Well I finally bought a NEW BBQ Pit..
I was vasilating back and forth over a Klos and a Bates Pit... both looked good....
But what pushed me over the edge was a telephone call from David Klos his self. I wound up talking to him for over an hour....the best way to describe him is to say he lives the image that I present on this Board....in other words hes a wild guy....but he does build one he11 of alot of BBQ's....5000 a year...and the Backyard Grills are only a sideline....the real ones are going to Professional Cooks and are mostly mobile....
What I chose was a 20" X 36" unit with a 20 X 20 inch firebox... the cooking chamber is 1/4 inch steel plate...the firebox is 1/2 steel plate.... I also ordered the Charcoal Box that will keep the fire going for 8 hours unattended, and a 1/2 inch Ball Valve for ease of cleaning the grease....total with shipping is gona be about 2K..the thing is gona weigh about 650 lbs so the shipping is gona be expensive....
http://www.bbqpits.com/20x36.htm
I can just hear Mother say..." You are one stupid MOFO for spending $2000 on a BBQ....they saw you coming U stupid fool...don't you know you coulda gone down to K Mart and bought the same thing for $199.00" So thats why I don't want anybody on this Board to tell Mother about my new BBQ....I just don't need to explain to Mother everything I do....
But I'll tell U why I decided to spend the money on the Q...it is really very simple....I have a New Braunfels Bandera...which is an upgraded version of the KMart specials .....it is 3/32 sheet steel....and the problem is HEAT RETENTION....the thing not only consumes a lot of fuel but it also is hard to maintain a constant temperature.. I only get a coupla hours of heat outa a load of fuel...So I decided to step up to the real deal...
Now I also have a Big Green Egg BBQ..which I like....the only problem is that the amount of cooking surface is limited....