$500 Pits.

SmittyJonz said:

In New $500 Readily Available Store Bought Stick Burners you have 4 Choices

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Dear sIR. You haVe Big ProblEms with CapiTal LetterS.

seattlepitboss

SmittyJonz said:

Capitals Are My Favoritiest Letters.......

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You are a true gentleman with that response, I had four typed and deleted due to practicing my 2015 New Years Resolution "not my monkey not my circus". Il probably fail, that's why I'm practicing. ️

The thing I like about this sight is that somebody can come on and ask questions and there is countless people willing to help and add suggestions. No judging cause somebody has less to work with. If you have a passion for cooking Then your excepted. My first smoker was a sheet metal offset that a lady gave cause she couldn't affor to pay me for mowing her grass. this thing couldn't have been more than $200 new but it worked. Any pit on the market will work and all you have to do is control the air into the fire box. That's it. No commercial cooker is thinner than a UDS and how many of us have made killer food on one of those. My advise when looking at an academy cooker is "can I seal up the firebox so there is no Uncontrolled air coming into the box!" If you can go for it! These high end cooker that I have built don't yeild any better product than a well modified $500 cooker. These things are wants and not needs if ya know what I mean. The cooker I'm currently making for myself isn't gonna be sexy like some I've done but it'll be functional. I'll post some build pics in a new thread but I currently don't have a cooker to cook on so speed to completion is of the essence.

Great comments guys, mo matter what you cook on, love it and enjoy the experience!

I've had my Brinkmann Vertical stick burner for several months now. I did all of the mods to seal it up and built a damper similar to the one in the Bandera thread. If you live in a moderate climate (I'm in Las Vegas) it is a great smoker at a great price. (Less than $350 with mods) I use it exclusively as a stick burner and find it uses the typical split every 30-45 minutes to maintain temp. The smoke is thin blue and the meats taste amazing. The capacity probably exceeds anything that I will ever need. I know what Brinkmann's rep is with COS, but as Meathead said, this one is different because of the physics. Heat/smoke wants to go up, not sideways. I think the quality has improved since it was introduced. I've sealed it all around with Nomex, but I'm not sure that it was all needed. My door seemed to fit well when I got it. YMMV.

I like having options......Some of us are just at different spots on the BBQ journey. Here is my evolution:

1. Brinkman charcoal vertical - sucked immensely and I couldn't figure it out, but I was a younger lad and had many beers to drink. Used one time and thrown in the garbage because I couldn't keep fire lit.

Fast forward about 15 years....

2. Brinkman Smoke n Pit Professional - gave to me free if I cooked for the guy I got it from. No problem. :biggrin1: Learned how to manage a fire with this unit. Paid it forward and gave this cooker to a young guy who needed a smoker to cook for his sister's wedding.

3. Built my own RF Offset trailer smoker - took me about 2 years and a couple grand to complete, but it puts out awesome BBQ. My go to smoker today.

4. UDS - It sure is nice to have a little cooker and one that pretty much runs itself overnight so I can sleep. Still have this one...all I have to do is borrow the lid from my Weber kettle when using it.

5. Masterbuilt Electric Smoker - I bought this little guy last year as a dedicated sausage smoker. I'm still getting the hang of it, but so far so good.

6. ??? - Probably going to build myself an insulated cabinet one of these days.....

I can honestly say, I have enjoyed cooking on the cheaper units just as much as the more expensive one I built myself. To me, I learn something everytime.....and, IMHO, it boils down to patience. Take your time, and it's done when it's done.


Ed

SmittyJonz said:

I don't help with High End stuff tho :loco:

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BBQ snob:laugh:

ummmmm....http://www.bbq-brethren.com/forum/showthread.php?t=200738&highlight=build&page=4

$500 pits? Never use them. Don't want them.

Any thoughts on the Brinkman TrailMaster Limited Edition? It's in the Home Depot near me, and I was thinking about picking it up to practice on while I save up for a sturdier/beefier offset.

Thanks.

Thanks for this post. I have begun my venture on the "Q" road as a beginner with a OK Joes Longhorn. To hear that some of the brethren began just as I have with a starter smoker. It gives us beginners inspiration to know that we can learn and create some of the foods that I see on this site.