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  • SchweinStein
    commented on 's reply
    Yea the KBQ is intriguing. I've had a stick burner. It was a COS but I loved the food it produced. Found I didn't have time for longer cooks.

  • SchweinStein
    commented on 's reply
    To be clear, I am not criticizing the Humphrey's as a smoker. I think its an excellent charcoal smoker. For sure the best smoker I've owned.

    I do think you bring up a good point. I didn't buy it for value, I bought it for capacity and ability to cook in all sorts of conditions.

    I will likely keep it for awhile. Just wanted see what others thought. Thanks for the feedback.

  • jfmorris
    commented on 's reply
    I think he will get an even worse taste when he has to sell it for half of what he paid for it in February, considering that it is a used smoker...

    My money is on your advice. The money is spent - just enjoy it and learn what it can do.

  • RonB
    replied
    Soooo - there's nothing wrong with it or the food it produces other than the perceived value? Then get rid of it because the perceived value probably won't change.

    But what were you expecting different from the new cooker compared to the old cooker? Was it supposed to produce vastly superior product compared to your other cookers considering the price difference? As far as I can tell, most all charcoal cookers produce food with a similar food profile, (PBC excepted ). What you are buying is capacity, fuel efficiency, and possibly an easier, (more enjoyable), cook.

    You have already spent the $$. If it does everything you want, what's the point in selling it - especially if you do start doing larger cooks. However, if you get that bad taste in your mouth every time you use it, buy something else. Cook on them for some time and you will come to the point where you know which is the best fit for you.

    Leave a comment:


  • jfmorris
    replied
    SchweinStein I had to go google to see what a Humphrey's Smoker was! Now I see its an insulated cabinet smoker, similar to a Backwoods smoker, which I am more familiar with.

    I cannot see this as being a mistake, although it is a lot for a charcoal smoker. It's certainly not a replacement for an offset, since its made to be charcoal fired and not wood fired. That said - you are right, in that the food from this will pretty much taste the same as the food off your Weber kettle when used as a smoker, or a WSM, or any number of other smokers fueled by charcoal and wood chunks. It won't be the same as an offset running straight wood. In theory the insulated cabinet smokers can run longer on a load of fuel than an uninsulated charcoal smoker, and with the wire racks, they can provide a lot of capacity. Are they worth it? Only you can answer that.

    I have an offset, and find myself using my Weber Performer with Slow 'N Sear, or more recently, my SNSGrills Deluxe Kamado to smoke most of the time, as they are much more hands off than my offset. I can run 10-12 hours on a load of fuel in the kettle (7-8 pounds), and I can run 18+ hours on a load of lump in the kamado. With the offset, I have to feed the fire every 30 minutes or so.

    Personally if you decide to sell the Humphrey, which I imagine will incur a loss for you, and wanted a large capacity charcoal fueled smoker, I would look hard at the various drum smokers, as well as the Weber Smokey Mountain 22. The Pitbarrel Cooker and OKJ Bronco are interesting if you want to hang stuff. And the cheapest bet is just get additional kettles and SNS's, or a 26" kettle.

    Leave a comment:


  • FireMan
    replied
    There are very few cookers that are mistake. Most of em do just fine to outstanding, just some take a little more learnin. Yers is a high quality mochine that takes work. Most would dream to have a smoker like yers. Talk to it, feed it, enjoy it. Get excited about it just the way you thought about it when you decided to get it. Learnin can be fun.

    Leave a comment:


  • glitchy
    replied
    KBQ?

    The remaining piece I want to add to my arsenal is something that burns sticks. I haven’t decided what that will be or when it will happen yet. KBQ is one of the top contenders, but I haven’t ruled out a Horizon or Yoder yet either. I’d love a Franklin pit or a LSG, but just don’t see using it quite enough to justify that jump in price (when the food will probably taste the same as a Horizon or Yoder).

    That all being said, for most situations I agree with others it’s the cook more than the cooker. With practice, most people can make just about equal quality food on a 22” kettle with SnS as most other charcoal smokers costing even 10 times as much. I’ve experienced the same with pellet grills with my first Traeger Junior produced almost every but as good of end product as my MAK. Pellet grills are a little different in that some just produce more smoke than others due to physical and controller designs. My WSCG can produce food every bit as good as my MAK and vise versa. However, the food tastes a little different due to the fuel sources and airflow differences. That’s why I want a stick burner of some fashion.

    Enjoy the journey, hope wherever you travel next is enjoyable!

    Leave a comment:


  • Old Glory
    replied
    It's not the Pitt it's the Pitt Master. A good Pitt Master can make very good BBQ on almost any Pitt (I don't include myself in that category).

    Humphrey's Cabinets are great smokers. You did not buy a bad cooker. You are trying to factor value into the proposition. You did not buy the Humphrey's because it was a good value. A Humphrey's offers capacity, consistency, and ease of use. Will you get better BBQ off the HCS? Possibly, but marginally. If you do not value the capacity and ease of use of the Humphrey's then the higher cost may not be worth it for YOU. I owned one but sold it because I no longer needed the capacity and rarely used it. It was an excellent smoker. I used the money to buy a Pellet Cooker which I use constantly.

    My advice would be use if for a while. If you don't need the extra capacity sell it and try something else. That's a fun part of the hobby for me. Trying out cookers and keeping the ones that work for me.

    Leave a comment:


  • bbqLuv
    replied
    If you can't be with BBQ you love,
    Love the BBQ you're with.
    Give it a chance.

    Happy Grilling to you.
    Last edited by bbqLuv; May 13, 2021, 10:46 AM.

    Leave a comment:


  • HawkerXP
    replied
    Forget that WSM and get yourself a PBC!

    PBC, PBC, PBC!

    Leave a comment:


  • Razor
    replied
    Coming from a WSM owner, just add a WSM, they aren’t that expensive, and keep both for a while. After a few months then decide what to do with the Humphrey's. It’s not like you bought the wrong car or house.

    Leave a comment:


  • SchweinStein
    started a topic Advice

    Advice

    As much as I hate to say it, I think I made a mistake in purchasing my Humphrey's smoker. Let me explain the situation and I am open to advice on next steps.

    I was intrigued by the Humphrey's smoker for a little over a year. At the time I first saw it, I had my Webers and a COS. I was fairly happy with what I could produce. Winters were a bit of a problem and since I started to cook for more people at a time, capacity was becoming an issue too. Nevertheless, I had not made up my mind on what my next steps were. I had been dreaming of a EOS since 2015.

    Well in February, (not due to the stimulus), I decided I was going to stop hesitating and just buy a smoker. I admit, I was a bit impulsive and chose the Humphrey's. I had been hesitating off and on for years on a smoker and I didn't want to get cold feet.

    I was happy with the smoker initially. After getting more cooks under my belt with it, I can't help but think it just simply wasn't worth it. I don't think what it can produce is enough better than my Weber's. Sure the capacity is great, and it will perform well in the winter.

    Here is the kicker, I joined this fine club after getting the Humphrey's. I have learned about all the wonderful other options out there. I cant help think I would of been happier with a large PBC or a 22 WSM for far less cost. Or even other cookers for that matter.

    Moreover, even owning a COS has somewhat conditioned me to prefer food from offsets. Sure, I'm not really motivated to cook many briskets on an offset even if I had an EOS but other food I've made on my COS was much more memorable than the Humphrey's or Weber.

    But for me, producing good BBQ on a weber makes me happy because its a good value. My first weber 22 I got for $25 and made very good Q! who can argue with that?

    At this point I'm leaning toward cutting my loses before the Humphrey's gets much more use. I would use the proceeds to buy an EOS. Or possibly just a WSM or PBC.

    At the same time, I wonder if I should stick it out some and give it more time with the Humphrey's.

    What do you think?

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