Old Country Gravity Smoker

[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.

[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.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

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

[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.

[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.

[Bruce Z]

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

[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]

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.]

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

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

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

[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.

[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.

[IFindZeroBadCooks]

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

[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.

[Troutman]

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