Offset Smokers- How many of you rely on kiln dried wood to maintain a clean fire in an offset smoker?

[BlueandGoldBBQ]

And those people who have spent their $2,000 should imagine how those of us in Australia who have spent our $5,000 feel.........:mmph:


Anyways if you read the Yoder forum you will learn that the pit performance is great and any issues are purely user error which is a load off my mind, because for a while there I thought I had purchased a lousy pit that could only work well if it was first loaded up with a shipping container worth of lit charcoal......

Radar Hill smokers?

 

[slamkeys]

No one at Horizon has ever suggested, to my knowledge, that it is paramount to turn the fire box into the wind (in the hope that doing so will force air to move on through that damned fire box instead of trying to exhaust back through the upper intake vent). My smoker has excellent draft no matter what it's orientation is, relative to the sometimes tornado-like and often variable-direction Oklahoma winds. The very idea of having to continually rotate the smoker is insulting at worst, and questionable at best.

From what I understand, The Yoder Kingman, which is a larger class of smoker, is an excellent machine, works as intended, and isn't dependent on force-fed drafting, moistureless wood, or having the proper phase of the moon in order to make good barbecue. If I ever take the plunge with a larger smoker the Kingman is a definite possibility.

+1 for the Horizons. I couldn't find any negative feedback anywhere about them (which indicates to me their customers are happy). Steven Raichlen even used one for his Project Smoke series. I've openly expressed my regret for having passed on the Horizon brand, but hindsight is 20/20.

I went back and looked at some photos from my trip to the Bass Pro Shop in Katy, and the 20" model, which is comparable to the Yoder Wichita, definitely has the firebox lower and the butterfly vent as low as possible too.

When I looked at the Horizon 20" Classic in person, it just didn't click with me - the same way some people like Fords and others like Chevys. The wagon wheels were too big and had flat spokes instead of round, the front legs were canted too much ... little things like that. Also, I was a little skeptical of the build quality because some of the cuts were a little crooked, and the fire door opening didn't have a solid frame around it, allowing you to see daylight through the cracks. Also, the welds throughout the cooker looked like they were probably done by different people. Some of the welds were really thick, some were more normal, and then the ones on the fire doors looked like some kind of artsy-fartsy attempt to make them look fancy (big wavy fillets) - which I didn't really like. They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I'm sure some folks like this sort of welding:

Those observations aside however, I'd bet my last nickel the Horizons flow like an offset should, and if I'd bought one this forum probably would have never heard a word from me.

Regarding welds, my Wichita has some really top-notch welding in places (but they don't make up for the lousy ones I have). Here's a shot of the warmer on my firebox after I stripped the paint and started using an oil treatment instead (flax-seed oil):

The Kingman customers definitely like their smokers. It has a huge firebox and a huge butterfly to go along with it, but the Kingman still suffers from the high mounting position of the vent if it is one of the versions that has the Wichita-style heat management plate. I've seen at least a couple of Kingmans that had a horizontally-mounted heat management plate with a sliding vent near the firebox. Those models seem to work fine, and I would ask Yoder for that kind of heat management plate if I was going to order one.

Here's a Kingman exhibiting the same reverse-flow scorching like the Wichitas because its upper vent is higher than the heat management plate, but the Kingman has over 40 square inches of intake area, which is apparently enough to overcome the problem and keep the logs burning with the door closed:

 

[slamkeys]

I was looking through chapter three "Wood" in Aaron Franklin's book, and he explicitly discourages the use of kiln-dried wood for barbecue. He says it burns too hot and too fast, and won't add much flavor because there isn't enough moisture content to produce flavorful smoke.

It seems to me a majority of the pitmasters are claiming they like to have about 20% moisture content in their wood for optimum smoking. The folks at Yoder must have a different philosophy if they are recommending kiln-dried wood for their offset smokers.

I've been getting my wood from a local supplier, and occasionally the wood is a little wet, but I don't use it right away. I have a rack of wood that is already seasoned, and a reserve rack for the new arrivals that will sit around for months before I need it. The point is, my wood isn't so wet it sizzles when I throw a log on the fire, but it does have enough moisture to produce the kind of smoke I like for cooking. I shouldn't have to use kiln-dried wood just to keep the fire going.

 

[SirPorkaLot]

Kiln dried wood is great for fireplaces or campfires, not so much for smokers.

 

[dummy que]

Ya kiln dry is just wasteful to run your pit the entire time. That is why I just use kiln dry to get my coal base going and then keep that fire hot by raining benjies on it!!

the guy should stick with his pellet cookers or buy a lang

 

[slamkeys]

Anyways if you read the Yoder forum you will learn that the pit performance is great and any issues are purely user error which is a load off my mind, because for a while there I thought I had purchased a lousy pit that could only work well if it was first loaded up with a shipping container worth of lit charcoal......

After owning your Wichita for a while, do you still believe your issues resulted from your lack of skill? It sounds like you were successfully brainwashed into blaming yourself by the Yoder Forum spin machine. I initially thought your post was satire, but reading it again today it looks genuine.

 

[IXL]

^^^I still think it was satire, when taken with many of his other posts.

So, Slamkeys, have you picked out your next rig yet?

 

[CptKaos]

10 minutes after starting a small fire is not the time to look for and expect thin blue smoke, after you have a good coal bed and the pit up to temp, then it's time but not before.

Larry

 

[slamkeys]

^^^I still think it was satire, when taken with many of his other posts.

So, Slamkeys, have you picked out your next rig yet?

Haha - you're probably right. That "shipping container worth of lit charcoal" part definitely sounds tongue-in-cheek. I was hoping to get clarification because he has actually modified his Wichita at this point, which seems to contradict what was said.

I have no idea what I'm going to do next. I'm thinking about visiting some cook-offs in the area so I can talk with people about their cookers. I did all my previous research online, but there's no substitute for seeing the products in action and how they're being used. I think I have enough experience now to ask the right questions at least.

 

[Twisted T's Q]

Haha - you're probably right. That "shipping container worth of lit charcoal" part definitely sounds tongue-in-cheek. I was hoping to get clarification because he has actually modified his Wichita at this point, which seems to contradict what was said.

I have no idea what I'm going to do next. I'm thinking about visiting some cook-offs in the area so I can talk with people about their cookers. I did all my previous research online, but there's no substitute for seeing the products in action and how they're being used. I think I have enough experience now to ask the right questions at least.

well If you are considering another pit and living right there in Texas I would defiantly take a look at lyfe tyme smokers . I know you have a lot of great pit builders down there in Texas but the small amount of research I have done it seems the lyfe tyme pits are great and priced great

 

[angryelfFan]

I never use kiln dried. I did like the idea of building the fire on the back of the firebox. I usually build it on the side closest to the cook chamber. I will try it out next time.

 

[Joe Black]

Kiln drying not only removes the moisture. IMO, it also removes a lot of the flavor. My wood is backyard cured and I don't ever have any problems. I start a basket of RO lump with about 2/3 chimney of RO briqs. When it is burning well, I add a couple of pre-heated splits and close the CC. When the cooker is up to temp, I add a couple of splits and add the meat. It likes to run at 250-275* and that suits my cooking very much.

I always have TBS and a good coal bed. I always feed it pre-heated splits and it holds the cooking range very well. My FB door is mostly always closed and the air is controlled by the vents. If the humidity is really high, like it can be sometimes in SC, I will prop the FB door open about an inch with the poker.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it. It works for me in my 24"x 48" Bell Fab that I love very much.

 

[bbqpitsmoker]

After owning your Wichita for a while, do you still believe your issues resulted from your lack of skill? It sounds like you were successfully brainwashed into blaming yourself by the Yoder Forum spin machine. I initially thought your post was satire, but reading it again today it looks genuine.

I re-read my post in your quote and feel a bit bashful about it now but was originally said sarcastically in a moment of frustration at the level of hacking that was required for the cooker to work in a reasonable way given the large financial cost to purchase it vs my original expectation that it would draft properly without modification. The quantity of “silly user should learn to use their pit; no modifications required” type comments from the Yoder guys probably didn’t help my lack of tact at the time :icon_blush:

 

[slamkeys]

I re-read my post in your quote and feel a bit bashful about it now but was originally said sarcastically in a moment of frustration at the level of hacking that was required for the cooker to work in a reasonable way given the large financial cost to purchase it vs my original expectation that it would draft properly without modification. The quantity of “silly user should learn to use their pit; no modifications required” type comments from the Yoder guys probably didn’t help my lack of tact at the time :icon_blush:

Thanks for clearing that up! When I read it again with my best Ace Ventura voice it definitely scores on the sarcasm meter. :clap2: