carpetlayer719
MemberGot rid of the matchlight.
Wow!
My New Offset from Big Phil's Smokers
- Thread starter Connor_Macleod
- Start date
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
Sheesh, that's too bad about that neighbor issue! And I'm not saying every pull handle built like my original one would break - mine broke from pushing rather than pulling. Phil said he pulled mine all around his parking lot with no issues...but I prefer to have one that's strong enough for both pushing and pulling. So if you want to play it safe, I'd recommend having it reinforced.
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
As promised, here's my more detailed review: It's a great-looking pit with very photogenic welds. Here are a few views:
The photo with the lid open was taken before seasoning, so it looks much nicer now with an oil polymer coating. I seasoned the cooker per Big Phil's recommendations, with 2 rounds of Pam cooking oil spray, cook at 300-350 degrees for a couple of hours, with a cool down in between the rounds.
The pit drafts well, with an insulated 24" length x 20" diameter firebox and a 6" stack. Adjusting/maintaining the temperature was no problem as it responds well to adding fuel; adjusting the firebox door position to control entering air; and adjusting the stack damper. Here's what a fire looks like:
After seasoning, I ran a biscuit test at 250-275 degrees for 30 minutes. Generally very even cooking for an offset; photos tell the tale:
Although my weekend schedule did not leave me enough time for any long cooks, I smoked some burgers and a couple of fatties today with good results. Looking forward to having more time to do a longer cook next weekend.
While it's a great smoker and a huge, huge step up from my old cheap offset, there is room for improvement in some areas:
1) The issue with the broken wagon pull handle discussed in this thread above. Might have been my fault for pushing instead of pulling, but it would have been nice for it to be built for both pushing and pulling from the start. Phil said he would reimburse me for the repair charges I incurred at my local shop; I'll update this thread once I receive the reimbursement.
2) The pit was supposed to come with a 1" ball valve on the grease drain, but the ball valve was not present when the unit arrived. Phil said he would send me the drain valve direct via Amazon. I'm waiting for that to arrive and will update this thread once I receive it.
3) During the cook today and during seasoning yesterday, I set up the pit on a level surface and didn't bother to raise the firebox end to send the grease toward the grease drain. Both days, I had grease/oil leaking out of the cook chamber where the cook chamber meets the firebox (photo below; you can also see the paint discolored on the outside of the firebox where it's not insulated). I'd like to eliminate the leak and will ask Phil about this tomorrow, but if you guys have any ideas in the meantime, please let me know.
4) Minor nitpicks: It's missing 2 lug nuts from the front side wheels (not pictured); the stack tip is cut really roughly, somewhat decreasing the effectiveness of the damper (photo below); and the paint on the front looks a little bit rough in several spots (photo below; this might have been the underlying texture on the pipe, not sure).
So my overall impressions are that it's a great looking smoker that I think will cook very well for me and last a long time. However, for $5,420 plus tax and shipping, for a to-my-door price of $6,479.72, I would have hoped to have none of the problems listed above. Still, I'm happy with it.
Also, as I briefly touched on in another thread, when I ordered the smoker, Phil said to expect a March 2022 completion date. As late as March 7th, Phil was telling me it would be done in March; then on 4/5 he said it would be a few more weeks; then on 5/11 he said he should have it done by that weekend or early the next week (didn't happen; missed being able to cook BBQ for my son's HS grad party, dang); eventually it was delivered on 6/21.
The photo with the lid open was taken before seasoning, so it looks much nicer now with an oil polymer coating. I seasoned the cooker per Big Phil's recommendations, with 2 rounds of Pam cooking oil spray, cook at 300-350 degrees for a couple of hours, with a cool down in between the rounds.
The pit drafts well, with an insulated 24" length x 20" diameter firebox and a 6" stack. Adjusting/maintaining the temperature was no problem as it responds well to adding fuel; adjusting the firebox door position to control entering air; and adjusting the stack damper. Here's what a fire looks like:
After seasoning, I ran a biscuit test at 250-275 degrees for 30 minutes. Generally very even cooking for an offset; photos tell the tale:
Although my weekend schedule did not leave me enough time for any long cooks, I smoked some burgers and a couple of fatties today with good results. Looking forward to having more time to do a longer cook next weekend.
While it's a great smoker and a huge, huge step up from my old cheap offset, there is room for improvement in some areas:
1) The issue with the broken wagon pull handle discussed in this thread above. Might have been my fault for pushing instead of pulling, but it would have been nice for it to be built for both pushing and pulling from the start. Phil said he would reimburse me for the repair charges I incurred at my local shop; I'll update this thread once I receive the reimbursement.
2) The pit was supposed to come with a 1" ball valve on the grease drain, but the ball valve was not present when the unit arrived. Phil said he would send me the drain valve direct via Amazon. I'm waiting for that to arrive and will update this thread once I receive it.
3) During the cook today and during seasoning yesterday, I set up the pit on a level surface and didn't bother to raise the firebox end to send the grease toward the grease drain. Both days, I had grease/oil leaking out of the cook chamber where the cook chamber meets the firebox (photo below; you can also see the paint discolored on the outside of the firebox where it's not insulated). I'd like to eliminate the leak and will ask Phil about this tomorrow, but if you guys have any ideas in the meantime, please let me know.
4) Minor nitpicks: It's missing 2 lug nuts from the front side wheels (not pictured); the stack tip is cut really roughly, somewhat decreasing the effectiveness of the damper (photo below); and the paint on the front looks a little bit rough in several spots (photo below; this might have been the underlying texture on the pipe, not sure).
So my overall impressions are that it's a great looking smoker that I think will cook very well for me and last a long time. However, for $5,420 plus tax and shipping, for a to-my-door price of $6,479.72, I would have hoped to have none of the problems listed above. Still, I'm happy with it.
Also, as I briefly touched on in another thread, when I ordered the smoker, Phil said to expect a March 2022 completion date. As late as March 7th, Phil was telling me it would be done in March; then on 4/5 he said it would be a few more weeks; then on 5/11 he said he should have it done by that weekend or early the next week (didn't happen; missed being able to cook BBQ for my son's HS grad party, dang); eventually it was delivered on 6/21.
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cowboyupbbq
is one Smokin' Farker
If it is leaking grease where the firebox meets the cook chamber, I would question the quality of all of those “photogenic welds”.
For the money you paid, I would not be happy. In fact, it would likely be on a trailer headed to his shop…
For the money you paid, I would not be happy. In fact, it would likely be on a trailer headed to his shop…
gtsum
Babbling Farker
Yikes. I am sorry to hear of the issues. Is that discoloration from heat or did actual grease somehow get from the cook chamber through the seam/weld? If the matter, I wouldn’t be happy at all.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Hinds15
Full Fledged Farker
Nevermind. Didn't read far enough along.
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Fooball
is Blowin Smoke!
I'm wondering why he didn't insulate all sides of the fire box so you wouldn't have that paint discoloration. Or maybe use paint that could handle that high temp.
My fire box is uninsulated and painted black with no signs of color change. Maybe that's just because it's black, but there is no sign of a different shade of black either.
Still loving your cooker, but yea, he needs to pay more attention to details.
My fire box is uninsulated and painted black with no signs of color change. Maybe that's just because it's black, but there is no sign of a different shade of black either.
Still loving your cooker, but yea, he needs to pay more attention to details.
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
Right - that "photogenic" word choice was intentional on my part. The welds look nice, but it appears to me they're not providing a good seal where the firebox meets the cooker.
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
I think there are a couple of different issues going on there. The broad area of discoloration seems to be to be from the heat, and grease is dripping down from the seam where the cook chamber meets the firebox.
Great looking pit - hope the issues you have experienced are easily solvable. What size splits are you running - I am still trying to find the magic size for my pit. Thank you
Ouch, hope it's all easily fixed.im not fond of anything that leaks from anywhere it's not supposed to.
It's awesome you're satisfied with the cooking ability, but my eyes would go straight to the leak every time I walked by.
It's awesome you're satisfied with the cooking ability, but my eyes would go straight to the leak every time I walked by.
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
Thanks! I feel like I don't have the split size fully dialed in yet since my experience running it so far has only been seasoning and biscuit test in hot weather on Saturday, and then fatties and burgers while it was raining Sunday. For seasoning, I was running a mix of full-length splits and half-length, which seemed to work fine. I was running half-length splits for the Sunday mini-cook in the rain, and it took frequent feeding to keep the temperature up in the 250 degree range. I also use a kindling cracker to adjust the split thickness to the condition of the fire/coal bed at any given time.
So far I'm finding that the position of the firebox door has the biggest effect on controlling the temperature. With the door open to the built-in "notch" position that Phil provides on the latch, I find that the draw brings all the heat into the cook chamber, and if I need to drop the cook chamber temperature for some reason, opening the firebox fully allows some of the heat to escape from the firebox.
Thank you - your smoker appears to be running a lot like my Blue Collar Smoker - i never latch the firebox door, but it seems to like to run the best if i close the door just short of that notch - so it may be open about a 1/4-1/2 inch more than if I used the latch.
I was cutting my 18 inch splits in half - to 8 to 9 inches - but that sure does take a lot more baby sitting - I am of the opinion that 12 to 14 inches may be the perfect size for my pit - and like you I use the Kindling Cracker to shrink the diameter of the splits.
It is just so damn hot here right now I haven't had the desire to play around with the fire the last few weeks - and unfortunately that may be the case for the foreseeable future!
WeberWho
is one Smokin' Farker
I'd be ticked if I was spending that kind of coin and you're already have those types of issues. That exhaust is inexcusable. There's no way that is acceptable or okay. That's a bad look for the builder. That's not something you miss. That's something where you look at and hope the new owner doesn't notice. That's no accident.
It looks to be a great pit overall but the fit and finish aren't acceptable. No matter how good the other 95% might be. That would be on a trailer being shipped back to the shop or find someone locally who you can trust and have any errors be corrected on their expense. That's just not acceptable. I hate to be the bad guy but you have every right to be ticked off with the money you have spent. They obviously have the set skills to make quality pits but they need to spend some more time with their fit and finish. Hopefully they make it right for you on your end.
It looks to be a great pit overall but the fit and finish aren't acceptable. No matter how good the other 95% might be. That would be on a trailer being shipped back to the shop or find someone locally who you can trust and have any errors be corrected on their expense. That's just not acceptable. I hate to be the bad guy but you have every right to be ticked off with the money you have spent. They obviously have the set skills to make quality pits but they need to spend some more time with their fit and finish. Hopefully they make it right for you on your end.
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
I'm writing to update everyone that Big Phil has reimbursed me for the repairs to the pull handle. Thanks, Phil!
Back9Q
is one Smokin' Farker
Did he reimburse you for shotty workmanship?
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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pjtexas1
somebody shut me the fark up.
I know some builders have taken smokers back from unsatisfied customers. This builder should do the same. I would demand this be sent back. If for no other reason other than to let the builder know it is not acceptable to ship a cooker like that.
The pull handle excuse is ridiculous. If you pull it into a tight spot you can't push it out?
I do appreciate him trying to make things right. I know that nobody is perfect but for that amount of money expectations are high and they need to be met.
Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
The pull handle excuse is ridiculous. If you pull it into a tight spot you can't push it out?
I do appreciate him trying to make things right. I know that nobody is perfect but for that amount of money expectations are high and they need to be met.
Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
pjtexas1
somebody shut me the fark up.
I think the op deserves a hand. It would be very easy to keep the issues to himself and just let us tell him how awesome his new cooker looks. Instead he posted the good, the bad and the ugly.
Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk
Connor_Macleod
Knows what a fatty is.
Thanks! My goal here has been to provide a completely fair, factual, and detailed assessment of my experience with the smoker and Big Phil's Smokers and Metalworks. Hoping this will be helpful to the BBQ community.
I'll also point out that the large golf cart wheels/tires were a lifesaver for moving the <900-pound smoker over some uneven terrain to get it to my back patio...glad I didn't opt for casters.
