Hey guys and gals! I recently have been fortunate enough to purchase a custom vertical smoker! I went with Humphreys for a couple of reasons, I liked the look and the price. I originally was looking into getting a "Party" from the fine folks at Backwoods smokers, but I found that the Battle Box has a bit deeper cooking chamber. But the two are so very very close. It boiled down to the little things. Like the custom color, and the slam latch doors. But I don't think you could go wrong with either smoker.
https://shop.backwoods-smoker.com/collections/frontpage/products/partyhttps://humphreysbbq.myshopify.com/pages/the-battle-boxSo here is my Battle Box!
Standard Features
1200 Degree Non-flammable Insulation
3 Cooking Racks (Slide Out 5 Rack Locations, Drop In 6 Rack Locations)
Holds Full Size Hotel Pan
Stainless Steel 4" Water Pan
Tel-Tru Thermometer
Stylish Latches
Welded Tubular Sub-frame
Innovative Caster Clip which allows you to interchange casters and feet very easily
4" feet will come standard with your smoker unless you ordered a caster package
Dimensions
Outside Dimensions: 24w x 29d x 43h
Total Weight of cooker is 325lbs
Cooking chamber: 15.25w x 22.5d x 18h
Rack Size: 14.75w x 22d
Lead time is about 3-6 weeks depending on how busy they are. It was packaged like a champ with no damage done during the shipping process.
Right away I could tell this was high quality workmanship. The casters are huge with solid rubber tires. It made rolling this guy a breeze! The finish was vibrant, but I feel like I will have to wax it to keep it's luster. The handles are nice, the slam latches are tight and solid feeling in the hand. The Ball Lock valve is a beast! And the two port holes for my probes feel like they are cast iron. Very solid. No plastic anywhere to be seen!
On the inside, Each Battle box comes with 3 stainless steel racks. I ordered an extra expanded steel rack plus I ordered the drop in water pan.
The charcoal chamber has an ash pan, and an expanded steel charcoal basket. Humphrey's threw in a free charcoal maze which is fantastic. Not sure if it comes standard now or not. But they included it for me!
So first order of business was to get this thing seasoned... I used flaxseed oil on the inside to build up a nice protective layer to hopefully prevent rust. I did notice (as it rained all weekend) rust spots forming on the inside and around the chimney which did not please me at all. Bottom line, I think I will be fighting rust from now until the thing falls apart.
A first burn in also sets the gaskets on the doors. They recommend a burn time of 3 hours. So here we go!!!
So after the first burn I realized that the ball valve will be a bit tricky to dial in. I have been so spoiled with my Pit Barrel Cooker I almost forgot what it was like to have to adjust vents. This thing took longer than I thought to heat up. It took close to 40 minutes. Looking back at it I should have thrown some lump in there and also let the charcoal set up a bit more. I think I was just excited to get this thing going. Once it went though it didn't take much to dial in the vents and keep it at a solid 300 degrees.
After about 4 hours of that, I shut off all the vents to kill the coals. After I checked the basket and was pleased and surprised to see that I barely used any charcoal at all! This thing fully stocked with charcoal should burn 10-12 hours I have no doubt in my mind!
