I'm in the process of building an outdoor pool and kitchen and want to put in a built in Smoker along with grill and griddle. I've been looking at Texas Pit Crafters in Houston as they seem to have a good vertical with sidebox that would fit well in my area PM525U). Anyone have any experience with these or recommendations?

http://www.texaspitcrafters.com/bi-smokers.html

Aggiemundo said:

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I'm in the process of building an outdoor pool and kitchen and want to put in a built in Smoker along with grill and griddle. I've been looking at Texas Pit Crafters in Houston as they seem to have a good vertical with sidebox that would fit well in my area PM525U). Anyone have any experience with these or recommendations?

http://www.texaspitcrafters.com/bi-smokers.html

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I've never heard of them, it looks nice, but pricey. But stainless is always pricey. You could do the same thing for around 2000.00 in carbon steel.

Not to derail, but where are you located, Pit Man?

Yeah, the stainless adds to it. I want to do the kitchen right and am willing to go a bit above and beyond. Haven't seen any built ins that are carbon steel.

Do these built in smokers get proper airlflow? Obviously, it'll depend on the house and layout, but just seems like putting a smoker in an outdoor kitchen, close to your house, and under an awning is asking for airflow and smoke issues....

Very cool but it seems like it would make hanging out in the outdoor kitchen miserable while the smoker is being used.

Aggieangler93 said:

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Not to derail, but where are you located, Pit Man?

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College Station

The stack is going to go up through the roof of the kitchen so the smoke will be expelled. Shouldn't be an issue I don't believe. I'll also have a vent hood nearby over my grill.

I'd still be worried about airflow, getting enough air going through your pit to keep a clean smoke, etc. You'll probably be fine, but if I were spending that kind of money I'd make sure. Sounds like it is going to be a bad ass set up, though. Definitely jealous.

Aggiemundo said:

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The stack is going to go up through the roof of the kitchen so the smoke will be expelled. Shouldn't be an issue I don't believe. I'll also have a vent hood nearby over my grill.

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With the stack going through the roof, it will be long. Be aware that if the stack is too long in comparison to the fire box inlet, the smoke may cool before exiting and not be moving fast enough to create proper draft. It can also condense on the inside of the stack and you then get dirty water dripping back into the cook chamber. Not trying to rain on your parade, just throwing out some things to consider.

Good advice Pit Man. Was considering putting a fan at the top of the vent to force airflow a little faster. Would that help eliminate the issue?

the pit man said:

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Aggiemundo said:

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The stack is going to go up through the roof of the kitchen so the smoke will be expelled. Shouldn't be an issue I don't believe. I'll also have a vent hood nearby over my grill.

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With the stack going through the roof, it will be long. Be aware that if the stack is too long in comparison to the fire box inlet, the smoke may cool before exiting and not be moving fast enough to create proper draft. It can also condense on the inside of the stack and you then get dirty water dripping back into the cook chamber. Not trying to rain on your parade, just throwing out some things to consider.

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This.

If your exhaust is too long you get backflow headed back into the cooking chamber.

Aggiemundo said:

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Good advice Pit Man. Was considering putting a fan at the top of the vent to force airflow a little faster. Would that help eliminate the issue?

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Yes, it could. You would want a variable speed fan though. With that you can suck air through the fire box, cook chamber and then out the stack. This will help keep the smoke flowing, but, you need to have a way to control it.

Purchase a Pitmaker and never look back

Plowboy, those look pretty good too and hadn't seen them before! Thank you for the recommendation. The fact that the fire box is directly under it may be a better fit in the kitchen layout as well. I wonder how the two compare otherwise. Do you have experience with Pitmaker?


http://www.pitmaker.com/product/vin/?vin=51516360

You didn't ask me but Pitmaker is a very good brand that's regarded highly in the BBQ world. Hadn't heard of the other brand you mentioned in your OP.

If I were doing an outdoor kitchen I would pit in cut outs for a weber gass grill and a Big [url=https://texags.com/account/profile][/url]Green Egg. If you want more BBQ room than the BGE then a stand up double wall pit like backwoods.

Something like this.

I'd go with gator pit

I built outdoor kitchen a couple years ago and did something similar, and would recommend it as well. I put in a Primo XL, Bull 38" gas grill and then bought a Lonestar Grillz offset. I put the gas grill in for resale value on my house only, thinking I would never use it. I use it all the time along with my offset. I rarely use my Primo because I prefer the smoke on the offset. Still glad I included it in the kitchen though because it has its purposes.

I've been planning to not put in gas as I just prefer charcoal for everything. A smoker, a charcoal grill, and a griddle is the majority of my cooking. Maybe I should reconsider.

Aggiemundo said:

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I've been planning to not put in gas as I just prefer charcoal for everything. A smoker, a charcoal grill, and a griddle is the majority of my cooking. Maybe I should reconsider.

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I was 100% with you. Big time anti-gas bbq-er for the longest time. I really thought I would never use it but it's just so dang easy when it comes to cooking sausages or burgers, chicken breasts, etc. I also have 2 and 1 year old sons so it's a nightmare at my house at night so the ease of not having to use charcoal is helpful. Not sure of your situation though. Like I said, I did it purely for resale value on my house. Good luck on your build. I cook out 5-6 nights a week now. Love it.

Aggiemundo said:

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Plowboy, those look pretty good too and hadn't seen them before! Thank you for the recommendation. The fact that the fire box is directly under it may be a better fit in the kitchen layout as well. I wonder how the two compare otherwise. Do you have experience with Pitmaker?


http://www.pitmaker.com/product/vin/?vin=51516360

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Yes sir I've done too many to count. They are amazingly well insulated (double actually), takes very little fuel to run and use a reverse smoke chamber. Smoke comes from the bottom cabinet, up thru the outer channels and enters the top of the vault. Smoke then has to filter down thru the chamber to the bottom where it enters the inner channels to exit through the stack. The one I used was on a large trailer setup tailgating but I have some friends who have them for their outdoor kitchens and love it. One has theirs on casters to move around and the other sits on a cutout in the outdoor kitchen. George and Victor are the nicest guys and they actually had us bring some sausage and pork chops when we picked it up to throw on and show us the ins and outs. I
promise you will not regret it

After a bit of research I'd say I'm sold on the Safe from them. This may be a stupid question, but I normally use probes to monitor grill and meat temp for overnight cooks and get alerted at certain levels. With those doors being as well sealed as they are on the Pitmaker, will probe wires still fit in there?

Aggiemundo said:

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After a bit of research I'd say I'm sold on the Safe from them. This may be a stupid question, but I normally use probes to monitor grill and meat temp for overnight cooks and get alerted at certain levels. With those doors being as well sealed as they are on the Pitmaker, will probe wires still fit in there?

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Again, you didn't ask me but I've cooked on similar pits like a backwoods insulated vertical and the igrill2 probes worked fine.

As stated above, the wires for probes are not a problem for the door seal