New 055 on the way...I hope.

Dude -- Either way you made a good choice and got a decent price. You'll love your CS and will e producing great BBQ in no time! Welcome to the club!

Looks like the 055 to me. Congrats on a great deal!

Yep, definitely sounds like a 055.I love mine.It took me afew to get it right. I think I was putting too much wood in and that creates too much heat.I'm also Canadian, so maybe my brain was just froze from these horendous winters(ha-ha).anyway, you're gonna love your 055.Later.
Duke.
A man once said"The coldest winter I ever had, was a summer I spent in Edmonton"

I am in Texas and I called the local Northern Tool and found that I can get the Smoker shipped to the store free. I will have to pay 8.25% tax though. I was gonna buy a used smoker, but at that price I can get a new one for the price of a used one.

Tony,

Which store did you call? I am in the Dallas area and I called the Garland location and they will not waive the shipping fees. I wonder if some of the stores operate differently than others.

Thanks,

Tony & Silby,
The 055 arrived last week in perfect condition (yellow freight normally smashes our deliveries). I've already smoked 2 pork butts and 2 racks of baby backs. Pull the trigger on this deal before they increase the price!

One thing I must point out...the unit I recieved was manufactured in 2004. The warranty still applies but these smokers are from their (northern tool's) inventory, not the factory.

Thanks to GLH, Wheelz and (of course) Smokin' Okie for the great advice and recipes. On second thought, I am a little angry at these same guys for not tracking me down and making me buy one of these sooner!

JustADude - Go Pokes! OSU grad 93

Are there any differences in the 2004 model than the current models?

Hey fellow alumnus! I graduated in '01. No difference between the 2004 and current models that I am aware of. It still came with all of the little accessories like the woodbox puller, spices and sauce, rib hooks, 5 lbs. of hickory. I read your other post about the "smokeless" ribs that you tried. Please don't base your opinion of the CS on one bad experience. The baby backs that I've done were pretty darn good...with a little tweaking of the spices and wood, I'll be good to go.

EDIT: I failed to ask you, have you seen the OSU stadium since the renovations began? It is an amazing improvement and one of the nicest in the big 12.

Hi all,
I have been on the forum for just a couple of days. A buddy of mine was telling me about it a week or so ago and I laughed at him about being a BBQ geek and the such. I have eaten my words with him and apologize to all here. Yesterday I spent the majority of my time at work reading posts, looking at hanging ribs and drooling on the keyboard. Last night after reading this topic I went to northern tool and ordered the sm055. should have it no later than next week. I am extremely grateful for all the posts on here and the useful info. Thanks for your public love of good Q.
Quick funny story...
last week my friend was smoking meats for a get-together , so I said "Im getting a smoker". Went to Lowes and bought a brinkman, then to the market and about two racks of ribs, half a pork shoulder and turkey breast. Got home and seasoned meat, put down kids, then went to assemble the brinkman. It was missing the screw package. Definitely the best thing that could have happened to me. I returned it and anxiously await my SM055 and my first smoke.
Last note, told my buddy today about the CS055 on the way and how easy y'all make it seem and he said that he didnt think it was as low maintenance as y'all say....I'll let him think otherwise.
Thanks again to all for lots of help making a decision, especially to Brinkman for the missing parts.

sellnbenzs,

That's exactly how my story goes. I had a Brinkman...spent countless hours reading posts while on the clock...saw the deal at northern tool...spent a week explaining my fetish for good que to the wife...fed her some pulled pork...rest is history.

Welcome to the forum, sellnbenzs! Enjoyed the post very much.

I would like to pull the trigger... However I am still trying to figure out how Tony was able to swing free shipping to a local northern tools. Did anybody else get that special deal?

If I can get free shipping it will make it a very good deal. If I cannot than it becomes cheaper to order throught westcoaststores as they ship for free and don't charge taxes.

Call em and tell em "Here's the deal..." and if they can't make the deal, order from westcoaststores.

Give it a shot!

Silby,
looks like northern tool is 200 buck less than west coast, R U in the states? how much is shipping, 4 me it was 98 buck to the nations capital. fyi

Just a Dude,
Always nice to spend time at work not working.
It'll be more like a third chin for me. Thanks for the tip on the 699. SM055. Pushed me over the edge for the CS

sellnbenzs,

The way I look at it I don't need stainless on the outside, so I was comparing the 55 at Northern ($699) to the 50 ($799) at thewestcoast stores. I live in Texas which has a northern tools so I will have to pay the ~$100 in shipping and the 8% sales tax (which would then make it more expensive). This is why I was trying to figure out how to get the shipping waived.

I went to the Burleson Northern Tool store and they told me the shipping would be free.

Tony, even with the sales taxes that is a great deal.

Unfortunately, Northern Tool will not admit to having any knowledge of Cookshack any longer.

But the new Cabela's in Ft. Worth has a deal where you get a credit card with them and get $100 off a $450 purchase, so a Smokette gets a bit of a discount.

I really wanted an SM050, but the economics just didn't favor it.

Well a few years with my Smokette attests to the fact you can't go wrong with the purchase.