I purchased an old country gravity smoker 3 yrs ago and it holds temps flawlessly and extremely easy on fuel. I also purchased a Lone Star Grillz IVS 6 yrs ago (no doubt the best cabinet smoker of all time) and this little OC cooks and holds temps just as good. If your not doing a large cook, this is the way to go. And if you are, for the price of the big name builders you can buy 3 OC's. The only mod I did was upgrade to larger casters. 3 yrs not 1 regret. P.S. Just FYI 50th year of smok'n this year.
Nice breakdown of these Gravity Smokers. I have a Southern Q Limo Jr. and absolutely love it. They come standard with a bunch of nice features. Now have a stainless grab or pull bar. 8 inch castors are now the standard and you can upgrade to a gravel turf style. I did stainless upgrades on my cooking grates and have 4 grates and six slides so can move them around pretty well inside. Not sure if the chute is tapered or not, but never had a problem with bridging using briquettes. One of the main differences with the Limo and Jr. is they use a 1 inch thick insulation. That is one of the reasons they are lighter as they do use thick steel construction. Most of the others use 2 inch insulation. It still holds temp great and think it is a little more responsive if you need to cool it down some than a unit with 2 inch insulation. I really think the design is great.
I have the Assassin 17 with a 4th rack. When I picked it up, Jeff let me take pictures of the charcoal chute on one he was building. The deal with the IQ 120/130 is this. Jeff prices the pit with the 120 as he stocks them. If you want the 130, he has to order them and charges for them. I ordered mine without the IQ at all and he discounted my pit accordingly. His prices aren’t written in stone and he’s willing to adjust based on what you want or don’t want. I have his 48” charcoal grill as well. His crew does amazing work.
I have a Rebel gravity smoker. They are like a Asassin. I really think Asassin maybe helped with parts for Rebels. But anyway, I love mine. I live in a cold part of the country and I still able to cook. These are so efficient and easy to use. It will last for about 12 to 14 hours depending on what temp I cook at. I get so many compliments on my food. I have bridged my charcoal once and it was my fault. I put a piece of wood in the box and then 20 minutes later open the charcoal lid and once i did and i heard whooooff and it was the smoldering wood lighting on fire with all that extra air feeding it. So now I check the charcoal first and then stick the wood chucks in. I would rather have GF before I bought a pellet stove. Yes they expensive but if you have patience you will find the deal. I found mine in February and paid less than 1/3 the price of new and it came with all the electronics and 3 different size fans and it was only a year old. The guy needed the money for his new smoker for the circuit. This smoker should last for a very very long time. I do highly recommend getting the cover for it to keep the elements off it.
The Limo Jr has been updated a bit from that picture. The bottom shelf is gone, and the cooking chamber has a bit more room in it. I don't know if they don't offer the standard casters at all now, but I didn't pay extra and my unit came with the "upgraded" model. I do know they sell really beefed up casters for rolling over dirt paths and such. They may have just upgraded the lineup. Great cooker and great people to work with. Certainly the best deal in a high quality gravity cooker.
Very informative, thanks for the detailed review. But lol, here just a couple of months later, and about half the reviewed units are already priced above your threshold.
If you can see one at the store and it is in good shape, it is a good deal. They have some QC issues. I bought one and it was not square. The door wouldn't shut right. It also had some damage in shipping. Other folks were able to find good units, and they enjoyed them. I returned mine and bought a Limo Jr. No regrets on my part. The difference in quality is very obvious.
The old country is.... Price point. There is no quality control.... And what I mean by that is at the price point they make it at they cannot afford to have anybody who is checking. It is made for academy buy a small shop. When you get one you need to get it in person and check that it is ok. On some the door may not open right on some the racks may not slide In-N-Out. The inside is also not all welded together so that Grease can leak into the insulation through the cracks. Some seal that with rtv. There is a reason it's $1200 end not 4000. At the price it's a good deal most people could live with a few drawbacks. In all honesty I looked at it and I couldn't.... I could not deal with racks that did not slide in and out and a door that did not open far enough to even slide the racks out. Now all that said some people have been able to negotiate discounts on them with the academy stores because of shipping damage too.... And quite a few people got theres at 800 to 900.00 not 1200
Deep South Smokers has shut down according to their web site
Good to know. 🙂
Too bad.
I purchased an old country gravity smoker 3 yrs ago and it holds temps flawlessly and extremely easy on fuel. I also purchased a Lone Star Grillz IVS 6 yrs ago (no doubt the best cabinet smoker of all time) and this little OC cooks and holds temps just as good. If your not doing a large cook, this is the way to go. And if you are, for the price of the big name builders you can buy 3 OC's. The only mod I did was upgrade to larger casters. 3 yrs not 1 regret. P.S. Just FYI 50th year of smok'n this year.
We have a Deep South Smoker RG28 and love it. Hold temps like a champ. Will go 20 plus hours on a single bag of lump.
Nice breakdown of these Gravity Smokers. I have a Southern Q Limo Jr. and absolutely love it. They come standard with a bunch of nice features. Now have a stainless grab or pull bar. 8 inch castors are now the standard and you can upgrade to a gravel turf style. I did stainless upgrades on my cooking grates and have 4 grates and six slides so can move them around pretty well inside. Not sure if the chute is tapered or not, but never had a problem with bridging using briquettes. One of the main differences with the Limo and Jr. is they use a 1 inch thick insulation. That is one of the reasons they are lighter as they do use thick steel construction. Most of the others use 2 inch insulation. It still holds temp great and think it is a little more responsive if you need to cool it down some than a unit with 2 inch insulation. I really think the design is great.
Thanks for adding your review! Southern Q really does seem like a great option.
I have the Assassin 17 with a 4th rack. When I picked it up, Jeff let me take pictures of the charcoal chute on one he was building. The deal with the IQ 120/130 is this. Jeff prices the pit with the 120 as he stocks them. If you want the 130, he has to order them and charges for them. I ordered mine without the IQ at all and he discounted my pit accordingly. His prices aren’t written in stone and he’s willing to adjust based on what you want or don’t want. I have his 48” charcoal grill as well. His crew does amazing work.
Thanks for sharing this with us. Happy smoking 🙂
Would love to see a video on custom horizontal charcoal grills.
Hmmm...
Ordered the patio , excited.. waiting for build/delivery
Awesome man 👍
Your best video yet thx
I have a Rebel gravity smoker. They are like a Asassin. I really think Asassin maybe helped with parts for Rebels. But anyway, I love mine. I live in a cold part of the country and I still able to cook. These are so efficient and easy to use. It will last for about 12 to 14 hours depending on what temp I cook at. I get so many compliments on my food. I have bridged my charcoal once and it was my fault. I put a piece of wood in the box and then 20 minutes later open the charcoal lid and once i did and i heard whooooff and it was the smoldering wood lighting on fire with all that extra air feeding it. So now I check the charcoal first and then stick the wood chucks in. I would rather have GF before I bought a pellet stove. Yes they expensive but if you have patience you will find the deal. I found mine in February and paid less than 1/3 the price of new and it came with all the electronics and 3 different size fans and it was only a year old. The guy needed the money for his new smoker for the circuit. This smoker should last for a very very long time. I do highly recommend getting the cover for it to keep the elements off it.
The Limo Jr has been updated a bit from that picture. The bottom shelf is gone, and the cooking chamber has a bit more room in it. I don't know if they don't offer the standard casters at all now, but I didn't pay extra and my unit came with the "upgraded" model. I do know they sell really beefed up casters for rolling over dirt paths and such. They may have just upgraded the lineup. Great cooker and great people to work with. Certainly the best deal in a high quality gravity cooker.
Interesting. You would think they might update the pictures on their website. Maybe they will soon. Happy smoking 🙂
@@SmokeMasterD They are decidedly better at metal fabrication than website management.
Very informative, thanks for the detailed review. But lol, here just a couple of months later, and about half the reviewed units are already priced above your threshold.
Yeah, a little unfortunate with the prices going up so much.
I understand the OC has a hot spot inside the cooking chamber on the side of the chute. I would hope the higher priced ones don't have this issue.
I've seen a video of someone using fire brick to even out the temps.
Thank you. Very informative!
I’d like to see a “money grab a not a factor” ranking of these smokers
?
Stump don’t make no junk. Have one for 5 years and worth every penny
Which units are made in the USA?
My understanding is that all of these except the old country bbq pits that I included for comparison (it's made in Mexico) are made in the US.
Old country not good?
th-cam.com/video/bS1Dsrn8oSk/w-d-xo.html
I wouldn't say not good. For the money, it's probably the one I would buy.
If you can see one at the store and it is in good shape, it is a good deal. They have some QC issues. I bought one and it was not square. The door wouldn't shut right. It also had some damage in shipping. Other folks were able to find good units, and they enjoyed them. I returned mine and bought a Limo Jr. No regrets on my part. The difference in quality is very obvious.
The old country is.... Price point. There is no quality control.... And what I mean by that is at the price point they make it at they cannot afford to have anybody who is checking. It is made for academy buy a small shop. When you get one you need to get it in person and check that it is ok. On some the door may not open right on some the racks may not slide In-N-Out. The inside is also not all welded together so that Grease can leak into the insulation through the cracks. Some seal that with rtv. There is a reason it's $1200 end not 4000. At the price it's a good deal most people could live with a few drawbacks. In all honesty I looked at it and I couldn't.... I could not deal with racks that did not slide in and out and a door that did not open far enough to even slide the racks out.
Now all that said some people have been able to negotiate discounts on them with the academy stores because of shipping damage too.... And quite a few people got theres at 800 to 900.00 not 1200
It appears that I missed Royall Gravity Smokers www.royallsmokers.com/wood-pellet-smoker/rg5500gs-gravity-smoker.htm