[BruceBenjamin]

I pulled the trigger yesterday and my new ProQ Excel 20 is on it's way!  It's somewhere between here, (Redding, Ca.) and Tempe, AZ. in the back of a FedX truck.  Should be here on Tuesday the 15th. 

I ended up getting a triple stacker from a guy on Ebay.  The 3rd stacker is more than I'll likely need except for special occasions but I figure I'm better off having it and not needing it than needing it and not having it.  Plus, I'm looking forward to cooking a suckling pig and I saw a picture of a guy smoking one hanging from the rod in the lid of his Excel 20.  That looked like a very cool idea and I think the only way to do that is if you have the 3rd stacker.  Also, I have a turkey fryer.  It came with the metal rack that you use to lower into the hot oil.  I was thinking that would be perfect to hang from the rod in the lid of the smoker.  I'll bet a couple of whole chickens would fit on there too.  I don't think I'll need the 3rd stacker for the turkey or chicken though unless I'm also cooking enough red meat to fill up the other two stackers.  Hmmm...I don't think I can afford to buy that much meat at one time.   But just last night I had a possum in the bushes right by my front door.     Anyone here good at smoking, "Specialty meats"?  I got a back yard filled with gray squirrels too.

As a guy who has only used electricity and propane to do my BBQ I'm a little apprehensive about getting used to using only charcoal.  I do have a Smoky Joe and a POS Sunbeam charcoal grill that a neighbor gave me before he moved but I wasn't really impressed with the results using either briquettes or lump. Maybe it was just that I wasn't using the right brand of charcoal.  But now that I will have a first class piece of BBQ equipment I'm expecting much better results.  Well, once I get past that learning curve. 

Bruce

[mojo]

Congrads on the Pro Q e-20 purchase.I have one on the way also,and I bought mine on Ebay as  well. Mine is does not have the extra stack though,which would be real nice. If I like my Excell 20 I will have to keep my eyes open and try to pick one up.
 I have a Weber Smokey Mountain and I absolutely love it, it makes some great Q and the "learning Curve" wasn't bad at all as far as operating it goes. I have read lots of good stuff about the Pro Q and I did purchase a ProQ stacker for my WSM although I didn't care for it as a stacker it made a great conversion for my Weber Smokey Joe 18.5 turning it into a real nice small smoker.
  Bruce, you will be suprised at how fast your making quality Q if these Pro-Q's are like the Weber. Good luck and we will have to check back when we get out units and compare notes.

Joe

[ron b]

as i have Had my 20 for a while things to look out for...sorry to burst bubble.


1.legs are they the original or the reinforced?

2.i have found themetal handles get um let's say hotand i made some wood covers Along with they deadend the metal against metal sound.

temp gauge is fairly accurate bout 5 degrees off plus or minus

3.with the stacker charcoal is a must depending on meat you could go thru 2 18lbs in 1 cook big charcoal basket and takes a bit to get to temp with water pan personally i rarely use it due to heat loss personal  preference.

hope all goes well there is a pro q section on site to get you better acquainted with your smoker.

Ron

[mojo]

as i have Had my 20 for a while things to look out for...sorry to burst bubble.


1.legs are they the original or the reinforced?

2.i have found themetal handles get um let's say hotand i made some wood covers Along with they deadend the metal against metal sound.

temp gauge is fairly accurate bout 5degrees offplus or minus

3.with the stacker charcoal is a must depending on meat you could go thru 2 18lbs in 1 cook big charcoal basket and takes a bit to get to temp with water pan personally i rarely use it due to heat loss personal  preference.

hope all goes well there is a pro q section on site to get you better acquainted with your smoker.

Ron

I take it then if this is in fact the case, there must be some serious difference between the performance of the Pro-Q ex20 and the Weber Smokey Mountain. I Have an 18.5 WSM and have NEVER had to use more than an 18lb bag of charcoal for any smoke, even in Indiana winter.

 I do mostly butts and ribs and occasionaly a brisket, I have taken up to 12hrs on some of these cuts of meat and still, never more than 18lbs of Kingsford and always with a full water pan to start.

[ron b]

well as i stated just personal as  it is a good smoker it has its quirks my biggest were the legs within a week i am replacing them with reinforced. i tend to use at least 1-1.5 bags but i cook alot at one time and vaccum pack for later ...i first started with a full pan but found took quite a bit of time for temp to get where i would even try to put wood on coals.it is agood smoker but i had some customization to do on mine for the price guess i cant be mad but now i know may even get 1 more for returning to comps again we will see all the best mojo

Ron

[Mike P in Tucson]

I just did an 8 pound pork butt on my Excel 20.  Using the minion method, with just about a half chimney of charcoal and a full charcoal basket, I got to 200 in about 20 minutes with 1/2 full water pan.  After adding the meat, it got to around 240 and I half shut all the bottom vents.  It held temp between 230 and 250 for 6 1/2 hours before starting to drop.  I then poured more unlit charcoal onto the coals, it got back up to temp and held it for the remainder of the 12 hours.  Used maybe 2/3 of an 18 pound bag.  I'm not sure how someone could use 2 bags on a smoke.  I think the whole bag would've lasted for close to 18 hours.

[mojo]

I just did an 8 pound pork butt on my Excel 20.  Using the minion method, with just about a half chimney of charcoal and a full charcoal basket, I got to 200 in about 20 minutes with 1/2 full water pan.  After adding the meat, it got to around 240 and I half shut all the bottom vents.  It held temp between 230 and 250 for 6 1/2 hours before starting to drop.  I then poured more unlit charcoal onto the coals, it got back up to temp and held it for the remainder of the 12 hours.  Used maybe 2/3 of an 18 pound bag.  I'm not sure how someone could use 2 bags on a smoke.  I think the whole bag would've lasted for close to 18 hours.

This is more typical of the performance I was expecting from my Pro-Q excell 20 when it gets here. This is very similar to the way my WSM performs,18 pounds of Kingsford has always been more than enough to cook any cut I have put in it so far.

I did a 6lb and an 8lb butt and about 20 wings on the WSM along with a rack of St.Louis Cut and a rack of Baby Backs on my little "Smokey Q" cooker, which is an 18.5 Weber Smokey Joe  Platinum with a Pro-Q WSM stacker flipped over and  retro fitted to it to accommodate a water pan and 2 racks.

I split an 18lb bag of Kingsford between them which worked out to 1 full un-lit Webber Quick Fire chimney each and about 3/4 of lit each. The little "Smokey Q"  burned  just under 9 hrs before it exhausted the fuel enough to dip under the 200 degree mark which is about equal to what the WSM did.  Wound up putting in about 5 more pounds of un-lit in the WSM to finish up the Butts which was about 12 hrs total cook time. A total of about 23lbs between the 2 Smokers and about 22 hours of combined cook time.

I can get an entire 18lb bag in my WSM and I have done it before, lighting 1 full chimney and dumping it on the others using the MM. I know for sure the burn time was over 16hrs. I just hope the Pro-Q can perform along the same level.

Joe

[Crash]

I'm not sure how someone could use 2 bags on a smoke.  I think the whole bag would've lasted for close to 18 hours.

Operator error.   

[Denny]

I've noticed on my 22.5 WSC that if the wind is blowing (as it usually is in the Huachuca's) that you can burn up a lot of charcoal pretty quick. Even with a wind block and all the vents closed. And, my WSC seems to have a tightfit.

[ron b]

AS I STATED PREVIOUSLY.
i tend to use at least 1-1.5 bags but i cook <<<<<<<alot at one time and vaccum pack for later>>>>>>> I.E. 2-3 BRISKETS 2 RACKS 2-3 BUTTS DEPENDING ON PRICE BUT RARELY CAN FIND SAME POUNDAGE AND SOME BRISKETS ARE JUST HARD TO GET OVER THE HUMP!!!!
but probably is my error i try and try tho...
RJB

[Crash]

Bruce and Joe,

Congrats on your new cookers.  You'll love them....trust me.

Here is a condensed version of what to expect..

1) Overload your Pro Q and the original legs will fail.  Trust me, this isn't from experience, but from the Pro Q head honcho that I have discussed this with.  If you need help with the Pro Q leg mods, just ask or look in the pro Q section of this forum.

1a) Overload your Pro Q with the original legs on uneven ground and.......see 1 above.

2) Unless you are really, really dialed in, bullet style cookers are not a 100% "set it and forget it" cooker.  If that is what you desire, Stokers and Gurus rock as additions.  

3) Metal handles, yup...they get hot.  Great advice by Ron, add the wooden dowels or maybe insulate your hands.  We use gloves.

4) Check out the Pro Q section here for temp info on the different stacker levels.  They do differ, and you will eventually get it figured out.

You will both be able to cook awesome Q on the Pro Q's....good luck.  If you have any questions, feel free to ask and someone will hook you up.


 

[ron b]

yes congrats guess i should have asked crash before i overloaded my smoker and collapsed it lmao funniest thing ever even my wife could not stop laffing and that is hard to do ....


ron

[BruceBenjamin]

Thanks for all of the great info and encouragement!  I'm not expecting immediate perfection but I think it will work out fine.  I'm also not expecting to be able to just light it, load it, unload it and then eat it simplicity.  I don't doubt that there will be some tending to do.  But hopefully once I get it all figured out I'll be able to let it set at a steady temp for a few hours.  From what I've read that doesn't sound hard to attain at all. 

The Excel 20 should be here sometime in the next 12 hours or so.  I bought 3 different kinds of charcoal to try out.  I got a bag of Royal Oak briquettes w/Real Mesquite, a bag of Royal Oak lump charcoal, and a bag of Sam's Choice briquettes.  All were really inexpensive.  I'm already equipped with a digital thermometer with a probe, a chimney starter, a lighter, and some newspaper.  Now all I need is something to smoke on it.  Any of you ever try smoking a frozen Banquet chicken pot pie?  How 'bout a bologna sandwich? 

Do I need to fire this thing up for a while before I add any food to it?  You know, maybe run one basket of charcoal through it to break it in. That's what I was planning on doing anyway.  I figured it would burn off any coatings or whatever might be left after manufacturing and it would also give me a chance to practice controlling the temps without screwing up the meat.  If so, how did you guys go about doing this?  Just fill it full of charcoal, pour some lit charcoal on top and let her rip?  Should I put any water in the pan?  I guess if I did it would give me an idea of what to expect when I actually put meat in there to cook.  Since I got the triple stacker model, should I break it in with all three stackers in place or just the two that I'll probably usually use?  Thanks for any info.

Bruce

[toys4dlr]

I don't have a Pro Q, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.   

Any new cooker I have owned, I do a burn with nothing in it to get the feel of how it handles.  I wipe the cooker down to get any manufacturing stuff out, then wipe down with peanut oil.  Fire it up, take it to 250 let it settle, then I take it to 300 then see if I can get to 400. 

Be careful, as you raise the temps, had one get a little away and peg the thermo at almost 700 degrees.  Could be quick  death to the thermo

Once I see how it works empty, I can play with the temps when I have food on it. 

Be patience and don't chase the temps.  Cool food added to a hot grill will drop the temps a lot, give it a while to recover before you start opening the draft doors.  Cause you will overshoot the desired point.

[RobOConnell]

I don't have a Pro Q, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.   

Wow, so it does work. I am gonna call my local Holiday Inn Express and reserve a room for a year. I can finally be smart enough to rule the world..... muuuaaaahhhhhaaaahhhaaa