Few questions for a new forum member and my next purchase

C

Colonelrklink

MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
Joined
Nov 27, 2020
Messages
4
Reaction score
7
Points
0
Location
Winchend...
Sorry new to forums. Posted this in new member introduction screen, It was recommended to post questions here. Thank you for your time and guidance.

Have 3 smokers. BGE Large 4 years, Hunsaker drum smoker 2 years and RECTEC 700 for 1 year. Basically not much little fire management experience.

I am now retired and went from smoking for 2 a few times a week to smoking for 7 (3-4 times a week and 1 time a week for 11 or 12). Moved into inlaw suite with family.

My goal with my next purchase approved by boss (wife) is to find a smoker to get as close to real wood smoked flavors and extra capacity. So I am looking at 2 options.
1. Lonestar offset 20x42
2. Lonestar Insulated vertical smoker Large

My help needed are in the following areas at this time to help make a decision to order this week.

1. Is going offset and fire managing something I should really fear or be concerned about? I have never had to and thus do not know if many others gave up after trying. I want to think I will do it for briskets, shoulders etc but can not say without actually being put to the task.

1a. Is it true Offsets are hard to manage in the cold weather?

2. The other concern is I have tried to find a wood supplier here for seasoned hardwood in Mass/NH and have not had luck. All want to sell me Kiln dried wood and I have read that it is not the best choice if I go offset smoker due to burning hotter and quicker. Anyone one in the New England area have a firewood supplier for seasoned hardwood? If I can not locate a supplier than the offset is a mute point moving forward.

3. Lastly if I go with a IVS for those who have one or both (that and a offset). Is there a big difference in smoke quality and flavor? Wife thinks this may be a better route to go due to less time working the fire. Guess she does not think I will do it. But I just do not want to spend money on a another smoker if I am not achieving my goal of better smoked BBq.

I thank you all for allowing me into this family and your time and guidance. I look forward to being a part of the forum, learning growing and hopefully adding wisdom to others when I can.

Respectfully,
Richard aka Colonel Klink
 
I am coming off an offset stick burner, with an IVC from LSG on order. Since I don't have it yet, I can't speak to the difference in taste output.

However, just based on the use case you are describing, that sounds like an awful lot of time tending the fire if you go offset stick burner. Maybe you have not much else you want to do in retirement, but throwing another split on every 30-45 minutes, four days a week, every week, sounds a lot more like a semi-full time pit master job rather than retirement.
 
Welcome to the forum and great questions. As far as question 1 is concerned. I used to have an old New Braunfels offset. It was my first foray into stick burning. And it was miserable. That old cooker leaked smoke and didn't draft worth a darn. It was also very difficult to get the temp to stabilize. It was so bad that I began to think people were insane for using stick burners. Then I found this forum. FFWD....I wasn't ready to give up based on what I was reading so I dropped the $$$ on a quality cooker. That literally made all the difference in the world. Still a degree of work involved but no fighting temps, no leaks, drafts like a well oiled machine. I was close to throwing in the towel until I realized I was using inferior equipment. It's easy now, almost like I'm cheating. Oh and I might use a little more wood in the winter but it's not a significant amount. Once a heavy duty cooker is heated up it rolls right along in cold weather. Good luck with your decision.
 
Welcome aboard! Imo, the very best results come from burning sticks on an offset, but it’s a lot more work for sure. Cold Isnt that big of a deal - just means you will burn more wood. That being said, no doubt you can get extremely good results from an IVC (that’s one kind of cooker I haven’t had...I had a gravity feed in the past which would be somewhat similar).

If you cannot get a good and steady wood supply, thats a big issue with an offset. Offsets are made to burn logs, not charcoal. Kiln dried wood wouldn’t be good as you need moisture in the wood for good results. Have you contacted local tree companies? Many times you can get wood from them, especially in the winter time when trimming trees and removing them slows down a bit. Also check Facebook marketplace. If, after all that, you cannot obtain a good wood supply, I think that settles the dilemma - get the ivs and enjoy it:).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Is your intention to keep the other cookers and acquire an additional cooker or would this be replacing the others?

If you are keeping the other cookers, I would say go the stick burner route. I've never had an IVS, but I would imagine the results would be similar enough to your drum and the big improvement there would be the added capacity. But, if thinning the herd is the goal then I would say go the IVS route.

I picked up a large offset smoker with no prior stick burning experience and have had a blast with it from the beginning. Assuming you can find a steady supply of wood, I would go with that to have a true change of pace cooker for when you feel like playing with fire or dedicating a day to cooking. All 3 cookers that you currently have are fairly set and forget and do their thing without much fuss or messing with. After going the stick burner route, I still enjoy using my drum, but it is more of a business like relationship vs a friendship with my offset.

LSG is a great company and makes great cookers. I think you will be incredibly happy with both. Excited to hear which route you decide to go.
 
Welcome to the forum! I don’t really have anything to add but I am curious about what you call your wife (boss)... Hilda? Helga? General Burkhalter? :p
 
I love my stickburner. Especially in the cold weather. It's much easier to build a bigger fire in the cold than it is to slow down the fire (and maintain a steady temp) on a 95 degree day.

My stick burner is my therapist.
Unfortunately, I only cook for two these days and the weber kettle usually gets the call. Flavor suffers but the fuel consumption makes the choice an easy one.
 
I don't have an offset to compare to, but if you're constrained by wood supply you might want to lean toward the LSG IVS. You can keep burning charcoal + chunks without having to worry about a steady supply of smoke wood logs/splits. You also have the insulation factor that'll help you fight off issues with cooking in the cold. You might want to give Humphrey's smokers a look, they're in your neck of the woods. They primarily make IVS style smokers. I've been in love with mine since I purchased it! The coldest it gets around here is in the teens so it's hard to compare to colder areas, but it doesn't skip a beat. Regardless of the weather its a steady unit.

The one downside I can say about IVS smoking is the smoke profile & learning curve. If you want heavier smoke you have to consider where you're building your fire & how much wood you put down. Also physical location. They burn efficiently such that you can create a fire on one side of the fire basket where it'll slowly creep across for a 10+ hour burn to the otherside. The downside is the wood you want to burn for smoke needs to be physically located in a place where you want the most smoke on your meat. Finding that right amount of charcoal + chunk ratio has been a bit of a challenge in my experience. Mostly I've ended up with lighter smoked meats than I wanted, but its typically due to fear of oversmoking it & going light on the chunks. Problem is more likely in user than in smoker style.
 
If I were you, given your location, I would make the drive up to Humphreys Smokers and check them out before buying the Lonestar Grillz smokers. Not knocking the Lonestar at all, but you have a top smoker manufacturer in your back yard so to speak, and Humphreys makes fine smokers as well. They have both insulated vertical cookers and also very heavily made gravity feed cookers. Both would do well in your extended winter conditions, something that the folks down in Texas don’t have to deal with when using their offsets.

It looks like a 2.5 hour drive to Humphreys. It’s a 2 day drive to Houston. I put tremendous value in have a manufacturer fairly local if possible.

Also, and don’t take this the wrong way, but I think you would be more than fine with a smaller cabinet smoker than the Lonestar large IVS.. If you go Lonestar, I’d get the Mini. Look at a Humphreys pint or Down east beast. I know the Tim the Tool man guys will come out and say bigger is always better, but someone that buys tools regularly knows that there is a right size tool for the job. If cooking for 11 is something you do regularly (or even 50), the Mini will be more than capable, as well as the Pint and Deb or small to mid size gravity fed unit. The large LSG is 900 pounds. That’s a ton of weight, and not only for moving, but for heating up in the dead of winter (or spring and fall for that matter). Heating up 900 pounds of cold steel, in the winter would drive me a little nuts. Just my 2 cents, and some things to ponder.
 
Last edited:
I appreciate all the guidance . Going to have son check Facebook for wood. I don’t have Facebook I read stuff on there and sometimes find myself wanting to well let’s just say scream. Thank you all. I was thinking humphries at one time but read somewhere reverse flow Ivs smokers are not as well received or used. It was on a you tube video not here in forums. I think after reading the words of wisdom I need to make a drive and do some more research before I jump in the pool. I really did not think of the hourly commitment to doing all the meals for the family.

Question for those of have offsets. Is there a cook time length you choose to not heat up and cook with offset? Let’s say doing a batch of wings for football day. They cook quick, do you still do those on a stick burner?

One last question, my wife ok my new purchase as a retirement gift. She hinted on the kids got me the 4 box set from meater the wireless thermometer cloud base...... anyone know if they would work from inside an ivs with the thick walls and insulation?

And I call my wife whatever she wants me to call her. On 40th anniversary I got a shirt saying it’s cheaper to keep her......

Respectfully,
Colonel Klink
 
You might want to look at Ironside smokers. They are insulated cabinets that you can burn wood splits in. I’m not sure how that works, but it might be what you’re looking for.

Also, I’m sorry if my joke earlier was in bad taste.

Sincerely,

A big fan of Hogans Hero’s
 
Welcome to the Brethren!! As you can see there are some great people here who are willing to give sage advice.
If getting a constant source of good wood is your problem you might want to consider a IVC that uses Charcoal and wood combo. Meadow Creek in Pa. has some really good ones, the BX series. Even though it is a "water smoker" you can fore go the water and burn just Charcoal and Wood.
As a Florida Boy, I know many stick burners down here who also have a difficult time getting good seasoned wood so they usually go with our local scrub oak that is easy to get.
Good luck on your choice and glad to have you aboard.
 
Another vote for trying out the stick burner -- if you are keeping the rest of the cookers. Those already give you the capability for pretty easy cooks when you don't feel like firing up the offset.

I've never understood #2 based on where you live. Not saying the concern isn't valid -- it absolutely is in this part of the country. Considering we both live in the middle of some of the largest hardwood forests in the country with tons of people using wood for heat it seems like it shouldn't be that hard to have someone sell you a load of a specific type of wood.

Facebook is a good place to start. I'd also check with any restaurants in the area that have a wood burning oven and get the name of whomever they are buying from.

Good luck with the search and looking forward to the pics from whatever you ultimately end up with!
 
Welcome to the forum. I cannot help you with your stick burner question. As for the wood question, I suggest that you look around this website I have posted below for the Northeast BBQ society. This is a barbecue centric organization of a bunch of competition cooks and like minded individuals. They would have the information you seek for a wood supplier and you might be able to find a used stick burner there as well.



As mentioned above, I would check out Humphreys and since no one has mentioned it for a stick burner yet, Shirley Fabrication. They are forum members here and good people. Their 24x36 model should be right down your alley for a stick burner. I can't seem to find a link to that particular model, but a lot of satisfied Brethren have their smokes and I'm sure they can post a link. But here is a YouTube video of the unit.



I believe the price is $1975 plus delivery from Tuscaloosa.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ashvWZGuM1Q


https://www.nebs.org/


Again, welcome to the forum.


Robert
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Main smoker chamber grates. Slide out or not Yes or no ?
Replies
11
Views
322
Big George's BBQ
Big George's BBQ
T
Buying a new smoker/grill. Which one?
Replies
1
Views
702
bschoen
B
S
Water Smokers?
Replies
4
Views
442
SmoothBoarBBQ
SmoothBoarBBQ
M
Check out my new custom built offset!
Replies
14
Views
824
oldgfbbq
O
B
First brisket on my Brazos offset was not a success.
2
Replies
23
Views
1K
Bald-Headed John
B
Back
Top