What is the best upright/water smoker

[HB-BBQ]

Sal-
I have a BWS Party and I am thrilled that I got one. As Bobby & Papa Hogg said it does all foods and has plenty of space and variations that can be used in a variety of different ways. If you get the Guru you will be able to sleep thru the night at a comp.

I am a BWS party owner as well and everything these guys said is what I have experienced with mine. I have only had it since July and I love it. I had a WSM and a small BWS patio which was so reliable it was one of the reasons I went with the Party. I had wanted a smoker with more capacity than the Patio and the reliability of the WSM. I was also considering the Spicewine (which is a mighty fine unit I might add) but the weight of the small Spice is 500lbs I believe compared to the 140lbs of the Party which made it an easy decision for me. I wanted something light enough that I could move by myself in and out of my pickup just as KCBobby mentioned earlier in the thread. I do not have a fan on it yet but am considering either a Guru or a Stoker unit in the future.

 

[Mitch]

They are all very good. It ain't the cooker - it's the cook!
That said - I have a Stumps and love it. I'm in the process of getting a new Elite --- once I sell my GF223, and then a Spicewine Trailer Rig (cause they are cool).

 

[Smokin' Gnome BBQ]

I would love to hear the specs on each model. burn time, what mods are needed etc..thanks. The sw seems nice. I will be doing comps by my self and need to know the typical tending needed, with or with out a forced air unit..thanks!!!

 

[Yakfishingfool]

I have a lg Spicewine and am much more pleased with it now then I was at first. There is a big learning curve, after cooking on junk, which I have just about got nailed down. I think that is going to be true for any smoker you buy that is well built. If I had it to do all over again I may have gone with the smaller Sw for competition, which you haven't said if thats what you intend to do with it.

All the smokers mentioned are good but for my money the Sw is a good buy. the wsm is just small for me and I don't want to have to tend to 3 or 4 cookers at a comp. The stump is most likely a good smoker but I don't see the need in having a hopper to feed fuel to the cooker, I load mine once with the basket with about 20lbs and get anywhere from 18 to 25 hours burn time and still have to let it burn its self out before leaving a comp. I haven't been using water lately and like the results, so you have that option. Just remember one word, LEARNING CURVE, ok thats two words. what ever you get is going to be a great experience for you no doubt .
Dave

MoDave, can you elaborate a bit on what oyu found to be in the learning curve? temp managememnt? what was the answer to the issues you were experiencing? Seriously considering a SW for the next summer. Scott

 

[MilitantSquatter]

I would love to hear the specs on each model. burn time, what mods are needed etc..thanks. The sw seems nice. I will be doing comps by my self and need to know the typical tending needed, with or with out a forced air unit..thanks!!!

Sal - Did you check out the websites for the specs by model yet ?

www.spicewineironworks.com
www.backwoods-smoker.com
http://www.stumpssmokers.com/

For the Spicewine, your bare minimum tending range will be 2-3 hours if you just use full, lit chimneys on the worst of days. That;'s truly a bare minimum and not the norm.

If you move up to arranging charcoal via a minion method, maze etc. or move to a charcoal basket,guru or stoker... you can build up to burn times that will outlast your need for sleep or the meat that needs to be cooked.

I am sure Backwoods or Stumps can reach similar burn times & operate similarly in that regard.

Think about what you want/need first then decide what cooker best suits those needs.

 

[KC_Bobby]

Yeah, let us know roughly what size you are looking at and we can answer the burn time, water pan questions.

 

[Roo-B-Q'N]

Sal - Did you check out the websites for the specs by model yet ?

www.spicewineironworks.com
www.backwoods-smoker.com
http://www.stumpssmokers.com/

For the Spicewine, your bare minimum tending range will be 2-3 hours if you just use full, lit chimneys on the worst of days. That;'s truly a bare minimum and not the norm.

If you move up to arranging charcoal via a minion method, maze etc. or move to a charcoal basket,guru or stoker... you can build up to burn times that will outlast your need for sleep or the meat that needs to be cooked.

I am sure Backwoods or Stumps can reach similar burn times & operate similarly in that regard.

Think about what you want/need first then decide what cooker best suits those needs.

Good points here Vinny. Sal have you sat down and done a pros and cons list for your specific needs and purposes? It is all confusing, and when you start looking at cooker side by side it can get muddled. What do you think are the pluses and minuses on each cooker?

 

[burnin butts]

I've got a large Spicewine. I have had no trouble at all with it, started cooking on it the day that I got it. Depending what you're used to, the Spicewine is an all around good machine. I can hold a constant temperature for three to four hours with two chimneys of Kingsford. I have a 300 gallon smoker that I fabricated and used for the last three years, But the quality of meat that comes off the Spicewine is unbeatable. It would be worthwhile to give Jay a call and talk to him.

 

[Bevo]

southern style

Built a charcoal box for my Southern Style. I stick burn for a while and when I get tired I fill the charcoal box with 10lbs of lump and set it and forget it for over seven hrs..I looked at the Backwoods and I know its a good product as well as the Spicewine but if you are close to the dealer of the Southern Style there in PA. you should check it out..

 

[HOG-QUE-HOLIC]

Yowser ! I've been eying one of those SpiceWines, I think I did see one here recently with the Charcoal Pan Mod, sure would like to see that again, tried searching but couldn't dig anything up ! Maybe some-one would jump in and do a Show and Tell ? I kinda looked like a Klose Charcoal pan, or Jay's makeing them as an assecories ? Then you wouldn't tend that dude for hours on end, and still have a great Que !

 

[Sawdustguy]

I have noticed that alot of Backwoods owners have been sending their smokers for refurbishing lately. Nancee of Purple Turtle kust sent theirs to be refurbished. Does anyone know why? Why would a smoker ever have to be refurbished?

 

[Sawdustguy]

Yowser ! I've been eying one of those SpiceWines, I think I did see one here recently with the Charcoal Pan Mod, sure would like to see that again, tried searching but couldn't dig anything up ! Maybe some-one would jump in and do a Show and Tell ? I kinda looked like a Klose Charcoal pan, or Jay's makeing them as an assecories ? Then you wouldn't tend that dude for hours on end, and still have a great Que !

I think you are refering to this:

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30682&highlight=fat+polock+welders

The search function works great.

 

[Sawdustguy]

I would love to hear the specs on each model. burn time, what mods are needed etc..thanks. The sw seems nice. I will be doing comps by my self and need to know the typical tending needed, with or with out a forced air unit..thanks!!!

These two threads may interest you....

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30682&highlight=fat+polock+welders

http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=29983&highlight=spicewine+guru

Last contest we cooked over 24 hours on a bag of charcoal. We just ordered a larger medium Spicewine Cooker, our 3rd Spicewine as a matter of fact. We love the fact that are built like a brick $hithouse and really stand up to the abuse of transporting them to competitions.

 

[Porky]

Ron did close the store but has all his inventory at his house and I believe he can still help you if you are interested. His number is on the Backwoods website.

Ron closed his store:sad:

 

[tony76248]

I believe in the Stumps, This has been my first year cooking and I have competed in 11 cookoffs. I have also walked in all but three of them. That being said, I do not like the Stumps for chicken. For ribs and brisket I have been mighty pleased though.

I like the gravity feed charcoal delivery method. I was a bit disappointed that they stopped making the GF223 just when they got it perfected. Now they offer the Elite series which is supposed to have all kinds of improvements. Unfortunately, the new Elite series costs about $1000 more for a little more surface area. I also use the Stoker and Stumps is supplying the cheaper version Guru with the Elite series.

I can tell you that since Stumps was bought out by the Maple Hollow folks the service has went way down hill though. Stump still builds them, but without Joby driving the bus, the customer service is really lousy. When I ordered the GF223 I received the new slotted racks which I didn't order, well Joby was advised and he notified Stump and I have talked to Stump a few times about getting them and he stated that he misplaced my address, I gave it to him again and still no expanded metal racks.

I have asked about these racks so many times I am at the point where I am going to make a post at the Stumps forum voicing my displeasure.

I just called Stump again and he will try to get them finished on Monday so hopefully I can have them for next season. They will be a whole lot easier to clean and allow much more smoke penetration.

I do really like the Stumps though, especially since you can cook all weekend on a 20lB bag of charcoal and you can win competitions too.

As far as Backwoods smokers go, there are more of them than Spicewine and Stumps combined. I see many of them in competition here in Texas. There are a few features that I do not prefer, but if you can cook you can win competitions with them every weekend. There are also a whole slew of dealers out there.

 

[ole'e]

upright cookers

I have a competitor. I can get 8-10hrs of cooktime out of 10lbs of lump charcoal. I have to refill the water pan about every 4-5hrs. Filling the water pan every 4 hrs is not a big thing to me because I am up checking meat anyway. My cooker is almost a set it and forget it. I can hold temps all day long without worrying. What ever cooker you decide between these three you will be getting the top of the line. I had considered a Spicewine but they were a little heavy for a similar size I was looking at.
Eric

 

[Harbormaster]

Great thread guys. Great info from all sides. This will get searched in the unlikely event I am ever in the market for a new cooker.
But let me tell you, I love my WSMs, and they suit my purpose now. Great cookers.

 

[KC_Bobby]

In honor of this thread, you should go out and get one more. What the hell right?

 

[ZBQ]

I started out on a WSM and took the big jump to a SW single axle trailer model after looking at many of the ones mentioned here and quite a few others too.

The WSM will never be replaced because it sits on the deck and is easy to use for small cooks like a couple of fattys, pig candy or some ABT's etc.

The SW is an awesome cooker. The SW track record at comps is pretty impressive and like others have said, they are built like a brick $hithouse.

Jay and the rest of the staff at Spicewine are good people and stand behind their product. No doubt about it. I can tell you that from experience. Can't go wrong with a Spicewine.

I can't say anything good or bad about Backwoods because I have never cooked on one.

Stumps are well built and cook pretty good too.

The FEC controllability (is that a word?) is out of this world. The only model I've had my hands on is the FEC 100. At about $3000 its way more expensive than say a med or large spicewine or some of the stumps models but man to be able to dial in the temps like you can on that thing is very very impressive.

That may well be true but I can tell you from experience that when the electric goes out at 4:30am that an FEC is dead in the water. That is, unless you plan to take a generator where ever you go. I cooked on an FEC and it relying solely on electric was the only thing I thought was a weakness. I'm not sure if they would be able to run on DC or not. They most likely require too much juice for the heating element to run on DC, but that is just a guess.

 

[Dale P]

Another Spicewine guy here. As soon as we got past the learning curve we sold our 17 ft long pit, and my wsm moved to my nephews house. Our product is way better then it used to be, cooks faster with the same temps and recipes. If it is the cook and not the cooker, somebody needs to explain something to me. I dont get it.

With all that crap said, look long and hard before spending your $.