I started a small base of Kingsford and got it lit late yesterday. I wanted to try one of the new Pecan splits I just got. The splits are 16" log and just fit.
I got 1 1/2 hours of steady burn between 240-225 before the temps started to drop to the point I would have to toss in another one. No tweaking of the vents either.
My homeboy Frisco dropped by to lift a few back with me and I told him about the little problem with this pit. Frisco is like the ultimate handyman and we waited for the temps to drop.......lifted a few more back and he went and got some fancy little light on a long probe that he uses. We took out the cooking grate and he inserted the light probe into the heat diffuser channel. We hit the patio light and he turned the light on. It had a strange blue light to it and we were able to pin point the precise spot of the leak inside the smoking chamber. No need to do any welding inside the firebox. We could also see through the channel where no grease is getting in there except for this one spot over by the fire-box side. One little dab of JB Weld and my problems are solved.
A little history:
When I first started smoking I used to pile up kingsford on one side of my kettle and food on the other. I moved up to a BDS and I got nothing but complaints. So then the search started for a pit that would produce grub everybody would like. Did not happen. I had some nice off-sets and they didn't like the grub either. Went with pellets and gas and no complaints but also no flavor. So I go back to the trusty kettle and they still complain. What is going on.?
I went back to the offsets and decided I am using straight wood. I am even gonna grab some mesquite lump and let my Kingsford dwindle down. Nobody complains about the food anymore.
It took me -7- years to finally figure it out. It is the minion method of briquettes with the smoldering wood chunks they do not care for. This is the one thing I have done constantly in all the cookers I have owned.
The woodsy campfire flavor I am now producing they can not get enough of
There is also the primal satisfaction of making and controlling a live fire that I enjoy. The entire process of using an off-set is something that everyone should enjoy at least once. I personally did not get any satisfaction from clicking a switch or turning a knob.....heck...if I can do it, anyone can .....
In closing this review, I can honestly say I have finally found pit nirvana. This Meadow Creek cooks incredibly well and using straight wood produces that campfire flavor I have always searched for. I am not returning it. This particular pit does exactly what I want and if I let it go the search will continue again....not gonna happen. It is extremely well made, has well thought out features and is a cooker for the serious backyard enthusiast.
It would have been nice to have gotten this pit and had no problems but I learned something from it. I found out what a stand up company Meadow Creek is in the process. I never once felt I was not gonna be taken care of. I now own IMHO the best off-set around and I got a company that has my back.
I will start posting Smoochy and my Meadow Creek cooking adventures over in the stick burner section.
If anybody is ever interested in a Meadow Creek product, please send me a pm...Old Smoke has a special phone number for ya