What do you think of this smoker??

Coz · Posted: Nov 23 2008 Post subject:

I wonder how the support from australia will be if theres issues with the cooker.
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J0K3R-X · Posted: Nov 24 2008 Post subject:

Coz · Posted: Nov 24 2008 Post subject:

I was speaking about the smoker from Australia.If there are issues and parts have to be cut out and refabricated etc how are they going to handle it.Sure its a pain when its made here and has to be redone but your not having to ship it out of the country to get the units repaired if theres a quality issue.And as most of us guys cloning the original Stumps unit have found out issues do pop up that Stumps have long worked out of their production units.Sometimes the cheapest way isnt always such in the long run.
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BRINGIN'THE HEAT BBQ Team

BBQ as tender as baby mice !

craigmiller · Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Gday everyone my name is Craig Miller, I am the guy that is building the smoker for davec and would like to clear the air on a few points.

1. I have not set out to do a knock off of a stumps pit but have put in a lot of time and research looking at various styles of pits over the past couple of years and even built a stick burner. In Australia we don�t have access to the range of pits you guys have and if we want one we either have to build it ourselves or import a pit which is very expensive. Eg to buy a stumps gf223 would cost me $4393 just for the smoker and approx $750 for freight.

2. The pit that I am building for davec will have a heap of different features built in eg the base will be able to be filled with water if you want and the whole outfit will be able to be pulled apart for maintenance or repairs of which hopefully there will be none, as I am using 3/8 material for the coal chute and � inch for the heat exchange tube. Buying something from someone halfway across the world is a daunting prospect and takes a leap of faith, that is why all of the stuff I build I draw up in a 3D CAD package and send to all of my customers so they can see what they are going to get.

3. The reason the pit is cheap in comparison to ones in the USA is because of the exchange rate, at the moment our dollar compared to yours is basically crap. That and it costs less for me to freight to a port in the USA than it does for me to get something shipped across Australia.

4. When I first started talking to davec about the pit I told him my full background story. That is I build my ovens and the pits as a sideline and teach high school for a living, I am a boilermaker by trade and by all accounts a good one. I am not building stuff to make a million, just to have fun and hopefully meet a few people along the way.

5. If anyone wants to ask me questions or to provide comments inputs and criticisms I am more than happy to listen

missionsusmc · Posted: Nov 29 2008 Post subject:

Ya know, what difference does it make whether DaveC gets his smoker from Down Under or down the road? If he likes what he buys, and it cooks good food for him, why should anyone else care whether it looks like some big manufacturer's cooker? Stumps probably doesn't have a patent or a trademark on the design of their cooker, and even if they did, how could they prove in court that another manufacturer stole their design? If I built me a box smoker, never having seen a Stumps or their design, then started selling my cooker as "Trey's Magic Rib Machine," could they come at me with a lawsuit, saying I stole their idea? Maybe. But would they win, doubtful. Anyway, if DaveC wants to save a little green by buying something from Australia, he should be able to do it without having a bunch of folks saying a lot of crap. Geeze, I'd do it. I bought a gallon of milk and a pound of cheese earlier tonight. Spent 10 bucks for cheese and milk. If he wants to save a grand buying foreign, more power to him.
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craigmiller · Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Couple of things I did not cover in the post I did earlier on.

� I offer a full warranty on every thing I build, if the fault with the oven or smoker is not from it falling off a truck or plain stupidity on the operators behalf then the parts are replaced free of charge as you would expect. I have only ever had one oven I ever built not live up to expectation and I gave the guy a new one.

� I try to build things so they can be easily disassembled and any parts can be easily replaced.

� I am not a mass producer and build stuff on a one off basis and then use that product to market from. The smoker I build for DaveC will be used to hopefully get BBQ Pit style smoking going in Australia as once you�ve tasted it you just want more.

� On talking to Davec I realised that he was a genuine guy trying to get ahead and if I can build him something at a good price that meets his needs and lets me work with someone that is doing a lot of BBQ then we will both benefit.

HarvestMoon · Posted: Nov 29 2008 Post subject:

craigmiller,
that's fine and dandy, but the only thing I want to see is: Pictures, lots of pictures of your builds. Very Happy

G'luck in your endeavor. Wink

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J0K3R-X · Posted: Nov 29 2008 Post subject:

WoW! I got lost on this one somewhere! So let me get this right, Craig Miller is the builder for the Aromatic Embers smokers,stoves,ovens,roast box... and he is located in Australia. The guy selling the smoker on ebay is from "Hueytown, AL, United States" right? Now as I read back over this post I see what is going on! JIM23 started the post and somewhere along the line Davec took over, that kinda threw me off. The one on ebay is not having much luck with selling his as he has not sold any yet.

I like the smoker on ebay but I gotta say that "Craig Miller/Aromatic Embers" has the best lookin rigs I have seen so far!!! The pizza ovens are just killer! I love everything you have built Craig, great work! If I ever get enough money I would definitely buy one of your products even if you are in Australia! The fact that you posted in this forum explaining your background speaks volumes! I like building things myself but your stuff would make me think twice before building anything! If the economy ever picks up you could get somebody in the US to be a reseller for your product! You might have to give up your teaching job to fill all of the orders LOL! In my opinion you not only have the "competition" beat in price but in design and quality also!
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craigmiller · Joined: 29 Nov 2008 Posts: 3

Thanks for the compliments on my work guys, i have also built a few large rotisserie style cookers and will put up a page with links in my website for you guys to look at.

Davec and I have been talking for a month or two now on what he wants and he really sounds like a genuine guy and if i can help him out and learn from him as well then it�s all good.

Anyone wanting to have a look at my stuff can go to www.aromaticembers.com and have a look. Dont want to give up my day job of teaching kids as i enjoy it and someone has to do it so eventually the world should have some good tradesmen.

yukoff · Posted: Dec 01 2008 Post subject:

wow, nice cookers you have there, i'm impressed with your web site too. Hope you do well, given the current state of the economy (here and elsewhere) I can see how the exchange rate works to everyone's advantage. I always try to support local first, keep the money in the country, but sometimes the deals on imports are too good to pass up.

cmathia · Joined: 14 Dec 2008 Posts: 7

Just purchased the most recent smoker on Ebay. I live in KC and do about 6-7 competitions a year..14th sausage, 22nd chicken this year at the Royal. I currently cook on a good-one and my buddy cooks on a backwoods. Hopefully, I be selling it (My good-one) soon enough. and have context for the pros/cons of each. i will follow up after I receive the smoker as well as afer I have seasoned it and cooked. Looks like a great deal. So far...so good.

Dave seems like a nice guy...

Chris