Well I have had my Abe's Smoker now for almost a month. I can officially say that I love this thing. First off Kevin of Abe's makes a DAMN fine product. It is solid, he is responsive when you contact him, and he can be accommodating. I picked up my 60" Boss a few days before Memorial Day. Fortunately for me I live close enough that I was able to pick it up and bring it home in my truck. I ordered mine with an additional five racks, and with the casters. These casters are made to move things, they roll very smoothly. It is hard to believe that I am able to move a 500 pound mound of steel so easy.
For those of you who haven't seen these yet you should. These smokers are lined with two inches of ceramic wool. This helps them to hold heat. There is a water pan with drain above the fire box.. The concept is a reverse flow design.
On the inside of the insulated cabinet is another 1/2 inch chamber. This is where the heat and smoke arise from the bottom firebox. These holes on the top of this allow them to feed into the smoker. At the bottom of the back you will find a set of holes to allow the smoke to rise through the stack and out of the top of the chimney.
The cabinet and doors are well sealed with gasket so that leaks of heat and smoke are minimized. I still get a little around the hinged side of the smoker and Kevin has a thicker one he will apply. So far using this smoker has been simple. The trick, like any new unit is to understand how it works and plan accordingly.
WIth this last statement in mind, this thing is EFFICIENT! So efficient that I loaded forty pounds of pork shoulder in it at 8:00 PM with maybe 8 pounds of charcoal and a few sticks of cherry in it. I slept the night peacefully without getting up, until 6:00 AM when it was time to put on chicken and ribs. The temp held steady all night long at 250 without using a Guru or any other device to regulate temperature. Just the water pan and the insulted cabinet. For anyone with an Abe's I had both feed vents closed and sealed and the top stack wide open.
Having a large smoker makes feeding a lot of people a breeze. In fact even with seven racks (it holds eight) I was able to feed 80 people at a local elementary school for their athletic awards and that included smoked beans inside it.
Here we have a deep tray of baked beans, 10 racks of ribs (had room for more) and forty pounds of Boston Butt. In this pic I only have six racks in.
For an idea of the whole thing this picture give a great representation.
The upper chamber is the food chamber and the lower is the firebox.
Here is a view with the seven racks extended.
All in all this box rocks! While they are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, you do pay for what you get. I got a great one!!!!
For those of you who haven't seen these yet you should. These smokers are lined with two inches of ceramic wool. This helps them to hold heat. There is a water pan with drain above the fire box.. The concept is a reverse flow design.
On the inside of the insulated cabinet is another 1/2 inch chamber. This is where the heat and smoke arise from the bottom firebox. These holes on the top of this allow them to feed into the smoker. At the bottom of the back you will find a set of holes to allow the smoke to rise through the stack and out of the top of the chimney.
The cabinet and doors are well sealed with gasket so that leaks of heat and smoke are minimized. I still get a little around the hinged side of the smoker and Kevin has a thicker one he will apply. So far using this smoker has been simple. The trick, like any new unit is to understand how it works and plan accordingly.
WIth this last statement in mind, this thing is EFFICIENT! So efficient that I loaded forty pounds of pork shoulder in it at 8:00 PM with maybe 8 pounds of charcoal and a few sticks of cherry in it. I slept the night peacefully without getting up, until 6:00 AM when it was time to put on chicken and ribs. The temp held steady all night long at 250 without using a Guru or any other device to regulate temperature. Just the water pan and the insulted cabinet. For anyone with an Abe's I had both feed vents closed and sealed and the top stack wide open.
Having a large smoker makes feeding a lot of people a breeze. In fact even with seven racks (it holds eight) I was able to feed 80 people at a local elementary school for their athletic awards and that included smoked beans inside it.
Here we have a deep tray of baked beans, 10 racks of ribs (had room for more) and forty pounds of Boston Butt. In this pic I only have six racks in.
For an idea of the whole thing this picture give a great representation.
The upper chamber is the food chamber and the lower is the firebox.
Here is a view with the seven racks extended.
All in all this box rocks! While they are not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, you do pay for what you get. I got a great one!!!!
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