Purpose of Franklin’s smokestack design? (wide exhaust opening)

Deebo said:
What ever happened to Franklin producing these pits? I thought they were supposed to start production this past summer? I'm definitely interested in these.
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The mill.scale guys worked for him before splitting off and starting their own smoker shop.
 
jdtTX said:
The mill.scale guys worked for him before splitting off and starting their own smoker shop.
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I did hear about Matt and Caleb Johnson branching off to start Mill Scale. I remember reading that Franklin was still looking to move forward with producing the pits and was looking at building a new warehouse in Austin for them. I wasn't sure if there was any news that came out since then.
 
Deebo said:
I did hear about Matt and Caleb Johnson branching off to start Mill Scale. I remember reading that Franklin was still looking to move forward with producing the pits and was looking at building a new warehouse in Austin for them. I wasn't sure if there was any news that came out since then.
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Yeah, he said the city was causing a lot of delays with the new building, but that was coming up on a year ago now. His primary welders leaving had to slow it down.
 
jdtTX said:
Yeah, he said the city was causing a lot of delays with the new building, but that was coming up on a year ago now. His primary welders leaving had to slow it down.
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I'd be surprised if the Franklin pits ever happen. It's been 2 years. I suspect there's something we don't know, that's why Johnson brothers left and did it on their own.
 
Rockinar said:
I'd be surprised if the Franklin pits ever happen. It's been 2 years. I suspect there's something we don't know, that's why Johnson brothers left and did it on their own.
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I assumed given the site and how they instantly had some support from some industry folks that they had a less than ironclad non compete and took the design and ran with it. Who knows though.
 
As the OP, good to see this thread coming back to life. The irony is that I wussed out at the last minute and did not include the ears in the final version of smoker because I did not want to mess with the builder’s proven design.
 
Well I had a guy build me a 250 gal Franklin replica, and let me tell ya, it draws WAY to good, I've got to keep playing with it to find that happy medium. I can't get that thin blue smoke but for 2-3 mins and then it's nothing but heat.
 
georgiasmoke said:
Well I had a guy build me a 250 gal Franklin replica, and let me tell ya, it draws WAY to good, I've got to keep playing with it to find that happy medium. I can't get that thin blue smoke but for 2-3 mins and then it's nothing but heat.
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You might think about shortening the exh stack height. That will help lessen the draw and keep more heat in the cooker.
How short? I don't have a guess as I don't know your stack dia or height or the size of your smoker.
 
georgiasmoke said:
Well I had a guy build me a 250 gal Franklin replica, and let me tell ya, it draws WAY to good, I've got to keep playing with it to find that happy medium. I can't get that thin blue smoke but for 2-3 mins and then it's nothing but heat.
Click to expand...

What size splits are you using? You should be able to go with bigger splits and close the door/damper a little more to get more smoke time. Just don't choke it down too much and it should be fine.
 
I’m not so sure that Franklin invented that collector. I was told that one of his first smokers that he purchased was from Mueller after he closed. The man who built that smoker was JD from Workhorse Pits father. Both Workhorse and Primitive Pits use that collector, so it’s not a stretch to say that Franklin may of gotten the idea from one of those early smokers. Take what I say with a grain of salt, I can’t verify this story as being true. Just what I was told when I spoke to someone who would know about that particular situation.


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jambo, rockin' w and all jambo clones use a collector but they don't extend all the way across the cook chamber. It's a shame but none of the smoker builders put a patent on their ideas.
 
I think of air flowing through the cook chamber as if its a river. And on the stack end, the river is hitting a dam.


If the cooker does not have the collector, that would be like having flood gates open in the middle of the dam. Flotsam and debris will accumulate in the corners of the dam. And it will create eddys.


With the collector , there's no build up of " flotsam " in the corners , making the entire grate usable.



I beginning to arrive at the conclusion, that Franklin's concern for air flow is on those 1,000 gal , 14 ft long propane tank smokers. I would guess that getting good draw through something that large is a problem. But I don't think small backyard cookers have a big problem with air flow.


Just my thoughts.
 
Lynn Dollar said:
I beginning to arrive at the conclusion, that Franklin's concern for air flow is on those 1,000 gal , 14 ft long propane tank smokers. I would guess that getting good draw through something that large is a problem. But I don't think small backyard cookers have a big problem with air flow.
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I suspect you are correct. My 20” Horizon has no problems with the draw.
 
BigThicket said:
What size splits are you using? You should be able to go with bigger splits and close the door/damper a little more to get more smoke time. Just don't choke it down too much and it should be fine.
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I don't know if this is considered going off topic, as well as using an old post, but it touches on a question I've always had. I often will get to a completely clear smoke. Adding splits will change that but CBS occurs for a while and then clear is back. Is clear not desirable? Does it impart less or zero flavor?
 
Jlems said:
I don't know if this is considered going off topic, as well as using an old post, but it touches on a question I've always had. I often will get to a completely clear smoke. Adding splits will change that but CBS occurs for a while and then clear is back. Is clear not desirable? Does it impart less or zero flavor?
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It's normal. Smoke taste is up to you. If it's not smokey enough add a greener piece of wood every now and then.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 
thedude9999 said:
I suspect you are correct. My 20” Horizon has no problems with the draw.
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For as much as AF talks about air flow, his backyard smoker is designed to run with the FB door closed. I heard an interview with him back in June, I think, on Gregg Rempe's podcast. He said they've drilled the exact number of holes in the door for the smoker to get the proper amount of air flow with the door closed.


Scroll down here to a good pic of the door. The smoker he used in his Master Class vids, did not have these holes, he smoked with the door barely cracked open



https://franklinbbqpits.com/

Franklin talking about his pit with Rempe

https://youtu.be/Rt_8m52JNL4?t=1941
 
Last edited:
NYC 'Que said:
I’m not so sure that Franklin invented that collector. I was told that one of his first smokers that he purchased was from Mueller after he closed. The man who built that smoker was JD from Workhorse Pits father. Both Workhorse and Primitive Pits use that collector, so it’s not a stretch to say that Franklin may of gotten the idea from one of those early smokers. Take what I say with a grain of salt, I can’t verify this story as being true. Just what I was told when I spoke to someone who would know about that particular situation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Click to expand...

I found this article and it shows a picture of Franklin's early pit.

https://thetastingbuds.com/2009/09/backyard-eats-with-franklin-bbq/

It didn't haven't collector and I'm not sure that's THE pit he got from John Mueller.
 
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