New Pit Barrel Cooker vs Old Pit Barrel Cooker review

[smokeasaurus]

I love Steve's reviews. His voice is so soothing.

Uh..... ...o.k.......

[Bob c cue]

So does anyone know if the new one performs the same as the old one? For example are the cook times the same? Does the heavier gauge steel help maintain temps in colder weather? Not planning on upgrading right now but just curious.  Thanks.

[teesquare]

Hey Bob!
Just a segue - with no intent to de-rail or hijack....

I do not believe the cook times will be affected by this change. The old legend of "thicker steel holds heat" really does not work out...If it did, the thicker steel cooker would not get as hot on the outside ...I have scars that tell me otherwise .

Seriously tho, thicker steel will last longer - but it doesn't hold BTUs better. Steel is a great conductor of heat - and electricity. SO, it may act like a momentary "screen door" as to heat - but as the pit heats up, it radiates that heat energy to the cool side ( outside) rapidly. The only "storage" of heat energy by the pit is that which you expended to get it hot in the first place ( which was fuel).

[Bob c cue]

Hey Bob!
Just a segue - with no intent to de-rail or hijack....

I do not believe the cook times will be affected by this change. The old legend of "thicker steel holds heat" really does not work out...If it did, the thicker steel cooker would not get as hot on the outside ...I have scars that tell me otherwise .

Seriously tho, thicker steel will last longer - but it doesn't hold BTUs better. Steel is a great conductor of heat - and electricity. SO, it may act like a momentary "screen door" as to heat - but as the pit heats up, it radiates that heat energy to the cool side ( outside) rapidly. The only "storage" of heat energy by the pit is that which you expended to get it hot in the first place ( which was fuel).

I think I heard that before.  Makes sense I guess up to a point.  What if the metal was say 6 inches think?  Would that still apply? Not that I would ever want a pit that heavy,

[teesquare]

Actually - yes!

It would still apply because of steel's high conductivity. Obviously, it would take longer for the thick steel to get hot. And it would take longer to cool down. But, the rate of heat transfer thru the steel ( heat moves from hot to cold side or "radiates" ) once the energy required to get it hot had been used up - would remain consistent with the amount of heat generated inside the pit.  Which also means steel is a poor insulator. That is why boilers, and chillers are often insulated  (or double walled - with dead air spaces acting as an insulator ).

[muebe]

It will not matter the thickness because the metal will still remove energy(heat) and transfer that to the outside of the metal. Thicker metal will remove more energy from the interior of the cooker. Then as that energy leaves the exterior metal more energy from the interior replaces it. Then air movement like wind and cold speed up this process. You might not see as much temp swings or cooler temps in your cooker with thicker metal however because it will have more stored energy. So wind and cold will remove the energy from the metal but being thicker it will have more available energy to compensate for this loss.

Thicker metal offers strength and durability. But can add excessive and unnecessary weight. There needs to be a balance.

An insulated cooker uses a air gap between two metals. This air gap can have insulation in it to slow down the heat transfer more.

The example of this is simply placing your hand on the exterior of your cooker. A non-insulated cooker will be very hot to the touch. An insulated one might just be warm or cool if really well insulated. The hood on my Memphis is only warm to the touch when the cooker is at 350F inside. It is double wall insulated.

A welding blanket is a great way to insulate a cooker. Just placing onto the metal will greatly reduce your energy loss. So wrapping a welding blanket around the PBC would help with energy loss and retain higher temps.

Something the people in really cold weather might want to try if this is an issue.

[pmillen]

I wish the new PBC would have had a slight dome to the lid rather than a dish that holds water.  My lid rusted.  I scraped and painted it and it looks like it's going to do it again.

Does anyone know of a domed lid from another manufacturer that fits?  The Weber 18-inchers?

[pmillen]

Does anyone know of a domed lid from another manufacturer that fits?  The Weber 18-inchers?

Nope.  I borrowed a lid from one.  It doesn't fit.  The diameter is about ½" too small.

My lid rust is growing.  I may scrape the rust and hit it with porcelain enamel spray paint.

[smokeasaurus]

The PBC cover is of extremely high quality. I had mine covered outside (normally it sits comfortably in my guest bedroom  )  we had a little snow storm hit. A day later after a quick thaw, the PBC was high and dry.....darn good cover.

I did a 1/2 chicken in my old PBC along with a 1/2 chicken in my new Porcelan PBC........both done at the same time 

[pmillen]

Yeah, I may have to think in terms of a cover.  The domed Weber Kettle doesn't require one 'cause it's domed.  A little more reengineering would have produced a PBC that didn't require a $30.00 cover.  Some companies would purposefully omit that change in order to sell covers.  I doubt that the fine folks at PBC would, though.

[smokeasaurus]

I think the popular UDS 55 inch barrel smokers can use the 22.5 domed lid. I guess the 30 gallon PBC uses, the 18.5 kettle lid just misses the mark......