Smoker Advice

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Mattb82

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Hi Gents

I’m currently considering getting a battle box or the next size up. I have an egg and had an amazing Shirley RF but just don’t have time to babysit a stick burner, I have two young kids and need a set and forget option. My biggest concern is lack of bark on my bbq. The Shirley produced excellent bark and my bbq style is 100% Texas style with a nice bark. So my questions:

1. How is the bark formation on a battle box and vertical in general compared to a traditional or RF. Will I be able to get that nice Texas style bark I love

2. How is the build quality on a battle box

Thanks everyone and have a great weekend
 
Bark is all about airflow. The closest you’ll get to the same airflow as a stick burner will be an offset style pellet cooker. Idk what your budget is, but I’d look hard at a ys1500. Verticals and drums etc are high moisture environments that will make it tough to get that Texas style bark you’re after. Dont gst me wrong, they’ll give great results, just not the same results I think you’re wanting.
 
I guess I should be asking how close I can get with the vertical as opposed to if I can get the same result.
 
That I do not know. I’ve seen some guys post some pics of some nice looking bark that came off a cabinet but I haven’t seen a full on slice of point with a thick Texas salt and pepper bark that wasn’t from an offset or pellet cooker or some sort of offset arrangement. (Ex: I can do it on my PK360 bc of how the airflow works.)
 
You might ask some fellow Brethren to spend time with them cooking on gravity pits, heck it would be worth it to show up with a brisket and some sausage to see the end results versus getting into a cooker that your not happy with.

Your going to really have to be willing to give something up after cutting your teeth on a Shirley pit turning out Texas style Q that's as good as it comes.

Were running our first Shirley with an insulated firebox now, what a difference it makes that option is a game changer. I initially set it up with probes on all levels with a remote monitor so I could monitor pit temps while I was inside doing prep work and quickly discovered it's not needed.

Long and short of it is, once an hour it needs a log or a few small sticks run's clean all the time and never needs any tending no matter what the wind is doing that day.

I've owned and run plenty of tier one gravity pits and pellet unit's trying to get more free time during the cook and I should have been buying stick burner's with insulated firebox's all along.

~You live and learn.
 
While I don't have the battle box, I do use the down east beast.


Bark formation is great as long as you don't wrap and cook in the foil.


enhance



enhance
 
I have also been eyeballing a Battle Box and the bigger Pint. Before you set your heart on either I would encourage you to also check out LSG Pee Wee and Mini Cabinet cookers. They are slightly higher in price but have some nice standard features that are optional with other cookers.
 
William I’ll definitely expand the search if I make the decision on a vertical. Right now I’m just concerned if the performance will be what I’m looking for
 
I'm certain you would have a hard time discerning the difference in bark or flavor cooked on my vertical cabinet vs. a conventional stick burner. In my opinion the quality of the cabinet and the type of fire you run are equally important.
 
I have a shirley and an insulated cabinet. I'd say you can get 90-95% of the bark.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
I currently have an LSG Mini Cab. and am very pleased with the bark that can be
produced IF I do not use the water pan option.
 
These are all from my LSG cabinet. Hard to know how it compares to what you did on your Shirley without pictures. I do not wrap...
 

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IMHO there is a difference between reverse flow and direct flow when talking vertical cabinets.
Have you smoked anything on your egg?
If you thought it was good, you should like a reverse flow cabinet. As an insulated reverse flow cabinet is basically an egg with more grates. Very low air flow.
As far as build quality, that judgement depends on your opinion of quality.
Is that just the look of the painted surfaces, and how the latches work etc. That's how most judge them.
Or actually how well constructed/welded/built the unit is. There is a huge difference to me.

I modified my reverse flow into a non-insulated direct flow cabinet. Besides using coal/wood, I also burn pure wood for smoking or direct grilling. I also have a wood burning uds and an offset smoker.
 
Last edited:
I cooked on a Pint for years. Great cooker and bark formation is good. Has darn good airflow with the system it uses and support if needed was always outstanding. I would recommend to anyone looking for that style cooker.
 
You can get a great bark on the Humphreys I own 4 of them and I have a reverse draft as well. The Humphreys bark is admazing and you will not be disappointed in your choice. Any questions about the Humphrey cooker you are more than welcome to ask me
 
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