Time to step it up a notch...pit shopping

darthtrader

darthtrader

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Thanks to all the knowledge and skills I've learned from the Brethren, I feel confident enough to expand my collection of smokers. I started out a decade ago with a dinky electric smoker and quickly realized it made chit for Q. Then I moved on to a WSM and started learning from the Brethren and my eyes were opened to art of good BBQ--something not easily found in SoCal. Then came the UDS and my taste buds were taken to another dimension. But now, after the success of my 4th of July Hot-n-Fast for 50 people cook, I believe it's time to take it up a notch. I'm afraid a WSM + stacker + UDS isn't going to cut it next time I throw another BBQ. It's time to add another member to the family. Thus far I've looked at some Klose and Gator backyard pits with horizontal and vertical pit combos--trying to stay < $2500. Any recommendations or suggestions that I might have overlooked?
 
You can't go wrong with a Klose pit. They are top of the line (IMHO). But there are a lot of others out there that are good, too. Look around at everything you can. Check out e-Bay and Craigslist and other online sources. You never know what you might stumble across.

Good luck on your search!
 
do you want another set it and forget it, if so I would say backwoods, stumps, or spicewine. If your looking for an offset I would say look at langs, in my opinion a reverse flow is the only thing that makes sense for offsets
 
I second a stumps or superior smoker. They are gravity feed charcoal setups and are as close to set it and forget it as you can get. I'm building a clone out of a stainless steel commercial fridge I bought off of eBay.
 
I'm also in the market to add to my pit arsenal. The search has been narrowed to Pitmaker and Klose. On Tuesday I'm heading over to talk with the Klose crew to discuss my needs. Both companies make great pits, just need the right one for my upcoming venture.

You won't go wrong with a Klose if that's your decision.
 
There is a West Coast Spicewine distributor now.
 
I'm pretty lucky, I live in Houston and both Klose and Gator are less than 20 minutes from my house. I actually went to Klose yesterday as I am thinking of upgrading/expanding from my WSM and miniWSM. I'm very satisfied with the Smokey Mountain but I would like to have an offset in the aresenal.

You can't beat the quality and diversity of the Klose Backyard Chef. You can get the 20" version in your budget and still have some money left for customization or accessories. Personally, I would rather have a longer horizontal pit and can live without the upright. I'm looking at the 24 x 42. With all the bells and whistles, it's closer to $3k.

I'm headed to Gator next week. If I can help you at all with getting/sharing information from my visits to the pitmakers, send me a pm and I'll tell you what I can. Looks like we are shopping for the same thing so I would be happy to share what I uncover.
 
It really depends on how you want to cook and the fuel that you want to use.
The Spicewine is a great cooker that hold temps rock solid. These are built to last and you can fit a load of meat one each rack. They also allow you free time as you will not need to tend the fire as much as a stick burner.

Stick burner is also a great way to go but you will need to tend the fire far more often as you will not be able to "set it and forget it". In some areas of the country, splits can be costly.

I love playing with both types. I'm a lucky guy to have a wife that buys my toys.

Good luck with your choice.
 
High Q said:
I'm pretty lucky, I live in Houston and both Klose and Gator are less than 20 minutes from my house. I actually went to Klose yesterday as I am thinking of upgrading/expanding from my WSM and miniWSM. I'm very satisfied with the Smokey Mountain but I would like to have an offset in the aresenal.

You can't beat the quality and diversity of the Klose Backyard Chef. You can get the 20" version in your budget and still have some money left for customization or accessories. Personally, I would rather have a longer horizontal pit and can live without the upright. I'm looking at the 24 x 42. With all the bells and whistles, it's closer to $3k.

I'm headed to Gator next week. If I can help you at all with getting/sharing information from my visits to the pitmakers, send me a pm and I'll tell you what I can. Looks like we are shopping for the same thing so I would be happy to share what I uncover.
Click to expand...

I'm really interested in what you find out. If I go the 'stickburner' route, it's a hard choice to make just by a few pictures online. I may have to see what kind of deals Southwest has going on and pay them a visit.

bocephus said:
do you want another set it and forget it, if so I would say backwoods, stumps, or spicewine. If your looking for an offset I would say look at langs, in my opinion a reverse flow is the only thing that makes sense for offsets
Click to expand...

BBQ_MAFIA said:
It really depends on how you want to cook and the fuel that you want to use.
The Spicewine is a great cooker that hold temps rock solid. These are built to last and you can fit a load of meat one each rack. They also allow you free time as you will not need to tend the fire as much as a stick burner.

Stick burner is also a great way to go but you will need to tend the fire far more often as you will not be able to "set it and forget it". In some areas of the country, splits can be costly.

I love playing with both types. I'm a lucky guy to have a wife that buys my toys.

Good luck with your choice.
Click to expand...

Wow! See... what would I do without the Brethren? (Probably buy some chit Wal-mart smoker) I totally overlooked the Spicewine and Stumps. You guys just opened a whole new can of worms for me to investigate.
 
I got a gator earlier this year - I went with a 24"X40" tube - the bigger diameter tube has made temp control fairly easy. Also, the extra diameter gives you a lot of cooking space. I need to get a picture of the inside - the upper rack can be split/removed if you need the height. I haven't done it yet but you could cook for 50 easy. Good luck!

BBQ%20pit.jpg
 
BBQ_MAFIA said:
The Spicewine is a great cooker that hold temps rock solid. These are built to last and you can fit a load of meat one each rack. They also allow you free time as you will not need to tend the fire as much as a stick burner.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more, my Spicewine has been awesome.
 
lots of good choices..I have had logburner, gravity fed, ceramic, and wsm - all are good..the Stumps holds a temp just as good as my ceramic does and cooks more food....that being said, I still would like to have another stick burner again...something about feeding the fire!
 
Once you accumulate a few cookers your next biggest problem is figuring out which one to use. This is a good problem cause I love cooking on them all.
 
If it was in my budget, I'd go with a Spicewine. But then they're nearly local to me and I'm a big fan of "local". :wink:
 
I have the 22.5" WSM. 2 UDS and a stickburner on a trailer. As stated above they all are good cookers. If I were you though I would look at the vertical smokers such as Spicewine, Stumps or Backwoods they all turn out some great Q and are so easy to use and the price point vs an offset is substantial. Good luck on your search.
 
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