"Duwop" > wrote in message
...
> GmagicB wrote:
> > The Hasty Bake is a similar but far superior unit, imo. Check them
> > out at hastybake.com. I have two of them, one five years old, the
> > other pushing twenty-five.Use 'em for low and slow as well as
> > grilling and the results have always been terrific...except in the
> > occasional instance of operator error, whidch is usully a case of
> > sleeping through the "add wood in the middle of the night" operation.
> >
> > Classy, versatile, very well built, and the customer service is top
> > shelf.
>
> Thanks for the tip G, finally found picts of the unit with the firebox.
Got
> a couple of Q's if you dont mind.
> http://hastybake.com/featuresandbenefits.html
>
> Looks like the only exhaust is below the firebox?
> For grilling, you just remove the heat deflector and crank the firebox to
> the top?
>
> 25 years? You keep it outside in winter too?
>
> Don't want to assume the obvious, thanks!
>
> --
>
There are exhaust vents on either end of the hood. And there are vents at
the bottom of the chamber on either end as well. All kinds of possibilties
for temp and flame management. They are small but they do the job of
controlling the fire and they do it quite well.
These units are powder coated before they are painted and that is a big
factor in their longevity.
As far as weather is concerned, I've been through the gamut with the care on
the things. After about the first fifteeen years, I started sanding the
original and re-spraying it with oven pain every three to five years - as
needed.
And I keep them under cover. I have a covered porch and that helps, as does
the canvas cover which you can order from HB. Like most things, a little
care goes a liong way to extending the life expectancy.
I did have a portion that was starting to look a bit rusted out on my
original unit, about three years ago. Had a guy come over and well a new
piece over it. It's taken a licking and it keeps on ticking. No problem!
Right on about grilling. Just crank the firebox up and you've got a terrific
grill.
When smoking, I tend not to use the heat deflector: Rather, I take a couple
of fire bricks and stand them on end on either side of the floor in about
the middle of the unit. The I crank the firebox down so it is resting on the
bricks, to avioid stress on the mechanism.. Then, in the firebox, I build a
"wall" with an opening in the middle out of three or four more fire bricks,
and that gives me my indirect cooking element. I prefer this to the
deflector mostly because it's kind of like street rodding the oven, and
because I just like to tinker with stuff, AND because the bricks add a
little more temperature stability to the long, low and slow cooking events
like briskets and picnics.
Hope this helps.
Best,
George