New Excel 20 vs. WSM...the Battle Begins!

Your killin us Jim....!!!!!!!!!! You are the master of cruel and unusual punishment.

Roxy wrote:Your killin us Jim....!!!!!!!!!! You are the master of cruel and unusual punishment.

(Bwwwaaaaaa-ha-ha-ha-ha!)


Sorry, I tried upload the videos from work today...spent nearly 4 hours in the upload before aborting the process. Crazy enough, I get a MUCH faster internet connection at home than I do at work...it'll take around 15 - 20 minutes for them to upload and go live once I start the process at home.

Believe it or not, I am looking forward to sharing the info!

Okay my barbeque brothers and sisters...here we go!

With the Illinois BBQ Society's Battle for Bullet Smoker Supremacy (sponsored by The Backyard BBQ Store in Wilmette, Illinois) now in the books, here are the video links for the epic battle...

Part One: http://www.youtube.com/v/Y8UFWM31M_U&hl=en&fs=1
Part Two: http://www.youtube.com/v/NbTN3Cu420A&hl=en&fs=1

Since this battle was conducted in conjunction with a one day cook-off, it was primarily used to monitor temperatures and to (more importantly) check out the Pros & Cons of the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker and the ProQ Excel 20. A longer test for temperature control may be conducted to monitor larger cuts of meat, but with the results turned in from this battle, I would venture to guess the outcome will be the same.

Enjoy!

Jim,
Links are not working, at least for me they are not.

BowtieBill wrote:Jim,
Links are not working, at least for me they are not.

Hmmm...don't know why...I just clicked them and they worked for me. You can also access them by going to my YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/banditbbq .

Hope they work for you soon!

Thanks, Jim. That one worked for me.
Viewing now.
Bill

Great review Jim and Jason.
Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to produce a fair and unbiased report!

Ian

Mack wrote:Great review Jim and Jason.
Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to produce a fair and unbiased report!

Ian

It was a lot of fun and, given that Jason is an absolute DIE HARD WSM man, I think it all turned out well. Jason seemed to really be impressed with the performace of the ProQ...the outside clips ended up growing on him, he liked the size of the water pan, as well as the added features such as the dome therm, eyelets for probes, and the handles. The only real complaints he had were 1. he worried about the durability of the dome's handle; 2. Knobs on doors are metal and cannot be used without gloves, once the smoker is fired up.

Jason seemed very impressed with the overall performance (though I don't think he's gonna sell his WSMs anytime soon), he did say that he'd definately cook on the ProQ...which shows how comfortable he felt with the unit as a whole, and the reliability he must be placing in the unit.

Until the day of the battle, that was the first time Jason had to examine the ProQ. Other than pictures he had seen on the internet, he came into the battle completely blind of the ProQ...I believe it impressed him.

THANKS IAN for opportunity in allowing us to disect, compare, and evaluate the ProQ...It was a fun battle! I'm looking forward to further (and longer) cooks on the ProQ...and will post new results as they happen.

Thanks, Jim. That was very well done.
You could feel your partner's "love" for the WSM's. It was interesting that some of the things that he did not like about the ProQ were things that made me buy it instead of the WSM (like the clips). I agree with the top handle of the Excel, that is an area for improvement I think.
But from watching your videos I think I might of realized what is causing the problem I am having. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it was stated that the units were not assembled until after 15 minutes from pouring the hot coals in the basket? I am putting it together almost immediately after.
Can't wait until the next showndown of the long burns.
Thanks again for doing this.
Bill

BowtieBill wrote:Thanks, Jim. That was very well done.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it was stated that the units were not assembled until after 15 minutes from pouring the hot coals in the basket? I am putting it together almost immediately after.
Can't wait until the next showndown of the long burns.
Thanks again for doing this.
Bill

Thanks for the Kudos...it's a lot of fun playing around with this little video camera.

Yes, Jason allowed the coals in the fire ring to get started before assymbling the units. Once they were assymbled, it didnt' take long for them to come up to temp.

Hey Jim, nice review!

bowhnter wrote:Hey Jim, nice review!

Thanks Mike. It was a fun day!

stupid work firewall!!!! don't they know bbq is more important than work?

bigthirsty wrote:stupid work firewall!!!! don't they know bbq is more important than work?

Well YES! What's wrong with them???

It was funny to watch Jason as his opinion of the Excel changed as the video progressed.. The funny thing is, I got all three smokers and they are each great for their own thing but my WSM sure is neglected and only comes out for comps to promo Ian's stacker.. Otherwise it sites in the garage...

I remember the first time I cooked a full load on the WSM and I think it was like 3 am when I needed to stick a probe in the meat that was on the lower grate.. There I was standing.. with a rack in my hands trying to figure out what to do with it while I inserted the probe.. I though, this is freakin stupid, who thought if this great idea.. I almost tipped over the smoker as I balanced the grate on the side of the cooker while I pulled the probe out of my pocket.. that nonsense has never happened with the ProBBQ design.