Old Country BBQ Pits Pecos Owners Thread

[smokinbub]

 
​Specs on Academy website say 14 gauge, with 11 gauge doors.  From the "feel test", they're much thicker than the OK Joes at the box stores, but not a full 1/4" plate.  

​As far as justifying the more expensive one--only you can do that.  I'm pretty happy with mine so far (only about 2 months old).  I sealed the doors with stove gasket.  I used the plate they provide for coals as a baffle plate, flipped the fire box grate and use it for my coals.  Runs a pretty consistent temp left-right (about 3* variance).  I'm happy, and appreciate the extra money in my pocket, but I'm just a hobbyist, and don't cook for big crowds.

Thanks for your advice and input!  

 

[texasjason]

Just wanted to jump in and say I am a new Pecos owner and have been very pleased so far. For the money this would be hard to beat. I can run this thing hot and fast if I want (just by using larger splits) or low and slow with smaller splits. And someone on an earlier post mentioned keeping fb door wide open stack wide open which is the way to go. Otherwise I get puffy white smoke. So open all the way it is.
So thanks for everyone who has posted suggestions so far, they have really helped!

 

[tri snout]

New to the board as a poster, have lurked mostly. Have had my Pecos since 2014 and have loved smoking on it ever since. I moved up to it from a char broiler and was pleasantly surprised. Haven't done any mods to it really other than using the grate in the firebox as my way to elevate my coals and wood. I took out the metal piece that came with it and will probably repurpose it in the chamber as a baffler plate maybe.

I recently began competing locally so I will be mounting it to a trailer (4x7 I picked up used). Plan on taking the grate sliders out of the fire box and moving them into the chamber and having a second rack build to give me more cooking space. Plan on making a bigger front table, and possibly eventually adding a vertical box to the smoke stack side.

I've noticed the new ones are coming with curved metal brackets welded to the underside of the doors, so I will probably mimic that. I'm guessing it's to help keep the doors ridged? I don't think I need the extra support but I would like some extra weight on the doors. I may also adjust the door stopper by cutting off the shark fins and adding some square tube type limits to add weight.

I will try and post pictures as I go along in this thread, unless there is a specific build sub forum? I'll keep y'all posted!

 

[sonofasmoker]

New Peco's owner! Has anyone had success adding an upper rack? I want to mimic the main, sliding expanded metal, grate but I am not sure I want to go in and start hacking stuff up.  

 

[texasjason]

I have not tried but it has been something I have been thinking about as well.  I suppose it wouldn't be too hard if you had the equipment and tools for putting a rack together and welding it on.  Maybe others will chime in.

 

[sonofasmoker]

I sure hope so. I see people on this forum doing all sorts of cool things with their racks. One that I am real interested in is what Al does. He takes his fat trimmings of his brisket and puts them above the meet to baste it with. How cool is that? Im not sure how much good it does but theres plenty I could use it for. 

 

[Adam Smoaks]

I put an upper rack in mine about 6 months ago. The pic below shows some thighs and drums on its first smoke. It turned out really well. I got some scrap angle iron and x-metal from a local shop. Pretty straight forward. I made it high enough to be able to fit big pieces of meat like butts underneath and still enough of room for chicken, ribs, and a pan of beans up top. It cooks about 50+ degrees hotter up top as well. Its definitely worth doing, and you can always slide it out when you don't need it.

 

[texasjason]

I put an upper rack in mine about 6 months ago. The pic below shows some thighs and drums on its first smoke. It turned out really well. I got some scrap angle iron and x-metal from a local shop. Pretty straight forward. I made it high enough to be able to fit big pieces of meat like butts underneath and still enough of room for chicken, ribs, and a pan of beans up top. It cooks about 50+ degrees hotter up top as well. Its definitely worth doing, and you can always slide it out when you don't need it.

Thanks for sharing this. I assume the dimensions are the same as the lower rack?

 

[sonofasmoker]

Thats awesome thank you Adam! Any more pics? Did you weld the tray guides in?

 

[Adam Smoaks]

Yes, I copied the bottom cooking grate's length but made it only 10" wide. I welded in angle iron for the grate to slide on and used square tubing for the grate frame with x-metal on top. You could go a little bit wider but I made it 10" so i can slide all the way back and it never gets in the way. It stays in pretty much all of the time whether I actually use it or not. It's really handy to have though. I'll try get some more pics soon.

 

[Adam Smoaks]

It's very similar to the upper grate that comes in the Old Country Cantina grill like "saynaw" has posted on page 9. I saw one at our local Academy and pretty much modeled it after that.

 

[sonofasmoker]

Very cool, thanks buddy! Now I need a welder :) haha

 

[Shiraz]

Just picked up a Pecos from Academy. The store had about 4 of them and 2 of them looked pretty good. The gal at the check out asked me if I wanted one in a box and I said no since I did not know how it would be. Seasoned it at 350 according to the 4" Old Country gauge that I bought for it. I did not bother using my Thermoworks Smoke for the seasoning. I was hoping to get it up to 400 but no matter how many logs I put in the firebox it would not hit 400. I was impressed with how tight it was for the money. I don't see the need at this point to add any nomex fabric or RTV sealant. Not sure if I am going to get a cover for it since it did have some water in the firebox after some rain. I resolved that issue by drilling a 1/4" hole in both the firebox and the chimney. I moved the coal grate to the smoking chamber as others have done and placed a grill grate from Home Depot in the firebox. Not sure how long the grate from HD will last. Now to make some baby back ribs in it.

 

[texasjason]

Just picked up a Pecos from Academy. The store had about 4 of them and 2 of them looked pretty good. The gal at the check out asked me if I wanted one in a box and I said no since I did not know how it would be. Seasoned it at 350 according to the 4" Old Country gauge that I bought for it. I did not bother using my Thermoworks Smoke for the seasoning. I was hoping to get it up to 400 but no matter how many logs I put in the firebox it would not hit 400. I was impressed with how tight it was for the money. I don't see the need at this point to add any nomex fabric or RTV sealant. Not sure if I am going to get a cover for it since it did have some water in the firebox after some rain. I resolved that issue by drilling a 1/4" hole in both the firebox and the chimney. I moved the coal grate to the smoking chamber as others have done and placed a grill grate from Home Depot in the firebox. Not sure how long the grate from HD will last. Now to make some baby back ribs in it.

Cool! I've enjoyed mine. I added the nomex around the firebox and cook chamber as it leaked quite a bit but that seemed to be an easy and quick fix. Mine seems to run the best at around 275-300. I have an easier time keeping temps steady at the higher temps than the lower temps. But it works for the type of bbq I tend to do anyway.

 

[Johnny Bravvo]

Hello, all! Brand new in "town" here and just picked up a new Pecos last night from Academy. Excited to get started!

Do we have a quick resource for proper initial burn, season, seal, tuning plate setup, best practices etc?

 

[Shiraz]

Just wanted to give an update on the 4" thermometer. I did calibrate it somewhat so at midscale it reads about the same as my Thermoworks smoke. Dial thermometers are most accurate at midscale so this is reasonable. First brisket is almost done! Keep on smoking!

 

[Rings Я Us]

Nice smokers!

 

[Sean N. Brewer]

I'm looking at stainless steel grill grates. Does anyone know the dimensions of the main cooking chamber? I'm at work right now and wanted to plug it in. Also, do any of you guys have a trick or solution for the sagging grill grates? Mine is loaded up, periodically with 4 - 5 briskets plus snacking food from time to time and the weight is taking a toll.

 

[PecosGeorge]

I'm posting as a reply because I can't figure out how to start a new thread. I thought I saw someone using ceramic for tuning plates but can't find it. I cut 4 plates from 5/16" thick tiles. Does anyone know of any experiences using ceramic. Thanks. GJ