Old Country BBQ Pits Wrangler Smoker Review

[grillin_all_day]

Hey grillin_all_day, looks like I'm using about the same size splits as you are in my Wrangler.  But, I think you just told me my problem whenever I add a stick of wood.  When you say "...throw one of those on, leave the door open for about 5-10 mins..." that's what I haven't been doing.  I always leave my exhaust wide open.  But, when I add a stick of wood, I've been adding it from the top (keep that firebox grate out) and maybe leave it open for a minute, as most of the time my splits start burning quickly.  And, I adjust my air input by opening it a little.  But, every time I either get it too hot for 10-15 minutes, or I get white smoke for 10 minutes or so.  It may not be that long...but I'm a perfectionist, and it sure seems that long before it stabilizes again.  :-)   Now, when you say "leave the door open" are you talking about the top door to the firebox?  Or, are you talking about the end door where the inlet vent is?  Either way, sounds like I'm not leaving mine open long enough when I add a stick.

Talking about doors, brings up another question:  Is your nut holding your intake damper vent too loose?  Mine is entirely too loose, and it's hard to get the vent to stay in the same position I want it.  The problem is the dang nut is welded on to the bolt.  I need to cut it off and put my own bolt and nut on there, so it will be tighter and stay in position.  My son has an Old Country Pecos, and his is the same as mine. 

 I add from both from the top and the side door, so either or will work.  After I add the split, I open the side door open about half way or all the way depending on how high the heat gets.  I've even been known to prop the top door open if I add too much wood and the side door isn't doing the trick (I haven't had to do this much lately once I figured out much wood to add).  I'm doing a couple racks of spares on Saturday (almost 3 weeks w/o using it is killing me!) so I'll take a few pics and post to show my process.  I did notice though that the smoker was running a little hotter w/ hickory and pecan vs. oak, so don't forget the time of day, weather and what kind of wood you're using will all have an affect on temps.

The nut on my intake dampener is a little loose, but not to the point where it restricts me from adjusting the vent properly.  It's just loose enough to where it gets hot and the metal expands, it's still functional.  On my brisket smoke, it expanded just enough to where it felt like the vent on my Webber Kettle.

 

[kingt36]

Welp, today's the day. I'm planning to buy the Wrangler this evening. Hopefully it isn't raining all day tomorrow and I will get it seasoned. It will probably be next Friday or Saturday before I can do my first smoke on it though...In any case, I'm excited. This will be my first stick burner. Previously I've used an old propane smoker from Lowes or my Weber kettle...

 

[kingt36]

Here she is! My friend Reggie helped me pic it up..that's him photo bombing the picture..

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• kingt36
• Jul 12, 2013

 

[grillin_all_day]

Smoking some spares right now and learned a new quirk to my pit. With apple, it prefers to be almost buttoned up on the SFB to raise temps, and opened to lower them. That goes against everything I've ever learned about stick burners. Thankfully I have my vent adjuster handy haha!

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• grillin_all_day
• Jul 13, 2013

 

[mickhlr]

kingt36, looking good!  Did you get it seasoned this weekend?  When I seasoned mine, I seasoned the first night, and the next morning...then, I just HAD to throw some meat on it, to go with the adult beverages it takes every time I light the smoker.  :-)

grillin_all_day, where are those spare pics?? 

I'm having withdrawals...didn't get to smoke anything this weekend.  Out of town all weekend, and missed my Q.

 

[kingt36]

Haven't had a chance to yet. It's been raining everyday here for the last month and looks to continue doing so for the next week or so..I will probably try to do it this weekend, rain it shine.

Question about seasoning..do I need to put anything on the outside of the smoker or just the inside?

 

[mickhlr]

Question about seasoning..do I need to put anything on the outside of the smoker or just the inside?

Just the inside.  I used peanut oil in a spray bottle.  Liked it so much, I've been using it on my grill now every time I crank it up.  :-)

 

[kingt36]

Finally got a chance to fire up the smoker. I got it up to about 350 before I shut the vent by the firebox down to about the 2/3 mark. The temperature is decreasing slowly.

I've noticed that I'm losing a lot of smoke out of the firebox. Can you recommend something I can a lot to get a better seal there? The door appears to have been cut slightly off.

 

[kingt36]

So, this is my first experience at all with a stick burner. To season it, I dumped a bunch of coals on a bed of a full load of hot coals from the Weber chimney, then threw a bunch of wood chunks on. About 30 minutes later, I put some more wood chunks on and then some more after about an hour. When I actually get ready to smoke something, I'm not sure I know what to do differently. I'm thinking I won't need to use as many coals, and I will have splits instead of chunks. My question, can any of you with the OC Wrangler briefly detail how you get yours up and running for a good smoke?

Thanks a bunch!

 

[ribwizzard]

kingt36

seasoning is not about creating smoke, its applying oil or fat to the inside of the smoker similar to what you do with a cast iron skillet to keep it from rusting.  Usually done by keeping it up around 400* and using a spray bottle full of vegetable oil and applying a coat every 20 minutes or so.

As far as start up for a cook, most people use a small amount ( on your smoker, I'd probably use a 3rd of a chimney full ) of charcoal, and let it ash over good before stacking some splits on top of it. I usually start with two nice size pieces and let them flame up good and start to char over before I put one more on top of them and close the firebox door. With both the intake and exhaust vents fully open, watch your temp steadily rise and as it passes 300* start closing your intake vent until its holding 325* to 350*.  Hold it there for about a beer to make sure its not climbing anymore and to burn off any spiders , roaches or what not that crawled in there the night before. This is a good time to take a white wet rag and wipe the cooking grate down to remove any residue that would discolor your meat. But once its ready and your holding about 325* pretty steady, load it up with all your good stuff your going to cook, making sure to put a few sausages close to the door for easy grab-bins in about an hour or two. Also any flap meat from the back of the ribs should be put up front as well for easy access. You should see it drop to around 275* after loading up all the cold meat, so just play with the intake to try to hold it around there.  As far as fire management, I like to not add more than 1/3rd  fresh fuel at a time, so when the 3 splits you have burning are equal to about two splits, add one more, and then add again when they are now equal to two.  Having your splits all around about the same size and sized right for your smoker is an important strategy for stick burners. So if you decide to go with my fire management system, your splits will be the right size to create enough heat with only two and 1/2 splits  burning at one time.

Now, many people go with much smaller splits ( hence "stick" burner) and will have half a dozen in there at a time or more. This will create more BTU , and the smoker will come up to temp faster, but you will also have to load it more often and your temperature might not be as steady.

One more trick is to place the next log that you plan on adding to the fire, on top of the firebox to start drying it out. I like to pull any bark , leaves or moss that may still be on it, and knock or any sand or dirt before setting it up there.

 

[kingt36]

Thanks! I will give that a shot tomorrow. I hope it isn't raining. Bought a pork butt and some spare ribs yesterday. I'm looking forward to firing this baby up for some smoke!

That said, I do have one more question for those who have this particular smoker. How do you route your probes? I don't see any holes to route them in the lid or anywhere. Do you just run them under the door?

 

[mickhlr]

kingt36

• "seasoning is not about creating smoke, its applying oil or fat to the inside of the smoker similar to what you do with a cast iron skillet to keep it from rusting.  Usually done by keeping it up around 400* and using a spray bottle full of vegetable oil and applying a coat every 20 minutes or so."
• "...start closing your intake vent until its holding 325* to 350*.  Hold it there for about a beer to make sure its not climbing anymore and to burn off any spiders , roaches or what not that crawled in there the night before."
• "...making sure to put a few sausages close to the door for easy grab-bins in about an hour or two. Also any flap meat from the back of the ribs should be put up front as well for easy access."

Ribwizzard gave some outstanding information there.  I quoted the most important ones above.  :-)  I fired mine up twice to season before I used it...and I used a blended soybean/peanut oil, as it has a higher smoke point. A smoke point is the point at which an oil or fat (shortening, butter) gives off smoke. Smoking is an indicator the fats have turned rancid. For example peanut oil has a smoke point of 445* and soybean oil has a smoke point of 490*, whereas shortening is 325* and butter is 350*.  And, there are lots of others...but for the price, I just stick with the soybean/peanut oil blend, as it does a pretty good job.

Yes, I just run my Maverick leads under the door...hasn't hurt them at all. 

 

[kingt36]

Cool...I think that's all I needed..Thanks for the help!

 

[kingt36]

Reading through it again, the temperatures seem high..do I want to smoke the whole time at 275? I've been trying to get to the 225 - 240 range.

 

[kingt36]

Well, I can certainly tell that I've got some learning to do. I think my splits are too small. I'm thinking I'm going to have to go with 12 - 16" splits. Right now the splits I have are 6 - 10" and they are not producing enough heat. I'm adding two or more at a time and playing with the intake constantly to stay in the 225-250* range.

I may also need to consider placement. Right now, everything is in the center of the firebox front to back, but closer to the cooking chamber lengthwise. I'm wondering If I should get it closer to the firebox door.

It also seems to do the opposite of what I expect. I thought that the more open the intake is the hotter the fire burns, however it seems like when I close it more the temp in the cook chamber climbs quite a bit and I have to open it more to get the temp down. What's that about?

I'll keep playing. I'm determined to get this joker figured out!

 

[kingt36]

Here is a link to my first smoke on the Wrangled...

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...ld-country-wrangler-butt-w-qview#post_1023624

 

[glocksrock]

Has anyone found a cover that works really well for this smoker?

 

[kingt36]

I got this one and it works great for me so far. You may can go with the smaller version, but I wasn't exactly sure of the dimensions so I got this one. It covers the smoker completely and goes all the way to the ground and then some..The material seems fairly sturdy also.

 

[motorhead]

I bought the large CharBroil cover at Academy and it works great

charbroil for wrnagler.jpg

• motorhead
• Jul 22, 2013

 

[motorhead]

I also recommend a scope or binocs so you can monitor temps from a distance.

scopeJPG.JPG

• motorhead
• Jul 22, 2013