smoker size/builders

bonz50

bonz50

Take a breath!
Joined
Nov 9, 2017
Location
Hamilton...
Name or Nickame
Tony
reading up on a new pit to replace my OK Joe and WSM, I want something bigger for sure but this is where I get fuzzy. I know I dont ~need~ something commercial size. I tend to think that something in the 120-150 range would probably be fine but I keep reading about how the 250's tend to be just a really great all-around pit even if you're not doing large quantities of meat but obviously can handle it if you want/need it to.

obviously tons of questions to ask/answer. do I want a reverse flow or traditional offset? is there a benefit to one over the other? how big is to big? Shirley Fab is only about 80-90mi from me and a 50-60" cabinet with warmer sounds pretty close to perfect but I know they are approaching 3yrs to get one on the waiting list, last I heard. Any other builders that are worth a drive to? I dont have a specific budget in mind, ~6k is probably in the ball park i guess, I could stretch for the right one i reckon since this is basically a once in a lifetime purchase.

any advice on who to talk to if I dont wanna wait for a shirley?

If I had a welder and a plasma cutter I'd just build it myself using some calculators to figure out the size of everything but don't have either yet (tho I need to get them to be honest). I'm thinking spring/summer '24 to make the final choice so I have some time but need to get some ducks in a row.

what yall think?
 
I have a Shirley that Paul built for me earlier this year, one of the last group he did before having Shoulder replacement surgery at the end of September. You won’t go wrong with a Shirley, whether you go with Direct or Reverse flow.
I certainly understand the issues with waiting. If you use Facebook, there is a Shirley Fabrication Buy-Sell group that has a lot of Cookers similar to what you are describing. Check them out.
If you find one that is beyond your driving range, get in touch with Kevin White, who handles most of their deliveries and he might have a run scheduled where he could pick up the Cooker and bring it to you. I’m on my second Shirley and Kevin delivered both to me right to my Driveway.
Good luck with your search.
 
I just picked up a Shirley that I found on the 24x36 owners Facebook page, he was about 2.5 hours from me & I couldn’t be happier. There’s two other FB pages dedicated to Shirley Fab that people use to buy & sell all the time, take a look & you might find the perfect pit not too far from home like I did.
 
I like the Primitive Pit 250 with a semi-insulated firebox, not fully insulated. I think if you ordered today, you would have it in 5-6 months.
 
I think it's fairly common for folks wanting a custom Shirley to get one of the sort of in stock 24x36 models to use while waiting on their custom model and then selling the 24x36 when their build starts or is delivered. I think the wait for a 24x36 is only a couple of months and used ones retain their value well if well maintained.

If you go this route, you might find that the 24x36 is just what you need and decide not to upgrade. The semi-cabinet design holds more than a similarly sized tube shape. I'm hoping to order one for myself next year.

If you're getting old and decrepit with a bad back (like me), I think you'd really appreciate the cabinet-style cook chamber doors over the more standard lift-to-open doors found on most offset smokers.
 
my brother has a shirley 36 with the stainless shelf. it's very nice but it would indeed be a stepping stone to a bigger one eventually. probably in the ballpark of 50"+/-
 
jeffshoaf said:
I think it's fairly common for folks wanting a custom Shirley to get one of the sort of in stock 24x36 models to use while waiting on their custom model and then selling the 24x36 when their build starts or is delivered. I think the wait for a 24x36 is only a couple of months and used ones retain their value well if well maintained.

If you go this route, you might find that the 24x36 is just what you need and decide not to upgrade. The semi-cabinet design holds more than a similarly sized tube shape. I'm hoping to order one for myself next year.

If you're getting old and decrepit with a bad back (like me), I think you'd really appreciate the cabinet-style cook chamber doors over the more standard lift-to-open doors found on most offset smokers.
Click to expand...

This is what I was going to say, while I have the 24x42 the 24x36 holds an impressive amount of food, in fact I might eventually sell or trade my 42” for a 36” because I feel that it’s the perfect size for what I want/need.

Another thing to think of is that the Shirley is almost dead even across the grates which allows you to use the entire grate vs a direct offset. Having said that there are folks who prefer having a hotter zone with the direct for different proteins, myself I don’t see the need so I went for the Shirley.

Another point as mentioned above, the swing out doors are an absolute pleasure to use as well as the front shelf being lowered a few inches so you can leave a tray on the shelf & still use the doors without moving the tray, pure genius!
 
If I were to get a bigger pit today, I'd probably go with a traditional 250 offset. I don't think there's any substitution for the convective effects for rendering fat caps across multiple briskets or butts. I have a traditional flow 120'ish and a Lang 36. I seem to have an easier time getting the rendered yellow fat with the traditional. I do fat cap down next to the baffle plate in the Lang to get that extra radiant heat into it for rendering and that works well, but I sometimes lose some bark when the rendered fat sinks into the grates, and I'm not sure how that would work on anything but the bottom shelf on a large, reverse flow cabinet smoker. Hopefully, someone here with experience using that type of smoker will share their thoughts in that regard. I'm very open to have my mind changed since those Shirley cabinets are beautiful smokers, too.

Edit: I imagine the 250 will be easier to run then a 120 due to the thermal mass. Also, you'll get around double the capacity.
 
I owned a Shirley fab 24x52 patio with a warmer for nine years. I got one of the early Shirley built by Paul and the wait back then was 2 months. I enjoyed it a lot, great cooker and great build. I did find that I like to cook on one level, so I ended up getting a 250 gallon moberg for more grate space and I sold the Shirley. I feel the 250 is a perfect backyard size and the moberg is a breeze to run and does not eat a ton of logs. Establish the coal base and I am feeding a log every 30 to 40 mins to run around 275.
 
I like the look of a large offset, but unfortunately I could only justify the workhorse 1975t I picked up February of this year. I like it, but as everyone else, I wish I spent just a bit more and got the 250 or wish list 500 gallon pit. I sometimes need just a bit more room on the 1975 bottom grate, and with different proteins (chicken, beef, and pork), but I don't have the pans to use on the top grate to prevent cross contamination.

Only thing that puzzles me, is the 250-gallon pits I've seen, seem to have a big hot zone compared to some (most use between the handles). I like a hot spot in some cases, as I can smoke my chicken, then turn skin side down on the shot spot to crisp the skin up right before taking off, and all the juices stay inside the skin and don't dry out due to the heat and air flow.

If I had to design my own pit, I would take two 500-gallon pits, make one 500-gallon the main pit, then cut the second one in half or more (design dependent), and I would cut the whole in the main tank and weld in the second firebox uncut. I would then cut the top 2/3 or so off the firebox side, to where the cut metal would act as a baffle, but I would cut in facing the firebox, so it would create a "swirl" and direct the heat towards the outside of the main chamber, to hopefully give more swirl effect, and allow more use of the grate due to the heat entering at or slightly just above (1" or so) above the grate. I would make a removable water pan at the edge of the opening so the moisture would be high, but also protect the meats closest to the firebox side.

Ahhh we can all dream. One day I'll have my cousin who is a welder make me one like I'm dreaming of.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

lastmajordude
Observations of an old dude
Replies
13
Views
805
jham0077
jham0077
J
New offset options - OC?
Replies
6
Views
692
bned
B
G
Lone star grill ivc mini or large
Replies
6
Views
561
ew1439
E
J
Electric smoker dying
Replies
16
Views
654
JIMSMOKES
J
S
Small trailer offset smokers today?
Replies
18
Views
3K
cowboyupbbq
C
Back
Top