Thinking about getting my first offset

[Fishwater2002]

https://bluesmokesmokers.com/

$1700 for a 3/8" thick 24x48 smoker

I REALLY want one of these, I checked in with Phil last week & shipping from Texas to New Hampshire will cost more than the actual unit! Tough times for shipping, if he had another one heading up towards me it would help both of us with shipping but I don’t think that he did.

 

[Fooball]

I REALLY want one of these, I checked in with Phil last week & shipping from Texas to New Hampshire will cost more than the actual unit! Tough times for shipping, if he had another one heading up towards me it would help both of us with shipping but I don’t think that he did.

That's crazy. Even if you flew down and rented a truck it probably would work out close to the same and therefor not worth the effort.

Keep checking Craig's and market place. Best bet in this day and age. Somebody in the northeast has got to sell one sooner or later!

 

[Fishwater2002]

That's crazy. Even if you flew down and rented a truck it probably would work out close to the same and therefor not worth the effort.

Keep checking Craig's and market place. Best bet in this day and age. Somebody in the northeast has got to sell one sooner or later!

I’m not holding my breath on finding anything local but I did check U-ship & it’s under $1000 to get one here, still too much, but better than the going average of $1.00-$1.25 per loaded mile for freight.

 

[TheHojo]

I’m not holding my breath on finding anything local but I did check U-ship & it’s under $1000 to get one here, still too much, but better than the going average of $1.00-$1.25 per loaded mile for freight.

Green Money Fab is building a similar pipe pit for 2200 - he is located in NJ - a little closer !

 

[gtsum]

I like my 1975 quite a bit and recommend them to anyone looking for a backyard pit. I honestly wouldn’t look at the 1969 or 1957..just too small and the 24” diameter is about perfect for a backyard pit imo. Hard to beat for the money but shipping costs are going to be steep no matter where u get it from.

One of my favorite things about the workhorse is the over sized firebox…tons of room to maneuver the fire…it’s especially evident when comparing fire management on much smaller, squared fireboxes for instance


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[Connor_Macleod]

I got one - great smoker - thing is a beast - 3/8th pipe for both chamber (24x48) and firebox (24x24)

The natural look has really grown on me - don’t think I would go back to a painted smoker - just heated mine up when I got it and did the linseed oil treatment

Oh man I've been getting jealous of the folks who have ordered and received their Blue Collar / Blue Smoke cookers from Big Phil...I ordered a 24 x 60" custom offset from Big Phil last October and still have not received it. My smoker was supposed to have been finished in March and is now going on 3 months late.

So the people who ordered after last October and have their smokers now can feel fortunate to have them so quickly.

 

[Jmgunn]

I like my 1975 quite a bit and recommend them to anyone looking for a backyard pit. I honestly wouldn’t look at the 1969 or 1957..just too small and the 24” diameter is about perfect for a backyard pit imo. Hard to beat for the money but shipping costs are going to be steep no matter where u get it from.

One of my favorite things about the workhorse is the over sized firebox…tons of room to maneuver the fire…it’s especially evident when comparing fire management on much smaller, squared fireboxes for instance


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I love my fatstack 80 but that oversized firebox on the workhorse is amazing to use.

 

[Killa J]

Nobody ever talks about the Pitmaker Sniper, but I absolutely loved mine and although I really do like the convenience of the Limo Jr., I wish I had held onto the Sniper.

I see so little out there about them except for their cabinet smokers. Price isn’t bad for the size.

 

[Fooball]

Oh man I've been getting jealous of the folks who have ordered and received their Blue Collar / Blue Smoke cookers from Big Phil...I ordered a 24 x 60" custom offset from Big Phil last October and still have not received it. My smoker was supposed to have been finished in March and is now going on 3 months late.

So the people who ordered after last October and have their smokers now can feel fortunate to have them so quickly.

Did you order from Blue smoke smokers or Big Phil's? I think it's two different divisions. Blue smoke I thought just spits out the 24x48 no customization other than their options.

Big Phil's is where he does the (more expensive) custom work....I think.

Hopefully Blue smoke smokers is not backed up as far as what you have encountered. They say 12-14 weeks on their website.

 

[Connor_Macleod]

Did you order from Blue smoke smokers or Big Phil's? I think it's two different divisions. Blue smoke I thought just spits out the 24x48 no customization other than their options.

Big Phil's is where he does the (more expensive) custom work....I think.

Hopefully Blue smoke smokers is not backed up as far as what you have encountered. They say 12-14 weeks on their website.

My order was from Big Phil's Smokers (not Blue Smoke). Just a tad bit frustrating as a Big Phil customer for me to see Phil take my order, project a March delivery date, and then start another business in the meantime and ship those new Blue Smoke orders on time, while I'm seeing a multi-month delay on my Big Phil's order, which by the way costs 3 times the price of a Blue Smoke smoker.

I'm feeling an extra sense of urgency around receiving my new offset since I gave away my old offset in March this year after Phil texted me on 3/7 that my smoker would be done in March...in the meantime, valuable hours of BBQ season are flying by. :doh:

 

[Fooball]

My order was from Big Phil's Smokers (not Blue Smoke). Just a tad bit frustrating as a Big Phil customer for me to see Phil take my order, project a March delivery date, and then start another business in the meantime and ship those new Blue Smoke orders on time, while I'm seeing a multi-month delay on my Big Phil's order, which by the way costs 3 times the price of a Blue Smoke smoker.

I'm feeling an extra sense of urgency around receiving my new offset since I gave away my old offset in March this year after Phil texted me on 3/7 that my smoker would be done in March...in the meantime, valuable hours of BBQ season are flying by. :doh:

Wow....not cool. Nor good business. I understand your frustration 100%.

You should email him a link to this thread.

 

[1MoreFord]

I don't know where others are getting their recommendations of 20% moisture or more but I'd be looking for ~15% +/- 3%. When you check your moisture split the wood again and check it in the middle of the newly split section. Never check the oldest/driest surfaces when you have moisture meters with the commonly available short pins.

You're not far from Texas. Check with some of the cookers built there like Klose, Pits by JJ, and Gatorpit.

 

[WeberWho]

I don't know where others are getting their recommendations of 20% moisture or more but I'd be looking for ~15% +/- 3%. When you check your moisture split the wood again and check it in the middle of the newly split section. Never check the oldest/driest surfaces when you have moisture meters with the commonly available short pins.

You're not far from Texas. Check with some of the cookers built there like Klose, Pits by JJ, and Gatorpit.

I'll usually buy splits by the face cord and simply don't go through it quick enough. I'd hate to start with 15% unless you're buying small quantities or burning through it quickly. Just my thought anyway.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

I love my fatstack 80 but that oversized firebox on the workhorse is amazing to use.

How did you use the oversized firebox ?

 

[1MoreFord]

I'll usually buy splits by the face cord and simply don't go through it quick enough. I'd hate to start with 15% unless you're buying small quantities or burning through it quickly. Just my thought anyway.

You'll be hard pressed to get below 12% with air dried lumber. Anything else generally requires kiln drying.

I can still get flavor out of 6-8% kiln dried lumber. YMMV

 

[Killa J]

Maybe some stupid questions. Some smokers are cylinders, some are more like an octagon. Does this make any difference or is it just how the builder prefers to build? And what exactly do people mean when they say a smoker drafts well or has good draft?

You'll be hard pressed to get below 12% with air dried lumber. Anything else generally requires kiln drying.

I can still get flavor out of 6-8% kiln dried lumber. YMMV

I get plenty of smoke flavor with charcoal smokers and kiln dried wood chunks. But in my Karubecue, I guess because of the design, I’m getting close to zero smoke flavor with 12% moisture oak. I called the place I got the firewood from last time, they can accommodate me asking for wetter wood than usual.

 

[Jmgunn]

I'll usually buy splits by the face cord and simply don't go through it quick enough. I'd hate to start with 15% unless you're buying small quantities or burning through it quickly. Just my thought anyway.

Ya that’s what happened to me. 6 months after I got my pecan I got no smoke flavor and it was down around 5%

 

[Jmgunn]

How did you use the oversized firebox ?

Allows a lot of freedom for fire positioning depending on how you’re wanting to cook and space to move things around. I only cooked on it twice so that probably doesn’t even cover the positives of it.

 

[Lynn Dollar]

Allows a lot of freedom for fire positioning depending on how you’re wanting to cook and space to move things around. I only cooked on it twice so that probably doesn’t even cover the positives of it.

Bullchit

 

[SirPorkaLot]

I don't know where others are getting their recommendations of 20% moisture or more but I'd be looking for ~15% +/- 3%. When you check your moisture split the wood again and check it in the middle of the newly split section. Never check the oldest/driest surfaces when you have moisture meters with the commonly available short pins.

You're not far from Texas. Check with some of the cookers built there like Klose, Pits by JJ, and Gatorpit.

20%-25%+ works for me. I don’t care to smoke with overly dry wood