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Humphrey's Battle Box Smoker

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Pileofwood:
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/party

https://humphreysbbq.myshopify.com/pages/the-battle-box

So 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!

Pileofwood:
Okay on to the first cook!

My Brother had a birthday and wanted to throw it at my house, which I was totally fine with! I love hosting, I have a great bar in my basement, I have the new smoker, it was the day before mothers day and I have a month old baby. I am a sucker for punishment! The truth is, it gave me a chance to see what this smoker could really do!

So on the menu was 9 racks of baby back ribs (supplied by my step father and mother). The night before I rubbed them all down with seasoning, I did not remove the membrane but I did score them. I tried at first to remove them, but the membrane was so thin, and it was such a pain in the ass. After a few attempts I said screw that. Not for 9 racks of ribs. Anyway I did a dry rub waited 5 minutes to let the juices pool, then I hit them again. Wrapped them and put them in the fridge overnight.



The ribs fit perfectly on the stainless shelves. I did not need the expanded metal shelf.




My second start up went by a lot better with my second cook. I let the coals ash over more, and used lump. The smoker shot up to 250 degrees in about a half hour. I used Kingsford Professional (Nice but burn hot and seem to burn up quick but they were on sale at Costco) and Cowboy Lump. I also used a combination of Apple and Pecan wood.

I cooked them for 4 hours then wrapped them with brown sugar, honey, apple juice, apple cider vinegar and butter in foil. Cooked for another hour and a half. I did have to move the racks around as the top rack developed a crazy bark due to the smoke sitting up on the top. The rack on the bottom closest to the water pan looked like it got very little smoke. So I just switched those halfway through the cook to compensate. The middle rack was perfect.

The temp held steady at 250 degrees the full time of the cook. Very little adjusting on my end.



I was a few beers in, so pictures just stopped happening! lol I wish I took a picture of the bark! I did cut them up and put them in a pan for everyone and took pictures of that. Enjoy!




Final thoughts!

My wife told me the smoker paid for itself in that one cook! She told me top three ribs she has every had. Not bad for a first cook! I will keep working on this thing to learn all of the little tricks. I do not have a BBQ Guru, but the ball valve adapter lets me plug in one directly to the smoker. That may be my next purchase sometime in the near future since it would be nice to stoke the coals enough in the beginning to get a quicker start up. Overall I was very impressed and yes, I will not always do 9 racks of ribs, however all the research I did, it seems like when buying a vertical smoker, it's always smart to buy one size bigger than what you need.

Pros:
Nice well built unit
Head turning look
Holds temps like a champ
Great size
Easy to use
Great end results!

Cons:
Spot rusting on the inside and the smoke stack
Took a bit of practice to get up to temp

Overall I am very happy with the unit. I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I don't mind paying more for something that is constructed well. It took me a while to save up but I am very very happy with my purchase! I would also like to say that Humphreys customer service is top Notch! Nicole Humphrey has been killer answering questions and providing great service! Couldn't have bought from better people.

TMB:
WOW nice!!!    If I ordered one of those Kimmie would have me shot! ;)

You got a keeper in your better half! :thumbup:

Pappymn:
Very cool write-up. Congrats on the cool new cooker

HighOnSmoke:
Great review and awesome looking cooker!

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