Old Country BBQ Pits Pecos Owners Thread

[TheBBQChef]

That is a nice looking pit and the price is very attractive as well! With the 3/8" steel construction, that's hard to beat. Even adding a cover, top rack, and Cowboy Grill you're only looking at ~ $2,500 before tax and shipping. You can't really tell from the pics, but it looks like they are using a stepped heat deflector like Aaron Franklin uses in his pits. It certainly doesn't look like it's angled downward.

I concur on the strong airflow under the baffle. In the end, I want my airflow to go up and over my food, so that's why I'm leaning toward taking it out completely. I want to cook top-down and usually have my food more toward the stack side. A compromise might be to cut the baffle and weld it back in level.

 

[Smokin Okie]

I've heard there's a deflector in the Workhorse pits, but its not too large. I strongly suspect its similar to what he installed here when he modified this Yoder Wichita. This is Jimmy Daniels of Workhorse and Primitive Pits .

 

[Smokin Okie]

This is the best look at the inside of a Franklin Pit, that I've seen

 

[TheBBQChef]

Yep, I've seen both of those before. I wondered if Daniels was behind Workhorse Pits when I saw "sister company" on their website and the stack on the Workhorse looked like the same design that Primitive Pits has. That's the only drawback for me is that I can't stand to look at that folding stack. The flange in the middle of the stack just looks so out of place - especially for a backyard pit. I get it on a large trailer pit where clearances might be a concern while transporting. Workhorse has the 1975 which is still moderately priced. I'd like to talk to someone who owns one and see what their thoughts are on it!

 

[Smokin Okie]

Yep, I've seen both of those before. I wondered if Daniels was behind Workhorse Pits when I saw "sister company" on their website and the stack on the Workhorse looked like the same design that Primitive Pits has. That's the only drawback for me is that I can't stand to look at that folding stack. The flange in the middle of the stack just looks so out of place - especially for a backyard pit. I get it on a large trailer pit where clearances might be a concern while transporting. Workhorse has the 1975 which is still moderately priced. I'd like to talk to someone who owns one and see what their thoughts are on it!

For all of these offset builders, the stack causes shipping problems, big increase in cost.

LSG has the owner bolt on the stack.

As does Franklin.

I really think that's part of the reason for the short but wide stack on our Brazos.

 

[TheBBQChef]

I figured as much. Dimensions are everything when it comes to shipping and costs, sometimes even moreso than weight.

The bolt-on makes sense. I just don't care for the foldable stack because of the flange in the middle of the stack. My eye gets drawn right to that.

I'm sure you're spot on about the stack height on the Brazos. I'd bet it would cost quite a bit more to ship or package if it had a 2 ft taller stack.

 

[Amos_Moses]

Fired up the pecos this afternoon to bbq for the week. Unfortunately it's windy as hell out here so I am babysitting the firedoor. Still ongoing but this is where we are at.

Black Angus Burgers, pork al pastore, and pineapple:

The rig: fueled with kingsford charcoal and pecan splits. The cook is fueled by Jameson & ginger ale.

 

[bamapig]

Is the pecos really 14 gauge steel with 11 gauge doors? I really want it to be 12 ga at least lol

 

[ryebrookbbq]

Hi all

recently bought my first offset and got the pecos shipped to me in ny. Luckily the welds were good. Very excited. After burn off I could see the cc and fb had material leaks so I installed gaskets in both. Help dramatically and now both at acceptable levels. Also note I put 4 firebricks in cc and 3 in fb to help with heat retention. Also note using the sear grate in place of the coal grate that cones

I have two cooks under my belt and have a few questions and observations.

1. I seem to get very wide temp gaps between fb side and stack side. I tried using the fb grate as a tuning plate. Moved it to center. Gap was still 40-50 degrees. I am using two digital fire board probes. Perhaps probe placement caused issue but was odd gap was so large. See .#2

2. Note I started both cooks with .75 of a chimney w kingsford. first cook I tried 12 x 2-3 splits. The initial burst of heat when it caught fire made it tough to control temps. Was constantly fighting fire. Pos note once I got it under control lasted 45 mins. On second cook I used 8 x 2 splits. These were great as burned up right away. Easier to control temps. But I needed a new split every 25-30 mins. I’m thinking 10-12 x 1.5-2 is ideal.

3.I tried to manage temps with size of fire only. I would put each new log in, leave fb door open for 5 then close without latching. Vents open. I was trying to run at 250-275. Achieved this on stack side. Fb side I was closer to 315-325. As I had to large racks of beef ribs I rotated every hour so they stayed close to each other.

I’d welcome any advice here. Maybe I need to try the tuning plate concept again. But my temp gaps seem larger than most.

good news is I had no issue with smoke. Tbs most of cook. Just haven’t dialed it in well yet.

 

[SmokeIron]

Hello All,

I have been a Pecos owner for a few years now. I use high temp gasket on the cook chamber and have installed temp gauges just above grate level about a quarter the cook chamber door's width in fro each side. Other than those changes, I have ran mine pretty much stock. It seems to hold within 10 degrees on both sides of the cook chamber but I may tinker with baffle plates some this season.

3.I tried to manage temps with size of fire only. I would put each new log in, leave fb door open for 5 then close without latching. Vents open. I was trying to run at 250-275. Achieved this on stack side. Fb side I was closer to 315-325. As I had to large racks of beef ribs I rotated every hour so they stayed close to each other.

I’d welcome any advice here. Maybe I need to try the tuning plate concept again. But my temp gaps seem larger than most.

good news is I had no issue with smoke. Tbs most of cook. Just haven’t dialed it in well yet.

I would try running with the firebox door open 3-5 inches, this may push some of that 315-325 degree air further into the cook chamber and help even it out.

 

[daveomak]

If you add upper air inlets to the FB, you won't have to open the door and add air to the fire...

 

[Smokin Okie]

Hello All,

I have been a Pecos owner for a few years now. I use high temp gasket on the cook chamber and have installed temp gauges just above grate level about a quarter the cook chamber door's width in fro each side. Other than those changes, I have ran mine pretty much stock. It seems to hold within 10 degrees on both sides of the cook chamber but I may tinker with baffle plates some this season.



I would try running with the firebox door open 3-5 inches, this may push some of that 315-325 degree air further into the cook chamber and help even it out.

This would work on my Brazos. But IDK if the Pecos has the same baffle that the Brazos has. On the Brazos, the baffle restricted the air flow, causing it to speed up a little as it passed under. Opening the door , increased air intake and would cause the hot air to go to stack end. I could move heat from one end to the other, just by varying how far the firebox door was open.

But extending the stack changed that. When I put a two foot stack ext on the Brazos, the increased draw pulled heat to the stack end.

 

[SmokeIron]

Here is a picture of the baffle in my Pecos, I assume it is similar to the Brazos. I would like to cut the lip out of the entrance to the stack and increase stack height at some point. I may add an air inlet above the firebox door as well, but it seems to stay pretty even with the firebox door open as shown.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Yes, that baffle looks familiar. If you have a digital temp device or two, put a probe on each end of the grate. Shut the damper on the FB door. Play around with the FB door opening and monitoring the temp on both ends. The more the door is open, the hotter it will get on the stack end. The less air flow, the hotter it gets on the FB end.

All due respect to Dave who posts here about having air inlets higher on the FB, but IMO, you're better off with lower vent openings. Look at Aaron Franklin's pit, I'll add a pic. One of the changes he's made to his prototype, was to add air inlet ports along the bottom of the FB door. His original version just had the " Franklin " cut into the door.

What I found on my Brazos after extending the stack, is that it was better to cook with the FB door closed and the damper 1/2 to full open. And then not worry about end to end temps. I cooked on the stack half of the cooking grate. It seems counter intuitive to increase the draw through the smoker and then cut off the air intake, but it worked for me.

 

[Smokin Okie]

BTW, that FB door opening in your bottom pic, was pretty much the sweet spot on my Brazos also, pre stack extension.

 

[SmokeIron]

What I found on my Brazos after extending the stack, is that it was better to cook with the FB door closed and the damper 1/2 to full open. And then not worry about end to end temps. I cooked on the stack half of the cooking grate. It seems counter intuitive to increase the draw through the smoker and then cut off the air intake, but it worked for me.

So with the stack extension, do you just need to rotate the meats every so often or do you lose the capacity of the firebox side of the cooking grate?

 

[Smokin Okie]

So with the stack extension, do you just need to rotate the meats every so often or do you lose the capacity of the firebox side of the cooking grate?

Both.

But on any offset , the approximate third of the grate near the FB is not gonna be usable. But the baffle really confuses that. The thing to do is run a biscuit test. Or some just use white bread. And find out where the hot spots are at.

Here's one of many I did on the Brazos. I did biscuit test with tuning plates, plates in diff configurations, and no tuning plates. I think this one is no plates, best I can tell. And its done with the FB door shut, damper 1/2 open. If I open the door , that hot spot will move toward the stack.

I put a row of biscuits right in front of the baffle, can see how the heat came out from under the baffle and rose almost straight up.

Also, just about every offset that does not have a collector for the stack, will have a hot spot in the far back corner on the stack end.

 

[SmokeIron]

Thanks for the info. I've been meaning to do the biscuit test just to establish where I'm at currently, that way I will know if I'm helping or hurting with each modification.

 

[BsCraftBBQ]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share a few simple but effective mods....

1)Build the fire on the floor - Tried several different firebox setups, including one with "V" shaped grates to funnel coals, surrounded by firebrick. However, the simplest and most effective setup so far has been to build fire on the floor. Using ~12" L x 2" W splits of oak. Never going back to any other setup.

2) Add a chain drying hammock/brazerro - The rails at the top of the firebox that hold the direct cooking grate can be repurposed as a) an argentinian brazerro/burn box to produce coals for your grill and b) when chains pulled to the side, creates a 'drying hammock' for splits that you are warming/drying for the next one to put on the fire. Sometimes they catch, but rarely. Much more effective than setting on top of the firebox or in the cook chamber where they take up space. 6' of chain at your hardware store. Cheap. Grab some chicken wire or a carabiner to help secure it to or around the rails.

3) Top cooking rack - Went on Thumbtack (amazing app) and found a welder to make a custom top shelf. Doubled the cook space. $160, but worth it to me.

4) Lavalock/gasket - Nothing special, but works.

The problem I have is the STACK side getting hotter than the firebox side. Temp testing on upper and lower racks indicated strong flow (not weak, where hot air might get stuck in upper chamber). To remedy, and short of restricting airflow to the firebox or on the stack, there is a need to modify the baffle and airflow inside the chamber. I am working with the welder to come up with a solution (eg. a customizable baffle that can push air both UP and DOWN, depending on current conditions. She is also going to cut a water pan shelf for under the lower grate on the firebox side to open up more cook space.

It's a good amount of money, but not exorbitant, and is valuable to me for a better cooking experience and a better end product.

www.bscraftbbq.com

 

[Smokin Okie]

Hi all,

Just wanted to share a few simple but effective mods....

1)Build the fire on the floor - Tried several different firebox setups, including one with "V" shaped grates to funnel coals, surrounded by firebrick. However, the simplest and most effective setup so far has been to build fire on the floor. Using ~12" L x 2" W splits of oak. Never going back to any other setup.

2) Add a chain drying hammock/brazerro - The rails at the top of the firebox that hold the direct cooking grate can be repurposed as a) an argentinian brazerro/burn box to produce coals for your grill and b) when chains pulled to the side, creates a 'drying hammock' for splits that you are warming/drying for the next one to put on the fire. Sometimes they catch, but rarely. Much more effective than setting on top of the firebox or in the cook chamber where they take up space. 6' of chain at your hardware store. Cheap. Grab some chicken wire or a carabiner to help secure it to or around the rails.

3) Top cooking rack - Went on Thumbtack (amazing app) and found a welder to make a custom top shelf. Doubled the cook space. $160, but worth it to me.

4) Lavalock/gasket - Nothing special, but works.

The problem I have is the STACK side getting hotter than the firebox side. Temp testing on upper and lower racks indicated strong flow (not weak, where hot air might get stuck in upper chamber). To remedy, and short of restricting airflow to the firebox or on the stack, there is a need to modify the baffle and airflow inside the chamber. I am working with the welder to come up with a solution (eg. a customizable baffle that can push air both UP and DOWN, depending on current conditions. She is also going to cut a water pan shelf for under the lower grate on the firebox side to open up more cook space.

It's a good amount of money, but not exorbitant, and is valuable to me for a better cooking experience and a better end product.

www.bscraftbbq.com

I just sold my Old Country Brazos that I cooked with for three years.

The Lone Star Grillz Fire Basket was the best thing I found for managing the fire. Building directly in the bottom of the firebox made it too hard to get new splits to ignite. Can't get air under the splits . I put the fire basket on fire brick, to create air space under the basket.

I like 8 to 10" splits , bout as round as a beer can.

In one of your pics, you have your fire built way too close to the cook chamber. You're getting a lot of direct heat into the cook chamber. The other benefit of the LSG Fire Basket, is it allowed me to keep the fire next to the firebox door, away from the cook chamber. That extra 6 to 8" made a difference . It effectively increased the length of my firebox.

I don't like your chains idea. I don't want my splits to dry out that much, you might as well be using kiln dried wood. Removes most of the moisture from the wood. I don't want green wood, but I don't want completely dry wood either. Warming on top of the firebox is plenty enough drying, really more than I like.

I did not use the upper grate in the Brazos. I don't like juices dripping down on meats on the lower grate. The upper grate is also just a drag on air flow.

I don't like loading up my smoker with a lot of meats. It changes air flow inside the cooker. Thus it changes how the smoker cooks. Capacity was not something I was looking for in a smoker.

Just cutting the baffle out , or reducing its size , is only gonna work if you open up the exhaust end with a collector or some way to improve the draw and get heat out of the cooker. The reason the stack end is hotter, is due to the baffle acting as a mild venturi effect and shooting heat to the stack end. Compare to putting thumb halfway over the end of the garden hose. Ya can't just open up one end , without opening the other. Heat will build on the stack end. It can't get out that 4.5" exhaust port fast enough. And likewise, if ya increase the draw by modifying the stack, ya also have to cut out the baffle.