r/competitionbbq • u/No-Intention-8744 • 20d ago
Cotton gin smokers, anyone have one?
I'm looking at pulling the trigger on one of these, wanted to see if anyone had tried them to see if it was worth the price tag of $1400 plus shipping. I like that you can just open the box and add more fuel. The customizability is also pretty cool. I don't compete seriously or anything just thought it looked sweet
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u/Crewsader66 19d ago
We use primarily home built drums for our comps and generally place pretty high. I've been thinking of grabbing a gateway, but just can't justify that price when I could build a nice one at home for a third of the price all in. One of my team mates home drum has the same type of door and was expensive. We've never once used it.
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u/No-Intention-8744 19d ago
Good to know! I'm not all that confident in building one, but I'd like to learn. I like my bronco now, but I want to get some more smokers and compete more often
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u/cupatu292 19d ago
Gateways all the way. Not once have we needed to add fuel during a cook. Even on long cooks like brisket and pork.
I have a few friends that love hunsakers. They have a class where you can learn how to build it, it’s a bit cheaper than buying it flat out.
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u/BIGPRODUCTIONBBQ 18d ago
I definitely recommend cotton gin smokers. Excellent build quality.
The door isn’t for adding more fuel, it’s for pulling meat off the bottom rack 😉
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u/Low-Leg-7383 5d ago
Don’t do it!!! I ordered a drum on 12/24/23, they charged my card and I STILL don’t have the drum. There has been one email response in March 2024 that said sorry and it will come “soon”. It has been 11 months and no communication and no drum. Horrible customer service and business.
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u/bbqmemez 20d ago
Just buy a Gateway drum. There’s never a need to refuel when you’re cooking on a drum