth of information and a bunch of guys willing to share it than here.
Again, welcome.

Damn now I’m tired AND hungry!!!
 
First, let me welcome you back to Austin. I hope the changes in the last 20 years haven't given you a serious medical condition. Should me meet on the parking lot known as I-35 pull up chair and say howdy.

I don't own a WSM but have cooked on them several times. My parents in San Antonio have a Bandera, and I have one in Austin and DFW. Bill (Willkat98) mentioned a picture of a Bandera with a lot of meat. That was my pic from a session at my parents house. I did about 50 lbs of meat in one cook. That isn't the norm but it sure is nice to have the capacity to do it. I frequently like to cook several different things at once, and the room in the Bandera makes it a snap. I don't have to jockey things around just to move one piece of meat etc... I have no regrets, other than I don't get to spend enough time tending the fire and sipping a cold beer while doing it.

If you decide on the Bandera drop me a line and let me know. I've got plenty of material for some of the mods you will find mentioned here and would be happy to give you a hand.
 
hlawrence said:
Welcome Brother Auscos.
I don’t usually chime in on these types of discussions and questions, since the only major smoker I have is the Bandera. With Mothers Day upon us and most of the Brethren having to fulfill their husbandly or otherwise duties, I’m inclined to think the website is going to be lacking in participation (I could be wrong).
From what I’ve read and heard on this site, and from (other) people, the WSM is the way to go for “lazy Q” if you want the flavor. As a matter of fact I’ve recommended it to some folks that are wanting to jump in and give it a try. BUT! I’m a believer. The Bandera has served me well, and with some common sense and the advice of the “Knuckleheads” on this site it will last for years to come.
I’ve done most of the mods that are suggested here, with the exception of the fire bricks, and the cushions (that’s an entirely different story). I have a basket, not as good as Al’s, and am going to change that at the first opportunity. The basket cuts way down on fire tending.
With the heat shield I can do small cooks as well as large ones, without the shield.
I’ve been able to hold temps at 200 for several hours with the mods, but not all night. Hell, I have to pee too
The WSM only affords the smaller cooks (relatively speaking).
I guess I sound a little biased, I guess I am. What ever you decide on, chime in ask questions, answer some.
Believe me there is not a larger wealth of information and a bunch of guys willing to share it than here.
Again, welcome.

Damn now I’m tired AND hungry!!!
Click to expand...

Welcome and what he said! :D :D :D :D
 
Welcome auscos!!!..

As an owner of both, heres my takes.

The Dera with the baffle installed and a firegrate needs feeding every 45-90 minutes. Heat shield will extend that slightly.

You can run the dera at 200-220. Just do that by using less fuel, fist sized chunks will do that.

The dera with the Charcoal basket, you can get a 4-8 hour burn, but you'll run higher than 200. (220-260).

the WSM will give you a clean unattended 8 hr burn. I always lock in around 240-250. So it drops to the 220 zone at the end of the burns while you sleep. Otherwise it will drop below 200 in 3-4-5 hours, dont want to do that. Not sure if it will hold at 200, don't see why not.. 2fat(Buzz u there?) can probably answer that.


Capacity to me is an issue with the wsm. it will make 1-2 of anything, but beyonfd that, your goin hungry. the Dera will feed 30-40 without blinkin an eye.

The bandera 101 document in out files/mods section tells you ways of doing lazyq with the bandera. I used to put the ring burner to my turkey fryer in the firebox below the fire grate. I then loaded the grate up with some lavarock and a few chunks of wood. did this at the end of a cook and went to bed.

rots a ruck :)
and Welcome again!!
 
Well the boys pretty well covered it, and very nicely I might add.
Take Jorge up on the offer. And welcome to the BBQ Boys Club of America AKA BBQ-Brethren.
 
Thanks for the warm welcome. This board looks like it will a mainstay in my future. Good info, zany cast of characters, and widespread irreverence. My kind of place.

Too bad for me tho... I cam here to narrow my choice from two grills to one. Now I find myself with additional choices. NB or CB on the Bandera? Does it make a difference? Additionjally, I am seeing some positive press for the Brinkman righty. A righty would really fit the feng shui of my patio better... well at least the smole stack wouldn't empty out under my awning.

I am currently trying to find threads that might inform me whether the CharBroil, Brinkman, and New Braunfels are roughly equal in quality and functionality. I think I have decided against he WSM.
 
feng shui
Click to expand...

Try some Lamisil, oughta clear it right up! :wink:

Given a choice between NB and Charbroil I'd try to go with the NB, based mostly on the prices I've seen in Austin. NB models at Academy are usually $229. Home Depot where I've seen the Charbroil usually start at $298. The only thing that caught my eye was the thickness of the grates on the Brinkman. It seemed a little thinner to me, and I wondered if a heavy piece of meat might cause it to deform over time in the heat. But, having only glanced at a Brinkman at Lowes for a minute or two I'm not even close to being an authority.
 
Jorge,

In this week's Academy flyer, they show the Bandera at $289. The Lowe's by my house does not have the Brinkman, but Oshman's has the CharBroil Bandera for $199. I am going to stop by Academy on Burnet to confirm the brand and price this afternoon. My Lowe's does not have the CharBRoil, either. But anything over 200 may be deal-killer for me at this time, so its looking like Oshman's for me.
 
Given a choice between a NB model at $229-$289 and a Charbroil at $199 I'd pocket the difference and buy some beef for the first cook. You might call around to the local Home Depot locations and check their prices. Saved me some $ the last time I had to pull some cable.
 
Welcome to the land of smoke and dreams. Glad to have you auscos. I don't have much of an opinion in this area, cause I bought the Bandera before I even found this site and have never once had any regrets other than I didn't find this site sooner for the mods. Ok so maybe that is an opinion, but a very biased one.
Hope your search goes well. Again welcome.

Slat
 
NB was bought by charbroil. the 2 banderas are the same product(just CB is made cheaper) but for the use of this post, they are the same. Acadmey has that price guartentee dont they? I think if you can find a CB bandera for 199, and have Acadmey verify the price, they may beat it by 10% ande your get the real McCoy.

Personally, given the choice i would go for the New braunfels bandera or the Brinkman Righty. Saw that Charbroil one.. wasnt impressed.
 
Yeah, what Phil said. I got lucky and got hold of an older (new-in-box) NB model at Home Depot for $298 that sez "Made in USA" right on the badge. Academy had the same thing (but a CB, heh) for only $229, but HD honored the price and refunded me the $69 and tax. And the CB units DO look cheaper, IMHO.
 
Welcome and good luck. If you have any "new" Lowes in Austin, they wil have the Brinkman unit. Don't call it is a waste of time, you have to go look at each store.
 
Here's a site I found before I bought my 'dera. This guy builds 'lazy Q' cookers that use propane. I would assume (Brian - you want to chime in here?) that you could hold whatever temp you wanted with one of these. Now I can't afford his stuff but I thought the burner idea was kinda neat. You have to look at both his smoker page and his BBQ page to find all the pictures of the burner.

http://www.bigjim.freeservers.com/bigjim.html
 
Oh, and Welcome, Auscos!
 
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