Need Advice On Reverse Flow Smokers Please

[tx smoker]

I'm not by any means a novice where smoking, grilling, and cooking in general is concerned. I am  however about to delve into a concept that I'm unfamiliar with. I've always used an offset smoker since day one but just a standard unit. I've pretty much decided that I need a bigger unit and I'm 100% convinced that RF is the way to go. Sadly I have no experience with them. I looked at the Lang and Meadow Creek. Really like the Lang, not so much for the Meadow Creek. My only issue is sizes available. The 48" is a really nice unit but I'm thinking that something just a bit bigger would be nice and I'm afraid that the 60" units would really cramp me on space. I do have space constraints as there are already 6 cookers on my patio. Does anyone know of a company that makes something in the 54" cooking chamber size range? Quality is paramount and cost is less of an issue than the right size. Certainly I'm not going to spend an insane amount of money on a smoker and I really want something that's on the shelf and ready to ship. The thought of getting on a 6 month waiting list doesn't appeal to me at all :-) Any helpful hints would be appreciated. I looked through the RF section of the forum to a point and most of the info in there was for builds as opposed to ones already made.

Heap big mucho thanks a-plenty!!

Robert

 

[griz400]

I looked at craiglist in your neck of the woods, and found this ...https://austin.craigslist.org/grd/6133187156.html

also here is the guys website, near you ....http://www.bb-manufacturing.com/Products.html

That double barrel pit looks pretty nice

 

[griz400]

also on his website, if you click on the pictures of the double barrel, it looks real well built and heavy guage, this would last a long time

 

[tx smoker]

Thanks for taking the time to send this info Griz. I checked it out and on their website the biggest thing they have is 40". That's actually smaller than the one I currently have :-) I suppose I could contact them and see what the turn-around time is for a custom pit....assuming they make custom units. I'd imagine they would but I'd  be back in the waiting game. At least they would be closer than trying to drive from Texas to Georgia to pick up a Lang....but what a worthwhile road trip that would be!!

Robert

 

[griz400]

here is the guy who built mine ... in jacksonville fl 

https://jacksonville.craigslist.org/for/6139649065.html

he actually would build you any size you want

mine is the last one in the pictures reverse flow with box on top of fire box, i spent like 550.00 -- good deal .. was 2 years ago

 

[pabeef]

A question for you not knowing what you plan on smoking will the extra 6" by going to a 54"really help? My thinking is maybe an extra rack or two of ribs or another row of chicken. I would suggest looking for one that is 48" with a second rack for more surface area. I have home made reverse flow with a 2'x4' of surface area that holds a 100# of meat. I wished it had a second rack every now and then. I need to replace mine soon as well i have used it up finding more rust holes every time i start a fire.
Good luck with your search
PABEEF

 

[tx smoker]

Well....I did some in-depth measuring and basic math and have come to the conclusion that a 48" smoker should work. My current smoker is of outstanding quality, it just isn't big enough even with the second rack at the top. The main cooking grate is 18"x36". I can get two racks of ribs front to back on the grate but not end to end without overlapping them....and that's just not going to work. I believe that an additional 6 to 8 inches of length on the main grate would be enough for the second rack of ribs end to end. I've had issues with trying to cook larger stuff on the top rack due to it just not getting hot enough up top without burning what's on the bottom. Turkey or chicken breasts may work well up top but I'm not keen on the idea of having poultry over top of pork and/or beef and letting the drippings fall onto the meat on the bottom. Hopefully the RF smoker will be better balanced with heating capabilities and I'll be able to better utilize the upper rack. Mostly what I was looking for in this thread is manufacturers / fabricators of smokers that I can research. At this point I'm leaning heavily toward the Lang 48" Patio rig but would really like to see what else is available. Google has helped a bit but I'm really not finding much that wan and always prefer absolute recommendations from people that have used a particular brand or model of smoker.

Thank you again,

Robert