I built my own 24x48 smoker and oversized my firebox quite a bit. It's a square firebox, but I laid 2.5" thick firebrick on the base so the bottom doesn't get hot from the coals to burn off the oil, and it all keeps a nice polymerized oil coating. It's funny about wait times, I built one smoker from a 100lb propane tank which was a lot to maintain, took a few years to realize I needed something more. Spent a couple years finding good deals on steel plate and a big enough steel tank. Bought a plasma cutter to process all the steel, spent a year and half on and off building, researching and designing. Overall building my 94 gallon was a 3 year journey and hours of work.
Wow! Now all of a sudden a six month wait time doesn’t seem all that bad. I thought about learning how to weld a smoker myself as a special project, but it would take way too much time to get good enough to make something respectable. Thanks for watching!
I have had a Mill Scale 94 gallon for 8 months now. I cooked on a starter smoker which I sold, then purchased a professional grade smoker out of Houston . The Mill Scale knocks smoking brisket out of the park for me. It is fantastic and am amazed how well it operates. Thanks for the great video!.
Great review! There’s so much that goes into buying a smoker, it was nice to hear about your thought processes during and after the purchase, rather than just how good the welds look. Thanks for the video.
I am glad you enjoyed it. There is more that goes into buying and maintaining a smoker than meets the eye. Hopefully this channel helps show my experience, one video at a time.
My brand-X smoker is 25 years old. 1/4" steel throughout and has probably cooked 1,000 pounds of meat over the years. I paid $200 for it brand new. No rust at all. I just hit it inside and out with PAM every 3 or 4 cooks. It stays outside under a carport and when we have a driving rain it gets wet, and I live in a very humid area. I don't understand why people have rust issues like they do but maybe it's the particular steel used. Anyway, a little rust and having to keep a bucket for grease are non-issues in the big picture. Enjoy your smoker.
No doubt, the smoker cost a lot, but the quality of a$200 smoker 25 years ago is way different than even a $800 smoker today. Build quality has changed a lot. I wish I was wise enough to buy back then
Your opinion and explanation helped me make my decision. I’ve been going back and forth. Someone else said the top 6 or so smokers would all be good choices. Thanks for the review. After a year you have a good idea of the smoker.
Thanks for this video. I"ve recently trashed my old Weber kettle and now have a Lone Star Grillz santa maria that I love. It is time to replace my offest and this Mill Scale 94 is on my short list. As a long time off set user I'm like you in that I want to get what I want and not "settle". Appreciate your honest and matter of fact evaluation. Enjoy your smoker!
I appreciate that. I am not here to sell anybody a smoker, just wanted to let you know what I thought I would want to know when I was making the choice. Thanks for watching!
Congratulations! Choosing a quality pit is incredibly stressful! We all want that “perfect pit”. There’s a half dozen or more that are all fairly equal. The firebox plancha option on yours is a very cool addition!
@burntfoodcookout, nice video! I own a first-run version of the 94. The day I brought it home, I had the same frame of mind regarding the grease drain. I took a pipe threader to it within the week and put on a nice stainless 1 1/2" ball valve. I don't have that hooky thingy you have; I would grind that off and thread that drain pipe. I'd happily send you my pipe threader; it is just sitting in the garage.
That is a great idea. I am going to explore this. I am always a little afraid of really messing something up when it comes to cutting metal, but if there is a better way... Thanks for watching!
Good review! I agree with your thoughts on it. I don't run a Mill Scale rather it is a Shirley Fabrication 94 traditional offset but similar thoughts on mine as to its pro and con and would buy it again without any regrets.
Nice video. I have a LS 24X48 offset. I spray the entire smoker with a 50/50 oil water mixture and my smoker has zero rust. It's uncovered on my patio for 5+ years. Try this on your smoker with most of your attention on the fire box before & during the cook. I hope this help with your rust problem...
I'm guessing that virtually any metal object that sits outside is going to have to deal with rust some way. I don't even know what a good fix for the drain valve would be, but maybe one day they can figure something out. Thanks for watching
@@burntfoodcookoutcheck something like harbor freight for a "pipe tap" that is whatever size your grease drain hole is. You would then purchase a "pipe nipple" and a valve accordingly. It's a fairly easy thing to do once you look into it!!
On the rusty firebox, don’t wait for it to cool down to apply the tallow. You want to apply it hen it is quite warm like seasoning a cast iron pan. I would take a wire wheel to knock the rust off, start a fire in the box and once it is warmed up good then apply the tallow and let it cool. You need the pores of the metal open to soak in the tallow.
@8:10 -- "know where you are going to get your wood" That is often times NEVER covered lol. It's like the wood is an after-thought, but the wood is your fuel! If you don't have a reliable, affordable, price-stable vendor for your wood, then you will never run your smoker. In some locales, the wood alone can be very expensive or forcing you to go out of your way to secure it. Great review!
The M16 is an excellent grill. I may make a video on it, but in case I don't, I would say that this grill is exceptional at getting hot fast and holding temperatures for a long time. I did not know how inefficient my Weber was until I bought the M16. Even though it comes with Grill Grates, I just use the stainless steel grates and do more of a two-zone set-up. I have cooked up to a pork shoulder on the grill, but I think it is best at steaks, chicken, and pork steaks. The main drawback for me is cleaning out the ash. After every cook (most likely the next morning or before your next cook), you essentially have to remove the ash tray and dump the ashes. There is no way to dump ashes in the middle of a cook and you also have to vacuum or sweep all ashes out of the bottom. It is not a deal breaker, but sometimes I will choose cooking on the Weber just because it is less of a hassle. There is a learning curve to setting temperatures, but other than that, this cooker is great for people already familiar with cooking with charcoal.
Even backyard pit or even catering people use these for catering too. I’ve seen it you made a good choice. There’s nothing like a custom offset there’s no no other way to do food as far as I’m concerned and I know a lot of people think the same way.
What about the taste? Compared to a Weber. I’ve tasted many of off-sets protein. It could be the pit master. I don’t get that rendered fat that I see on brisket from content on RU-vid. Restaurants do not render the fat cap all the way. I can’t afford an off set. I always wonder if the taste is better. I’ve had great brisket. It was not consistent from any restaurant. My Weber can do that. So how is the taste compared to the kettle?
TL;DR - If you are an expert with a Weber that's all you will ever need. An offset is a bonus First of all, the skill of the pit master always matters. Assuming you can get the fire going and keep it going reasonably well, the flavor from the offset is going to definitely taste like it has been smoked, but oddly not too overbearing. You have to be on your game with the Weber for the duration of the cook to not over-smoke the meat, particularly with managing wood chunks. I like to use some blend of apple, pecan, and cherry on the Weber (pick any two on a given cook), and it was all good. As for fat render, I have a brisket cook video on the channel (ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-K2r3QQJSOm4.html) that came out pretty good. It was my second brisket on this smoker and the fat rendered nicely and flavor was on point. I struggled with brisket on the Weber Kettle both mainly because of space constraints. I would not trust myself with an expensive piece of meat on the Weber, I have no problem cooking an expensive cut on the Mill Scale.
The price per square inch of cooking surface is a deal breaker for me. They're definitely great pits, no question about it. But them and all the other pit makers are capitalizing on the BBQ boom happening right now. And I don't blame them. But I can wait until it all dies down and prices become more reasonable before stepping off into a bigger smoker.
It does cost a pretty penny. I will say that steel costs drive the price more than you think, and with the amount of time these guys put into each unit, I can see where the costs stack (and also where other firms save money). Thanks for watching!
All smokers have that same problem with the firebox you just gotta keep rubbing it down and if your grease thing is a problem, put a ball valve on it and put your bucket inside your chamber at night
I did not…I bought a tarp and cover it when it’s not in use. Ideally I would get it under a structure so moisture can get off easier, but I am still working on that
Do not put linseed oil on it because when it drip into your food and it’s poisonous here, anybody says it’s not a good idea just keep using beef, hollow, and stuff
Beautiful smoker, way overpriced IMO. I bought a Workhorse 1975 for 2800 bucks about 4 years ago. You can’t find a pit that gives you more for your money than a Workhorse, even with today’s prices.
