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Lone Star Grillz Vertical Insulated Cabinet Smoker-For the new Owner

Someone here said they ordered the rubber tires for their cabinet like I did. Any word on how those are doing?
 
I got the 8" swivel and lockable on all 4. I like em. I think it is crucial that you need to be able to lock it in place, even if it's just one of them.
 
I tried to get through the whole thread, but I may have skipped over a couple things. I am in the market for a new smoker and very interested in the Lone Stars. I am definitely looking for an insulated veritical smoker, but cannot settle on which one. I like many features of the Lone Stars but I have a couple questions i havent been able to find answers to.

1. How much insulation is in one of these guys? I like to cook in cold windy Iowa winters and like the idea of the 2" insulation i see on some other smokers.

2. Is there a disadvantage to letting the smoke cup around the water pan then out the top vs it going up the sides of the wall and exiting through the bottom of the cooking chamber like backwoods? I would imagine the latter creates a more even cooking temp from top to bottom, but I could very well be incorrect.
 
I can't speak on how thick the insulation is, so you may want to call Chris on that, but it is build like a tank, so it feels like it can withstand that kind of winter. 850lbs weight.

Here's the thickness between the outer wall and inner wall. For 11ga steel, tou can imagine the thickness of the insulation. It should be 2".



As far as the way the air drafts, I really like this better than the reverse flow idea. I have had foods from a couple of joints around town that uses reverse flow cabinets, and they seem to be consistent in the tameness of the smoke flavor. I believe those cabinets are what causes people to say, if you want flavor, go with a stickburner. If you want convenience, go with a cabinet.

Well, let me be a witness, after my second weekend with my Vertical insulated, I tasted VERY LITTLE difference between this new cooker vs my LSG Stickburner. The reason I believe is the movement and volume of air going through it. Aaron Franklin is big on this where he takes it to the extreme by believeing that his cooker should only have one grate so air can move quickly with aerodynamicity bringing loads of smoke flavor without it getting stale and stagnant. Chris Goodlander says it in his FAQ that he believes having a straight up approach reduces stagnancy when the pit is up to temp vs RF in cabinets. What I still don't understand is how his cabinet can be such a fuel efficient cooker while still depositing plenty of flavor on the food. It is magic to me. It goes beyond the stereotype of cabinet vs stickburners.


NSNO said:
I tried to get through the whole thread, but I may have skipped over a couple things. I am in the market for a new smoker and very interested in the Lone Stars. I am definitely looking for an insulated veritical smoker, but cannot settle on which one. I like many features of the Lone Stars but I have a couple questions i havent been able to find answers to.

1. How much insulation is in one of these guys? I like to cook in cold windy Iowa winters and like the idea of the 2" insulation i see on some other smokers.

2. Is there a disadvantage to letting the smoke cup around the water pan then out the top vs it going up the sides of the wall and exiting through the bottom of the cooking chamber like backwoods? I would imagine the latter creates a more even cooking temp from top to bottom, but I could very well be incorrect.
Click to expand...



I don't think it's possible cause they are already on the edges of the bottom but the cooker feels very stable to me. Unless you're bringing it on a steep incline, just get handles on both sides put in, and have all 4 casters swiveling for ease of movement.


They put the 6" casters on the picture above then they remembered my order and changed em to the 8" swivel locking below

Derrick300 said:
Is there any option to widen the stance at the casters just to make these a little more stable while moving around?
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Issues with smoke flavor can be solved by using a maze, more wood, and opening up the exhaust. The extra airflow keeps the wood burning clean and the maze keeps too much charcoal from being lit at once.
 
When I was researching cookers I talked to a lot of people. Chris Goodlander impressed me the most with his knowledge and experience building cookers. One thing that stuck in my mind that he said was that he could mimic the smoke flavor of any stick burner with one of his cabinets without the typical babysitting required with the stick burner. He builds several different styles of stick burners and did not know what I was leaning toward. That really spoke volumes to me.

Chris also said something that stuck with me. He said "we didn't just start building smokers in the last couple years". In other words he knows what he is doing and the quality of product that he puts out is second to none. There are dozens of smoker builders out there and each one has their following and are capable of producing really good food. I do not believe there is any manufacturer that is building a better cooker for any price. You will get more for your money with them.
 
I talked to Amber and the build with the 10" rubber tires like mine is coming up soon. Can't wait to hear how it turns out.
 
My wife has told me on every cook that I have done on my mini LSG that the smoke flavor was just right! She grew up eating bbq that her dad cooked on a stick burner and still does. I just cooked 2 - 15# packers. One went 15 hours and the other took 17 hours. I set the at guru (230*) at 11 pm the Sat. night, 15.1#s of charcoal with 8 mesquite chunks mixed in. When I pulled the last brisket at 5pm. I also pulled off the guru and let the charcoal burn out. At 9 pm 22 hours later she was sitting at 275*. That will spoil a man.
 
Smokin' Greene said:
My wife has told me on every cook that I have done on my mini LSG that the smoke flavor was just right! She grew up eating bbq that her dad cooked on a stick burner and still does. I just cooked 2 - 15# packers. One went 15 hours and the other took 17 hours. I set the at guru (230*) at 11 pm the Sat. night, 15.1#s of charcoal with 8 mesquite chunks mixed in. When I pulled the last brisket at 5pm. I also pulled off the guru and let the charcoal burn out. At 9 pm 22 hours later she was sitting at 275*. That will spoil a man.
Click to expand...

Do you always start out with fresh charcoal? Have you ever tried shutting the fire down and re using the partially burnt coals?
 
I always burn my charcoal completely out. After a cook, I clean the grates, spray with Pam, and let the charcoal burn out. I cook at around 225* overnight, so most of my cooks are 12 to 16 hours. Not enough in my opinion to save. I could see shutting down the large one.
 
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