Workhorse Pits

Agree. Go with the 1975. Better to space things out. I do use the top shelf for chicken breasts or anytime I want it a bit hotter. It’s about 25 degrees hotter up too…sometimes up to 50 hotter if I’m rolling an aggressive fire


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Matto6 said:

How'd ya get it up there onto the deck?

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I had some tree trimming being done and they had 5 guys on the crew. I gave them $20 each to carry it up the three stair treads and also to carry up my AZ BBQ grill.

gtsum said:

Yes it’s angled down but not that much of an angle. I’ll take pics of my 1975 later today


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@gtsum any pics, or angle pitch/measurements? Inquiring minds and all! :thumb:

Nash said:

@gtsum any pics, or angle pitch/measurements? Inquiring minds and all! :thumb:

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Sorry. I forgot about it. Here are some pics. I can take measurements tomorrow






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gtsum said:

Sorry. I forgot about it. Here are some pics. I can take measurements tomorrow

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Hey thank you so much for the pics, it's more or less what I had fabricated out of a baking sheet, I'll adjust the lip to about 30° as seen in the pics; though I built the Franklin deflector recently and it's been giving me amazing results

Thanks @gtsum! Looks like a 10 or 15 degree downturn? I'm like you @sandro, decisions decisions (also tried an aluminum Franklin-style temporary setup that worked well)

sandro said:

Hey thank you so much for the pics, it's more or less what I had fabricated out of a baking sheet, I'll adjust the lip to about 30° as seen in the pics; though I built the Franklin deflector recently and it's been giving me amazing results

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Nash said:

Thanks @gtsum! Looks like a 10 or 15 degree downturn? I'm like you @sandro, decisions decisions (also tried an aluminum Franklin-style temporary setup that worked well)

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Honestly I don't think I'm going back to other prototypes after seeing how well this tiny backyard offset performs with the Franklin-style baffle... Though the Workhorse seem to be a little bit more efficient with fuel consumption (half the throat, less draw)

sandro said:

Honestly I don't think I'm going back to other prototypes after seeing how well this tiny backyard offset performs with the Franklin-style baffle... Though the Workhorse seem to be a little bit more efficient with fuel consumption (half the throat, less draw)

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I don't think the WH and Franklin have that much of difference in throat size. Those pictures of the WH throat is from a 24" pipe vs. the Franklin 20" pipe. I bet if you measured sq. inches of the throat, the WH wouldn't be that much smaller, although they have a different shape.

I recently got my shipping notice on my 1969, I’ll try to remember to measure the throat dimensions when I clean out and season it when it arrives. I think the 1969 is closest in dimensions to Franklin (20”dx42”l).

Received my 1957 last Friday. Seasoned it on Saturday and cooked on Sunday.

So far very impressed by how efficient it is and the quality of the pit.

Some More pics with measurements




P


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SkaterSmoker said:

I don't think the WH and Franklin have that much of difference in throat size. Those pictures of the WH throat is from a 24" pipe vs. the Franklin 20" pipe. I bet if you measured sq. inches of the throat, the WH wouldn't be that much smaller, although they have a different shape.

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Two 24" pipes overlapping at grate level give about 177 square inches of throat, which is then halved to 88.5; two 20" pipes give 123 square inches; shape aside, WH's throat is 28% smaller. For comparison, my tiny 16x36 has a 78 square inches throat, and WH's-style baffle halved it to 39, which is still larger than the suggested minimum 33 for my 16x21" firebox. When using that design I noticed a higher fuel efficiency but somewhat less draw. Potato potato perhaps

edit: @gtsum thanks a ton man! I'm planning on building a sturdier WH-style baffle for the smoker to run some more tests, those measurements will be really helpful in scaling things down

edit 2: seems like there's a tiny gap between the lip / baffle and the half-moon, 1/4" at most, where a small amount of heat can escape and rise while the rest gets pushed further down because of the Venturi effect caused by the 30° slope. Interesting

Any regrets?

CrashDavis said:

My 1957 Workhorse (smallest version) was delivered just about a month ago - right before all hell broke loose. I've only had time to season it and then smoke a rack of spare ribs. This is my first stickburner - so take this with a thousand grains of salt - but I've been incredibly happy with it for the first few trial runs. I ordered it in August - with delivery date originally scheduled for mid-January. I talked to their team a couple of times and it just seemed like they got a ton of early orders and delivery got pushed back. They always emailed back almost immediately when I asked for updates, etc. Happy to provide any specifics if you have questions.

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Hey @CrashDavis - how is it going with that 1957? I'm curious if you are happy with the size of the 57? Do you wish you had gone up in size to the 1969 or are you totally happy with it? Did you go back and forth with that decision before buying?

I'm torn between the 1957 and the 1969 because I want to save money and buy cheapest, but I also don't want to desire a bigger one once I get used it!

Also, how do you like having the top rack? Have you found it useful or think it will be useful? Is it a worthy upgrade?

THANKS!!

In looking at the various photos - is there a “grease bridge” between the chamber and firebox (to keep grease from going back into the firebox) - maybe I am just missing it

TheHojo said:

In looking at the various photos - is there a “grease bridge” between the chamber and firebox (to keep grease from going back into the firebox) - maybe I am just missing it

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No. Need to elevate that side of the cooker so grease drains to the left towards the ball valve. I have mine up on 1/2” piece of wood





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Spangladesh said:

Hey @CrashDavis - how is it going with that 1957? I'm curious if you are happy with the size of the 57? Do you wish you had gone up in size to the 1969 or are you totally happy with it? Did you go back and forth with that decision before buying?

I'm torn between the 1957 and the 1969 because I want to save money and buy cheapest, but I also don't want to desire a bigger one once I get used it!

Also, how do you like having the top rack? Have you found it useful or think it will be useful? Is it a worthy upgrade?

THANKS!!

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I’ll chime in since I have a 1969. I think the extra 6” is worth it personally, not because I smoke multiple briskets but once I have the smoker going it’s easy to throw other dishes on the cook surface.

As for the top rack, it’s literally been stashed away in the garage since day one. I don’t find it useful because it’s really high in the chamber, so there’s not a lot of vertical space and when it is in place, it blocks access to the main rack (since that doesn’t slide out) and also hampers that rack’s vertical space. Really, I think a 20” diameter is too small for more than one rack.

One option that is very useful is the cowboy firebox. I love it, makes starting fires easy as well as makes a great wood fire grill.

Thanks rque for your kind reply!

I really appreciate you sharing your thoughts rque! The difference in price for the 57 and 69 are really close when you look at the overall price. Plus I'd hate to order the 57 and hope/wish that I had gone larger.

In regards to the cowboy grill, I hadn't considered that it could be used for just grilling over fire or even coals when I don't feel like doing a full smoke sesh! That makes it a perfect "duel purpose" smoker/grill in that respect. Plus, I prefer the taste of wood grilling vs coal any day!

Now I just need to get my wife onboard for the order and I'll put it in! Fingers crossed she'll agree!

My 1969 arrived just before Xmas which was a surprise as they hadn’t told me it was shipping and the delivery guy texted me saying he would need help with getting it off his trailer. Would not have been a problem but I was in New York. My wife was home but she would be no help so the guy had to find someone locally to help. They delivered to my garage and my wife said it all looked fine. I got home a few days later and it was indeed fine but I was missing the cover and there was no paperwork or anything with the smoker.

Also I was now having to work out how to get it up the steps into my yard (it weighs 800lbs) but as we have now decided to have some work done in the yard which starts at the end of the month I’m going to hang fire for a bit and deal with it later.

I emailed workhorse customer support as it would have been nice to have known when the smoker was being delivered and also some sort of paperwork and to find out where my cover was? I got a response very quickly and the lady was very apologetic about it all. She said they had some issues with the California shipping but that I should have been informed also there’s a delay in materials on the covers and it will be sent out when they get them.

I have no issues at all with the pit as it sits and the company seems to be going great guns but they need to do someone about communication.

I ordered 1969 with top rack (which I can now see is probably not needed) and cowboy grill (which I am glad I ordered) in April and was delivered end of December for reference.

One thing is you no longer need to do weights. The doors weigh a crap load and with no counter weight it needs a good (loud dad noises) humfh to open.

gtsum said:

No. Need to elevate that side of the cooker so grease drains to the left towards the ball valve. I have mine up on 1/2” piece of wood

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Stickburner on a wooden deck? Bold move cotton. :becky:

Ordered my 1975 one week ago on March 6th. I was told late August when I inquired about lead times . I ordered the top shelf as better to have it and not need it than the other way around. Thinking it would be good for chicken cooks to help with the skin. Also order the side shelf as well. Gonna be a long 5+ months wait for sure!