Lang vs East texas smoker company

dean74 · Nov 12, 2012

I am getting ready to upgrade to a reverse flow on a trailer and I am not sure which I am going to go with yet. Anyone know anything about the East texas smokers? I know I will have some die hard lang owners in here! Looking forward to this purchase!

bmudd14474 · Nov 14, 2012

Dont know much about East Texas Smokers. I went to their site and it looks almost the same as a lang. I venture to say they will be very close in nature.

albone · Nov 27, 2012

I bought from east texas smokers this past May and it was NOT a good experience. Everything was going fine until we got close to the completion date and it all went downhill from there. They became very hard to contact, I wanted to make sure they were still on schedule as I was attempting to hire someone to deliver the pit to me. I had also requested that pictures of the completed pit be sent to me so I coild be assured of what I would be receiving. No pictures ever arrived. When my delivery guy went to pick up the pit, he was told that the custom shelf I had requested was not ready and would besent to me later. Seems to me that someone from east texas smokers should have phoned me with that information. When the cooker arrived, not only was the shelf missing but so was the "grill conversion kit" that I paid an extra $300 for. It was supposed to be grates that sit inside the pit that will allow you to use it as a grill instead of a smoker. After two weeks of many unreturned phone calls and one threat to get other agencies involved, the "kit" finally arrived. it was one expanded metal grate that doesn't even take up half the length of the grill. Anybody could have built it with 20 bucks worth of materials from Menards. In addition, the paint job was horrible!

I've built my own shelf and put a logo on it like they were supposed to do (the one they made was the most amature looking thing I've ever seen) and I bought cast iron grates to use as my charcoal grates. Expenses one shouldn't have to make when the pay nearly $6000 to have somethi g custom built for them.

Obviously, you're going to do whatever you want to do, but I will never deal with east texas smokers again!

dean74 · Nov 27, 2012

albone! Thanks for your response! I see this is your first post! Welcome to the forum! I have heard both good and bad about east texas... Decisions, Decisions... What model of ETSC pit do you have, and other than the bad experience you have had getting your smoker, How do you like cooking on it?

albone · Nov 30, 2012

I have the basic model with an insulated fire box, warming box, and doors and racks set up without a middle brace that will allow me to cook a whole hog. As far as how well it cooks, it does an adequate job. Personally, I honestly believe the pitmaster has more of an impact on the outcome than the pit! Having said that, the pitmaster does need reliable and consistent equipment, and it's every bit of that! Should you decide to go with etsc, (in spite of the issues I personally had with their customer service), I think you'll be getting a fine pit. Let me know, I'll be happy to post or email pictures of my pit for you to look at.

bruno994 · Nov 30, 2012

I have talked to a few guys at comps this year running ETSC pits and love them, but customer service is very high on my list and it sounds like their service sucks. As far as Lang, I have seen nothing but great reviews and praise for them. Buying a pit is a personal, very personal decision, I would rank it up there with choosing a wife..LOL,..(I only put that in there cause my wife doesn't get on SMF)... Have you talked with Lang or ETSC at all? Have you looked at Gator Pit of Texas? Further south in Houston, Texas, but a really well built pit and everything I have read here on Texas Q forums is nothing but top notch customer service. Pitmaker is also out of Houston, sweet looking setups, but a bit more expensive. R & O Customs is also in Texas, nice looking setups as well. I don't beleive any of these offer the RF style though.

dean74 · Nov 30, 2012

I havnt talked to lang, I have spoke with Clint at ETSC and I do believe that is the route I think I am going to go. I have talked to guys that own both, Both have said great things. I will keep you guys posted with my personal experience with ETSC. I really hope it all goes well and I end up a happy new pit owner! Hope you are all firing up your smokers and getting ready for a weekend smoke! Have a good one!

albone · Dec 1, 2012

Just an fyi. Before deciding to go with ETSC, I had considered a company out of Georgia called Bubba Grills. The only reason I didn't choose them was because ETSC offered more customization options. Might be worth looking into!

dean74 · Dec 1, 2012

I actually ordered the ETSC today. So far it has been a good experience, I will keep you all updated on the progress. Should be done sometime after the first of the year. I asked them to send me pictures of progress once a week or so. I will post the pictures of the progress as it goes on and we will see if the customer service has improved at all. I had been looking at everyones suggestion and something just kept pulling me back to ETSC. So I went with my gut feeling and called and ordered it! Wish me luck! Thanks again!

va_connoisseur · Dec 4, 2012

Good luck with that. I hate to hear about folks having bad experiences with several thousand dollar smokers.

dean74 · Dec 4, 2012

So far its been good, Have spoke with Clint and Heath (owners of ETSC) everyday since I have ordered it making sure everything is done the way I want. They have been very helpful so far. Smoker should be done beginning of the year sometime!

friedoysters · Dec 20, 2012

Dean, how did the pit from ETSC turn out? just curious...

dean74 · Dec 20, 2012

The pit is not quite complete yet, but I have nothing but great things to say about the experience so far. I have been impressed with the customer service, and I cant explain how excited I am to go down and pick it up! Should be done next week sometime. They have been great about sending me pictures throughout the whole process. I will post the latest picture they sent of the pit.

IMG_2403-1.jpg

dean74
Dec 20, 2012

bruno994 · Dec 21, 2012

Looking good man.

ringtail bbq · Jan 5, 2013

Dean... Do you have an update?

dean74 · Jan 5, 2013

Going down tomorrow to pick it up!!! Ill post some pics as soon as I get down to texas! But as far as the experience of working with these guys has been top notch! I have nothing but great things to say about them!

ringtail bbq · Jan 5, 2013

Thanks... Look forward to hearing about it, I've been talking with them about ordering one.

dean74 · Jan 5, 2013

Good deal! What model have you been talking about?

ringtail bbq · Jan 6, 2013

The same as yours but with the small warmer and propane burners.

dean74 · Jan 6, 2013

Cool, I got the competition contendor its got storage on the backside and a propapne grill and the burners, I was thinking about the warmer box, but went with the insulated firebox, and cyber q guru system! picking it up in the morning!

Lang vs East texas smoker company

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