Old Country Gravity Smoker

[Bruce Z]

Does anyone have any experience with this smoker? I found one about 3 hours away and I am really close to pushing the purchase button. The smoke taste of a log burner and the hands off of a pellet grill have my attention.

[glitchy]

I haven’t seen too much talk about them here. There is a big thread on their gravity feed over at BBQ Brethren though. The consensus on Old Country stuff I’ve seen is that it is about the best bang for your buck since they use decent metal thicknesses and such. Their Brazos offset is very popular.

Maybe someone here has one and will chime in. If you get it, be sure to share lots of pics and info here.

[Troutman]

I have that smoker on my radar and they mention on their website that its sold at Academy. So I went to Academy, two actually, and ask about getting one. The deadheads who work in the bbq department just look at you with deer in the headlight stares. So I emailed the guys at Old Country to ask if I could buy one direct. About 6 weeks later I get a response saying they still make them but I have to go through Academy to buy one.

Can you say circle jerk? I've kind of lost interest.

[STEbbq]

That sounds infuriating. Gotta love the blah attitude towards a customer ready to buy from both parties.

[Steve R.]

I've had no luck getting questions answered about the Old Country stuff. Academy gives you a canned response, if you even get that. And OC just builds the things in bulk to supply Academy stores (probably to Academy's specifications in order to control the cost), so they don't seem to know much about that line. But I have been happy with the two OC smokers I have owned. And they're cheap enough that I don't feel guilty when my MCS flares up and I have to sacrifice one to keep Momma happy.

[Troutman]

Here's Jeremy Yoder's YouTube video that first got me interested if anyone is wanting to see one;

[Panhead John]

Troutman I just checked, and it’s showing 1 at the Westheimer and Voss location. Also a few other stores as well, Bunker Hill at I-10. Give em a call and see if they actually have it in stock.

[Steve R.]

I have been intrigued by this one since I first heard about it a year or two ago. My Academy has just never had it in stock. And Old Country has very inconsistent workmanship, so you need to physically go to the store and pick out a good one. The worst reviews are from people who had one shipped sight unseen. There is no chance I'm doing that, even if it was an option for this model.

They do stand behind the life-time warranty on their products, though. I once had a weld pop loose on the firebox lid of the Over and Under. An email and a couple of pictures and I had a check written out by the owner himself for the cost to get it fixed at a local welding shop.

[STEbbq]

So, they won’t answer questions pre purchase, but they are very responsive after you buy? That is strange

[Steve R.]

STEbbq, I never contacted OC directly pre-purchase. Sorry if that wasn't clear.

[Bruce Z]

I did contact Old Country to see if they were still building and selling their gravity smoker. It took a week but they replied yes at Academy. I then asked where I could buy one in Texas or Oklahoma. Another week went by and they gave a store that had 4 in Oklahoma. I contacted the stores website and pressed the purchase button. I still expected a response later that the unit was not in stock but no they said it was ready for pickup. Road trip tomorrow, 6 hours total.

[Steve R.]

If possible, I would recommend looking at all 4 of the smokers in stock in order to get the best one. As I mentioned above, they will not be exactly the same.

[Bruce Z]

Thats my plan. It will be interesting if they really have 4 in stock.

[Bruce Z]

Well they didn't have four, just one. It appears to be built like a tank. I say it appears as it is sitting on its back in my pickup bed. I have not figured what army I am going to use to remove from the truck and down to the concrete. It took five young men to lift and load. All I have is a few elders that are better at supervision that physical labor.

[Steve R.]

I'm lucky enough to have a shallow ditch in my yard near the street. I can back into it and have the tailgate a few inches off the ground. I probably would have gotten the utility trailer out for that beast, though.

[STEbbq]

I am not sure what to suggest but I am eager for updates and pics.

[Blake]

I rented a U-Haul trailer with ramp. Guys at Academy loaded it. Unloading it by myself was easy, it rolled well.

[Bruce Z]

So with my son, grandson and neighbor we were able to wrestle this smoker to the ground. And because of my excellent supervision both the smoker and the truck were undamaged. Not sure about the labor force.

[Panhead John]

Nice! Be sure and post your first cooking pics and maybe a write up on your thoughts about the new smoker. Also, excellent supervision is the most important part of hard labor being done by others.

[Jfrosty27]

Wow. That’s an awesome looking cooker. I am officially jealous. A gravity smoker is my dream addition to my fleet. Most are way out of my budget. This unit would fit the budget but no Academy store anywhere near my neck of the woods. 🤷‍♂️👎

[Greygoose]

Nice lookin’ ,,,,
when do we start lookin’ fer smoke signals ?

[TripleB]

I’ve cooked on a gravity smoker a few times in the past (but not an Old Country). Great smokers and really hold they’re temp well. I do have a recommendation and that is to run it a couple of times without food to get use to it. The gravity smoker I used, the fuel is in a metal chute. So you put in lite charcoal and then wood. If you put in too much wood, the wood won’t catch and will smolder and create black smoke (incomplete combustion) - very bad. Since the fuel is in a metal chute, very hard to retrieve. This happened to our team during a competition. Fortunately the brisket and butt were wrapped, but the chicken came out black….but won first place! Just kidding …..dead last.

just some insight FWIW. Have fun

[tenphases]

1st off, Congrats! Great cooker! I'm sure your going to produce terrific Que. When I was looking at Gravity Feds I considered the Old Country but it was to far of a trek for me. One thing that I heard is that the top of the smoke chamber emits a lot of heat that makes cooking on the bottom two grates more of a challenge. There is a YouTube channel JG-with a series on the Old Country Gravity and he created a mod using two fire brick's to fix this problem: https://youtu.be/tMmCkScVrJM.

Now get er dirty!!

[Bruce Z]

First I seasoned the smoker after spraying the entire inside with oil. I dumped a full basket of glowing coals into the charcoal shoot. Then added unlit charcoal on top of those and filled the chamber. Then opened the exhaust vent and the ball valve 100%. Closed the burn chamber and let her rip for 6 hours. After the burn I closed both the exhaust and the ball valve to stop the fire. The next morning I opened the burn chamber and found it to be totally filled with charcoal. Some partially burned, some not. I found that confusing so I think I will try a different light method on the first cook. At least 1/3 of the bag of charcoal was still intact.