Gator Pit 1845 or Party Gator Owner Feedback

[AJ2024]

Hey Guys, Hope everyone is getting ready for a safe & fun 4th.
I will be the owner of a Gator Pit Texas 1845 model hopefully sometime in August.
The 1845 is based on the Party Gator it seems both use 20x40 cook chamber, 20x20 firebox.
For any owners of a Gator Pit with these types of dimensions I would appreciate it if you could give me some guidance based on your experience running this size of Gator Pit.

Now I got everything typed up let me I realize this is a little long, I am excited and waiting is not so exciting, feel free to answer any of the questions below based on your experience.
Thanks again and well this isn't a test or anything!

I watched Ritch's pit seasoning video so that will be priority 1 when I receive it.

Can you advise how and how much product (wood splits or charcoal) you use to start your coal bed?
I was thing of using half splits for this size firebox, thoughts?
Once you have a coal bed, about how long are you adding splits to your firebox if you are trying to keep it around 250F?
Given the 1/4" steel, what are your impressions on its' heat retention? (I live in DFW - just thinking about different times of year as well).
To start with, I am thinking about using the Gourment wood products 1 cuft box of half splits I can get at Academy.
Any experience using this product in the pit?
Any advice on a good location in DFW to get splits from?
I am looking mostly for Oak and Pecan, maybe some fruit tree wood later
(Cherry wood for smoked salmon sounds tasty to me).

Most of what I am planning on cooking are the following:
Pork Butts (bone in), Spare Ribs, Brisket, I am interested in trying the flat iron steak and beef cheeks I can get from Sams, and whole chickens.
I am looking at getting myself a proper meat grinder (Meat Brand 1.0 hp) so I can use the trim to churn out sausage and grind for burgers / meatloaf, etc.
Figure I will certainly try a prime brisked but my first one will be a choice one from Kroger so I am not ticked at myself if overcook it a bit, the plan is to turn the first brisket into chopped beef sandwiches anyways.
Right now I am set to get a full size grate for the top rack, is this overkill?
My concern with the full size top rack is it might become useless based on what I want to cook.
I was thinking the top rack would be nice so I could do chicken or pit beans while I am cooking other items but not at the expense of being unable to cook a brisket at the same time.

What you wish you new before buying this pit.

Thanks Guys!

Alex

 

[MBBQ]

Hey Guys, Hope everyone is getting ready for a safe & fun 4th.
I will be the owner of a Gator Pit Texas 1845 model hopefully sometime in August.
The 1845 is based on the Party Gator it seems both use 20x40 cook chamber, 20x20 firebox.
For any owners of a Gator Pit with these types of dimensions I would appreciate it if you could give me some guidance based on your experience running this size of Gator Pit.

Now I got everything typed up let me I realize this is a little long, I am excited and waiting is not so exciting, feel free to answer any of the questions below based on your experience.
Thanks again and well this isn't a test or anything!

I watched Ritch's pit seasoning video so that will be priority 1 when I receive it.

Can you advise how and how much product (wood splits or charcoal) you use to start your coal bed?
I was thing of using half splits for this size firebox, thoughts?
Once you have a coal bed, about how long are you adding splits to your firebox if you are trying to keep it around 250F?
Given the 1/4" steel, what are your impressions on its' heat retention? (I live in DFW - just thinking about different times of year as well).
To start with, I am thinking about using the Gourment wood products 1 cuft box of half splits I can get at Academy.
Any experience using this product in the pit?
Any advice on a good location in DFW to get splits from?
I am looking mostly for Oak and Pecan, maybe some fruit tree wood later
(Cherry wood for smoked salmon sounds tasty to me).

Most of what I am planning on cooking are the following:
Pork Butts (bone in), Spare Ribs, Brisket, I am interested in trying the flat iron steak and beef cheeks I can get from Sams, and whole chickens.
I am looking at getting myself a proper meat grinder (Meat Brand 1.0 hp) so I can use the trim to churn out sausage and grind for burgers / meatloaf, etc.
Figure I will certainly try a prime brisked but my first one will be a choice one from Kroger so I am not ticked at myself if overcook it a bit, the plan is to turn the first brisket into chopped beef sandwiches anyways.
Right now I am set to get a full size grate for the top rack, is this overkill?
My concern with the full size top rack is it might become useless based on what I want to cook.
I was thinking the top rack would be nice so I could do chicken or pit beans while I am cooking other items but not at the expense of being unable to cook a brisket at the same time.

What you wish you new before buying this pit.

Thanks Guys!

Alex

I had a Party Gator for a while and it was a great cooker. First and only real offset I’ve ever had. Was just a smidge small for us and during the pandemic it was a nightmare finding good wood for it that was actually what it was supposed to be. Around here we had all kinds of people trying to sell ash they were taking down due to the borer as hickory/oak/maple.

I ended up getting rid of it, tried replacing it with a pellet cooker, and have regretted it ever since. It made the best bbq I’ve ever made when I was able to get good cooking wood for it. I liked it so much I’ve been taking to Ritch about getting a tricked out 2448 SD Hybrid the last couple weeks. Makes a ton of sense to me, but they’re not cheap.

As someone who’d never had an offset but had cooked on a ton of other cookers over the years, I didn’t find it hard to learn whatsoever. Watch a few videos, tinker a bit, and pretty soon the only thing you need to do is remember to check on it every so often. I seem to remember using a full chimney of lump and 4 half splits to get it good and heat soaked and form a good coal bed. Then I’d throw in two more half splits when the temp started cresting, get the food on once those caught, then use a half split every 35-45 mins thereafter.

I tried not to be super OCD about some relatively minor temp swings and the cooker being heavy steel really did make it easy to cruise along in perfect bbq weather range. Mine just wanted to run about 240-250 at main grate level depending on ambient temps using this method. I could easily make a smaller or bigger fire to adjust from there.

Obviously smoke wood is a local issue but sounds like you have some of that figured out. It’s become easier to order it online since I had my PG, but it’s expensive.

I wouldn’t get the full top rack. It’s really cramped and only takes really flat items you want to cook at a higher temp. Also makes it less likely to burn your forearms on the top rack when messing with meat on bottom rack. A half top rack makes more sense imo and can rig you up. Ritch can rig up sausage hanger rods up too for a $50 bill if you ever want to get into that kinda thing. You also don’t want to cook chicken over the top of brisket but you could put it up top closer to the firebox and take out the tuning plates (if you have them) the heat will blast the chicken and beans and then settle back over the brisket. But again in a 20” diameter offset it’s going to be tough to even get a chicken in the top unless it’s spatchcocked or in pieces. I went back and looked through all the old pictures of cooks I did on mine and I can’t even find one where I had the top rack in.

 

[AJ2024]

I had a Party Gator for a while and it was a great cooker. First and only real offset I’ve ever had. Was just a smidge small for us and during the pandemic it was a nightmare finding good wood for it that was actually what it was supposed to be. Around here we had all kinds of people trying to sell ash they were taking down due to the borer as hickory/oak/maple.

I ended up getting rid of it, tried replacing it with a pellet cooker, and have regretted it ever since. It made the best bbq I’ve ever made when I was able to get good cooking wood for it. I liked it so much I’ve been taking to Ritch about getting a tricked out 2448 SD Hybrid the last couple weeks. Makes a ton of sense to me, but they’re not cheap.

As someone who’d never had an offset but had cooked on a ton of other cookers over the years, I didn’t find it hard to learn whatsoever. Watch a few videos, tinker a bit, and pretty soon the only thing you need to do is remember to check on it every so often. I seem to remember using a full chimney of lump and 4 half splits to get it good and heat soaked and form a good coal bed. Then I’d throw in two more half splits when the temp started cresting, get the food on once those caught, then use a half split every 35-45 mins thereafter.

I tried not to be super OCD about some relatively minor temp swings and the cooker being heavy steel really did make it easy to cruise along in perfect bbq weather range. Mine just wanted to run about 240-250 at main grate level depending on ambient temps using this method. I could easily make a smaller or bigger fire to adjust from there.

Obviously smoke wood is a local issue but sounds like you have some of that figured out. It’s become easier to order it online since I had my PG, but it’s expensive.

I wouldn’t get the full top rack. It’s really cramped and only takes really flat items you want to cook at a higher temp. Also makes it less likely to burn your forearms on the top rack when messing with meat on bottom rack. A half top rack makes more sense imo and can rig you up. Ritch can rig up sausage hanger rods up too for a $50 bill if you ever want to get into that kinda thing. You also don’t want to cook chicken over the top of brisket but you could put it up top closer to the firebox and take out the tuning plates (if you have them) the heat will blast the chicken and beans and then settle back over the brisket. But again in a 20” diameter offset it’s going to be tough to even get a chicken in the top unless it’s spatchcocked or in pieces. I went back and looked through all the old pictures of cooks I did on mine and I can’t even find one where I had the top rack in.

Thanks for all the information and insight it really helps. I am looking forward to getting my hands on the smoker in the not too distant future, the hurricane that went through Houston earlier this summer put everything behind. I will post some pictures once I have it and get my first cooks done.
Hope you get another pit and can get back into using an offset. I have been helping out my buddies around here with offsets and got a pit barrel cooker from Academy on clearance for short money so I am trying to keep myself occupied in the interim. Thanks Again! Alex

 

[1MoreFord]

Welcome to the site.
You're buying a stick burner. If you try running it on wood bought by the CuFt from a big box store you're looking at an expensive proposition.
Buy wood by the cord, or fraction of a cord, like face cords(aka ricks). A full cord is 8' x 4' x 4' or 128 CuFt. A rick or face cord is 8' x 4' x 1 stick length of any length. Make sure the wood you buy is seasoned or you will have to wait for it to season.
Look for wood on Craigs List, Fakebook Market Place, etc. Also tree trimmers, lawn care companies and the like.

 

[AJ2024]

Welcome to the site.
You're buying a stick burner. If you try running it on wood bought by the CuFt from a big box store you're looking at an expensive proposition.
Buy wood by the cord, or fraction of a cord, like face cords(aka ricks). A full cord is 8' x 4' x 4' or 128 CuFt. A rick or face cord is 8' x 4' x 1 stick length of any length. Make sure the wood you buy is seasoned or you will have to wait for it to season.
Look for wood on Craigs List, Fakebook Market Place, etc. Also tree trimmers, lawn care companies and the like.

Thanks buddy! Totally, agree with everything you wrote it seems to line up with what I have been finding after researching some more since I posted the initial thread. For my first few cooks I am going to use the wood from the big box stores to eliminate variables. Once I get more comfortable, I am definitely looking to move to purchasing wood by the cord. I have some options here in DFW to get wood. FB marketplace and Craig's List seem like the best options around here for seasoned wood. If anyone here in DFW or the surround has a reliable source for seasoned wood that they have used I am all ears for sure! Otherwise I will likely try out a few vendors and try to pick out the one I like the best based on variables (how goods the wood, cost, drive/delivery). From what I can tell based on my options here in DFW, I need to also buy a wood splitter from Amazon, I can't remember the name, so I can cut down the splits I am buying from the wood sellers on FB and Craigs list. My offset is a 20"x20" firebox with a 20"x40" chamber. If I am being lazy the store bought wood already comes in the sizes I need but geez I pay for it! Thanks again for the pointers and I am looking forward to getting my pit.

 

[mike243]

Good luck and just remember the store bought wood has to be heat treated, as such the flavor will be lighter than local sourced wood, not a bad thing but just something to remember, Make sure you post some pictures when your up and running, pretty sure they are easy to share these days,

 

[AJ2024]

Good luck and just remember the store bought wood has to be heat treated, as such the flavor will be lighter than local sourced wood, not a bad thing but just something to remember, Make sure you post some pictures when your up and running, pretty sure they are easy to share these days,

Cool, thank Mike. Any experience using B&B small splits? Right now, I have the gourmet wood products post oak. Gator updated their lead times on their website to 12-16 weeks just recently, it makes sense based on what I have seen. I am just hoping I get my pit this month (October) but I suppose it might go into November. Just getting a bit antsy to get started, glad we have nice winters down here, generally speaking, so I can get some cooks going. I will definitely post some pics when I get the pit and then the cooks. I had some additional modifications done to the 1845 and had them change the stack to a smoke collector style. Cooking up some spares on the PBC this weekend.

 

[mike243]

B&B is a large company and they wont sell trashy products. buy with confidence.

 

[AJ2024]

Hey Y'all,

I have been enjoying cooking on my new Gator Pit Texas 1845, I had the smoke collector stack added. The pit is running really well, easy to control, just a pleasure to cook on. It holds temperatures steady, I am pretty impressed with its' wood consumption. The firebox is not insulated and this is a 20" pit (firebox & chamber) in 1/4" steel. Once I have my coal bed built and a few new logs tossed on I am only adding wood every 60 - 75 minutes, sometimes 90 mins if one of the logs is really dense. This ain't McDonalds but I am loving it. So far Ribs, Pulled Pork, and Brisket have all come out really nice. I am toying with the idea of starting a seperate thread on here showing my different cooks on my pit. Figure it might help someone if they are considering a Gator. Until I work on part of my gate and fence line, my pit is living in the garage, and I am smoking on my driveway. One interesting side effect of smoking on my driveway is, I have met more of my neighbors; which is a good thing. Ritch and his team were a real pleasure to work with on my pit. Hats off to them, they did a great job in difficult conditions; they were recovering from a Cat 1 Hurricane when they were working on my pit.