Pls help me choose: Workhorse 1969 vs Shirley 24x36

With the number of Shirley's going to the Houston area I bet someone can let you look at their shirley.

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I have been down a similar road. I have been looking at the Horizon (Built the Original Oklahoma Joe's) Icon Classic 20" standard flow with convection plate or their Marshall. They are within a 45 minute drive of me.
But, I love the Shirley's and plan to go for the 24 x 36. I feel that on smaller cookers the reverse flow is especially helpful. A temperature variance can be nice, but it is pretty extreme in short smokers from my experience. Tuning plate I am sure help's.
It's a tough call for sure. Good luck on your adventure. Either will be great I am sure :-D

Did you look at LSG? I've been considering the Shirley you mentioned and one from LSG. Was leaning toward LSG due to proximity.

Between those two, I would pick the Workhorse 1969. It was one of the last 2 I was looking at before purchasing. I ended up going with a LoneStar Grillz 24x48, but the 1969 was a very close second.

I like the direct flow instead of reverse, wanted the cowboy grill option in order to do reverse searing. The look of the workhorse is great, and has the collector at the base of the smoke stack. Most videos I've seen shows a consistent temp side to side. Lots of good reviews on the site here.



Jason

Even though the grate on the Shirley is a little less wide, I’d be willing to bet it has a lot more usable space. Those Workhorse cookers do look nice though, I wouldn’t kick it out of my yard by any means.

Both are great cookers so you really can't go wrong. For me (and my recommendation) it comes down to capacity. The main cooking grate on the Workhorse is 19.25" x 41" giving you 790 square inches of cooking capacity. The top rack adds another ~500 square inches, but a lot of that won't be very usable due to the low clearance (meaning the small amount of space between the upper rack and the shell of the cook chamber). That top rack is going to be great for some veggies, and maybe 2 racks of ribs, but not much else. You're also going to have hot spots on the main cooking grate near the firebox and near the exhaust collector. Some people use this to their advantage, so it's kind of a personal choice, but something to understand.

The Shirley has 3 racks with each measuring 26" x 20" of usable cooking space. This gives the Shirley 1560 square inches of cooking space...which is roughly double what you're getting with the "base model" of the Workhorse. I've seen videos where people are putting 2 large briskets on each rack...though, again, the top rack has less clearance but at 4" you should be able to get briskets and pork butts up there. The Shirley is also reverse flow so you'll be able to use every single square inch of that cooker and the hot spots will be minimal (if any at all).

Shirley has large wheels while the Workhorse has metal casters...definitely something to think about if you plan on moving the smoker across grass or even gravel.

If it were me and my money I'd go for the Shirley. I've had traditional flow offset, reverse flow offset, and even a "front offset" smoker. Without a doubt my reverse flow was the best of the bunch because it flat out worked and I didn't have to rotate the meat, or even worry about doing that because there were no hot spots.

All of this being said it really sounds like you are in love with the Workhorse and its style. Going against what you really want will just leave you open to always wanting something else...though this is kind of the addiction of BBQ. Good luck either way and whatever you choose I'm sure you'll love.

I was debating these two cookers recently. Absolutely love the look of the workhorse. The raw finish. Folding stack and large firebox just really made it stand out to me. The cowboy grate was another option I was definitely interested in as well. Ultimately I ordered the Shirley and these are the reasons why:

I felt like it was a better value for what I was getting. I think the workhorse is an excellent value, thick steel good fit etc. but for under 2k I think the Shirley is a steal for what you get and considering who built it and the likely resale value if it ever comes to that.

Mobility/stability. The large axle and tire combo on the Shirley is a fantastic addition IMO. These things are crazy heavy and ought to have a wide base. I like to have the option to more easily and safely move my smoker, load it on a trailer, roll it across the yard etc.

Ergonomics: the cabinet style and swinging door on the Shirley are far superior from an ergonomics perspective. My wife and I Often cook together and I was worried about her ability to easily and safely open and close the overhead door of some of the thicker steel offsets. Many are designed so that if you aren’t 6’ and careful you are going to burn your wrist on the door reaching for the handle.

This will be my first offset and I expect the reverse flow to be a bit more forgiving. Temperature management ought to be more stable across the grates but also over time. I could be wrong here...

Searing: the traditional offsets win here. However, the Shirley has some options. They have a 1/2” sacrificial steel plate in the firebox that you can season and use for searing, but the use would be very limited. It is close to the surface of the firebox, I imagine you are going to constantly burn off the seasoning and I probably gets pretty dirty, but you could make it work for a steak every now and then. I added a charcoal grate/ash pan to my 24x36 order that allows you to turn the bottom cooking rack into a charcoal grill and shovel coals or add charcoal to the cook chamber for grilling/searing/smoking. Bbqfreak linked a pictured to this in a recent Shirley appreciation thread.

Hopefully that helps. I added a workhorse to my cart several times over the last few months, even called and asked some questions but ultimately I am very happy that I didn’t. I think what Shirley is doing, and the prices they are asking, are very impressive and I’m happy to support them. Nothing wrong with workhorse there... but I think there is value to getting something like this from a truly top tier custom builder. I’ll be proud to own my Shirley when it gets here.

This was typed on mobile so please excuse any spelling errors

I've used my offsets for reverse sear, but only if I'm already doing a cook. I'm not going to spend an hour to fire up an offset to cook a steak. 22" Weber grill for $150 (or close) is a better tool all around for doing steaks. It takes 10-15 minutes to get up to temp, plenty of room for 2 zone cooking to utilize the reverse sear method, and it's a time tested solid piece of equipment.

My point here is buy the smoker you want because it will smoke the food the way you want it to. Jack of all trades master of none, etc, etc... smokers are good for smoking, and grills are good for grilling / searing.

I forgot to mention the workhorse doesn’t have a shelf which I think would be very frustrating depending on where you plan on using it. I added the stainless shelf option to my build and I think that’s a significant part of the user experience with any cooker. I’m always looking for places to set things down when cooking bbq.

Visually they are both great looking rigs.
But for me I have one seen a Shirley in action personally.
They are a outstanding rig and this is by all means not underselling the work house. Its just me only seeing the Shirley and not the other in person.

For what I seen the Shirley is something that can be handed down generations they are that well built.

I would be extremely happy to have either, but would prefer direct flow.


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jumper75 said:

I'm tempted by the LSG too, especially with them about 45 minutes away. Buuuutttt.... their 20x42 is very similar to the 1969 but the Workhorse includes 3/8" throughout and I like its raw finish better. The LSG horizontal 24x36 is really nice and very similar to the Shirley 24x36 but I like the Shirley's reverse flow better than the LSG tuning plates. So in both cases LSG just slightly misses out, for me. I'm not bashing LSG by any means, just slight preferences with the features I mentioned.

Click to expand...

I hear ya. the 1969 was a very close 2nd for me. The flexibility and versatility of LSG 24x48 tipped me to them. All that said, I'm still about a month away from receiving the LSG, but I ended up liking the idea that I can run one side of the cooker at 275 and the other hotter at 325-350. Or, I can put the tuning plates in and have even cooking across the BBQ. But either LSG or Workhorse (or Shirley) will be fantastic and last a lifetime.

Definitely subscribed to this thread!

I've been comparing them too (also the LSG 20x42); currently the Workhorse 1975 is in the lead.

I usually don't cook for crowds greater than 10 people, prefer different heat zones, and with the upper shelf, the 1970 should be plenty big for my needs. However, everyone seems to love their Shirley's so I will continue to consider it.

As a side note, the design of the new LSG intrigued me. I did see in a youtube that the smoke from the LSG isn't as thin as a tradition offset (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtXDdcHW0iY). I have zero experience with any of these cookers, so no idea if it matters or if it will change the smoke profile of the food.


I'm leaning towards a tradition offset and the Workhorse seems to fit the bill perfectly. Good luck with your decision.

I recently had a similar dilemma. I decided right off I wanted a direct flow. So my two finalists were the new Moberg Backyard and the 1975t. I just decided on the 1975t because like you, that rustic look is enticing.

I’ve looked at the workhouse several times and almost pressed the buy now button twice, and I never realized it didn’t thane a shelf until now!?!? Seems odd there is no option to add on??

I’d like to be able to direct grill on a pit especially doing reverse sears etc and wonder why more shirleys don’t offer that? I guess you have to get the warmer above the firebox and then a baffle that’s opens???


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You can place a cheap grate over the shirley fire basket. [emoji1787]

But I get it. Mine rolls out the garage door just like yours. Get what YOU want!

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Well cause of this thread I ordered the workhorse 1975. You people making me spend money!