Help with Selecting My Next Cooker

[TheMidnightSmoker]

This is my first post on this forum and I am not an owner of a BWS so please be patient and gentle with me. I have a lot of experience cooking on my WSM, my Cajun Bandit conversion and my Jumbo Big Drum Smoker. I have been doing some catering for churches and friends and I am now ready to step it up and go for it. And although I have competed on a couple of occasions, and will again, competition cooking is not my main desire. So after lots of research I have narrowed down the search for my next smoker, the one that will make On-Site catering possible, to either a Lang or a Meadow Creek off-set smoker. Or at least I thought I had. The other day while browsing thru the BBQ Brethren forum I stumbled across some information on the Stumps Smokers. While researching Stumps I came across The BBQ Vault and finally Backwoods Smokers. I am now a bit confused as to what will best fit my catering needs and what is the better smoker.
I know you guys are partial to the BWS but can anyone give me an honest evaluation of the choices I have listed and tell me why the BWS would be better than the Stumps or the BBQ Vault and why an upright would be better for catering then an off-set? I have tried to research this info but to be honest most of the manufactures websites (except for Meadow Creek) do not offer a lot of information as to how their cooker works and why it is better than their competition. For instance, the BWS website mentions they offer a Heat Diverter but never mention the purpose of it. That is why I am turning to you guys.
Thanks in advance for reading and I hope to hear from you.
The Midnight Smoker

[DntBrnDPig]

This is just my opinion - so take it for what its worth.

I contemplated between a Lang and a BWS for a long time. The benefits of a Lang in my eyes was the fact that it is extremely mobile as its mounted on a trailer. I think people like to see a smoker.. traditional smoker.. when eating BBQ.

However, I talked to people using a Lang and it was a lot of work to keep the fire going and required a lot of babysitting. In comes the BWS. I have a BWS Competitor. I loaded it up with enough food for 200 people and didnt touch it again for 13 hours. Thats pretty friggin awesome.

The BWS's arent as mobile because they are heavy unless you have yours permanently mounted on a trailer . Which can be done. Search this forum for them.

But I LOVE my BWS and dont regret purchasing at all. If I get tired of it not being mobile, i will bite the bullet and get a trailer for it.

[RiverCityRub]

I agree with DntBrnDPig on the difference in the two smokers. The heat diverter is to reduce the amount of direct heat on the water pan that is right above the fire. It keeps you from having to add water more often during the cook. Best option that BWS offers, hands down! The stumps are nice but they have hot spot issues and grease fire potentials. Backwoods are the best all around smoker period. Even temps, very low maintenance, and holds their value very well.

[TheMidnightSmoker]

Good information. Thanks. So you said that the Stumps Smokers have hot spot issues. That makes sense because the heat is coming thru the bottom right opening from the firebox. Would you say that the Backwoods does not have this problem? In thinking about it, the heat source is under the meat so it must divert around the water pan and climb the sides. This is similar to my WSM. Would you say the heat spreads pretty evenly or would it be hotter at the top racks and on the sides where the heat rises? Also, any issues with the gaskets on the doors? Do they last a good long time?
I really appreciate the info guys. This will be a big investment and I do not want to get it WRONG!

[Braddog]

There's definitely a temperature difference from bottom to top, with the top racks being hotter.

You also need to consider your access to fuel. While I've had a backyard offset in the past and still would love to have a big trailerable rig, I don't have ready access to wood to run one. On the other hand, charcoal for the BWS is readily available.

I looked at the Stumps for a long time before buying my Fat Boy. Ultimately, it came down to the dealer network and availability of the BWS. Not to mention, there are a whole lot of competition teams cooking on a BWS. The last comp i visited, I saw a dozen or more BWS cookers and 1 Stumps. There were ~40 teams.

Good luck with your decision,

Cheers,
Braddog

[RickC]

Good information. Thanks. Would you say that the Backwoods does not have this problem? In thinking about it, the heat source is under the meat so it must divert around the water pan and climb the sides. This is similar to my WSM.

Close but not right unless the WSM has hollow walls (I don't have a WSM and have never cooked on one so my knowledge of it is limited), the heat in the Backwooods Smokers travels up to the top of the smoker in the walls, comes back in the cooking chamber at the top of it and exits at the bottom rear of the chamber into the stack. As you can see it has reverse flow to what most smokers use.

[TheMidnightSmoker]

Good information. Thanks. Would you say that the Backwoods does not have this problem? In thinking about it, the heat source is under the meat so it must divert around the water pan and climb the sides. This is similar to my WSM.

Close but not right unless the WSM has hollow walls (I don't have a WSM and have never cooked on one so my knowledge of it is limited), the heat in the Backwooods Smokers travels up to the top of the smoker in the walls, comes back in the cooking chamber at the top of it and exits at the bottom rear of the chamber into the stack. As you can see it has reverse flow to what most smokers use.

See, that is what I am talking about. When making a big purchase like this, I want to know how it works. So many of the cooker manufactures websites list their features but do not explain how they work or why they are better then the other guys. Unless I am missing it, the BWS site does not mention this "reverse flow" method of heat. I would be bragging about it if I were them. I would have pictures and a diagram of the heat flow and how it travels. I am not going to drop several thousand bucks down on an assumption that it works well. I guess that why these forums are so important.