PBC Junior 14 inch

[Sgt Tyree]

Has anyone tried this smaller version of the PBC?

[Spinaker]

No, but I wanna see a Pit member with it. I saw it on Ballistic BBQ's You Tube channel. It looked considerably smaller.

[RobertC]

I don't, but I have a 14-inch Barrel House Cooker. I've seen but have never cooked on a full-size 18" PBC myself. That said, my experience with the 14" BHC is pretty much in line with what I imagined cooking with the full-size PBC would be -- thus, I would think that the 14" PBC Jr. would operate pretty much like a full-size PBC. My family is small so the smaller volume makes sense for us and I wouldn't have purchased the full-size model if that were the only option. I don't have a problem with firing up the 14" for just one chicken or one tri-tip, but I can (and did) cook two dinners for a dozen people over this last long holiday. The 14" handled the task with aplomb.

[Sgt Tyree]

I went ahead and ordered one. At $229 it gave me $70 to play with in the accessory area (turkey hangers, ash pan, hinged grate). I'll give it a test and post a review. Haven't been this excited at Christmas since I was a kid.

[kmhfive]

Awesome! Can’t wait to see and hear your opinion!

[RobertC]

Very nice. Please let us know the overall height, the clearance height from the rebar down to the coal basket, and the diameter of the bottom vent.

[JeffJ]

I have an 18" PBC and a 14.5" WSM. I like both and think the 18" PBC is a better value than the 18" WSM. For whatever reason the 14.5 WSM seems a better value to me than the smaller PBC.

[RobertC]

My 14" drum cooker has a volume of 20 gal (the full-size 18" PBC's volume is 30 gal), so when I was considering the size I compared the 14" drum to the 18" WSM. Overall height is about the same as the 18" PBC so hanging a brisket isn't a problem.

[RobertC]

That said, I don't know the actual dimensions of the 14" PBC Jr. The dimensions and volume may be different than my 14" BHC.

[Sasquatch]

I want to see a 55 gallon PBC Sr!

[Beefchop]

I think Noah experimented with the larger drums and found that the 30 gallon worked best...

[HawkerXP]

Congrats! Can't wait to hear what you've got to say about the little PBC. Welcome to the club, lil Barrelhead! pbc, pbc, pbc......

[Max Good]

I'm testing a PBJ now. Performance is very similar to the PBC. Obviously smaller capacity. PBJ is much easier to move if portability is an issue.

[RobertC]

Jon Solberg, Nope, I have no clue. But Max had written earlier that he was going to sit out reviewing the BHC because of the law suit so I figured he might sit out reviewing the PBC Jr. also so as not to take sides. Since he *is* reviewing the PBC Jr. I assume the law suit has been settled.

[Max Good]

We have high regard for Pit Barrel Cooker and, consequently, high interest in their products. I don't believe their lawsuit with Barrel House has been settled yet.

[RobertC]

Completely understandable. I have high regard for PBC, too. That said, I have high regard for both Apple and Samsung and although they have lawsuits pending against each other I look at their products and leave the lawsuits to the lawyers.

[SoCalTim]

Hey PBC (I know you read comments here) how about a Red or even a Military-Camo cooker?

[Obi-Dan]

As a University of Houston alum I second the red. Go Coogs!

[TBoneJack]

I want to see a 55 gallon PBC Sr!

I'm building one myself. Well, let's say I'm trying...

I have an 18" PBC and love it. And I definitely want a 14" model. Bit I also want a 22" model.

So I bought a 55-gallon drum. Brand new, unlined, 16-gauge carbon steel. And I'm gonna try and make a PBC-like cooker out of it.

I'm sure by the time I'm done building it, PBC will have introduced a 55-gallon model that is better and cheaper than mine.

http://dirtyqng.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-ugly-drum-smoker-aka-uds-build.html

[Altro]

New member, new cook, new PBJ.
So far I've cooked two tri tips and a whole (halved) chicken in it and gotten good results.
ive never used a PBC so can't compare, but cook times were consistent with what is shown on the website for the larger one.
I think four tri tips would fit just fine.
Today I've got it in the trunk of a Honda Accord to cook some baby backs at work for the guys, so portability is very nice.

[Altro]

I will take a look at the dimensions in the morning.

[Altro]

A buddy tells me this is a 17.5gl drum.
Charcoal pan is 10 3/4" OD, 3 1/2" H, 1/2' tabs for air gap underneath - 4" total.
Vent is 3" at base of drum where it starts to roll.
Rod holes are 3/4" OD, 5" apart with vent hole centered below, just below the rim, works out to 21" OC from top of pan.
Total exterior height of drum is 27" (losing 1" to the bottom) rod holes are centered 25" from floor.

[Sgt Tyree]

Altro ; I just took a peek at the big box under our tree (a PBJ) and the top of the box says it's 16 gallons. Can't wait to get into it.

[RobertC]

Altro , thanks for the measurements! The vents on the Junior appear to be the same size as on the PBC, even though the Junior has about 60% of the volume. The total height is a few inches shorter than the full-size, but the clearance height from the rods down to the basket is almost the same.

[RobertC]

Altro With a charcoal pan that size, I'm guessing you should be able to get right around 6 lbs of briquettes in there (compared to around 8 lbs for the full-size PBC). There are 18 KBB briquettes per pound, so 6 lbs is 108. Burn rate depends, of course, on the temperature and ambient conditions but my rule of thumb is around a pound an hour to keep my cooker at around 300F.

[Steve R.]

So, today I noticed Barrel House Cooker now has an 18" version. Hmmm...

https://www.barrelhousecooker.com/products/cookers/bhc-18c/

[JeffJ]

Bold move considering their lawsuit hasn't been settled yet. Their 18" undercuts the PBC by $50. Looks like a nice value.

[RobertC]

Not sure how bold of a move it is. I know people who work or worked for Apple, Google, Microsoft, HP, Intel, etc. They say lawsuits are just part of doing business, and you can't let a lawsuit that may take years to adjudicate stifle product development.

[Steve R.]

I think the "product development" aspect is why it might be considered a bold move. I have no dog in that fight, and I'm not a lawyer, but the timing does seem odd.

[RobertC]

As I've said, our family size is down to three. Yesterday we had a lunch with 11 guests. I did two 2-1/2 pound tri-tips. 4-1/2 pounds of charcoal, but that was certainly more than enough -- the barrel temp was still 280 after 4 hours. The "one pound of charcoal per hour" rule of thumb worked pretty well.

I think this size cooker is pretty much the right size for us. I don't have reservations cooking for three, I didn't have a problem cooking for 14.