what would you consider paying?
 

I built an upright smoker/bbq out of a 55 gal drum a few years back that ive loving named the meat bucket. it has evolved a bit here & there over the years with addition of a teak board shelf and differing ways to carb & regulate the thing for desired BBQ or slow cooking temps. the basics are a multi level adjustable coal basin along with an adjustable 24" grill, temp gauge, handles, brake caster wheels, hinged lid, & funky offset chimney.. cook from normal height BBQ 5", or a 16" or 24" options for grill to coal level. some of you may have seen the a pic in the "thaw fish" thread?

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1503268876.jpg

a couple other shots::
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1503268925.jpg
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1503268958.jpg


I know most of you pelicans could engineer & make something like this and likely are not overly impressed..:D but a dot.com metrosexual buddy of mine has been trying to get me to build these things to sell for a few years now. he even went so far as to buy the meatbucket domain name... i suggested the domain name for the right porn site might very well be the money maker here, but I'm considering making a run of a half dozen or so with some more user friendly refinements.. would you pay silicon valley currency value of say $500 or $600 for one of these? i would include a pair of harbor freight welding gloves with each unit and possibly require a waver of burn hazard if you're dumb or have nevercooked with kingsfords...:D will burn season each unit prior to delivery and use BBQ grade exterior paint.. looking into this i can get all the materials for each one at about $150. will not ship, local pick up only...:cool:

anyone can have a green egg, the weber upright smoker, or a target gas grill, but there will only be a limited number "meat buckets" out there... if i get good enough at welding i may number them...

what says the pelican brain trust? would you pay what I'm considering for a manly ass cookin meat bucket?

appreciate your thoughts,

t

edit thought id left a photo out that was actually included. carry on to your comment ;)

The finished product don't care what the smoker looks like if the temp can be maintained at 225 for hours on end :). That said, I've had a Weber Smokey Mountain for years (around $300 as I recall)...there may be more hoity-toity, pricier smokers on the market, but Weber's rule imo for that price point. You'd be competing in a tough market imo....

Best of luck though....I'd love to eat what your smoker produces....I ga-rone-tee (Justin Wilson voice) :)

I paid $10 for a virgin drum at my local farm place, I'd pay $10 more for a grate on top.

Otherwise, it is facing the wrong direction.

Build some legs, cut the barrel in half top-to-bottom and build a grill/smoker/cooker that I can cook a 100lb pig in whole and we can start talkin'.... but it would have to be good, as I already own a pig box (la caja china)

I mention I'm in silicon valley due to my dot.com marketing buddies take that guys in suits all week might covet the need for leather gloves to cook a meal. manly-metro for an afternoon if you will.

I agree that the weber smoker is hard to beat, but it will never end up being listed in the family estate asset list like the MB might. my buddy has declared the original will be his should my end be untimely...:( cook for him & other friend a couple times a month..


so, does the weber unit have wheels? does it double as a standard BBQ if desired? my neighbor, who loves the MB just paid $450 for a pellet smoker that a full friar chicken fills up. can do two full birds and a couple racks of ribs...

do appreciate the unfiltered review commentary. thanks

AND my target consumer calls a caterer if an entire pig needs cooking!

No wheels on the Weber...though it can be used as a regular grill (BBQ is what comes off a smoker here in the south :)), I have a regular Weber Kettle for that. Hey, don't get me wrong....I think what you've done is fantastic....and marketing guys can sell ice to Eskimos so maybe they know something....I dunno. But Weber is a known "winner" for a low price option....for higher $ stuff....consult with Tabby :)

Best of luck....go for it!!!!

....but keep your day job :)

~$300 at Cabela's:

https://www.pitbarrelcooker.com/

that, pretty much does me in... maybe google employees don't use google?

I like it.....I'm cheap, so would build my own instead.

Just a suggestion: Check with EPA regs.....I know of a guy that was fined $20,000 for burning plastic in his wood stove and another guy fined for burning lumber scraps.....Wouldn't surprise me to see them regulate someone that wants to market a smoker?

Weber Grill got started by making grills out of half spheres that were originally being used to make buoys. Just sayin'.

Haha - they have never heard of Cabelas, that's the problem.

I would see if you can't have the meat bucket manufactured to your specifications and market it yourself. That'd be the way to go in my book. Starting to weld up a BBQ pit in your garage from $150 in parts is not a great business model.

G

looked this over very carefully and we are talking two different animals. the MB can also double as a BBQ by switching some levels up, it has wheels, temp gauge, hinged lid, a deck for your dippins bowl, multiple adjustable air vents and a stack that can be metered to again aid in temp control. I suppose I could adapt a hanging devices pretty easily, but this is all about grill cooking.

had budgeted $60 for the food grade barrels, but found some a hundred miles away or so for $12 and looking closer the hardware can be had for around $50 including grill, coal basin & temp gauge.

I saw the other post for the pellet feed unit for a grand or more and that's encouraging. the MB uses coals, wood (I use a lot of oak) of your choice, or soaked smoking chips. niche market to be sure, not quitting my day job and making two at a time I suspect less than 5 hours. wish me luck boys!;)

t

Oh, that's funny .. I remember seeing those tremendous piles of WWII submarine net buoys, sold at auction .. the large ones mostly became 440 gallon fuel (or water) storage tanks, and the small ones that became barbecues. High quality, thick steel, cheap when purchased in quantity.

Don't let "Lubemaster's" son see this or he will be some tough competition.

LOL....TMBs :)

(Texas Meat Buckets)

Best of luck!!!

How much will the hipster dotcom douchebags pay for this?

Throw in a free bottle of Icelandic glacier water and a sixer of craft beer and you can list em on Huckberry for a cool $2000.

Bet you end up with a waiting list.

20 cents, maybe 50 cents.

If you do start selling them, be sure to inform potential buyer the drum has contained nothing hazardous and it has been thoroughly steam cleaned as well.

Burn barrels don't last too long in some rainy parts of the country. I agree it's $10 barrel. They ding easy and actually look better rusty than painted.

I do think it looks cool in a behind the garage next to the alley kind of way.