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Posted
28 minutes ago, CoachTex said:

I appreciate the info. I'm partial to the offset vertical smoker. Any suggestions is greatly appreciated.  Just looking to replace this with something a lot more robust and better build quality. 20240616_075336.thumb.jpg.233aa40e252843483ac2ed72b52750d9.jpg

 

Well, in looking at other vertical offsets, that seems to hit a sweet spot between the super thin OK Joe and the tank-like but expensive Lone Star Grillz.  I can't seem to find a price on Yoder's vertical offsets, but I imagine they're up there.  

 

The stack placement on the ASF is an interesting choice.  I assume there's some sort of baffle or tuning plate that allows the smoke get above stack height and then make its way down?

Posted (edited)
24 minutes ago, CoachTex said:

Yeah there was a company called helotes Pitts that had exactly what I was looking for but they went out of business. 

Lifetime makes a combo horizontal/vertical offset.  But the 20" one is $2,200.

 

Just doing a quick search, it's really hard to find something in that layout that isn't high dollar or flimsy.  It looks like they sell those ASF pits at HEB (not exactly encouraging), but it would be easy enough to go over there and check them out.  It should be pretty apparent whether they are built to last at least for a little while.

 

Otherwise, I'd make a crude drawing of what you want and see what a welder would charge you to fabricate it out of 1/4" steel.  Sometimes, this is cheaper than you think.  You can use your current cooker's dimensions.

Edited by dcbc
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Posted

@CoachTex Check this out.  It's more expensive at $2,450, but it seems like it will outlast all of us and is a 20x20 Vertical Offset.  1/4" steel.  Made in Houston.  Depending how many years you got out of your (to use your words) "El cheapo" smoker, it might make the most sense to save your money and get another one in the lower end of the price range.  But I don't think that ASF looks like it's worth $1,500.  This one looks like it's probably built to last at $2,450.  YMMV

 

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https://pitsbyjj.com/smokers/20x20-vertical-smoker/

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Posted

@dcbc bai hobe da. Yeah I got 4 years out of it. Got it for a song when they were being clearenced at home depot.  Doesn't hold temp very well and looking to upgrade.  Shooting for $2000 dollar range.  So as this will be only my 2nd one, I should shoot for at least 3/8" to hold Temps better? I appreciate all the help.

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Posted (edited)
25 minutes ago, CoachTex said:

@dcbc bai hobe da. Yeah I got 4 years out of it. Got it for a song when they were being clearenced at home depot.  Doesn't hold temp very well and looking to upgrade.  Shooting for $2000 dollar range.  So as this will be only my 2nd one, I should shoot for at least 3/8" to hold Temps better? I appreciate all the help.

Let us know how it goes.  My first pit was a New Braunfels Hondo I bought in the early 2000s.  Probably 3/16" thick.  It was frustrating to use and I mostly put it to use as a grill.  But I really had no idea what I was doing.  From there, I moved through a Pit Barrel (briefly) to a WSM, which I love and am keeping for those times when I'm too busy to tend a fire or just want some sleep.  I sing the WSM's praises whenever possible, and it's thin metal.  But it's well-designed, easy to use, and I've put out some exceptional food on it. 

Incidentally, I gave the Hondo to a friend of mine and he's still using it over 20 years after I bought it.  He'll burn out the firebox soon enough, but it's gotten him into smoking food and, to my benefit, he's keeping me supplied with wood from some rural property he owns as long as I go out and help him cut it on occasion.  

3/16" steel may be fine in that vertical design, and there's only one way to find out.  In my case though, I wanted to buy once/cry once and spent about $650 more than I would have spent on that Old Country G2 at Academy.  The G2 is a beast, but I don't regret the wait and a little extra money to get get the smoker I got, which is a monster for its size and spec'd out like pits costing even more.  I have no worries about its longevity as long as I oil it  up periodically and keep it under cover. And so far, the extra-thick gauge of steel has made the learning curve not so steep with my first two cooks going really smoothly.

But what I learned in the last day is that vertical offsets are not all that common, and when you do find them from custom builders, they ain't cheap.  Keep us posted.

Edited by dcbc
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Posted

Did a brisket for tomorrow with some ribs for tonight (and sausage).

Ribs were Texas and could've used a bit if a sweet vinegar sauce in the foil. But otherwise we're amazing. Nice and savory. 9/10

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Posted

So I fell asleep on that brisket. When I woke up around 2 a.m., it had cooled a bit. I wrapped it, tossed it in the oven and went to bed. It finished around 6 a.m., and we kept it warm until dinner. Not too bad.

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Posted (edited)
51 minutes ago, Big_kat said:

I got a blue smoke smoker a couple years back. That fucker is bad ass and bullet proof. Cannot beat the price for what you get. All 3/8 steel. Son of a bitch went through the bottom of my trailer when bringing it home. Once you get the stack dialed in she his right along around 260 as long as you feed her a split every 45-60 min. 

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Nice.  It reallly is a beast.  Did yours come with the slant-baffle?  It seems to even out the temps across the pit pretty well.

 

How are you running the stack?  I had mine closed off to about 25% open on Saturday and it worked really well.

Edited by dcbc
Posted
2 hours ago, tigol said:

I want to be on the list for one of those soon.  Looks awesome.

It was about a 10--12 week wait for mine.  But it was worth the wait.  And spec'd out just like I wanted it, it still was $1,000 less than anything comparable on the market.

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Posted

Here is the website.  Great guys to work with and they were accommodating to some changes that I wanted to make during the build process.  They are out in Caddo Mills so could be a bit of a drive depending on where you are, but it is well worth it for the money. I also have a 250 gallon smoker on a trailer from East Texas Smokers that I thought was the easiest smoker to use until I got this one. It is a dream once you get it dialed in. Here is the biscuit test when I was learning how it cooks. 

 

https://bluesmokesmokers.com/

 

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Posted
On 1/20/2025 at 4:48 PM, Big_kat said:

I got a blue smoke smoker a couple years back. That fucker is bad ass and bullet proof. Cannot beat the price for what you get. All 3/8 steel. Son of a bitch went through the bottom of my trailer when bringing it home. Once you get the stack dialed in she his right along around 260 as long as you feed her a split every 45-60 min. 

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Looks like it was welded at the Burns Slant Drilling Company. 

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Posted
On 1/21/2025 at 8:49 AM, Big_kat said:

Here is the biscuit test when I was learning how it cooks. 

I haven't done a biscuit cook on mine yet, but it cooks really evenly with the baffle in place.  Here's a biscuit test that Phil did on one in house.  Basically, there's almost no hot spot near the firebox outside of the baffle.  Cool how it works.  It directs most of the heat straight up.  And as it looses temperature through the top of the smoker, it sort of rains down evenly across the length of it with some radiant heat coming through.  So the thermometer over by the stack is pretty representative of what you're getting across the lower cooking surface.

 

Check out the biscuit test with the baffle in place.

 

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Posted

Took the day off and cooked some spares, a brisket (for tomorrow), some sausage, and chicken thighs.
 
I haven't had better spare ribs. 
 
Brisket to come tomorrow.  Really got a chance to fine tune this smoker today.



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Posted
Looks great, are you happy with the brisket?
Yeah, it was really good. It's the first time I've finished one on the pit (wrapped and put the last two in the oven). I got it on at 9:15 yesterday morning. So it didn't get too late on me. I really feel like I got dialed in on how to run a fire in this thing during this cook.
Posted (edited)

That’s great, fire control trumps all when it comes to brisket imho. Did you get the meat at a grocery store?

Edited by RMac5
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Posted
17 minutes ago, RMac5 said:

That’s great, fire control trumps all when it comes to brisket imho. Did you get the meat at a grocery store?

It's Certified Black Angus (High Choice) from WalMart of all places.  I thought I got a picture of it trimmed, but I must not have.  The marbling in the point was beautiful.  About 13.5 lbs before trimming.

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