I'm really curious why you say Big Phil's Blue Collar back yard pit is not on the "higher end". Is it just because of the price? If not, what are you basing that comment on?
I may be biased because I have one on order, but taking price out of the equation, I fail to see how this isn't every bit as good (if not better) than the workhorse pits 1975 or even the Millscale 94 gallon, it's the same size at 24x48, the cook chamber and firebox are both 3/8" thick, the smoke stack looks to be just as tall and per Phil is a 6" INTERNAL diameter (not sure what the Workhorse is but the Millscale definitely looks less than 6" diameter), and it has a "collector like both of them. Plus, have you seen the quality of the welds on Phil's pits? That dude is a master welder and is just laying down "stacks of dimes", and I like that Phil is building all the Blue Collar pits himself, while his hired help builds the regular line of pits. I've spoken to a couple of people that have received their pits and all are saying they are built like a tank and run like a dream.
And I don't know where the idea of "limited customization" came from. I added an upper grate with 3 additional Tell True gauges for upper and lower on each side, two probe ports, a folding stack and a stack damper, and a brass ball valve. With all of those add on's, my price before tax and shipping was $2,415.00, which you can build out the same thing on his site, the only add on that is not listed is the brass ball valve which is $25.00. That's significantly less than the $2,784.00 that Workhorse charges for the bare bones 1975 with just the single grate and no add on's. Doesn't seem like limited customization to me.
And the things I don't like about the Workhorse is there is no grease bridge blocking grease from dripping back in to the firebox (yes, I know you can raise that side of the pit, but that shouldn't be needed IMO), and I don't like the baffle at the throat. Plus, after speaking directly with Workhorse Pits they told me that the delivery driver will drop the smoker at the base of the driveway and won't even help you get it in to the garage due to "insurance liability issues". That's an issue for me as my driveway has a decent slope, and I'm fairly new to my area so I don't have too many people I can call to help me. If that smoker shows up and I can't get someone over to help me I'm totally scr*wed. All of those things were deal killers for me. I asked if they could add a grease bridge and they said no, they do not offer any customization at all, which was the nail in the coffin for me.
And while I haven't talked to Millscale I don't think they offer customization at all either, and the price is just too much at $4,775.00 plus whatever the upper rack add on costs. That's over $1,000.00 more than what the Blue Collar pit is costing me with all my add on's plus tax and shipped right to my door all the way in California (and he said the driver will help me get it in my garage).
For me, it just seems Phil's Blue Collar pit is a much better value over the Workhorse Pits 1975, or the Millscale, but that's just my opinion.
