Short version:
How dumb would I have to be to put an stick burner on a wooden deck?
How awful is it to have a stick burner that required going down a flight of stairs to attend to? Or out the front door in a small area that isn't that fun to hang out?
Long version:
I really want to buy a stick burner, but my house is not setup to operate one conveniently. I have two choices:
1. On my raised wooden back deck. It would need to be a "light" smoker because it needs to get carried up 5 stairs and through the house. Something like a Old Country Wrangler would probably work. These light smokers need to be fed more often, but it would be in a convenient place to watch it and attend to it while drinking beers. The down side is (a) has to be a lighter grill (b) running an offset on a wooden deck is probably not the smartest idea. I could get a large fireproof mat, but it's still probably a bad enough idea that I should rule it out. I do have my kamados on the deck but a stick fire that you're adding wood to seems like a different level of risk of coals spilling out.
2. Out in the yard, either down below the deck, or out the front door. This could be a heavier smoker, as long as it's on pneumatic wheels so I could drag it around to put it in position before use. The problem with this placement is that we don't hang out there at all. I'd have to go down 13 steps every time I want to add a log. And I don't like the idea of warming wood on the firebox while it's unattended and out of sight.
Having to go down a flight of stairs seems like a crappy setup. I'm leaning toward buying something with pneumatic wheels and rolling it right out the front door when I want to smoke something. It's not like standing out there is a problem. It's just not where we hang out... ever
How dumb would I have to be to put an stick burner on a wooden deck?
How awful is it to have a stick burner that required going down a flight of stairs to attend to? Or out the front door in a small area that isn't that fun to hang out?
Long version:
I really want to buy a stick burner, but my house is not setup to operate one conveniently. I have two choices:
1. On my raised wooden back deck. It would need to be a "light" smoker because it needs to get carried up 5 stairs and through the house. Something like a Old Country Wrangler would probably work. These light smokers need to be fed more often, but it would be in a convenient place to watch it and attend to it while drinking beers. The down side is (a) has to be a lighter grill (b) running an offset on a wooden deck is probably not the smartest idea. I could get a large fireproof mat, but it's still probably a bad enough idea that I should rule it out. I do have my kamados on the deck but a stick fire that you're adding wood to seems like a different level of risk of coals spilling out.
2. Out in the yard, either down below the deck, or out the front door. This could be a heavier smoker, as long as it's on pneumatic wheels so I could drag it around to put it in position before use. The problem with this placement is that we don't hang out there at all. I'd have to go down 13 steps every time I want to add a log. And I don't like the idea of warming wood on the firebox while it's unattended and out of sight.
Having to go down a flight of stairs seems like a crappy setup. I'm leaning toward buying something with pneumatic wheels and rolling it right out the front door when I want to smoke something. It's not like standing out there is a problem. It's just not where we hang out... ever
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