Old Country Bazos, Horizon 20" James Marshall, or Lang 48" Patio

[IFlyEm]

I've narrowed my search down to one of these three models or going with a local builder. I like the idea of the local builder but he's very new and there isn't much info on his designs. I have been recommended the Brazos and the Horizon but Lang never gets brought up. But when I look them up they seem to get good reviews. So of these three what do you guys think?

 

[SmittyJonz]

And I would still go with J& H -leaste go out there and talk to him and see his smoker

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I guess it all depends exactly on what you want. Do you want a traditional flow smoker like the Horizon, or do you want a reverse flow like a Lang? I've seen the Brazos at Academy Sports and it's a decent cooker, but it's not on par with something like Horizon or Lang in terms of build quality.

Also, shipping on a Lang from Georgia to California has got to be BRUTAL... I bought my Johnson cooker in Texas and had it shipped via Uship to North Carolina and that was $600. Mind you I probably could have gotten a better price but I was antsy and wanted my cooker sooner than later.

 

[IFlyEm]

Definitely Smitty! He's my #1 choice but I'm looking for my backup if I don't go with JH.

As for shipping the Lang I'm still waiting on a shipping quote. I'm guessing in the $500 - $600 range.

 

[SmittyJonz]

J&H will custom Build. Others you get it as is. Of the 3 Backups I’d go Lang 48.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

I got a quote from Lang for a Lang 60 to be shipped from Georgia to North Carolina and it was $400. Mind you that was a Lang 60 trailer model, but I would mentally prepare for closer to $800-1000 for shipping. That being said there's still some better options like a website called Uship.com Easy to use, setup an account, and it's kind of like Ebay where you put up a description, current location, and destination and shippers will put up bids for the job. Chad Johnson helped me through the shipping process with Uship and I ended up saving about $600 from the normal company he uses for flatbed shipping.

Shipping just eats into your budget so easily... seems like JH Smokers would be your best bet. He has a few reviews from as early as 2016 on Yelp and they are all 5-star reviews... though one is his parents, but at least they admit it. haha He is semi-active on Facebook and all the pics I've seen his products look amazing. I would get out there and talk to the guy as soon as possible before that steel tariff really raises the prices.

Good luck with however you go... good to see somebody put so much thought into it. I spent roughly 3-4 months drooling over cookers online and I really fell in love with the designs by Johnson Smokers. I also enjoyed talking to him during the initial consult and he asked some good questions that actually saved me from getting a cooker too big for my old truck to pull.

 

[IFlyEm]

My biggest concern with JH is dealing with a major design flaw like on the Yoders. Despite the drafting issues the Yoders get great reviews. I weigh opinions and experiences on here very heavily. I'd have much more confidence in JH if he was active in this forum or any of the others I'm on.

 

[ferdelious]

Brazos has been good to me so far and will be considerably cheaper than the other 2, especially when factoring freight.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

My biggest concern with JH is dealing with a major design flaw like on the Yoders. Despite the drafting issues the Yoders get great reviews. I weigh opinions and experiences on here very heavily. I'd have much more confidence in JH if he was active in this forum or any of the others I'm on.

This is a good point and I see where you're coming from in being cautious and it's highly commendable. Funny enough I reached out to him on Facebook a couple of hours ago just to touch bases and he responded almost immediately. He said he is currently building a new / bigger shop, but I'm sure he would have no issues with you dropping by and checking out his work. I guess it's tough when you don't know exactly what you're looking for, but something to consider is the size of the exhaust stacks. They are quite wide and long... there's not going to be a drafting issue. That's a huge flaw with the Yoder...super narrow stack and unbelievably short.

 

[IFlyEm]

Good point about the stacks. Wish I knew better which way I would prefer to cook...RF or DF. Originally, I was focusing on a pit style like Aaron Franklin uses. Which would be most like the Brazos. But RF seems as popular or more in the higher end smokers. At the end of the day the only thing I care about is consistently good Q.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Good point about the stacks. Wish I knew better which way I would prefer to cook...RF or DF. Originally, I was focusing on a pit style like Aaron Franklin uses. Which would be most like the Brazos. But RF seems as popular or more in the higher end smokers. At the end of the day the only thing I care about is consistently good Q.

I'm giving my $.02 since this is a forum but I very much prefer reverse flow. My 60" cooker is within 5-10° across the entire smoking chamber. I never have to rotate meat or really worry about hot spots and it makes the entire cooking surface usable at all times. With this style of smoker you do get radiant heat coming from the bottom, but it's not a huge amount of heat. Traditional flow is just fine and you can even things out pretty well with tuning plates, but you're still going to have a hot spot on the cooking grate next to the firebox. My Yoder had a horrible hot spot on the grate next to the firebox and even with the heat management plate I was seeing it 50-75° hotter than in the middle or exhaust end. Some people like this as it opens the door for "2 zone cooking." So you can smoke your brisket in the middle of the pit at 250° and smoke your chicken near the firebox end at 300-325°.

 

[IFlyEm]

Sounds like RF is the way to go.

Lang got back to me with a shipping quote. $600. So the price of the Lang to the door is $3395. The JH is $1805 with tax.

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

Sounds like RF is the way to go.

Lang got back to me with a shipping quote. $600. So the price of the Lang to the door is $3395. The JH is $1805 with tax.

Haha... absolute no-brainer, right? What model are you looking at from JH?

 

[IFlyEm]

The 24x48.

Now what add/change:

- Definitely Larger casters. Maybe 8" locking.
- More robust door latches
- Insulated firebox?
- Log starter?
- 3/8" firebox?
- larger single firebox vent?

What do you think?

 

[SmittyJonz]

I’d take it as shown. :heh: Cook chamber don’t need latches. Maybe better casters.......

 

[SmoothBoarBBQ]

The 24x48.

Now what add/change:

- Definitely Larger casters. Maybe 8" locking.
- More robust door latches
- Insulated firebox?
- Log starter?
- 3/8" firebox?
- larger single firebox vent?

What do you think?

-There's absolutely an advantage to having a firebox vent on both sides, so I would leave that alone. Windy days can give you trouble if the only vent you have is one side (or just on the firebox door).

-Log lighter is a very cool piece of gear and I think it's worth it. Good call.

-3/8" firebox is great but not really necessary in my personal opinion. Unless you leave your firebox full of ash and water all the time it's not going to rust or fall apart. Insulated firebox is a split bag... it's good because it protects the paint from peeling / bubbling and therefore rusting the firebox, but it also stops you from being able to use that flat-top surface as a stove to heat your wood splits or a pot of sauce for example.

-Door latches aren't really necessary either way so I personally wouldn't worry about it. Lang is really the only big manufacturer that I see using them and I'm not sure they're even necessary on those designs.

Overall good looking cooker and I think you'll be very happy.

 

[IFlyEm]

I like the pull out bottom shelf. Seems most cookers don't offer that

 

[Smithers1945]

I was in the same boat as you a while back. There aren’t a ton of builders here in Southern California that get much attention, but they’re out there. JH seems to be good, and there’s a builder in Pasadena named Red Beard Smokers who seems to be putting out some good work. He’s on Instagram and Facebook if you want to check out his work. There is also KAT Smokers in Modesto, which is pretty far.

I ended up ordering a Shirley since I’m not in a huge rush, and I could save up longer for the build and shipping cost due to Shirley’s long lead time. I also looked up Lang, but the quality issues they’ve experienced the past few years was a bit of a turn off for me.

 

[OklaDustDevil]

The 24x48.

Now what add/change:

- Definitely Larger casters. Maybe 8" locking.
- More robust door latches
- Insulated firebox?
- Log starter?
- 3/8" firebox?
- larger single firebox vent?

What do you think?

IMHO:
- larger wheels, yes. Anything to make it more mobile on grass or gravel.
- door latches -- never had them or used them on an offset, so I would stick with his stock versions. Just make sure the cook chamber door seals well.
- insulated FB -- no, particularly given you're in Cal. Some folks get it because they want to keep the paint nice, but hell, it's a smoker.
- log starter -- no, injects complication into your smoker and breaches the integrity of the firebox. Plus, how hard is it to start a chimney full of briquettes or lump?
- 3/8" FB -- no added benefit, it just makes your smoker heavier and harder to move. 1/4" all around is plenty.
- single FB vent that is larger -- as someone stated earlier, it can be an advantage to have multiple vents on multiple sides of the FB in windy weather.

The only other options I can think to ask about would be:
- what shelving options does he offer? Front shelf/side shelves? Removable or drop-down? Expanded metal or solid? Stainless steel? Log shelf underneath?
- ports for probe wires? How many? Are they closeable if you aren't using them?
- flat warming rack on top of the FB?
- types of closures for the FB air inlets, and for the smoke stack closure/rain cover?
- option to take the stack down to grate level?
- paint options? Some pitmakers offer options for higher temp paint.
- welded-on hooks or loops for winching it onto a pickup or trailer, or tying it down.
- does he offer a cover?

Sounds like you've made a great choice, good luck!

 

[Ag76]

You might check out Kat Smokers as suggested above. Since they are located in California, shipping should be cheaper. I have heard they are good, but have no personal experience.

http://katbbqsmokers.com/