Stumps Smokers – Bbq Pit Smokers By Walter Mcdowell
barbecue smokers
Stumps Smokers – Bbq Pit Smokers By Walter Mcdowell
Walter "Stump" McDowell has been active in the competetive barbecue circuit for more than two
decades and over the years has accumulated a large collection of trophies.
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</ br>AD END </>The founder of Stumps Smokers also helps with fundraisers and has
cooked a seemingly unbelievable 700 Boston butts in one go. In his time, McDowell has used almost
any type of cooker you can think of, including charcoal grills, wood smokers, pellet cookers and
fire-pits.
"I know my way around pretty much any grill there is and any meat there is," McDowell said. "It was
because of all that cooking that he decided he wanted a better smoker."
Walter's desire to do something about it was borne from the amount of time that was required in
order to cook well on a smoker.
Q'ing large pieces of meat can take anywhere up to 18 hours for a whole hog and most smokers
require that fuel be added at regular intervals to hold the correct temperature, and this drove
McDowells plans forward.
"I just wanted some rest," McDowell said. "I didn't want to get up and throw wood every 30
minutes." He studied the smokers available on the market and wasn't satisfied that any of then
would meet his requirements, so he decided to build his own.
"I love to learn new things, and I don't mind a challenge," McDowell said. "The word can't ain't in
my vocabulary."
He developed a gravity charcoal feeding system and airtight box with extra insulation to minimize
heat loss and maximize temperature control and by using his previous experience gained from his
profession in the air and heating industry, he designed an ingenious diffuser plate to distribute
the heat from the firebox evenly throughout the convection chamber.
This plate effectively created a reverse-convection-oven effect. Despite McDowell's many great
ideas, the first prototype he produced was a failure.
"I couldn't cook on it because it got too hot with the insulation, but I learned a lot," he
explained.
McDowell took his creation to barbecue competitions and asked people to try it out, and among the
first people to try a Stumps Smoker, was Rob "Rub" Rugby, who is currently ranked number one on the
competitive BBQ circuit and is the president of the Florida Barbecue Association.
"That first one was so ugly, we called it Frankenstein!" Bagby said.
In 2004 McDowell quit his job to channel his time and energies into the fledgling company with a
$35 investment and a borrowed welder.
Today he can't build them fast enough to satisfy demand.
Currently there are six different versions of Stumps Smokers, comprising of the vertical models
which include the Baby Stump which is intended for home use and the Platinum series which is a
large volume cooker capable of holding a massive 700 pounds of meat at a time.
McDowell is always cooking up new ideas for his business and has desires to expand into the home
market by operating his own retail store that will be stocked with charcoal, rubs, sauces and
Stumps Smokers.
McDowell's determination to succeed has been rewarded with thousands of loyal followers, repeat
sales and glowing recommendations of his work, some of whom have purchased a Stumps Smoker purely
on looks alone!
By: Lewis Theaksotn
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bbq smoker
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