Quote:
Originally Posted by Nickhead
i dont want to spend any money on steel lined doors and hinges in concrete. plus having my thin sheeted metal offset, i realize the food will be five times better and efficient with the brick insulation. to boot, you cannot create enough smoke without too much heat in a vertical. this is purely for smoking, no pizza's, nothing hot.
aaaaaaand... i am only working with the materials i have on hand 
now for my disclaimer: i have never used a vertical so i may not know what i am talking about |
You actually get more smoke with less heat in a vertical, and the temps are more uniform throughout the unit. A horizontal cooker will have a high heat area next to the firebox and a cool side closer to the chimney. In addition, you will have smoke draw above the food on the cooler side (heat and smoke rise). In a vertical, all the heat rises, and while it may be a tad higher near the bottom, it will be very minimal, especially in a brick insulated unit. In addition, all of the smoke passes over lower and upper grates, so you get even smoke. In competition bbq, most of the guys use vertical units for the meat they turn in. It's just more predictable.