# What does is cost you?



## fatback joe (Aug 19, 2008)

How much do you figure it costs you in fuel for an average cook?........let's say to cook one butt for this example.  

The recent thread about finishing a butt in the oven and a comment or two on it being more economical to move it into the oven made me think about this. 

As most of you know, that have been around here for a bit, I don't finish anything in the oven as a matter of principle, "what starts in the smoker finishes in the smoker".........but that line of thinking aside, I honestly think that it is cheaper for me to finish in the smoker......atleast in the summer months.

In the summer months here, I run around $400 a month for an electric bill. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






  If I moved the cook to the oven that would add to it in electric cost by oven usage (which would probably not be much) but it adds to the heat in the house and I can tell a difference in trying to keep the house cool and that really adds up around here.

Now as far as my smoker goes.   I cook damn near everything in my Stumps GF223.  If you are not familiar with them, they really are amazing IMO.   It takes a bit to get them up to temp, but after that, they stay dead on and hold the heat with very little charcoal usage.  I generally use Royal Oak lump since it is readily available and a decent product.  I can usually get a bag for about about $5.50..........I probably use about 2/3 of a bag for an average butt cook of around 12 hours start to finish at 250 degrees.................

..........so all of this nonsense just to say that I probably spend about $4 in charcoal from start to finish.

How about the rest of you?  

Especially curious about the charcoal crowd.....but you no good gas and electric types are welcome to join in as well...........stick burners, that goes for you to....except the "no good" part. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





What does is cost you in fueld to cook a butt?


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## richtee (Aug 19, 2008)

I have pondered this as well. You DO have an advantage with the Stumps... but for folks with the fuel hungry SFB's or folks stickburning without a readliy available cheap wood supply, that's prolly the ones who could benifit from an oven finish. It would prolly take me 1-2 small chims of lump to continue the maybe 4-5 hours to finish on a butt in the WSM. Not terrible... My main reason for ovens is lazyness and repeatability/accuracy of temp control. I have a plug in temp probe interface in my oven, and can set 200° and CLICK... off goes the oven.


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## fatback joe (Aug 19, 2008)

Oh man, that would be cool.


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## bbq bubba (Aug 19, 2008)

Well, a butt cook on the drum takes about 6 lbs of charcoal, so about $3 worth of fuel?
Gas and electricity's gotta cost more than that!


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## ck311 (Aug 19, 2008)

I also think the fuel saving may have been pointed towards the propane users. I know I'm one of them but I'm still to new to the long smokes to really give an estimate of what it cost me.


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## cajun_1 (Aug 19, 2008)

I agree  ...  RO costs me $5.27 a bag. Last week it was $5.00 per bag.
Wood chunks are usually from the trees I have trimmed.


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## richtee (Aug 19, 2008)

Soo.. we agree... the main points being:
1. Availability and cost of fuel
2. Efficiency of the smoker involved.

This of course is considering ONLY the cost savings between the two methods. As I mentioned, I have other considerations for using the oven.


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## phreak (Aug 19, 2008)

$400 a month???  dude, you need to have an energy audit(seriously it's free and you get some kick butt rebates for updating A/C, insulation, windows, etc)...as far as finishing in the oven, no way jose...I will admit 1 time I finished a butt in a the big ole crock pot, everyone(except me) loved it...


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## richtee (Aug 19, 2008)

Now see  here ya go confusing the issue... with a qualitive judgement when the question was of cost savings/efficiency!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Heh  sorry  feeling "engineerish" today for some reason.


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## fatback joe (Aug 19, 2008)

I have. 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I have 10ft ceilings, the backside of my house is damn near all glass (3 windows and 6 (yes 6) sliding glass doors), fridge and separate freezer in the garage, pool pump running, kids going in and out, TVs, computers, game systems, my wife doesn't work so something is always running...........you get the idea.  Anyhow, for me $400 in the summer is just a fact of life and pretty much on par with my neighbors.

Sorry to get to rambling..........I don't like it, but I have accepted it.


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## guvna (Aug 19, 2008)

propane doesn't cost jack. $10 through a company called propane taxi and they deliver to your house for free! i've done two smoke sessions on this tank totaling about 20 hours and the tank still feels heavy as hell. i bet i could get three or four more smokes out of it. i'd bet that if you're running a vertical set-up, propane is the most efficient (99.9%) and cost effective heat source available. ....let the arguing begin :)


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## fatback joe (Aug 19, 2008)

When I started this thread, I fully expected it to derail quickly..........I probably should have just started a poll.


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## chrome (Aug 19, 2008)

I use about the same amount of lump in my SFB smoker for a butt (2/3 bag).
It's a NB Hondo (about the same as a Char-Broil Silver Smoker) with most of the mods.


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## twistertail (Aug 19, 2008)

I have the small GOSM and get between 30 and 40 hours on a tank.  Just got a tank refilled last weekend and it was $23.  So if I take an average of 35hrs for $23 its costing me about 65 cents an hour to run.  Not sure how much it cost to run the oven per hour.


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## meowey (Aug 19, 2008)

It depends on the costs associated with various fuels in your area.  The best price I can get Locally for Royal Oak Lump is $7.00 a bag.  I figure my CGSP (with mods) uses about $1.00's worth of RO an hour, on a 12-16 hour burn.  Propane has a sliding cost schedule here.  The propane I buy to fill my 20 and 30 pound cylinders costs me about $4.50 a gallon which gets used in the GOSM and the Char-Broil grill. (I use about 40 pounds a year)  The propane I buy to fill my 100 gallon tank that I use for the kitchen stove costs me about $3.29 a gallon. (I use about 100 gallons a year)   I'm sure that I don't use $1.00 an hour for the oven, especially when it's set to 235Â°F.

Just to further muddy the waters, where I live, we use about 1200 gallons of fuel oil per year for heat and hot water with no cost for air conditioning.   Electricity is on top of that.  We have brutally cold winters.

Great thread FBJ!

Take care, have fun, and do good!

Regards,

Meowey


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## cowgirl (Aug 19, 2008)

I mainly burn wood, use it in my horizontal, for my underground pit, cinderblock pit and in my smokehouse firebox. 
Usually cut my own, but the last 2 years I have found a cheap source. It's kind of a prison work farm, they sell cords of wood and will load it for ya. I take my 16' stock trailer over and they fill it up, take cigarettes and they make sure I get the trailer filled to the top. lol
Last trip, I ended up getting 2 stock trailer loads......I'm set for awhile.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I do use coal in my little brinkman vertical and my UDS....Have not kept track of what the vertical uses, but the UDS is very efficient. I usually put in 8lbs and it lasts for the whole smoke...and usually have coals left when I'm through.

As for my house oven, I have free gas on the farm so it does not cost anything to run...I do not like heating up the house and making the AC run extra though.

So in other words, after re-reading this long post....I have no idea what it costs me to smoke. Just haven't taken the time to figure it out. lol


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## phreak (Aug 19, 2008)

oops, didn't mean to derail...cost of lump for a butt smoke = about $5
cost of running a 1950's GE electric oven= no idea
taste of butt smoked the entire time = priceless


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## 1894 (Aug 19, 2008)

Not sure , but I'll take a guess and say a bag and a half of RO in my chargriller.  She just happens to be cold blooded and hungry for fuel. 

Meowey , have you looked into running a line to your smokers from your big tank ? And look into a propane water heater , we got a tankless one and love it. You may have to move up to a 250 gallon , but when you replace that furnace 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





 it will be worth it. 

Phil


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## flash (Aug 19, 2008)

Got some bags of charcoal sitting out in storage, been using the propane conversion so much. Figure around  to $2.44 to $2.93 a smoke.


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## bbq bubba (Aug 19, 2008)

That would'a been nice, haven't been polled in a while.....
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





I like the way you think!


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## packplantpath (Aug 19, 2008)

A long cook with the SnP takes quite a bit, 7 or so dollars I'd guess. 

The ceramic grilldome, much less.  One big chimney full, and it lasts the whole cook, with leftovers.  

Course, ceramics are expensive as hell, and pretty small, so it takes a while to make it up in charcoal unless you get it used like lucky old me.


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## bbqgoddess (Aug 19, 2008)

this is an interesting thread...
Recently I have found "Kroger" lump at Ralphs here in Cali, it is less expensive than the big green egg stuff at bbq galore..however, it has a few good size chunks and the rest are fairly small pieces...so it ends uo around a bag and a half, I believe they are 8 lb bags...$4.50 each ..so fuel is right around $6.75 for a butt...I have to order some RO on the net just to give it a try....any of Cali smokers out here with any other lump they have found, at a decent price??


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## pineywoods (Aug 19, 2008)

I have been using propane too and I doubt the actual costs are much different unless you consider the fuel time and effort it takes to get propane tanks filled around here.


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## lcruzen (Aug 19, 2008)

In this area I'd say propane and tricity is a wash. But I agree with FBJ that I prefer not to heat up the house in the summer with the oven. In the winter I'm glad to do it but the smoke smell lingers in the house for a couple of days and that can be annoying to the wife. My Silver Smoker I use 100% pre-burnt wood so no cost associated with it.

So, I finish everything in the smoker when possible as my Chateau Bow Wow does not have A/C or heat.


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## walking dude (Aug 19, 2008)

phreak.........can you tell me, if you FOIL THE BUTT, how the taste can be diff. from a smoker to a OVEN?.......that one corn fused me.........once foiled, it CANNOT get any more smoke to it!

My ecb is NOT very fuel efficent. Thats why i said what i said, in the other thread Joe alluded to in the first post. AND if its foiled, what diff. would it make? This way, my bag of charcoal will go further. With me not werking due to my health issues, with just momma's income, I save charcoal as much as i can.


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## phreak (Aug 19, 2008)

well, I am by far not an expert...I was just stating personal preference...oh, and it might get a little more smoke, I know that even though I wrap a spud in foil before it goes in the smoker it gets a slight smokey flavor it


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## ronp (Aug 19, 2008)

Whatever the cost for an 800 watt element and a few chunks of wood on the MES. Seems like it would be cheap though.


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## cbucher (Aug 19, 2008)

Did 2 butts and a brisket couple weeks ago and used about 10lbs lump and half bag of splits. 11 hour cook and about $10. That was on my trailer pit.


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## travcoman45 (Aug 19, 2008)

I get say 5 ta 6 long smokes outa a 20 pound tank, depends on the smoke run, average butt er brisket 10 ta 12 hours.  A 20 pound tank cost 15 bucks ta fill.  So lets say 5 smokes of 10 hours each, that would be 3 bucks a smoke, sometimes less ifin I get 6 runs sometimes a bit more ifin the smokes run longer.  Not bad fer the fine vittles comin outa that box!  Plus ifin I'm doin more then one item it is economy at its finest!


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## ronp (Aug 19, 2008)

I called my electric company and asked what an 800 watt element cost to run for 6 hours. Came back on and said $10.00 for 30 days usage or .33 cents a day everyday. That's not counting the time the element isn't on.

WOW, that's cheap and maybe 4 chunks split for 6 hours.
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Glad this was asked because recently the wife commented on how expensive it was to run. I just said it was like a light bulb LOL.


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## richtee (Aug 20, 2008)

That is one BIG fugging lightbulb!


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## ronp (Aug 20, 2008)

I guess I stretched the truth a bit huh?


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## gorillagrilla (Aug 20, 2008)

Think it definatly depends on the smoker. A butt on my offset will guzzle about 15 lbs ! But on the drum a 20 lb bagolump will last 3 weekends.


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## smoking gun (Aug 20, 2008)

A butt in my snp takes me about 1 bag of RO and 4 or 5 pieces of split oak. 4.97 for the RO and the oak is free. Butt thats taking it to 165. I have finished both I have done in the oven and that has taken 2 - 3 hours at 250. Electricity here is pretty cheap because of all the coal and it's late at night when I'm at that stage anyway so it's cooled off outside. Once it's foiled I don't think it makes any difference. If you finished it on the pit without foiling you would definitely get a thicker bark layer butt I don't know how tender and juicy it would be. Now the briskets have been another story altogether. The last one took 2 bags of RO and half a 10 lb bag of LARGE hickory chunks. Whatever the cost though it was worth it. You'd think a 10 lb flat would last more than 2 meals........... But it didn't. ;) F
Bottom line for me is it's probably cheaper to finish in the oven.


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## walking dude (Aug 20, 2008)

When i first started doing butts, i smoked all the way without foiling........Jeff Rub........the barg got SO hard, had to almost drag out the hammer drill. Now since i foil, the barq isn't so tuff, but still crunchy, but can be managed..........PLUS i get all those juices to apply back to the meat...........so that is the BIGGEST reason i use the oven.......i dn't have to use more charcoal.


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## venture (Aug 21, 2008)

Ralphs?  You must be in SOCAL.  In the Fresno area Wallyworld carries RO at $5 and change for 10 lbs.


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## cman95 (Aug 21, 2008)

This last smoke I did lasted 9 hrs. I used about 1 1/2bags of RO plus what pecan, apple, and maple I used. Smoker was Oklahoma Joe sfb.


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