Meadow Creek SQ36 Offset Smoker

[smokeasaurus]

While Meadow Creek offered to pay for a mobile welder to weld the inside opening between the fire-box and the smoking chamber, I chose to go another route. I found the spot where the leak was coming out on an interior weld on the inside of the leg. I used some JB Weld last night and will paint it this evening......nobody will know...

As for the fire-box, I lurked around the Gator Pit forum.....which is a treasure trove of offset information. I discovered that some owners of brand new Gator Pits had their paint come off the fire-box in their seasoning burn...it is the nature of the beast.

I am gonna sand down the top real good and try with paint one more time. If that doesn't work, I am gonna have a spray bottle of peanut oil nearby and am gonna season the fire-box like a cast iron skillet and be done with it.

Sparky had mentioned in another post that the chicken I did looked doctored up......I assure everyone that this pit cooks darn near even from one end to the other. Of course it is slightly warmer on the fire-box side but to be able to use the entire smoking chamber is real nice. I would need a 5 foot long smoking chamber on another pit to be able to use the 36" that I use in the Meadow Creek 

[smokeasaurus]

We grilled again last night and it took over 12 lbs of charcoal to grill 5 steaks. Could not get the fire hot enough to sear the steaks. I am guessing it is because the coals are sitting in a pan instead of a grate. They are not getting ample oxygen and are smoldering out. I realize that the charcoal pan is an add on, but I think I will stick with my Weber for the steak and burger type of cooks. Use a bunch less charcoal as well.

Last night I got underneath the pit to spray paint the JB Weld I had put on the spot that I think the leak is coming out of. I was really bummed out to find my arm laying in another puddle of grease that was directly behind the other wheel. So now it is leaking from the right and left sides of the firebox side and I can't for the life of me find out where the leak is coming from. No wonder this pit is so easy to clean, the grease aint staying in the pit  :'(  My patio is thrashed with grease after just one weekend of cooking.

I have talked to Meadow Creek and they are very dismayed to hear this and I am waiting for a response from them................

[smokeasaurus]

Got a call back in a couple of hours.  Meadow creek has no problems having my pit picked up and having a new one shipped out on their dime. From PA to Cali the freight is 620.00. That is over 1200 clams on them. I am blown away by how this Mfg stands behind their product.

Before I go for this, I have an idea. I have one leak plugged with JB Weld and it is painted. The other side has some high heat RTV.  I am gonna run the pit for a couple of weekends and see if the leak stops. I am supposed to contact them on 11-18 and let them know what I would like to do.

If the leak stops, I am going to keep the pit. I have this particular model mastered and it provides the best tasting natural wood smoked grub I have had in years and do not want to let this pit get out of my hands. Either way I was told I got some Amish Love coming my way for my inconvenience and their Mfg error so this should all end happily 

Will keep everyone posted.

[smokeasaurus]

Some reviews on this SQ-36

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/grill-smoker-combination-grill-smoker/meadow-creek-sq36

http://www.smokymtbarbecue.com/2010/03/11/my-birthday/#.Un5hCSexr4Q

[smokeasaurus]

Busy putting up Christmas lights at my neighbors house but I did find time to do this for tomorrows smoke......

took a pork tenderloin,and cut a slit down the center and shoved a red hot sausage in the center of it


rubbed down with a heavy coating of Pork Stank


Wrapped loosely in apple smoked bacon...I give you pork stuffed with pork wrapped in pork..gotta Dr's appt on tuesday..sure hope I don't get sent for lab work

[smokeasaurus]

Got the pit dialed in at 250. Used post oak and apricot splits.


Found a spot to set my Polder


2 and a half hours later, internal temp was 156


Money shot...a little heat in every bite


I should have brined the tenderloin or if I was smart, I would have got a loin. The tenderloin seemed dry to me. The flavor profile was nice though. Had the sweetness of the sauce and smoke on the outside and heat on the inside but the tenderloin didn't bring anything to the table.

If I would have used a loin, I would have had more room in the cavity for some other goodies to go along with the red hot. Oh well, some other weekend................

Back to the product review. I had a good day today with the pit. There is no more leaking. The JB Weld and the permatex held up well. Even the fire-box paint held. Again the SQ-36 was extremely easy to use and held rock solid at 250. Even with re-fueling    I am leery about returning this pit for another one. I really like the way this particular pit runs......got another weekend before I contact Meadow Creek though............so we shall see...........

[smokeasaurus]

Today is the last chance for the smoker to see if I successfully stopped the leak. Check out the stick burner section for an unbelievably greasy cook I got planned for today. 

[smokeasaurus]

The MCSQ36 again performed very nice. Hardly any adjustments once it dials in. Steady 250 all day long.

However:






The heat opening between the firebox and the smoking chamber are even with each other. The grease is getting into the deflector and running into the fire-box. It is running down under the ash pan and draining out the back. Luckily it just clears the charcoal tray or I would have a major grease fire on my hands.............

One of the other leaks has resurfaced as well on the JB Weld side.

I am not a happy camper.

In closing of this review, I have to say that this is an excellent off-set. It performs better than any charcoal cooker that I have ever owned. I assume that these usually do not leak. My brother says I have always been a lemon magnet. He says if there is a defective unit out there, I usually end up with it  :'(

If this pit did not leak, it would be my main smoker till the final puff.........However this is not the case.

Tomorrow I have to contact the Mfg and will keep you all posted of the outcome................

[teesquare]

They have a good reputation at Meadow Creek. I will bet that they work thru this to your satisfaction Smoke. Good review!

[smokeasaurus]

I spoke with Meadow Creek yesterday. They want to pick this one up and send out a new one. With what has happened, I know longer have any confidence at all in this Manufacturer for letting something this expensive leave the factory with this kind of defect. I can understand if it was some home improvement pos smoker but not this kind of pit.

I informed them I want this picked up and a full refund............they are supposed to contact me tomorrow.................

[smokeasaurus]

Well, I am getting all of my money back. Even the initial freight cost. I have to pelletize the pit for a long trip back to PA, but so be it.

It is time to wrap up this product review. Meadow Creek makes one heck of a nice smoker. Very easy to master and holds rock solid temps. The full length heat and smoke diffuser is brilliant. It is the only off-set I have run across where you can use the entire cooking surface. The optional charcoal rack works but you need to use way too much charcoal for grilling. This is a smoker and should be used for smoking. Get a Weber or a Old Smokey for your grilling needs.

It is very unfortunate this particular unit leaked profusely and I am pretty darn sure this is not a represented sampling of Meadow Creeks workmanship. However, it is the unit I happened to get and this ruined any faith and confidence I have in their product. When you start to get around a grand for a smoker you should get quality.

As always I hope this review was informative and as for me...well.......the search continues..........

[smokeasaurus]

Got a call today from someone at Meadow Creek that I have not spoken to as of yet. He wanted to know what I liked about the SQ36. So I told him.
He wanted some suggestions about how to improve the pit and avoid this problem.

I explained that the fire-box and smoking chamber needs to be welded internally. The heat diffuser should be solidly welded to the bottom of the smoking chambe or the smoking chamber needs to have a slight slant to it towards the smokestack. The grease drain needs to be moved to the smokestack side as well.

I was asked if a new pit was made to these instructions including a full length foldable stainless steel front shelve free of charge and if all freight was paid for the pick up of mine and the new one to be delivered would I be interested?

I went for it.     My decision was based on how nice this pit smokes. It is very user friendly and I do not know if the next one would cook like this one. I have had it at a steady 250 for my last three cooks with no effort on my part. I have sat out on the patio and had these ideas that would make it a perfect pit and to have all this done on a brand new one is just to good to turn down.....and I am playing with house money to boot 

I feel that Meadow Creek really cares about their products and want their customers to be happy.

To make things even better, I found an outfit here in the Southland that delivers split logs to residences so I got 1000 lbs of Pecan splits being delivered tomorrow...........Old Smoke is back in the smokey saddle and this product review is just getting started.....   parents hide your briskets and butts and ribs and chuckies because Smoke and Smoochy are on the prowl.....

[smokeasaurus]

I forgot to mention that the suggestions I made are being implemented in the manufacturing of the SQ-36 from here on out.

I am humbled and flattered that they listened to little old me 

[smokeasaurus]

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 

[smokeasaurus]

This last weekend I had no leaks what so ever. The brisket was barely trimmed and I had a good amount of grease in the bottom of the smoking chamber. I added some peanut oil to the bottom of the smoking chamber after the brisket came off. The fire was still hot. I locked the fire box door. I grabbed some chimney mits and went to the smokestack side of the smoking chamber. I slightly lifted up the smoking chamber (kids do not try this at home  ) so the hot grease would run down towards the firebox side.  The next day when I cleaned the fire-box out there was no grease that had run under the ash pan. Problem solved. I am a happy camper.

This now gives this fair and balance product review closure......my work here is done...........