PBC vs Barrel House

[CabanaBoy]

I understand that the legalities are out of the way for these two companies, so I want to offer a comparison of sorts. I have owned a PBC for about 6 years (I guess) and have been very satisfied. Manufactured in the US, veteran owned, and superb customer service. Everything opperates jsut as advertised.
I saw the BH a couple of years ago and really liked many of the features, It seemed that they had "customized" a PBH very nicely. Some of the features and accessories that they added/offered are exactly what I had thought of doing. I like that the barrel lifts off the fire pan. the ability to hang foods and still have rack space available is nice. PBH has countered with many new hanging accessories and a hinged grate. The BH also allows the charcolal basket to be raised to just under the grate for grilling. I had the opportunity to cook on a BH last weekend and it handled a couple of racks of ribs (with Meathead's Memphis Dust) superbly.
Hopefully both companies will continue to innovate and continue to produce quality products while introducing new accessories. If I have to add another smoker to my colection, so be it.

[Huskee]

Competition is a good thing, as long as it's done ethically. And it appears like you say the legal issues are settled so we can sit back and watch them both innovate! I have a PBC and it's my least favorite cooker, but that's only by comparison. I'm just personally not really a barrel head. Efficient use of cooking space yes, but clumsy use & cleanup and inefficient use of charcoal compared to other cookers IMO. Portability though, easier to transport than a kettle I think, plus more capacity. But price, efficiency, flavor, cost, ease of use- they're all a tradeoff in the smoker world, not a fault of PBC by any means.

[au4stree]

I don't disagree with anything said above related to the PBC. We have one at the hunting camp and it does exctly what we need. Having said that, there are other barrel cookers, Oklahoma Joe Bronco is new, lots of perks, but looks cheap. Of course higher end barrel cookers are Gateway and Hunsaker. I just can't bring myself to support BHC given the way they went about their business.

The more I cook on the PBC the more I like hot and fast cooks.

[HawkerXP]

PBC, PBC, pbc………..… to each his own but ……...P...……..B...……….C

[Troutman]

Wsm,wsm, w.....s......m !!!!!

[RobertC]

I've had a BHC for about two years, and I'm pretty happy with it. It fit my needs better than the PBC.

[JeffJ]

I've had my PBC going on 3 years. I like it a lot however that is due, in part, to how it fits in with the rest of my charcoal arsenal - Jumbo Joe, 14.5 WSM, Performer and 26 kettle (plus accessories for the 2 bigger kettles). I really like how meat (and veggies) cooks sitting directly above the fire, but at enough of a distance that you won't ever have a grease fire. I often use the 14.5 WSM in the same manner - light a full compact chimney, throw it over a shallow bed of unlit coals, all vents wide open, bowl removed and the meat sits on the top rack. The one thing my WSM can do when being used as a grill that the PBC can't is a reverse sear. I like to throw meat into either cooker completely frozen (the longer exposure to the radiant heat sometimes obviates the need to reverse sear). With the WSM, when it comes time to sear, simply lift off the center ring and put the cold, unused grate right on top of the charcoal ring and sear away!

The PBC is a very good cooker. I really enjoy using it. I'll say that again: I REALLY enjoy using it. However, if I had to consolidate it would probably be the first to go.

[RobertC]

You can do a similar thing with the BHC: lift off the "barrel," place a grate directly over the charcoal basket, and sear.

[adamcoe]

It wasn't until I inquired here asking the same question several months ago that I was even aware of the legal issues between the 2, but by the time I was ready to buy, things had already been resolved so based *strictly* on which cooker I thought had the best features, I went Barrelhouse. The ability to lift the barrel off, use the charcoal basket like a hibachi, and also raise the basket up and use it like a regular grill (not to mention at a useable height), as well as the range of accessories made it a pretty easy choice. Turkey kit is really great, and the O-grate system is really slick.

[castironchris]

I don't have a dog in this hunt but I always think it's interesting when this topic comes up and the unethical practices of Barrel House comes up but in this thread https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...lity-over-time nothing at all is said about no one buying RTIC cups because they were sued by Yeti and forced to pull their cups and coolers from the shelves and redesign. Not trying to stir the pot, just find it interesting.

[BRic]

I have three smokers ,and there are reason why i have 3 . Each one does something better than the other . we have PBC , The
family prefers the food from the PBC because the food is not as smoking . I have a offset and a keg , the keg does perfect pizza . The offset , you can`t beat . So we all have different reason for what we buy. The Barrel House does have some nice option to it . ( To Each There Own )

[Spinaker]

I don't have a dog in this hunt but I always think it's interesting when this topic comes up and the unethical practices of Barrel House comes up but in this thread https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...lity-over-time nothing at all is said about no one buying RTIC cups because they were sued by Yeti and forced to pull their cups and coolers from the shelves and redesign. Not trying to stir the pot, just find it interesting.

With all due respect, RTIC also was not brought in by Yeti to make the cups for them. BHC, originally a central vac barrel system manufacturer, was 1st hired by PBC to make the barrels for them. They learned their specs, under the guise of producing the barrels for PBC, then signed an NDA, then pulled out of the production contract and started their own line. I see a ethical problem with that. PBC gets a royalty from every BHC sold.

It is one thing to buy a product, deconstruct it and copy it using your own methods. It is another thing entirely to lie and/or deceive about your intentions, learn the secrets of production and then release your own product. IMHO

[RobertC]

When my ex and I divorced, we came to a (mostly) agreeable settlement and both were ready to move on. What was odd was that a few others still wanted to re-litigate our marriage, its dissolution, and our settlement. I guess they felt that they had to take sides. Eventually, people moved on, just as we had. Some took longer than others. I've never been sure what they got out of that.

[Spinaker]

I don't get anything out of it either way. I am just informing people of what happened, since it came up in discussion. If they choose to support a company like BHC, that is their prerogative. RobertC

[RobertC]

My mother-out-law used to say, "no matter how thin the pancake it still has two sides." Unless you were the judge overseeing our divorce settlement, you can only inform others about what you'd heard. And if you were the judge overseeing our settlement, it'd probably be unethical to tell others about it, even if they asked.

[JeffJ]

If you read the court file what they did was pretty dang bad. But, it's settled and PBC gets a royalty, so if you like BHC, go for it.

[Spinaker]

Agreed!

[TheQuietOne]

I've used both. I have PBC, my dad has a BHC. I like some things about each. I think PBC is higher quality. I think the horseshoe handles are cool but also too hot. I like the BHC coiled handles better. The vent on the PBC needs to be redesigned. It's much too flimsy. BHC's design is better. I like the BHC's H-frame better than the re-bar. Doing a large turkey it's easier to pull the bird frame and all than to hold onto the bird with one hand and take the re-bar out with he other. I think the PBC accessories are much better thought out than BHC's and for me this is the big plus. The PBC's turkey hanger works so much better. I love their basket for cooking rib tips when I cut a rack of ribs into St. Louis style. I've never had to add charcoal, so the top separating on the BHC is unimportant as far as I'm concerned. I'm agnostic as far as the lawsuit. It's settled apparently to the satisfaction of each. I don't think you could go wrong with either.

[Mark V]

I would like to see a fixed base with wheels, and a side shelf add on.