Old Country BBQ Pits Over and Under Smoker

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The only issue I've had with mine is the coal/wood tray warped real bad. So I took some 3/4" angle iron & built a frame the same length and width of the tray, welded in some expanded metal & it works like a charm.


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I have a Good One Open Range which looks to be the one they copied. i'm chiming in to say that I find the over & under design just makes sense. since the firebox attaches to the entire length cook chamber the heat is even throughout. on the open range the cook chamber heat control is a full length heavy steel flapper like the flue control in a fireplace chimney. I WORKS. the fire is controlled by screw in dampers like a wood stove & they do an excellent job. the old country looks to have twice the smoking capacity as the open range which would be a plus. I've heard that old country's Q.C. is all over the place so you might want to look at several before buying. but then I also heard that they have gotten their act together on their Q.C.

i'd say they are definitely worth looking at. since they recently opened an academy store here i'll check them out in person after the holidays.
 
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Working off the iPhone here so forgive me if this has been answered. My Old Country Over Under has a handle on the side that will move a flap between the chamber and fire box. There is no way to lock it in position, rather it closes again when you let go of the handle. Any ideas what the heck it's for? I'm new to this (formerly a Smokey Mountain man).
 
Newbie here - I've had my Over-Under since 2014, so mine is a first generation one and I love it.  I wish I had the rolled lids like the new one, but I highly recommend this smoker for the serious home smoker.  I've done up to 4, 12 lb butts on it, 6 racks of ribs, 60 Jalapeno poppers, 36 ears of corn, and 2 packer briskets on mine - so the size is amazing.  I cook on it about 2/3 times a month, so I've put mine through the ringer.  It took a while to get the fire management down, but now that I have it figured out - I can maintain between 270 and 280 all day long using whole log hickory (about a log per hour)  I get a clean, blue haze coming out of the dual stacks for the entire day.  My fire door lid (the top one) does crack a bit and warp some when I'm running, but it doesn't bother me - I run my smoker with the vents mostly open and the side fire door at a good 1 inch cracked open as well so I get plenty of airflow and run a really clean fire.  Using Charcoal - you will  use a LOT of coal - so I recommend using whole log or chunks as your fuel.  

As far as hot-spots.  Mine gets pretty hot on the back 4" of my grate and that caused me to ruin 1 end of my ribs a few times until I figured out how to cook them on this smoker.  I dropped 6 iGrill thermometers (draping them from the top grate so they dangle in the air)  and the front 3 read within 3 degrees of the thermometers I had on the front lid - the back 3 were a good 15 degrees hotter on average - when I moved them out of that 3-4" range, they read the same as the others.  I've used a strip of welders blanket on the back side to cut that down and it works great.

I also always keep 2 big aluminum plans under my bottom grate for water pans/drippings catchers.  That helps keep the temps a bit more stable and the bottom of the smoker clean, so I rarely have to clean the inside of my smoker. 





 
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I was told the other day that they are discontinued and no more will be made of the over and under. So idk. But i really like mine so far did 2 full racks of ribs and 3 chickens. But trying to learn firebox management is key for me. Also going to have a new 3/8 charcoal tray made tomorrow.
 
I'm picking up one of these smokers this Thursday from Academy for my Father's Day gift to myself. Went and checked them out in person today. They're fairly well built now with lipped doors on both chambers which mitigates smoke loss. I also noticed the flapper or damper door that runs lengthwise along the smoker box outlet that leads into the cooking chamber. Wondering what its purpose is since it cannot be opened all the way or any for that matter, just a closed position or held open by the lever, kind of like a damper that cannot be adjusted.
 


So I bought mine Saturday, brought it home , sprayed the inside and started a fire to season... what a mess, seemed to drip all over, will be moving it off the concrete before I run it again!
​Sunday I smoked a ham that I had been brining all week, took a bit longer than I had thought, finished the last hour in my oven at 10pm. Turned out pretty good for my first ever ham, will eat it tonight!
 
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I got my Over and Under for my birthday in Feb. My son works at Academy, so I had them bring down a pit from the back, as the front door of the floor model had a good 1/2 in gap. I got a pretty good example, and have cooked on it several times. I'd recommend it for sure. I've noticed that the price has gone down to $499 from the $599 when I bought mine. Well, actually, my son got it with his employee discount, so I only paid $480 for mine. But for the new price, it's hard to beat.




 
Hi all,

Newbie to the site, been smoking for a while. Just bought and over under today at academy. Has anyone figured out the purpose of the movable damper? The floor model had a welded plate but the new one has the handle. I'm thinking maybe it's to reheat the box once you've opened the smoke side?? Otherwise I can't the protest. I'm seasoning it right now with hickory. Cheers to all you smokers out there!

Paul
 
Not sure, but for me anyway, it lets it all breath better when I'm just firing it up and getting the fire going..
 
Just got one of these for the big 50. I think I am going to love it. Seasoned it today for 8hr. Used around 10lbs of charcoal and five 3 to 4 inch oak branches around 18 inches long. I was able to maintain 225 with minimal effort.
Started out with all vents open full and got the temp up to 300 without a problem
Cut the vents in half on the intake and exhaust and it stayed between 200 and 225 without a problem
Half way through the burn my wife came home and said she was hungry so I pulled out the top rack and put in in the burn side. Pushed the coals back a bit and thew on a couple of steaks. 5 minutes on both sides and perfect medium rare.
The deciding factor that I chose this smoker was the capacity and the duel function. Allows you to smoke and grill. I wish it came with three grill grates.

Next weekend it's :
2 Briskets
4 racks BB Ribs
10lbs of chicken legs
5LB of sausage
And we will see what else can fit.

Lastly I did see the temp differences between the front and back and will have to monitor that. Side to side was spot on. Also had no smoke loss on the doors.
 
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