KCBS - looking at allowing gas/ LP

[Uncle T]

I have used both liked the gas as far as setting the temp and then you add a couple logs every 6 to 8 hours, it needs electric to run the rotisserie unit, ignite,r and fan. The Wood one is a off set fire box with reverse flow with a rib box, where you have to start your fire, baby it to take hold and then use the vents to control the temp.

I would hope if they allow gas smokers they are factory made, and inspected at the comp before they can be used. I do not see anyone willing to shell out $30,000.00 dollars for a gas smoker that also needs electricity to be used at a comp. I do not see a gas smoker paying for its self in comps. I do not think they will hold up the best being bounced around going down the road on trailers. To many costly parts there to damage,these things are not small by any means.

The wood smokers that are being used by most can be man handled and hauled in vans, and inclosed trailers back of pickup trucks, etc. They don't have that many parts that can get damaged and not be fixed pretty easy by the contestant. Even bigger wood smokers that are on trailers are built to take the bouncing around from the roads. Not many of them ues a rotisserie unit and if they do these seem to be built tougher.

So my point or opinion is as long as there are safety rules in place and are heald up at every comp. then let people use what they want. Also I think every smoker needs to be inspected just like they do the meat. This way the people using Gas, Electric. and wood can't say why am I the only one being picked on. I think that a comp. should be fun, yes taken seriously at the proper time, but if you are not doing this because you love smokeing meat and having fun as well, then why do it. So my answer is let them in, but make sure everyone is treated fairly and evenly.

 

[ThomEmery]

If the burner were safety certified I would think this idea has a future

 

[ThomEmery]

Your posted reminded me of that horrible accident that happened to River City Smokehouse a few years ago with the gas assist on his Bates pit... I think the flame went out on the log lighter and gas got trapped and after airing out and re-lighting it exploded and the pit doors blew off and put him in the hospital with shattered knee.

Scary stuff...

I have a sister pit to his
the burner was just a pipe with holes cut in it
We took it off years ago
Yes this is a example of what we can't have

 

[Brewmaster]

Your posted reminded me of that horrible accident that happened to River City Smokehouse a few years ago with the gas assist on his Bates pit... I think the flame went out on the log lighter and gas got trapped and after airing out and re-lighting it exploded and the pit doors blew off and put him in the hospital with shattered knee.

Scary stuff...

Fitz has been a good friend of my for years. And we are very lucky he is still with us. Besides the shattered knee and fact you can see a perfect imprint of the air vent on his leg. Pieces of the pit flew 50' and imbedded themselves in his daughters car.

Having said that, the pit didn't have a thermocouple. And he did let the pit air out for hours before relighting.

All I'm saying is accidents happen and with propane they seem to be worse.

If this thing does pass, I would hope they would have certified people approving a rig before letting them compete.

Cheers,
Nate

 

[Dustaway]

I hope it passes I then can use my oven in the rv

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

Problem is...

We are all allowed to make our own charcoal and wood pits. So once gas is approved for competition, how are we to prevent a homemade pit from entering a contest.
What constitutes a homemade pit?
Will there be a list of approved pits at every contest?
Is there a list of approved manufacturers?
If a guy starts building gas pits professionally, and his professional prototype is at the contest, and it is not on the list due to the newness of his company... Will you tell him to pack up and go home?

You either allow gas or you don't...its that simple. The more rules you stack on it, the more feelings get hurt, and more people are angered.

 

[boogiesnap]

I hope it passes I then can use my oven in the rv

:behindsofa:

uh boy.

 

[JD McGee]

Wow...lots of horror stories there...but how much of it was caused by human error as opposed to faulty equipment? I've been cookin' with gassers for 30 years and have NEVER had an incident. It is unfortunate that the mishaps and fears of a few people may spoil it for others that would like to use gas.

I would imagine you'd more than likely be killed by a drunk driver on your way to the competition than be blown up by a propane tank...

Again...it makes no difference to me one way or another...in the end it's the "Q" that will do the talking...not the tool! :thumb:

 

[Ron_L]

What size tanks?

20 years on the fire dept. I saw a few tanks blow up and the fireball is huge.

I'm pretty sure that i was at the same competitions that Coz is referring to. Both were the small tanks used by camp stoves, and both explosions were occurred while lighting a charcoal chimney. These accidents can occur whether the pits are gas fueled or not. All it takes is someone getting careless.

Wow...lots of horror stories there...but how much of it was caused by human error as opposed to faulty equipment? I've been cookin' with gassers for 30 years and have NEVER had an incident. It is unfortunate that the mishaps and fears of a few people may spoil it for others that would like to use gas.

I would imagine you'd more than likely be killed by a drunk driver on your way to the competition than be blown up by a propane tank...

Again...it makes no difference to me one way or another...in the end it's the "Q" that will do the talking...not the tool! :thumb:

Good point, JD, but, think about the setting. If you were cooking using a gas pit at a competition and discovered that the burner had gone out in the middle of the night are you going to do the right thing and let the pit air out, probably giving up your chance at getting the food done in time, or are you going to take a short cut and try to relight it immediately?

I welcome the competition, but there has to be some safety guidelines in place. The requirement for pits to be inspected is fine, but who would do the inspection? If it's not someone certified to inspect propane equipment (the local fire department?), then it's just a formality like most meat inspections.

 

[moocow]

I don't mind the use of gas for competition. There are so many other variables other than your heat source. The propane safety does scare me a bit but I bet you can find a dozen or so 5 gallon gas cans for generators around any contest site, not to mention fuel tanks in trucks and campers. I don't want to lose the ability to cook on my homemade charcoal smokers but I think the propane cookers should be certified by some government authority like any other gas grill would be. Not sure it's the best idea but it would be safer that way.

 

[billgailey]

Seems fairly simple when you think about it. If there is enough interest in competing with gas then set up a separate division for that style cooking only and segragate them from the other cookers. That way if there is a legitimate safety concern the gassers would all go up together.

I would personally like to see a division that doesn't allow for pellet poopers or computerized air control systems as well. I have been down the road a pretty long ways and really respect the cooks ability to build a wood fire and turn out Q like the old pitmasters use to do before all these contraptions were invented. Personally I cook on a Lang and a couple of Webers. Use to have a propane grill but always complained about the taste of the meat so 10 years ago I gave it away and never looked back. It is sorta funny that all my "propane" friends like to eat my Q but never invite me over to their place for theirs.

It might be quite interesting to have a wood only division and an "everything else" division, judge them independently and then blind judge the top 3 in each category of both divisons head to head.

I am all for including as many people as possible but for me it will never include propane again.....and that is my 2 cents for what it is worth!

 

[JD McGee]

I'm pretty sure that i was at the same competitions that Coz is referring to. Both were the small tanks used by camp stoves, and both explosions were occurred while lighting a charcoal chimney. These accidents can occur whether the pits are gas fueled or not. All it takes is someone getting careless.



Good point, JD, but, think about the setting. If you were cooking using a gas pit at a competition and discovered that the burner had gone out in the middle of the night are you going to do the right thing and let the pit air out, probably giving up your chance at getting the food done in time, or are you going to take a short cut and try to relight it immediately?

I welcome the competition, but there has to be some safety guidelines in place. The requirement for pits to be inspected is fine, but who would do the inspection? If it's not someone certified to inspect propane equipment (the local fire department?), then it's just a formality like most meat inspections.

Please don't get me wrong...I am not opposed to safety inspections. I feel they are very important much the same way our fire extinguishers are looked at by the Fire Marshall or other authority. I just don't think we should take an alarmist approach to allowing gassers in comps. As mentioned above there are folks using generators with gas tanks all over the place...it has become common place.

 

[HBMTN]

I am more with the comments people have made on safety. A whole drunk crew with a homade set up blown everyone with in 100ft of them away. That said I have been beside a team or two with a weed burner who should not have been allowed to operate a them because of horseplay with it.

As for the cooking end of it I say bring it on, heck if there were huge advantages in it most serious BBQ geeks would be cooking with it at home. The big advantage for restaurants is that they don't have to work all night every night.

 

[ique]

Seems fairly simple when you think about it. If there is enough interest in competing with gas then set up a separate division for that style cooking only and segragate them from the other cookers.

Already exists. KCBS supports a "Competitor Series" format that allows organizers to run events with special rules... such as allowing gas or stickburners only. LP Que used this format.

If a separate division was formalized how would team of year and jack invites etc get handled?

 

[MoGreen]

Yawn...

 

[ovrkl1947]

Has no one ever been burned with wood? I have seen serious burns in numerous situations. Stupidity has no clue what fuel you use!

 

[Dr_KY]

Has no one ever been burned with wood? I have seen serious burns in numerous situations. Stupidity has no clue what fuel you use!

I would rather get burned with wood than have a pork flavored frag grenade go off anywhere within 1,000 feet.

 

[carlyle]

I really like all the concern about safety and inspections. As I sit and think about it, I think odds are that fire safety standards and rules will likely be the same patchwork of hodge podge that the health department regulations are.

How many of you need to have your grill tank inspected when you get a refill now?

So even with inspections, it will depend on where you are.

This aspect has to be a part of KCBS set up . There needs to be a lot of thought and consideration for the unintended consequences about what to some seems a good idea.

Something I have not seen a lot of comment about -- what about the taste? Tenderness? Appearance? You know stuff the judges have to look at , evaluate , score .

There is already a lot of criticism of judges. Easy to imagine all sorts of uproar over scoring. Egad! Run for cover!!

If you have a separate division for flame throwers, how you going to judge it?
Additional category? Judges already at capacity with the mandatories plus ancillaries.
More thought needed.

 

[JD McGee]

I can see it now...:twisted:

 

[TooSaucedToPork]

I really like all the concern about safety and inspections. As I sit and think about it, I think odds are that fire safety standards and rules will likely be the same patchwork of hodge podge that the health department regulations are.

Hodge podge with food prep gets a few people a stomach ache
Hodge Podge with a 20 lb grenade gets people burnt...or dead.

How many of you need to have your grill tank inspected when you get a refill now?

They just check to see if it is a current tank, not an older discontinued one.

So even with inspections, it will depend on where you are.

Yup, that is why there would have to be a KCBS certified fire inspector to inspect all the gassers before they are allowed to light up.

This aspect has to be a part of KCBS set up . There needs to be a lot of thought and consideration for the unintended consequences about what to some seems a good idea.

Something I have not seen a lot of comment about -- what about the taste? Tenderness? Appearance? You know stuff the judges have to look at , evaluate , score .

They chose to cook with gas. They judge the same...period

There is already a lot of criticism of judges. Easy to imagine all sorts of uproar over scoring. Egad! Run for cover!!

If its the cook not the cooker as everyone says...this shouldn't make a difference:boxing:

If you have a separate division for flame throwers, how you going to judge it?

Judge it the same, it KCBS

Additional category? Judges already at capacity with the mandatories plus ancillaries.
More thought needed

How do you get the extra prize money for 2 divisions?