Old Country Gravity Feed Smoker

[efranzen]

I moved from my old Smoke Hollow to a Old Country Gravity Feed Smoker with Thermoworks Controller and Fan. What a difference. I filled it with charcoal, set the temp and then just walked away. Crazy how it held the temperature during the cook even during heavy rain.
Feels weird to not have to touch it during the cook though, but nice since it rained all day.

[mrichie1229]

Looks delicious! Great job Pitmaster.

[Lynn Dollar]

I'm a big believer in GF smokers. The OCGF is probably the best value in GF's. I looked and looked for one in our Academy's and only found one, but the door had a huge gap.

I ended up splurging and spending twice as much as I wanted to, on an Assassin 17. But I really love it. Its my set and forget smoker that comes close to delivering stick burner flavor. I also run the TW Billows.

[Lynn Dollar]

STEbbq For some reason, there's several manufacturers in Georgia .... Myron Mixon, Southern Q, Stumps, and Assassin.

I paid $3000, shipping included, for my Assassin 17. Mixon and Stumps are high end. Haven't looked in a while, but for the same size , they're in the 3500 to 4000 range. Southern Q was a few hundred below Assassin.

There's a few more, I think TK in Indiana and one in Texas. IDK much about em.

There is a substantial quality diff between OC and those I listed.

[STEbbq]

Thanks Lynn. I have thought about the Assassins every once in a while as I did enjoy my Masterbuilt GF in many ways. It is helpful to know they are the best starting point price wise from someone who already did a ton of research.

[Lynn Dollar]

STEbbq I went with Assassin for price and I liked how the port into the cook chamber was direct, there's no baffle.

But then Assassin has a grease collection assembly. I'd have to post pics to describe. It restricts air flow. Its sort've a trade off.

There's also issues in some with radiant heat from the chute, causing uneven heating.

These aren't gonna have very strong air flow, it can cause problems with ash blowing up into the cook chamber.

[HawkerXP]

Nice!

[TripleB]

Very nice. How long did that Pork Butt take to cook?

[efranzen]

On at 3:30am 3 hours at 225, then raised temp to 250 for another 7 hours to reach 200. Pull both ribs and butt at 2:30pm and rested until 4pm.
I'll see if I can add the screenshot of the cook.

[dpearce]

Awesome!

I'm sooo tempted to get a vertical cabinet smoker. My trouble is I keep looking at the Meadow Creek stuff, and I'm torn between the chicken cookers/whole hog trailers, and a higher end cabinet smoker...

That, and I like sleeping indoors.

Good to know the billows/signals setup (which I already have) does the job nicely.

Delicious looking cook, by the way!

[briano52]

I too was looking at the Meadow Creek Vault smoker. In the end, I settled on KAT vault smoker. I love it. I run it with a Thermoworks Billows fan. True set and forget. I posted here about it: https://pitmaster.amazingribs.com/fo...t-vault-smoker

[dpearce]

briano52 I have that thread saved! Only reason I was thinking of the Meadow Creek over the KAT was I can get a MC from a dealer in Ohio, save me on shipping from CA. But thought you had a great write up on it!

[briano52]

dpearce. I understand. Part of the reason I bought the KAT was that I am about 60 miles from Modesto. KAT delivered the smoker for about the cost of gas. I also liked that KAT was very flexible and allowed me to choose the size and layout of the cooker to fit the space I had on my patio. KAT's delivery times are kinda long but every smoker they build is a true custom job just for your specifications. Very solid lifetime build.

[efranzen]

Here was the temperature chart for the cook.

[Spinaker]

Dang, that thing is awesome.

[Bruce Z]

I too have an Old Country Gravity Feed Smoker. I bought through Academy but drove to Oklahoma City to pick it up. The drive was worth it. Your temp chart is the same as mine, no blips unless I open the door. Using Kingsford briquets i still have charcoal after 18 hours. I use an Auber SYL-3615 wifi with a fan. I think it was a steal at $ 1,200.00 compared to Assassin, Mixon and Stump.

[TripleB]

Nice. How much can you pack into it? 4 butts, etc.?

[Jerod Broussard]

I used Auber controllers on my kettles.

[Bruce Z]

I have not loaded it to its max but based on its size at least 12 butts. it has 3 shelves,

• 1,082-square inch cooking surface
• Size: 51.31” (H) x 23.56” (W) x 45.31” (D)
• Weight: 330 lbs.
• Holds up to 20 lbs. of fuel
• Fuel type: charcoal