Are Reverse Flow Smokers Superior? | Chuds BBQ
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- Опубліковано 19 лип 2023
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They are a solution in search of a problem. But Brad's is a work of art and craftsmanship.
really beautiful build! your skills have come a long way in both cooking and welding. it's so inspiring to see your tenacity
Probably my favorite YT channel, thanks for sharing for all of us.
Lang flow owner here, so the way I clean my plate is that I give it a steam bath before and after the cook. As I bring it up to temp I usually over shoot it then give it a quick spray from the eater hose. Any leftover grease washes down the drain. And then when I'm done cooking I heat it back up to 300 and then spray again let it shut down. If I have any troublesome grease then I scrape it a bit. Langs have a nice grease drain running down the middle of the baffle plate so that's helpful.
I love your channel man. Thank you for creating this channel. Definitely got me in the thought process of making my own sausages and building a smoker now lol.
First off, loved this whole video series, thank you! I agree with you on the standard offset. I enjoy cooking on it more than the reverse smoker I have. One thing that I have on my reverse smoker that may help with clean up on yours is putting an access door on the lower half that swings up (at the end cap), and you can open it for cleaning purposes to get under the plate. Also, I put aluminum foil on top of the plate the length of the pit and replace it as needed. Definitely makes things easier to clean. Just a few tips that have helped me. Again, great videos. Keep up the good work!
LOVE LOVE LOVE my reverse Flow. It's a great pit and it has it's flaws of course but overall it is an awesome cooker
Very good break down on the cooker. Thanks for answering the questions, this video was awesome!
Nice series Bradley. Really enjoyed it.
Thank you for your honesty on this. The thing still looks killer.
I really always wondered about this. I'm happy to hear your experience and thoughts are kind of what I expected.
A little off topic but, I followed many of your tips for smoking a brisket, best one yet , thank you
Reverse flow is great its just a slight learning curve if you come from traditional offsets, i have a shirley patio 36 and i absolutely love it, nothing dries out from excess heat, in fact the temps are pretty consistant throughout the cooking chamber. I dont have experience with any other rev flows but i can vouch for mine for sure. Better than traditional? I dont think either style is better than the other. Just know your pit and your good. Ill also add that mine is pretty easy to clean
Good build look forward to seeing more cooking on it.
I think it turned out awesome good size good design and the thing I like the most is the way you finished the outside good job Mr. Chud The more you use it the better you will like it.
Great informative video, im deciding on which smoker to buy, reverse or standard, you gave me some good tips and pointers on these smokers, thanks mate, all the best. !
Great series, I always wondered if the baffle plate would hold heat and cook faster. Same issue I’ve seen with pellet grills.
I have a huge Shirley Fabrication reverse flow smoker. It is phenomenal, but, I agree, there are different temperature zones that I just rotate when needed. I can cook about 55-60 pork shoulders in the main chamber alone, so for me, it's well worth it...
Dude awsome design and welding
I have both and I find myself cooking on the reverse flow more than the offset. Just like anything I had to learn the pit. I did notice that the food was not near as smokey as the offset, and that's a good thing. It's still smokey, just not overly so just a cleaner smoke. I cook more on the top rack on mine rather than the bottom rack and it seems to help mitigate the effect from the baffle plate. I feed mine a split about every hour after its up to temp. I have a built in propane jet burner on the fire box to help get the logs started and its the bomb.
Every HOUR? 😒
@@ralphalf5897 Its a 500 gal smoker yes i feed it that often to maintain even temperature. I can load it heavy and let it go for longer but what fun is that.
Did you insulate the fire box?
I own a Lang 84 deluxe and After I learned how it cooks I love it. I can smoke from a whole hog to anything smaller. I put a propane burner and put an iron skillet on the burner and put some splits in the skillet and pellets for some smoke. Worked great. I cooked a hog that way below 32* degrees.
@@danielgordon8403 yes firebox is insulated.
Awesome series brotha!
I’ve definitely asked numerous times, thank you Brad
This is why we love you. Honesty
Hey Bradley I really like the look of your reverse flow smoker.
I got a little tip for you I built a smaller reverse flow and I line my bottom baffle plate with heavy-duty foil, it makes for a nice easy clean up and keeps a baffle plate clean. Love your videos. 😎🍻👍😋
This was a very interesting video!!! Thank you.
I did wonder about that baffle plate and how it would clean up over time. Great build and overview!
Dude that color on that smoker makes it look you painted great seasoning man
Love all your videos. I think there are pros and cons either way. In my 24x36 Shirley Fabrication reverse flow I place a 18x26 stainless cookie sheet on top of the baffle plate and fill with water. The water adds some moisture to the cook chamber, but it's mostly to insulate the meat from the radiant heat. Also makes for easier cleanup. Of course you have to keep it filled with water as it evaporates. I just add a little water to the pan any time I open the door to add mop sauce or check internal temps.
Great video series and insight. I'm going to stick my a traditional myself. 🍻
As always Brad another awesome video. You're a natural. Keep up the good work. Can't wait until the next video. Later
As always another great video
This was a great video. Lots of good info
Great great review i do have a reverse flow and all you said is true . What i did was i used removable plates so cleaning is easy other than that i love my reverse flow .
Bradley you got THE Best UA-cam channel for cooking authentic BBQ Keep em coming!!! Love my 250g reverse flow. It's 1/2" riveted steel from 100 year old boiler on a trailer and cooks amazingly even top shelf and bottom so I can really load it up and not worry too much. However, I've always used water pans (sheet pan) to keep the plate clean, and im sure I'd run into radiant heat problems from the baffle plate if I didn't. Best results for my brisket is to slow cook at 225f until I wrap in butcher paper with beef tallow then bump it up to 275f to finish. I really hope you try another brisket soon and see what you come up with. Keep the the great videos coming Bradley and keep, checking them boots brother. 👢 🐍
It is beautiful man!
Cleaning tip ~ After your cook crank the heat up and hose out. It steam cleans it. That is how Ben Lang showed me how to clean my Lang Offset
Great video, thanks for sharing!
I have a Shirley Fab. Reverse Flow and I learned pretty quickly that traditional offset is still the way to go for the same reason that it’s really a pain in the A- to clean almost every after cook.
This is why I designed my little 60 gallon as both. (I showed you on IG) I get to pull the baffles out and open the other smokestack.
My reverse flow I built I used angle iron in the middle as a v in plate and put the drain in it to stop the grease from going under the plate.
Hey brother, thanks for reading my question. Much appreciated. I hope you and Brooke are well.
Great video 🎉
I learned on a big reverse flow, had two cheap traditional flows for several years, and got a 6ft reverse flow of my own two years ago. I love them. I get much better temp consistency across the length of the chamber. I love them, but it’s possibly because I know them so well.
Also, my grease spout is on the opposite side of brad’s.
Which is common sense.
Great stuff Brad, thanks for the info
I built a reverse flow 8 years ago out of a truck fuel tank that burned propane. (175 gallon) which is at least 3/8" thick. I used the 24.5 inch wheel for the firebox and old axe wood handles for the handles. I also use mesquite for wood, which has a stronger smoke flavor. I have found that running the pit between 225 and 250 works best, rather than the 275 to 300 most people do on traditional offsets.
I've always run my offsets at those lower temps. Been smoking about 20 years. 220 to 250 is the ideal temperature envelope for smoked meats no matter what you use.
Thanks for the Honesty!
Very nice looking smoker and super impressive! I have been wanting to get into welding for a while... might be time to hit up the marketplace for a starter kit and then knock myself out.
Had a bumpy time on switch from std flow but now enjoy the speedier cook. Brisket fat down is awesome on the RF plate, renders nicely.
Put water pans on the bottom plate while cooking.
Love the Always Sunny reference in the middle
Thanks for building and experimenting for our benefit. Hopefully, the revenue from UA-cam will offset (no pun intended) some of your build costs!
Hey Chud, one thing I've learned with my reverse flow is that if you want to avoid the radiant heat from the plate toasting the bottom of your brisket is to use the top rack.
The plate is a good place to put a pan of water. Works great if you want to cook something with a good bit of humidity.
Chud (Aka Bradley), the man, the myth, the legend.
I know its already a hefty beast, but I've realized you can use ceramic tiles on the baffle to act as a sort of insulator to protect from radiant heat. I use 2 small pieces of tile on my dyna glo offset box smoker to protect from the direct heat flow from the box and its treated me very well. I use them the same way, run it across my bottom rack like a baffle.
They make 24" x 24" ceramic tiles so it shouldn't be an issue to find a couple that you can insert for heat protection but also remove at the end of the cook for ease of cleaning. I put my tiles in my garage sink and let them soak for a few, then the chudstuff just wipes off with a paper towel, Super easy.
My reverse flow has a removable plate and two different places for the stack both normal flow and reverse both have worked really well
Same here. I mainly use it as reverse flow.
Great info.
I’ve grown to fall in love with my reverse flow however I agree with everything you’re saying. Lol. I just find I can manage temp a lot better than an offset. The one thing I do get annoyed with is the inconsistent ambient temperature. You almost need a temperature gauge for every inch of it. lol.
I place a sheet cake pan with beef broth on the deflector plate just under my brisket. It insulates the bottom of the brisket from the radiant heat.
I find it helps a lot to line the baffle plate with foil trays.
Trays block a lot of that radiant heat and fill up with drippings which extenuate that effect.
that also helps a LOT with the cleaning.
Great video. I have a couple of suggestions for you. Remove the lip from the firebox to cook chamber opening. Add a lip at the left end of the baffle plate. having the lip on the baffle allows all of the mess to be caught up top where it is accessible. If you need to clean below the baffle do so from the firebox end with a long mop. The other cool thing this allows is that you can use that entire baffle as a water pan should you desire to do so. yes that comes in handy. Your drain also needs to extend up to your baffle as well.
Great looking pit. I prefer reverse flow over traditional for smaller pits.
I have both the TMG Fridge and a Workhorse 1975 (Sorry Chud, they were closer for pickup). After plenty of cooks on both, I can say honestly they both have their strong points. I think of the traditional flow as “a convection oven” where as the RF is more of a regular “oven”. The TMG cooks chicken great, but the WH crisps the skin up like it was fried. I like Butts better in the TMG. Brisket better in the WH because it renders the fat better and ribs better in TMG. I line the baffle plate with foil and cleans right up. The TMG has so much cooking area, to keep at 225-250 I have to have a huge raging fire.
My reverse flow cook chamber is made from a 1/4" thick 48"x20 pipe. Firebox is sized for the cooker. I have only used a reverse flow. For me brisket are not a problem, temps are even side to side, your right about being fantastic for ribs. Mine take longer than 2 hour, usually about 5..
I converted a traditional offset smoker to a reverse flow and quickly realized my mistake on my first cook. That baffle plate generated so much bottom radiant heat that it was almost like grilling. I heard stones were better but never had a chance to try that before I sold it. Went to a UDS and not looking back.
ive been welding with a $110 chicago electric flux core for 2 years no complaints
Do you think a water tray on top of the plate wound help with the convection heat and allow a slower smoke for more flavor? Beautiful job btw..
We put the drain at the other end on my reverse flow, with a small sheet along the bottom to force all the goodies to that end. The idea was to keep the grease away from the firebox as much as possible. Grease fires suck. We used two baffle plats sitting on angle iron. That way I can take them out if I need to.
I find maintaining the temp to be incredibly easy on it. But for my last cook, in this central Texas heat, I hardly used any wood. It kept hot without needing it, so I didn't get near as much smoke on it. I didn't really understand what was going on until I saw the smoke ring. Everything tasted good, but it didn't have as much smoke as during the winter.
A searing box is just above the firebox, with a smoke box above that. So I can almost get a cold smoke while smoking brisket or whatever. And I can smoke my steaks as well, then sear them in the middle. It works well.
Instead of putting another 100 pounds and the added cost. Needing more wood to heat up more metal, harder to clean and you can’t clean under the reverse flow plate. I took a traditional stick burner, that had a 5” stack in the middle of the opposite fire box end. The problem was the heat traveled along the top above the meat and exited the stack before it hit the meat. So I took a piece of 5” flex pipe for fireplace flue. And made it offset from stack down to bottom of pit down half the length of pit. This kept the h heat at top of pit till ait cooled a cooled and drop down to the flue pipe. Pit became more efficient and more controllable. And I didn’t have to move stack or cut the pit open to put in a hundred pounds of plate steel. So if you have a large stick burner, pick up a piece of glue flex pipe. And fix it to your stack outlet and try cooking with your pit like this. I like this channel.
Love the channel Love the Lewis channel as well smoke on brother
My opinion reverse could be okay but I think you have to have air flow to the fire so if you going to have a cowboy opening or something that you can keep that fire air flow going that's a plus
I like the fire management plate in a standard offset and I tell you what I like to keep the fire box open a little sometimes maybe more keep that air flow keep that fire going instead of trapping all that hot air in, that's where I'm at right now anyway
I have seen a lot of Shirley Fab owners put aluminum trays on top of their rf plate to collect drippings and minimize the amount of cooked on grease, just an idea!
I remember a video from a company that has sold these for years. I was most impressed by the drain in the bottom on the far end from the fire box. To clean it they would wait till the next cook, stoke the firebox, open the drain and when everything was hot; use a hose to clean it.
Lang has a great grease drain and they recommend a quick spray while cooker is hot, not at beginning of next.
With that baffle plate, I feel like you should install "Cleanout" sort of like the grease trap but behind the smoker so you can just scrape it into a bucket etc. Just so it's a little easier than shoveling it out.
Nice explainations, been wondering how the hell these reverse flows are supposed to work
Would love to see you fabricate a water type smoker like what you see Myron Mixon use.
I have a reverse flow I just bought you think drilling a few holes across the bottom of the heat pan will help out
I wonder if you laid fire bricks over the baffle if that would help?
I had a reverse flow on a trailer built by one of the top pitmasters in Texas. I did like it and not opposed to them, but I do like the versatility of traditional cookers better.
I wonder if making a insulated baffle would help with the bottom heat if materials usage wasnt a issue
Have you thought of adding a tube drain to pass from the top plate through to the bottom and add a short lip to the top plate so you capture the drippings and drain them without running everyting through the bottom where it is hard to clean?
What are thoughts on using a smoker as a traditional grill and putting your charcoal in the cook chamber?
Would you recommend a reverse smoker if I’m only doing turkey breast, chicken breast, pork chops, and Ribs?
It should make a great cold smoker.
A few things I didn’t see addressed in the video or comments. When you mention it cooks hotter and briskets get a little crispy underneath that sounds like your temps are simply too high. You didn’t say what your target temps were. When you said the baffle plate was hard to clean are you comparing it to cleaning the bottom of a straight flow? I can’t see how a flat plate is harder to clean than a pipe. My biggest reason to look at reverse flow is getting full use if the pit. I’ve watched hundreds of smoking videos and everyone uses the opposite side from the firebox exclusively so you lose 1/3 of the space. I’ve been using COS cookers and a ceramic Komodo for years but always gave my sights on upgrading to a proper pit so I have no direct experience on either but at this point in my research I prefer reverse flow, as you might have guessed.
To each its own really i haven't found the bottom of my lang 36 to burn the meat not saying it cant but i would rotate meat if worried. I would like to get a standard offset smoker and see for my self. Happy cooking
The rust treatment on the outside stands out for sure.
I have a traditional 250 gallon offset but its 30" wide on the inside and I have 15" plates across the middle. They are 1/4" thick and it keeps Temps very well.
If it tuning plates, i had them in the past and they worked great, even temp from box to stack.
By baffle plate has 2 inch lips at either end and a drain I fill it with water it makes steam which helps in the cook. Start with water add apple juice as I go I cook everything on mine with no issues and very stable temps and flow
What's your honest thoughts on the new design Goldee's bbq came up with?
What do you think about a baffle plate constructed similar to a insulated firebox. .25 steel-insulation-.25 steel. Maybe that would cut down on heat on the bottom.
Just subscribe. Will really enjoy binging your content for knowledge. You can make removable plates and add theaded cut pipe to each ends and you can run it traditional. Oklahoma joes reverse flow has that option. Removable plates makes it a bit easier to clean too.
I wonder if you could do anything to insulate the baffle plate?
Curious if the top rack would get enough smoke and enough distance from the baffle plate.
So I know this would require some modification but how about drilling some 1” holes in the baffle plate pot a slide plate over and put another exhaust
Then you get both worlds reverse and traditional?
Build me one and I will come get it and review it:) LOL
Sweet build!!!
Chud, I noticed the collector was above the grate. Do you think that dropping the firebox down so you could split the collector 1/2 above the grate and 1/2 below the grate would increase the smoke flavor? It should hold more smoke at grate level I would think.
Do you consider a double walled (insulated) baffle plate for the MK2?
What do you think of fully insulated charcoal gravity smokers? 😂 I'm building one now (second welding project, still not pretty) and hope it'll cope well with the very windy, very cold winters here in western colorado. Maybe you can do a review of it if you're ever out this way! 😉
Would an insulated bottom plate help with radiant heat?
You should be able to make a long scrapper togo through the firebox to be able to clean under the baffle plate
Brad - You could make a 2 door without a center. Think of a split walk through door.
Only issue - One door would have to open 1st every time. To open the 2nd, the 1st would need to be open already. Because of the overlap.
Can you do a low and slow brisket on a pallet smoker