Just Ordered a Rock's BBQ Stoker For My Lang 60

[smokeon]

Couple of quick questions for you Smokeon,

First do you mind sharing what you paid for that? I may have missed it if you said it

second, in the last Pic with all the Butts, did you drill a hole beside your door to run your probes threw ? if so how did that effect chamber temp and smoke?

Thanks

No problem.  From the invoice:

Basic Plus 3 $340.00 Qty: 1

25 c.f.m. Blower Upgrade $100.00 Qty: 1

2 inch Wheel Adapter $110.00 Qty: 1

　

　

Shipping: $15.00

Tax: $0.00

Grand Total: $565.00

The break down is this:

The basic + 3 is an upgrade.  It is the controller, 1 blower, 1 pit temp sensor, and 3 meat sensors.  You could save money if you only wanted the basic which has only 1 meat sensor instead of 3.  That costs $280.00

The 25cfm blower is needed for the larger pits.  It works very well with the 60 and I recommend it for this size pit.

The 2 inch wheel adapter for me was a waste of money.  For less than $20 at Home Depot you can get some black iron pipe and make your own adapter if you don't mind drilling 2 inch holes in your firebox.  If I had put the adapter in one of the forward wheels, it would have worked some better, but I notice that the air inlets get covered over with ash by the end of the smoke.  Having the vent on top means this doesn't matter.  Also, I'm now thinking about lining the box with fire brick to keep the heat in the fire so it burns more efficiently.

Regarding the hole in the pit, Yes, I put it in there.  It is a half inch hole.  I have not noticed any problem maintaining heat or smoke in the pit with it there and it saves stress on my expensive probes.  I don't even see any smoke coming out of that hole.  I figure if I want to close it later, I can tap the hole and put a bolt in it.  It is a 1/2 inch hole.

 

[smokeon]

So overall, if asked would I buy it again, the answer is yes.  Without a doubt.  The people at Rocks are courteous and professional.  However, they will not call you if there is a delay with your order.  So don't be afraid to call to check up on it.  They answered my follow up calls very well. 

The performance of the unit is just what I expected.  My fuel usage is down and I can get much more stable temperatures than I could before.  I also think I can maintain a higher temperature than I could without the stoker.  Without the fan and with all four vents open, the pit just wasn't drawing enough are for a really hot fire.

Future upgrades might include another fan and pit temp sensor for a warming box I'm thinking about adding.  If I put a warming box on, I want it to take a full size steam table tray.  I was concerned about being able to juggle the temperatures betseen the box and the pit.  With the stoker, I would just build a fire in the bottom of the warmer box and run it like a seperate smoker. 

 

[cwarner]

Smokeon-

I know this is an old thread, but I'm looking to get a stoker, and had a question for you. How did you drill the 2" hole in the firebox?

Also, now that you've had it awhile, anything new to add about performance/reliability/etc?

Thanks!

 

[raymo76]

I used a circular saw drill bit to make the hole my Guru on my former pit. It worked great I'd give it a good word of mouth.