got my first look @ a LANG ........

[got14u]

Well today the college brought over their 84" Lang so that I can cook for a seminar that is Friday night. Well I must say I am not impressed at all with the craftsmanship or quality of them...Don't get me wrong I bet they cook great, obviously they do other wise they would not still be around. But the unfinished quality that I saw made me glad I didn't buy one. A couple big problems I saw right of were the tack welds of everything, nothing is finished, the air vents/dampers aren't even ground down on the inside so there is dross/slag still there. They didn't even take a grinder to the circle levers on the outside of the dampers. The list goes on and on...I am not sure how old this one is it does have the round ends so I know it is a older model...Any of you lang owners that have purchased a new one have the same stuff or has the quality gone up since they built this one? I will have pictures of these things tomorrow so that people can see what I am talking about.

 

[pandemonium]

cant wait to see the pics, just what i need something else to irritate me lol

 

[garyt]

When I got mine I spent the first 2 hours with a 4" angle grinder on the reverse flow plate and the warmer getting rid of the splatter from the wire feed welder, yeah I thought it must have missed the finishing shop. But I would buy it again in a heartbeat.

 

[got14u]

How long ago did you buy yours???
When I get the pics up would you mind taking pics of yours up close as well so that we have some comparison....I also heard their wiring isn't very good, some members on here have re-done theirs. I saw wires hanging down on this one but don't know if it was like that or not...Like I said they must cook great !!!!!

edit: yours has the flat ends so it can't be to old...wow

 

[jaxgatorz]

my lang is only bout a year old.Does it have some welds that could have been cleaner? yes, but that matters absolutely zero in my book.....It IS the best cooking smoker i have ever seen..( and this coming from a guy who is selling his)...Heck i'm sure i could nit-pic a Jambo too ( inside joke for some1 else)..happy smokers.....

 

[garyt]

Got it last July, Just some grinding required, wiring is fine. I am ashamed to say the only mistake I may have made when buying this one is maybe I should have gone bigger. It is all I need but you just keep having thoughts maybe I should have?

 

[got14u]

Good to hear....I'll get my first experience tomorrow with one

 

[got14u]

Here are some pics from the lang I used today...It did work good but much to be desired for the money spent on these things...I also could have taken a lot more of things but stopped with these.

 

[soafung]

i'm glad i found these guys (http://www.easttexassmokercompany.com/). their ETSC RK250 and the Lang 84 are comparable. the RK250 is cheaper. plus they are from texas, so double points to them.

 

[prncinghrse]

I received my 60 this week. It is beefy but they really should clean up some of the welding/details. I purchased it with an extra thermometer which they forgot. The trailer has tail lights but no license plate bracket or light. 1st day and I need to correct the small stuff.

Do folks weld ribs across the fire box to place sauce pans on?

Thanks

 

[got14u]

I'm sure you could...sounds like this "cleaning up" is a common thing with langs...And to think I use to envy lang owners

...great design tho

 

[rio_grande]

From spending some time in custom manufacturing I can tell you that cleanup takes time and time is money. Lang is no diffrent that the company I used to work for the more product they can push out the door the more money they can make. The quality of the welds means nohing to how it cooks, but it's removal goes a long way towards customer satisfaction which will keep people buying. I saw a lang many years ago that had no name on it and I didnt know that it was special. I remember thinking I would fire the kid they had welding for them. I imagine that was an older one.

I am happy to say in the manufacturing I was part of customer satisfaction won out to production.

I like the lang design, but My stuff will be welded an look like a pro did the work. Cause the quality of that work is a direct reflection on me.

 

[got14u]

It wouldn't take that much time which = money to clean up the craftsmanship on these smokers...The quality of welds does in my opinion affect how it cooks and also how long it will last (leaks, cracks, longevity)....I had some people tell me they have new ones and nothing has changed. They just have a lower standard for their products then what most of us look for. I think they get away with it because they do cook good, they are cheaper then some, and their name is already out there. you can compare them to a corvette...It's by far not the nicest car out there but it does a great job...But if I was to buy a corvette I would still want the paint to be good and not have runs in it and trim missing or crooked.....I guess I should quit I don't want to come off bad mouthing them but just sorta disappointed that's all.

 

[rio_grande]

Dude can you change your avitar? that one hurts my eyes...

 

[got14u]

LOL...it is a weird one isn't it...I was wondering how long till somebody said something

 

[kurtsara]

I like that they don't require a license plate bracket, Minnesota does not require a plate on allot of trailers.

The wiring I think could be run cleaner and hidden if possible