Old Country BBQ Pits Pecos Owners Thread

[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.

 

[BsCraftBBQ]

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.

Sounds like you ha e a really nice set up, fine tuned for your style, preferences, and applications. This set up is the analog for me. Three years of R&D and produces the best results at the volume I need it to in my environment with the least amount of babysitting. Recall that it’s the stack end that gets too hot, not the firebox end. Will def keep an eye on the air flow post baffle mod.

 

[TheBBQChef]

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.

What did you end up going with since you sold your Brazos?!

I've done some additional experimentation and I think I've decided what I'm going to do to my Brazos. I ran it for a while with the cooking grate upside down in the FB and built fires on it toward the back side of the FB and built them relatively small. I only used the door damper for inlet air as I had added a 2 ft extension to the stack that slipped over the original stack. This worked ok. I more recently tried building the fire in the bottom close to the FB door and only used the door damper at about 1/2 open and this has worked the best, provided you use 12-14" long splits. They will sit above the coals and airflow is great. Because the fire is lower, you can add more fuel and not have to babysit as much.

I am going to cut off the original stack and design and add a collector and longer stack to match the height I currently have now. Stack diameter will be 5.5" ID. I'll continue to build fires and manage air in with the FB door damper.

I'd like to go ahead and build my own pit as well. Something in the 150 -250 gallon range would be perfect. Then I can build a longer FB to give me more control and better fire management. Until I can make that happen though, I believe the changes to my Brazos will serve me really well.

 

[TheBBQChef]

Well, I said I wasn't going to do it but after some Labor Day beers I decided I was going to cut out the baffle. No need to worry, I waited until Tuesday morning to do it so there was no beers influencing the angle grinder!

But I can tell you this, I am VERY glad that I did it. One thing I noticed from my biscuit test is that even with temps well under control, the bottoms were more done than the tops. I really wanted my Brazos to cook from the top down. I did a test burn that afternoon to see how she would handle. Last night I started a fire, trimmed and seasoned my brisket, and stayed up all night to cook it. I rested it all day long and just finished dinner. THESE are the kind of results that I wanted and how I wanted to get them. Hands down, the best brisket I've cooked in my life and I know I could repeat the process again tonight if I needed to.

I'm still going to cut off the existing stack and add a collector and new stack, but with my clamp-over 6", 2 ft extension this thing cooks like a true Texas offset. The risk was TOTALLY worth the reward. If anyone out there is considering it and you want to cook top-down, I'll be happy to answer any questions or help in any way that I can.

 

[BsCraftBBQ]

Well, I said I wasn't going to do it but after some Labor Day beers I decided I was going to cut out the baffle. No need to worry, I waited until Tuesday morning to do it so there was no beers influencing the angle grinder!

But I can tell you this, I am VERY glad that I did it. One thing I noticed from my biscuit test is that even with temps well under control, the bottoms were more done than the tops. I really wanted my Brazos to cook from the top down. I did a test burn that afternoon to see how she would handle. Last night I started a fire, trimmed and seasoned my brisket, and stayed up all night to cook it. I rested it all day long and just finished dinner. THESE are the kind of results that I wanted and how I wanted to get them. Hands down, the best brisket I've cooked in my life and I know I could repeat the process again tonight if I needed to.

I'm still going to cut off the existing stack and add a collector and new stack, but with my clamp-over 6", 2 ft extension this thing cooks like a true Texas offset. The risk was TOTALLY worth the reward. If anyone out there is considering it and you want to cook top-down, I'll be happy to answer any questions or help in any way that I can. View attachment 510104View attachment 510105

Love this! Do you have pics of your setup in action (oven and firebox)?

 

[Smokin Okie]

Well, I said I wasn't going to do it but after some Labor Day beers I decided I was going to cut out the baffle. No need to worry, I waited until Tuesday morning to do it so there was no beers influencing the angle grinder!

But I can tell you this, I am VERY glad that I did it. One thing I noticed from my biscuit test is that even with temps well under control, the bottoms were more done than the tops. I really wanted my Brazos to cook from the top down. I did a test burn that afternoon to see how she would handle. Last night I started a fire, trimmed and seasoned my brisket, and stayed up all night to cook it. I rested it all day long and just finished dinner. THESE are the kind of results that I wanted and how I wanted to get them. Hands down, the best brisket I've cooked in my life and I know I could repeat the process again tonight if I needed to.

I'm still going to cut off the existing stack and add a collector and new stack, but with my clamp-over 6", 2 ft extension this thing cooks like a true Texas offset. The risk was TOTALLY worth the reward. If anyone out there is considering it and you want to cook top-down, I'll be happy to answer any questions or help in any way that I can. View attachment 510104View attachment 510105

I came close to cutting out the baffle several times. The only downside I could think of was losing cooking grate space on the firebox end. But then, I never used the grate that was over the baffle , anyway.

How much grate do you think you lost ?

In fact, all I really wanted was the half of the cooking grate on the stack end. That's where the convection is best. And I don't load my smokers up with as much meat as I can fit on them.

 

[TheBBQChef]

I came close to cutting out the baffle several times. The only downside I could think of was losing cooking grate space on the firebox end. But then, I never used the grate that was over the baffle , anyway.

How much grate do you think you lost ?

In fact, all I really wanted was the half of the cooking grate on the stack end. That's where the convection is best. And I don't load my smokers up with as much meat as I can fit on them.

I only lost between a 1/4 and a 1/3 of the cooking grate on the firebox side. I never used that side either for the same reason you mentioned. I have never placed food much beyond the halfway point. I want food over by the stack end. And it would be the same for me with a larger cooker too. Most of the time I'd be cooking on the stack end. I did have a bread loaf pan that I use for a water pan right at the firebox side of the grate. This serves as a bit of a heat shunt and since humid air is more consistent than dry air, I believe it makes enough of a difference to continue to use it. I had no problems with bark either. The bark was nice and crunchy before I wrapped in butcher paper for the last two hours of the cook.

Other than the increased cooking capacity and easier fire management that I would gain from building a bigger cooker, once I add the collector and new stack I suspect I won't have as much desire for a new pit. There is definitely an attraction of making BBQ on something that you created though!

What did you end up going with after selling your Brazos?

 

[Smokin Okie]

I only lost between a 1/4 and a 1/3 of the cooking grate on the firebox side. I never used that side either for the same reason you mentioned. I have never placed food much beyond the halfway point. I want food over by the stack end. And it would be the same for me with a larger cooker too. Most of the time I'd be cooking on the stack end. I did have a bread loaf pan that I use for a water pan right at the firebox side of the grate. This serves as a bit of a heat shunt and since humid air is more consistent than dry air, I believe it makes enough of a difference to continue to use it. I had no problems with bark either. The bark was nice and crunchy before I wrapped in butcher paper for the last two hours of the cook.

Other than the increased cooking capacity and easier fire management that I would gain from building a bigger cooker, once I add the collector and new stack I suspect I won't have as much desire for a new pit. There is definitely an attraction of making BBQ on something that you created though!

What did you end up going with after selling your Brazos?

I bought a Franklin

 

[TheBBQChef]

I bought a Franklin

That's awesome. I don't think you'll be disappointed one bit! What was the lead time?

 

[TheBBQChef]

Love this! Do you have pics of your setup in action (oven and firebox)?

I haven't taken any pics since I cut the baffle out, but I'll get some that show how it's set up and will post them here. I've got a brisket flat that is in brine this week to make some pastrami, so that might happen this coming weekend. I might also just run another biscuit test this week, too. Those biscuits when smoked with post oak go really well with some butter, salami, and cheese for a tasty little sandwich!

 

[Smokin Okie]

That's awesome. I don't think you'll be disappointed one bit! What was the lead time?

It was 2 or 3 years, I really don't recall. Franklin made a list of everyone who was interested and I put my email in , but I can't remember when that was.

I was in the process of making major mods to the Brazos when I got an email from Franklin. I posted here and got no germane replies. At that time, I'd not heard of anyone else doin these mods. They did not pop up on the Old Country Facebook group till this summer.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/a-major-brazos-modification-need-your-opinion.306795/

So I went with the Franklin. They delivered in four weeks.

 

[TheBBQChef]

It was 2 or 3 years, I really don't recall. Franklin made a list of everyone who was interested and I put my email in , but I can't remember when that was.

I was in the process of making major mods to the Brazos when I got an email from Franklin. I posted here and got no germane replies. At that time, I'd not heard of anyone else doin these mods. They did not pop up on the Old Country Facebook group till this summer.

https://www.smokingmeatforums.com/threads/a-major-brazos-modification-need-your-opinion.306795/

So I went with the Franklin. They delivered in four weeks.

Gotcha. I signed up for the email notification for more info, but never signed up for the waiting list. That's excellent that order to shipment was about four weeks. Many builders are much longer. I'm sure that is because they aren't taking all orders at once, which makes sense.

That extra 11 inches of cook chamber will help and I think he's really made those cookers to almost be fool-proof. Thus the vents and logo in the firebox door. I also like that the firebox is longer, so you have more room to adjust coal bed placement. How's the cooking experience been?

After removing the baffle on the Brazos, I ran this cook with the firebox door closed and damper opened between 1/4 and 1/2. I would have one split above my coals on the bottom of the firebox. The draw was excellent - you could hear it whipping through the split and coals, which was awesome to see. I could load a big split and get 45 min of steady temps before needing to add wood and always had plenty of coals.

This weekend I'm going to move my Tel-tru from the original location to the stack side of the door. I've got another Tel-tru that I'll place on the FB side of the door. I used my Signals with two air probes this weekend to gauge the temps. The faster response is nice, but you have to be patient because 3-5 degrees of jumping around doesn't mean that you need to take action. The slower response of the dial thermometers don't feed into OCD as bad!

Soon I'll knock out the stack/collector mod. I'll be sure to post pics of the results when it's done.

 

[TheBBQChef]

Got some pics of my setup to share with everyone. Got a brisket flat on the Brazos today that's been brining for a week, so it will make some excellent pastrami. Burning seasoned post oak exclusively.

 

[Newglide]

Got some pics of my setup to share with everyone. Got a brisket flat on the Brazos today that's been brining for a week, so it will make some excellent pastrami. Burning seasoned post oak exclusively.

View attachment 510584View attachment 510585View attachment 510586View attachment 510587View attachment 510588

Looks good, I know this is a couple of months late but a couple of questions on your setup.
How tall is the stack extension, and does it help?
I see the firebox and cook chamber doors are outlined with a piece of steel to over lap the edges. I've been seriously thinking about doing this to my Pecos, did the Brazos come with it or did you add it? Does it help seal the doors up?
I talked to a welder this weekend and he's wanting $150 to add it to mine

 

[TheBBQChef]

Looks good, I know this is a couple of months late but a couple of questions on your setup.
How tall is the stack extension, and does it help?
I see the firebox and cook chamber doors are outlined with a piece of steel to over lap the edges. I've been seriously thinking about doing this to my Pecos, did the Brazos come with it or did you add it? Does it help seal the doors up?
I talked to a welder this weekend and he's wanting $150 to add it to mine

The stack extension is 24" tall x 6" in diameter. Held in place with a big hose clamp. I did notch out a section for the stove pipe to slip over the bracket for the exhaust damper.

The Brazos came with the edges on the cook chamber and firebox doors. I used some OK Joe's gasket on the inside lips to help seal it up a little bit. I don't believe that these pits are built precise enough that the strapping would be enough to seal the doors on its own.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Looks good, I know this is a couple of months late but a couple of questions on your setup.
How tall is the stack extension, and does it help?
I see the firebox and cook chamber doors are outlined with a piece of steel to over lap the edges. I've been seriously thinking about doing this to my Pecos, did the Brazos come with it or did you add it? Does it help seal the doors up?
I talked to a welder this weekend and he's wanting $150 to add it to mine

What happens to the doors on almost all pipe offsets, is they " spring " once they're cut out. When the steel is rolled to form the pipe, there's tension put on the steel. Once the door is cut out, it releases tension in the door section.

I had a Brazos and almost all of them and the Pecos I've seen have this problem, and it most generally occurs in the lower left corner.

I used RTV sealant on my Brazos. But the door was sprung so badly that there was a gap of 3/8 to 1/2" , and I could not put a large enough bead of sealant to close it off. I solved the issue with latches in the bottom corners. That did the trick, along with the RTV , it sealed it up tight.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Looks good, I know this is a couple of months late but a couple of questions on your setup.
How tall is the stack extension, and does it help?
I see the firebox and cook chamber doors are outlined with a piece of steel to over lap the edges. I've been seriously thinking about doing this to my Pecos, did the Brazos come with it or did you add it? Does it help seal the doors up?
I talked to a welder this weekend and he's wanting $150 to add it to mine

BTW, the stack extension will improve the draw through the smoker. But ..... its gonna be limited by the size of the exhaust port. I believe your stack is 5" OD, but if you measure the port, its like 4" opening.

My Brazos had a 6" OD stack and the port was 4.5" . Heat would build on the stack end of the cook chamber, because it could not exit as fast as it came in. One solution would be to talk to your welder about putting a collector and a new stack on.

But on both the Brazos and the Pecos, there's another problem with the baffle on the firebox end. It restricts air flow into the cook chamber. So if you open up the stack end, that baffle has to be taken out also. The downside of that, is losing about 1/3 of the cooking grate on the firebox end. Now , I never used that space on my Brazos, but some people do.

Soooo bottom line, what you gain from opening up both ends of the smoker is an increase in air flow. The 2/3 of the grate on the stack end will have more even temps. But how much is that actually worth ? More air flow = more convection = more even cooking of meats and less cooking time. Some say more air flow creates better bark on the meats, my experience says there may be truth to that. But both the Brazos and the Pecos will cook just fine without these mods.

I extended the stack on my Brazos, it did increase the draw some. It only cost $5 to do the mod. But it wasn't necessary and really did not do a lot without dealing with the baffle.

 

[Newglide]

The stack extension is 24" tall x 6" in diameter. Held in place with a big hose clamp. I did notch out a section for the stove pipe to slip over the bracket for the exhaust damper.

The Brazos came with the edges on the cook chamber and firebox doors. I used some OK Joe's gasket on the inside lips to help seal it up a little bit. I don't believe that these pits are built precise enough that the strapping would be enough to seal the doors on its own.

Thanks for the info, I may pull the trigger on the strapping knowing I still may need to seal that also. The gaps on my Pecos doors are so wide I can't get enough sealer to fill it, they cut them too short

 

[Newglide]

BTW, the stack extension will improve the draw through the smoker. But ..... its gonna be limited by the size of the exhaust port. I believe your stack is 5" OD, but if you measure the port, its like 4" opening.

My Brazos had a 6" OD stack and the port was 4.5" . Heat would build on the stack end of the cook chamber, because it could not exit as fast as it came in. One solution would be to talk to your welder about putting a collector and a new stack on.

But on both the Brazos and the Pecos, there's another problem with the baffle on the firebox end. It restricts air flow into the cook chamber. So if you open up the stack end, that baffle has to be taken out also. The downside of that, is losing about 1/3 of the cooking grate on the firebox end. Now , I never used that space on my Brazos, but some people do.

Soooo bottom line, what you gain from opening up both ends of the smoker is an increase in air flow. The 2/3 of the grate on the stack end will have more even temps. But how much is that actually worth ? More air flow = more convection = more even cooking of meats and less cooking time. Some say more air flow creates better bark on the meats, my experience says there may be truth to that. But both the Brazos and the Pecos will cook just fine without these mods.

I extended the stack on my Brazos, it did increase the draw some. It only cost $5 to do the mod. But it wasn't necessary and really did not do a lot without dealing with the baffle.

Lots of good info, thanks! The more I cook on my Pecos the more I like it. I'm on the fence with the stack extension. I agree it will help flow which is a plus all around, but won't that also burn more wood for a long cook?
Right now that is what I am trying to fix if possible, see if I can make it more efficient and use less wood.
I have got mine dialed in pretty well, This weekends cook I only had 5 degrees temp difference across the cook chamber which I am extremely happy with.
last biscuit test all the biscuits were cooked fairly even. My hot spot is on the cook chamber side.

 

[Smokin Okie]

Thanks for the info, I may pull the trigger on the strapping knowing I still may need to seal that also. The gaps on my Pecos doors are so wide I can't get enough sealer to fill it, they cut them too short

Not to be argumentative, but I think what you mean by " cut them too short " is the symptom of the door springing. It bows up in the middle.

Here Sonny Moberg explains what happens, even on his $4,000 backyard smokers.