# Lang vs East texas smoker company



## dean74 (Nov 12, 2012)

I am getting ready to upgrade to a reverse flow on a trailer and I am not sure which I am going to go with yet. Anyone know anything about the East texas smokers? I know I will have some die hard lang owners in here! Looking forward to this purchase!


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## bmudd14474 (Nov 14, 2012)

Dont know much about East Texas Smokers. I went to their site and it looks almost the same as a lang. I venture to say they will be very close in nature.


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## albone (Nov 27, 2012)

I bought from east texas smokers this past May and it was NOT a good experience. Everything was going fine until we got close to the completion date and it all went downhill from there. They became very hard to contact, I wanted to make sure they were still on schedule as I was attempting to hire someone to deliver the pit to me. I had also requested that pictures of the completed pit be sent to me so I coild be assured of what I would be receiving. No pictures ever arrived. When my delivery guy went to pick up the pit, he was told that the custom shelf I had requested was not ready and would besent to me later. Seems to me that someone from east texas smokers should have phoned me with that information. When the cooker arrived, not only was the shelf missing but so was the "grill conversion kit" that I paid an extra $300 for. It was supposed to be grates that sit inside the pit that will allow you to use it as a grill instead of a smoker. After two weeks of many unreturned phone calls and one threat to get other agencies involved, the "kit" finally arrived. it was one expanded metal grate that doesn't even take up half the length of the grill. Anybody could have built it with 20 bucks worth of materials from Menards. In addition, the paint job was horrible! 

I've built my own shelf and put a logo on it like they were supposed to do (the one they made was the most amature looking thing I've ever seen) and I bought cast iron grates to use as my charcoal grates. Expenses one shouldn't have to make when the pay nearly $6000 to have somethi g custom built for them.

Obviously, you're going to do whatever you want to do, but I will never deal with east texas smokers again!


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## dean74 (Nov 27, 2012)

albone! Thanks for your response! I see this is your first post! Welcome to the forum! I have heard both good and bad about east texas... Decisions, Decisions... What model of ETSC pit do you have, and other than the bad experience you have had getting your smoker, How do you like cooking on it?


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## albone (Nov 30, 2012)

I have the basic model with an insulated fire box, warming box, and doors and racks set up without a middle brace that will allow me to cook a whole hog. As far as how well it cooks, it does an adequate job. Personally, I honestly believe the pitmaster has more of an impact on the outcome than the pit!  Having said that, the pitmaster does need reliable and consistent equipment, and it's every bit of that! Should you decide to go with etsc, (in spite of the issues I personally had with their customer service), I think you'll be getting a fine pit. Let me know, I'll be happy to post or email  pictures of my pit for you to look at.


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## bruno994 (Nov 30, 2012)

I have talked to a few guys at comps this year running ETSC pits and love them, but customer service is very high on my list and it sounds like their service sucks.  As far as Lang, I have seen nothing but great reviews and praise for them.  Buying a pit is a personal, very personal decision, I would rank it up there with choosing a wife..LOL,..(I only put that in there cause my wife doesn't get on SMF)...  Have you talked with Lang or ETSC at all?  Have you looked at Gator Pit of Texas?  Further south in Houston, Texas, but a really well built pit and everything I have read here on Texas Q forums is nothing but top notch customer service.  Pitmaker is also out of Houston, sweet looking setups, but a bit more expensive.  R & O Customs is also in Texas, nice looking setups as well.  I don't beleive any of these offer the RF style though.


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## dean74 (Nov 30, 2012)

I havnt talked to lang, I have spoke with Clint at ETSC and I do believe that is the route I think I am going to go. I have talked to guys that own both, Both have said great things. I will keep you guys posted with my personal experience with ETSC. I really hope it all goes well and I end up a happy new pit owner! Hope you are all firing up your smokers and getting ready for a weekend smoke! Have a good one!


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## albone (Dec 1, 2012)

Just an fyi. Before deciding to go with ETSC, I had considered a company out of Georgia called Bubba Grills. The only reason I didn't choose them was because ETSC offered more customization options. Might be worth looking into!


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## dean74 (Dec 1, 2012)

I actually ordered the ETSC today. So far it has been a good experience, I will keep you all updated on the progress. Should be done sometime after the first of the year. I asked them to send me pictures of progress once a week or so. I will post the pictures of the progress as it goes on and we will see if the customer service has improved at all. I had been looking at everyones suggestion and something just kept pulling me back to ETSC. So I went with my gut feeling and called and ordered it! Wish me luck! Thanks again!


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## va_connoisseur (Dec 4, 2012)

Good luck with that. I hate to hear about folks having bad experiences with several thousand dollar smokers.


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## dean74 (Dec 4, 2012)

So far its been good, Have spoke with Clint and Heath (owners of ETSC) everyday since I have ordered it making sure everything is done the way I want. They have been very helpful so far. Smoker should be done beginning of the year sometime!


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## friedoysters (Dec 20, 2012)

Dean, how did the pit from ETSC turn out? just curious...


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## dean74 (Dec 20, 2012)

The pit is not quite complete yet, but I have nothing but great things to say about the experience so far. I have been impressed with the customer service, and I cant explain how excited I am to go down and pick it up! Should be done next week sometime. They have been great about sending me pictures throughout the whole process. I will post the latest picture they sent of the pit. 













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## bruno994 (Dec 21, 2012)

Looking good man.


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## ringtail bbq (Jan 5, 2013)

Dean... Do you have an update?


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## dean74 (Jan 5, 2013)

Going down tomorrow to pick it up!!! Ill post some pics as soon as I get down to texas! But as far as the experience of working with these guys has been top notch! I have nothing but great things to say about them!


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## ringtail bbq (Jan 5, 2013)

Thanks... Look forward to hearing about it, I've been talking with them about ordering one.


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## dean74 (Jan 5, 2013)

Good deal! What model have you been talking about?


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## ringtail bbq (Jan 6, 2013)

The same as yours but with the small warmer and propane burners.


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## dean74 (Jan 6, 2013)

Cool, _I got the competition contendor its got storage on the backside and a propapne grill and the burners, I was thinking about the warmer box, but went with the insulated firebox, and cyber q guru system! picking it up in the morning! _


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## ringtail bbq (Jan 18, 2013)

Dean..... Did you take delivery?   Are you happy with it?   Love to see some pics.  JB


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## dean74 (Jan 20, 2013)

I drove down and picked it up last week, hadnt had a chance to fire it up until yesterday. I am extremely happy with how it cooked and held temperature! There are a few things I think could have been better and if I was to order another one I would ask them to change it. I wiring for the trailer lights need to be ran through conduit or something. They are just zip tied to do the frame and The electrical wires for my plug ins run through the storage container and are zip tied to the trailer as well. The problem with that is when I throw wood in there or anything heavy there is a chance of the wires being cut or knicked. I will run out and take some pictures and get em on here! I would say it was a good experience. We filled it with meat yesterday and lets just say we made a lot of new friends in the neighborhood!!


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## dean74 (Jan 20, 2013)

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Havnt tested out the cyberQ yet. 













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Fans on the backside of the firebox.













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Heres one of the things I would of changed as well. This is the wiring to the fans for the CyberQ I think they should of been ran through conduit. One of the things I will be changing.













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Here you can see the electrical wires ran through the storage, I will be routhing these through conduit and under the trailer. 













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Heres a couple pictures of the wires for the trailer lights. I dunno if its common but it looks like they just blasted holes through the fram with a cutter and ran the wires. I am going to re run the wires through conduit. 













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## ringtail bbq (Jan 20, 2013)

Dean....what a great looking rig!  I'm sure you'll put out some great Q. You certainly put some time in determining what you wanted.

Please post your thoughts on the CyberQ, that's one option I've been looking at.  

I know the measurements, but if you load it up let me know how much meat you get on the bottom shelves and if you have room on the top ones.  Sometimes I'm cooking 10 butts and a few briskets, so I'm curious how that would fit and how the temp holds.  

One guy I talked with had a problem with the angle iron that is in the smokiing chamber right out side the firebox warped on him.   I'm thinking he got it to hot. 

Thanks for posting the pictures, I look forward to hearing about you experience.  

Good SMOKIN' .... JB


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## cromag (Jan 20, 2013)

Those handles rule!


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## beefmeister (Jan 21, 2013)

cromag said:


> Those handles rule!


x2


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## dean74 (Jan 21, 2013)

Thanks! It sure is a fun toy!!


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## bruno994 (Jan 21, 2013)

Looks very nice man.  Is that the cutting board option on the left side of the pit?  What are the covers made of that are above the storage boxes?


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## dean74 (Jan 21, 2013)

Yeah, thats the cutting board to the left of the smoker. The cover that is over the top of the storage boxes is just expanded metal.


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## 2manybikes (Jul 18, 2014)

Dean, sorry for bringing this thread back from the dead.  Your pics helped me decide on my recent upgrades.  My RK250 is being upgraded right now.  I'm adding the CyberQ myself.  Would you have a pic you could post of the probe wiring entering the smoker tank?


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## dean74 (Jul 22, 2014)

I will take a pic when I get home, I am out of town for work this week, but basically if you can see where the cyberq is located there is a hole right there in the smoke that the probes run through into the chamber. Hope that helps!


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## 2manybikes (Jul 27, 2014)

Thanks!  Got my pit back yesterday.  They did a great job.  East Texas Smokers was great to work with.   I bought my pit used, so I didn't have the pleasure of working with them when it was built.  The upgrades they did were excellent and very reasonably priced.


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## dean74 (Jul 29, 2014)

What all did you have done?


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## 2manybikes (Jul 30, 2014)

I had a basic RK250 and added:

Insulated firebox with ports for temp control

Propane plumbing with tank holder and starter

18" hide-away stainless bar top

Dividers for organizing the back of the tank

Switched from axes on the doors to the roller handles

Spare tire

Just tried by CyberQ Wifi. last night.  Don't think I need the picture after all.  Thanks for the help.


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## dean74 (Jul 30, 2014)

How did you like the Cyberq?


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## 2manybikes (Jul 31, 2014)

Dean74 said:


> How did you like the Cyberq?


Just ran with it once.  Not sure I'll use it unless the meat is wrapped.  Seams like to get any decent amount of time, I have to load up the fire box, but to keep temp down the fire gets snuffed which creates a lot of white smoke vs the nice blue smoke.  Also, seems like I'll still need to load wood every 4 hours or so.


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## dean74 (Jul 31, 2014)

I use mine every time, I built a big basket for charcoal in mine tho it didn't run real good without the basket using the cyberq I load it with a bag of charcoal to get it going, after that I load about a stick every hour and it burns clean the entire cook.


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## 2manybikes (Jul 31, 2014)

When I got the smoker back Saturday, I did two cooks and with starting with some lump and a stick or two I was able to create a bed that allowed me to use 1 stick per hour and burn cleanly the entire time.    Not sure I need the CyberQ then since things seem to run pretty stable.    Now with the cyber q hooked up, I want to be able to walk away for at least 4 hours, but don't see a way to burn cleanly while keeping temp down and having the 4 sticks in there needed to allow me to walk away.    Thinking I'll just plan my walk aways when I would wrap anyway :)

BTW I'm wrestling with the gauges on the smoker where the left gauge typically shows 30 degrees lower than the right, but when I check temps inside the pit with an oven probe or the Cyber Q, the temp on the left is the same as that on the right.   Have you seen this too?   A coworker who is a Mechanical Engineer (and experienced with thermal analysis) suspects that maybe I have an air gap on the left door cooling the gauge.


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## unclebob (Nov 3, 2016)

Just picked up my East Texas Smoker on the 23rd of October. Was a bit of a trip from New Jersey bit worth it! I've burned it in a few times since its turning colder up here. I have nothing but good things to say about Clint and the East Texas team. I looked around for a while, some local places in Pennsylvania, Lang, another place in Florida that did complete food trucks but the team at East Texas Smokers is the real deal. The tanks they use and the heavy steel firebox and warming boxes hold the heat nicely. Getting ready to load'er up this weekend with some ribs, spatchcocked chicken and fresh pork belly.


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