Pitch it or fix it?

[Espy]

Push it to the curb and get something else; kettle, WSM, UDS.

The time you put into fixing it could have been spent on a UDS (easier to do, same cost) or more BBQ.

 

[33tango]

And the winner is....

Buoght a WSM 18.5 today at a big box store with a military discount. It's assembled and I've got some ribs on now for the last two hours. Thank all of you who gave advice (like I asked for, instead of insults for how I wanted to make MY bbq).

I will keep the brinkman s&p and eventually fix it up so when I have a real crowd I have more capacity. I get some old stainless steel from work (1/4 inch) that was going to be thrown away with occasionally very thick pieces (1/2 inch) that come from old safe deposit box doors, once I have enough stainless I'll make some mods so I can do it very cheaply. Any precautions I need to take regarding the stainless? A "burn-in" with no meat the first time?

 

[rumproastiltskin]

I agree.with el_matt - why not just build a UDS? You're in JAX so plenty of food grade drums around - heck you can easily get the 110 gal drums (though you did say you're not looking for large volume). UDS is cheap and easy to build. Mine is nearly complete with less than $50 invested. I haven't cooked on mine yet but my uncle's holds nearly any temp he wants for at least 18 hours.

Just my $0.02. Hey as long as whatever you get makes meat you love to eat - who cares what it is :-D.

Good luck finding something awesome! :-D