I am looking at possibly buying a smaller offset smoker. Looking at the Lang 36" patio, or the 20" Horizon Classic. Also been looking at the Bellfab. I would most likely be using lump charcoal with some smaller splits/chunks of other wood (oak, apple, etc), and using a charcoal basket (my current one I have for my Char-Griller is like 11x11x8, Horizon's is 13x12x10).
My question would be for folks with a similar setup, once the smoker is heated up and you put a full load of charcoal/lump in the basket, how long will that hold? Most likely be running the usual 225-250 degrees, obviously outside temps would come into play, and it gets cold here in Iowa. But for sake of discussion lets say outside temps of 40-70 degrees or so.
I do some over-night type smokes, and even with my MES40 I usually get up after about 4 hours to check on it, make sure my AMPS is still going, and move some stuff around depending on how I have it loaded and hot spots. In those offsets once you have it settled in can you get 3-4 hours without having to reload coal/wood? Or is it an every hour or two checking on it type thing? I know an offset is never going to be a set it and forget it type thing, and don't mind tending to it when smoking during the day (heck that's half the fun and reason I'm looking to make the move to a better offset), but I know I am going to be doing over-night type stuff quite a bit. Appreciate your guys' expertise.
My question would be for folks with a similar setup, once the smoker is heated up and you put a full load of charcoal/lump in the basket, how long will that hold? Most likely be running the usual 225-250 degrees, obviously outside temps would come into play, and it gets cold here in Iowa. But for sake of discussion lets say outside temps of 40-70 degrees or so.
I do some over-night type smokes, and even with my MES40 I usually get up after about 4 hours to check on it, make sure my AMPS is still going, and move some stuff around depending on how I have it loaded and hot spots. In those offsets once you have it settled in can you get 3-4 hours without having to reload coal/wood? Or is it an every hour or two checking on it type thing? I know an offset is never going to be a set it and forget it type thing, and don't mind tending to it when smoking during the day (heck that's half the fun and reason I'm looking to make the move to a better offset), but I know I am going to be doing over-night type stuff quite a bit. Appreciate your guys' expertise.