Hey everyone, I live just outside of San Antonio, Tx and have been watching from the background for some time. I wanted to introduce myself as well as my idea of a smoker build comparison.
A little backstory, I have been smoking BBQ on a CharGriller Acorn for almost 10yrs, but since moving to Texas, I have been introduced to the world of offset smokers and what they are truly capable of. The acorn was a great beginner smoker, they hold temps days and it really helps you minimize variables as one experiments with their bbq, but definitely lacks in smoke quality.
Recently, I have a good friend that bought a professionally built 250 gallon offset. It's a nice smoker, but from research on this site, I asked if he considered a RF smoker. He is the kind of person where money isn't really a problem, and he wants as few compromises as possible. No shame in that game if you can afford it. His main argument was the a RF loses smoke quality as well as fat render on a brisket since it cooks from the top and bottom, not just the top. My argument was that one achieves more stable temps, can use more of the cooking grate, and is more forgiving. He didn't want those compromises, again, that's fine, but I might.
Now, the experiment. Prior to purchasing his 250g, he had a 150g tank ready to be built into a smoker. I too have a 150g tank sitting here ready to go. We struck up a deal, he gave me his 150g tank, and my plan was to build two nearly identical smokers, one as a RF and the other a traditional offset. I say nearly identical because I want to try and give them both their best possible design. They will both be built using Dave's calculator. For the cook, the same wood will be used for both smokers, we will take subjective notes on how easy it is to maintain temps, fuel consumption, etc. and at the end of the day, we'll invite over a bunch of friends, give them all a piece of brisket A and brisket B, and ask for them to rate things like smoke quality, juiciness/dryness, etc.
A few questions for the group:
Do these need insulated fireboxes? I know with backyard size smokers, you almost have to have a charcoal chimney running because the smoker can't use enough wood to maintain a good coal bed. Is that true to 150g smoker?
If there is enough interest, I plan to start a new thread on the build(s) and the experiment outcome. What things should we take note of, monitor, and report on? What other parameters would the group like to see compared?
If there are some design considerations I am missing between the two styles that I should consider, please let me know!
Thanks y'all!
A little backstory, I have been smoking BBQ on a CharGriller Acorn for almost 10yrs, but since moving to Texas, I have been introduced to the world of offset smokers and what they are truly capable of. The acorn was a great beginner smoker, they hold temps days and it really helps you minimize variables as one experiments with their bbq, but definitely lacks in smoke quality.
Recently, I have a good friend that bought a professionally built 250 gallon offset. It's a nice smoker, but from research on this site, I asked if he considered a RF smoker. He is the kind of person where money isn't really a problem, and he wants as few compromises as possible. No shame in that game if you can afford it. His main argument was the a RF loses smoke quality as well as fat render on a brisket since it cooks from the top and bottom, not just the top. My argument was that one achieves more stable temps, can use more of the cooking grate, and is more forgiving. He didn't want those compromises, again, that's fine, but I might.
Now, the experiment. Prior to purchasing his 250g, he had a 150g tank ready to be built into a smoker. I too have a 150g tank sitting here ready to go. We struck up a deal, he gave me his 150g tank, and my plan was to build two nearly identical smokers, one as a RF and the other a traditional offset. I say nearly identical because I want to try and give them both their best possible design. They will both be built using Dave's calculator. For the cook, the same wood will be used for both smokers, we will take subjective notes on how easy it is to maintain temps, fuel consumption, etc. and at the end of the day, we'll invite over a bunch of friends, give them all a piece of brisket A and brisket B, and ask for them to rate things like smoke quality, juiciness/dryness, etc.
A few questions for the group:
Do these need insulated fireboxes? I know with backyard size smokers, you almost have to have a charcoal chimney running because the smoker can't use enough wood to maintain a good coal bed. Is that true to 150g smoker?
If there is enough interest, I plan to start a new thread on the build(s) and the experiment outcome. What things should we take note of, monitor, and report on? What other parameters would the group like to see compared?
If there are some design considerations I am missing between the two styles that I should consider, please let me know!
Thanks y'all!
