SmokinIllini
Full Fledged Farker
Been thinking about purchasing an insulated cabinet smoker for quite awhile, and been researching lots of good options. Wife turned out to be surprisingly agreeable. Hardest part has been getting over the mental hurdle of spending the equivalent of a couple of WSM's just for shipping on many of these. So I turned my search local and found something interesting: 270 Smokers, which claims a patented "Heated Draft" system for even heat/smoke distribution in the cooking chamber. After exchanging some emails with Terry at 270, Eric at Mason Dixon BBQ Services (with a new location in Frederick, MD), and some brethren here, made the trip to Frederick this AM to take a closer look.
Mark at Mason Dixon (well worth the drive for you DC locals -- saw Meadow Creek and Backwoods there as well) walked me through it, and it was clear the 270 Standard model would meet my requirements perfectly -- amongst these capacity, year-round use, and ease of use with long burn times and rock solid stable temps. 270 Smokers is fairly new, regional (currently), and "heated draft" is a bit different, but I was convinced to take the plunge for several reasons: it meets all my requirements, 270 users seem pretty darn happy with these things, they're built like a tank, customer service from both 270 and Mason Dixon has been excellent -- I KNOW any questions I have will be answered, the price point is excellent and I don't have to pay the equivalent of a couple of WSM's in shipping -- brought it home in my minivan.
Here it is. Been trying to figure out what the shape reminds me of. I'm thinking its the Shuttle Galileo from the original Star Trek.
The inside -- I ordered two more shelves -- there are slots for six total. The "heated draft" seems to be due to the shape and the smoke entering the chamber from the front slot -- you can see the firebox through the slot. The reversible chimney cap can also be used for direct exhaust or reverse flow, forcing more smoke to re-enter the bottom.
Huge firebox -- I barely covered the bottom for my first cook and it lasted for 4+ hours with some coals left unburnt.
This little slide vent is your entire thermal control. I easily controlled temps between 240 and 300. Once set and the temp settles, it just plain doesn't move. Will take more cooks before I decide whether a Guru even makes sense for me.
First cook. All Virginia theme (nod to Boshizzle). 270 Smokers is located in Lexington, VA. The chickens come from a farm of some renown (Omnivore's Dilemma and Food, Inc.) in the Shenandoah Valley, and the sauce is Griffin's Red. Pitmaster is also in VA -- just ignore that "Illini" in my moniker for now. Chicken was excellent.
First impressions:
1) Very easy to control temp. Once you set the vent, it just stays at the corresponding temp until you open the cook chamber or change the vent setting. I started at 240 then easily took it up to 300 for chicken.
2) Came up to cooking temp very quickly. I was at 255 within 22 minutes from dumping a half chimney of lit lump on the unlit coals in my firebox.
3) Recovery times were equally good. Temps were back up typically within 3-5 minutes in a relatively empty cooker. That may change with full loads of meat and a water pan.
4) No discernable leaks. Only visible smoke was coming out the chimney.
5) Center of gravity is good for moving, but would be nice to have some front wheels. Not going to be a big deal once it moves to my patio (which currently doesn't exist), but for now a minor pain to roll around.
I have a lot more to learn about this cooker, but so far works great.
Mark at Mason Dixon (well worth the drive for you DC locals -- saw Meadow Creek and Backwoods there as well) walked me through it, and it was clear the 270 Standard model would meet my requirements perfectly -- amongst these capacity, year-round use, and ease of use with long burn times and rock solid stable temps. 270 Smokers is fairly new, regional (currently), and "heated draft" is a bit different, but I was convinced to take the plunge for several reasons: it meets all my requirements, 270 users seem pretty darn happy with these things, they're built like a tank, customer service from both 270 and Mason Dixon has been excellent -- I KNOW any questions I have will be answered, the price point is excellent and I don't have to pay the equivalent of a couple of WSM's in shipping -- brought it home in my minivan.
Here it is. Been trying to figure out what the shape reminds me of. I'm thinking its the Shuttle Galileo from the original Star Trek.
The inside -- I ordered two more shelves -- there are slots for six total. The "heated draft" seems to be due to the shape and the smoke entering the chamber from the front slot -- you can see the firebox through the slot. The reversible chimney cap can also be used for direct exhaust or reverse flow, forcing more smoke to re-enter the bottom.
Huge firebox -- I barely covered the bottom for my first cook and it lasted for 4+ hours with some coals left unburnt.
This little slide vent is your entire thermal control. I easily controlled temps between 240 and 300. Once set and the temp settles, it just plain doesn't move. Will take more cooks before I decide whether a Guru even makes sense for me.
First cook. All Virginia theme (nod to Boshizzle). 270 Smokers is located in Lexington, VA. The chickens come from a farm of some renown (Omnivore's Dilemma and Food, Inc.) in the Shenandoah Valley, and the sauce is Griffin's Red. Pitmaster is also in VA -- just ignore that "Illini" in my moniker for now. Chicken was excellent.
First impressions:
1) Very easy to control temp. Once you set the vent, it just stays at the corresponding temp until you open the cook chamber or change the vent setting. I started at 240 then easily took it up to 300 for chicken.
2) Came up to cooking temp very quickly. I was at 255 within 22 minutes from dumping a half chimney of lit lump on the unlit coals in my firebox.
3) Recovery times were equally good. Temps were back up typically within 3-5 minutes in a relatively empty cooker. That may change with full loads of meat and a water pan.
4) No discernable leaks. Only visible smoke was coming out the chimney.
5) Center of gravity is good for moving, but would be nice to have some front wheels. Not going to be a big deal once it moves to my patio (which currently doesn't exist), but for now a minor pain to roll around.
I have a lot more to learn about this cooker, but so far works great.