Franklin’s BBQ Pits

He definitely knows how ta market himself.... capitalism, baby! Love it!
Ain't buying though.

D

I love Franklin and everything he has done but that pit isnt worth nowhere near that price. I watched a few walkrhrough vids and you're really not getting much for that $.

To paraphrase Lisa Douglas, "They are going to sell like hotscakes."

Inthewoods said:

He definitely knows how ta market himself.... capitalism, baby! Love it!
Ain't buying though.

D

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I looked into one with a skeptical eye. The only kind I have. Watched videos. And they don't seem worth it. Don't buy names elsewhere so why start now?

Its a nice looking pit, but that coin can get you a lot of pit elsewhere. I would likely search elsewhere if in that position. The reviews of the pit have made it looked of decent quality - no frills and such. Not many out there though.

Thanks for sharing pricing with us. Are you interested at all?

So what option did you go with :-D

Interesting, did you go for one of them? I know a lot of people think that’s pricey but it seems in line with a lot of the other “premium” offsets I was looking at. Outlaw, Mill Scale, LSG 24”, Workhorse, etc… Honestly, I never took a serious look at the Franklin Pits because you couldn’t tell on the website what the price or lead time was.

16Adams I like the way you think.

I don't get the sticker shock for the Franklin pit. He was priced at $3,000 and went up to $3,500 this past spring, which I'm almost sure is due to steel prices.



Last I looked Moberg was a $4,000


Mill Scale, who have Franklin's design, cept its 24 X 48 is $4,200


Workhorse 1975 is at $2,800 but I don't see how JD has held the price down with rising steel prices. And he's tweeted a couple of weeks ago, something to the effect that he's just hanging on hoping steel prices come down.


Jambo backyard is $2,800, with a large qualifier that "all prices are subject to change ".


A barrel type pit from LSG runs from $3,000 to $4,000, depending upon length and options.


Franklin's pit is 20 X 47 , the grate is 19 X 39. But the first 12 inches of any offset is not usable due to direct heat. Franklin put a deflector shelf there. A 20" width just improves air flow, another 4" in width does not really add a lot.


If capacity is important, then Franklin's pit is not what ya want. Me, I'm not gonna be feeding the little league football team, nor doing pop-ups .


Are you paying a premium for his name, well , yeah, of course. He's spent a few years developing this smoker, its not like he doesn't know what he's doing.


Bottom line, a quality back yard offset is gonna cost some money.

16Adams said:

Actually, I think it’s quite reasonable and would be a lot of fun. But a “lifetime” cooker means something different to me at 63 than it would’ve at 43. I hope he sells a bunch of them. This site has an active Pit Barrel Appreciation Thread, an active and even specific brand Pellet Cooker thread, is there an Offset Appreciation Thread? I didn’t know what I was doing with my first Offset, Original New Braunfels Black Diamond. My newest Oklahoma Joe Highland I’m a much better cook.

As I said above, if I wore a younger man’s clothes I might would’ve dipped into my meager savings and ordered one. Same thing with the Chud Box.
Timing. As the saying goes, life comes at you fast.

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Amen.I own a Legacy Shirley and have not had the opportunity to use it in quite a while.Now,I am not sure I want to use it.I am out of the “mood”.I enjoy not being around people.

Not sure but i thought his firebox was insulated which if it is the case, adds to the labor..Maybe someone can find that out..

It's a double walled firebox with both walls 1/4 inch, not fully insulated but semi insulated. The wall with the door is 3/8th. I bought the pit and I'm loving it so far. It's got all the room I need and I don't feel silly firing it up for one brisket and some sausage.

I wonder what the return policy is when people realize they can't just throw a brisket on, push play, and have delicious BBQ ready when its dinner time.

1Gradymaci said:

Not sure but i thought his firebox was insulated which if it is the case, adds to the labor..Maybe someone can find that out..

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I think all of these higher end offsets have an insulated firebox.


But Franklin has a dome type end cap at the stack. That has to add a lot to the cost. I prefer that far more than a flat end cap, air flow likes curves, just look at the Kettle.


Sonny Moberg says there's just as much labor in a backyard cooker as a 1,000 gallon tank smoker.

The Millscale, Workhorse, and LSG offset fireboxes aren't insulated. LSG used to offer it. I don't see it on their website anymore but it was about a 600 dollar option. Jambos and Mobergs are fully insulated fireboxes.

I think you have to consider the double walled firebox and the rounded endcap on the Franklin when thinking about the price. If cooking space is a premium then I'd look at the Millscale as it's a similar design minus the rounded endcap on the stack side and the inner firebox wall. There are pros and cons of each design. I obviously haven't cooked on all of them to say any one is better than another but the Franklin pit design makes sense to me.

My last (and only other)offset was a 20 inch Old Country similar to the Wrangler. It tended to burn the bottom of my meats and it was way harder to run the fire. It didn't have anywhere near the airflow.

Why I would buy one is.. The resale down the road if I wanted to go back to reverse flow because of the name Franklin on the door(folks like marketing) and the insulted firebox. He will get backed up on orders and then they become “One of a Kind” Smokers..
Why I’m not buying one is a Workhorse 1975 is being Built..

Lynn Dollar said:

I think all of these higher end offsets have an insulated firebox.

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Insulated fireboxes are not necessarily better, and certainly not "higher-end". They're simply an option that makes sense in certain situations, like living in colder climates. You don't necessary want max efficiency on an offset. Think the Big Green Egg - its efficiency is the very reason it's a lousy smoker. You want your fire to burn hot & clean. Personally, since I'm living in a temperate climate without extremes, I'm going non-insulated for cleaner burn and its resulting better tasting end-product.