Q: Why are your pits so heavy in comparison to others?

In short, we don't believe in planned obsolescence or cutting corners to maximise profits, so we strive to use the most heavy-duty materials possible across all of our product ranges. As purchasing a well functioning offset smoker requires a non-trivial amount of money, we want our customers to be assured that they are receiving a product that is truly built to stand the test of time, for generations to come. Thinner metal is prone to warping from the extreme temperatures offset fireboxes are subjected to, as well as potentially rusting through over time. We would rather overbuild our pits to mitigate any of these potential issues from ever occurring. Should you also wish to upgrade to another model at a later date, your pit will retain much more value than something less well constructed.

Question 1

How do I place an order for one of your pits?

Accepted Answer

If you’re interested in ordering one of our pits, we recommend contacting us first. This allows us to discuss your specific requirements, confirm lead times, and address any customisation requests.

As all of our pits are built to order, a non-refundable deposit is required to begin production. We will require all outstanding payments to be settled prior to the delivery or collection.

Question 2

What customisation options do you offer?

Accepted Answer

Our pits can be tailored to suit your preferences and cooking style. Popular options include custom logos, cooking chamber size modification, custom accessories and alternative firebox designs.

If you have something unique in mind, we’re happy to explore your ideas.

Question 3

Do you have finance options?

Accepted Answer

Split payments are available via PayPal (however this is at PayPal's discretion, and based on your account).

For our barbecue pits, we have a deposit system in place to help reduce the up-front cost, with full payment only required in the week prior to delivery/collection.

We are currently exploring solutions for fixed credit repayments, and additional options for payment in instalments.

Question 4

Do you provide international shipping?

Accepted Answer

Yes, we offer tracked international shipping for our smaller items. Simply add the product to your basket, enter your location, and the shipping cost will be automatically calculated.

For our barbecue pits, we can arrange international shipping via sea freight. Please contact us for a quote, as fees will vary depending on distance and your local taxes, regulations, and tariffs.

Question 5

What shipping options are available for UK customers?

Accepted Answer

As standard, our smaller items are sent via Royal Mail (1st class with tracking). Larger items are often sent via UPS or Parcelforce (48 hour tracked).

For our barbecue pits, please contact us prior to purchase to discuss the best method of delivery/collection. Due to the the size and weight of our pits, the price for delivery (based on distance) generally ranges from £175-£375.

We are also able to arrange crane hire/delivery should you have access issues at your location.

Question 6

I'm unsure if an offset smoker is for me, convince me.

Accepted Answer

The flavours produced from a well-tuned offset are truly unique, and simply cannot be replicated by other cooking methods.

Adding wood chunks/chips in a regular barbecue will impart a different, often acrid flavour profile due to smouldering and incomplete combustion.

Pellet smokers are notorious for producing minimal, if any smoke flavour due to how efficiently the pellets are burned.

If you want to experience authentic low & slow barbecue, there's isn't a better choice than an offset smoker. Once you've tried it, there's no going back.

Question 7

I've never used an offset smoker before, can you offer some guidance?

Accepted Answer

Learning how to cook on an offset may seem daunting at first, but rest assured that we have designed our pits to run as smoothly as possible with a heavy emphasis placed on solving a lot of the common problems that people encounter with other pits.

We've prepared a handy user guide: https://www.leviathanpits.com/operating-your-pit to help you get up to speed as fast as possible. But please do reach out to us if you have any other questions or you would like a few pointers.

Whilst there is bit of a learning curve to using an offset smoker effectively, understanding the theory behind how they work, any problems you might encounter (and how to solve them) will have you cooking like a pro in no time.

Question 8

I'm just starting off on my offset smoker journey, shouldn't I start with a budget pit to gain some experience?

Accepted Answer

There are a few schools of thought for this question:

A. If you've never used any kind of barbecue before, we would recommend getting to grips with a kettle grill to learn the basics of starting a fire, heat zones and cooking with a live fire.

B. If you've had some past barbecue experience but find yourself interested in low & slow smoking, but still unsure whether cooking with an offset is for you, we'd recommend watching a few YouTube videos to gain an understanding of the process, and the pros and cons of using an offset. Better yet, there are lots of outdoor-focused cooking schools and barbecue events that we'd recommend attending to gain some first-hand experience

C. You've decided that the offset life is for you, but you're unsure what size or additional features your pit needs. In this scenario, we would always revert to the mantra of 'buy once, buy right'. This isn't a devious sales ploy, allow us to elaborate:

You'll soon be faced with the realisation that you'll need more cooking capacity as your skills and culinary ambitions progress. Rather than wishing you had more cooking real estate, nicer grill grates etc, we would argue it's a wiser decision to make a single lifetime purchase than several staggered purchases (this is not financial advice).

Secondly, larger offsets are much easier to operate, maintain more stable temperatures and have reduced refuelling times. By starting with a less well constructed/smaller offset, you might inadvertently dissuade yourself from the hobby due to the issues encountered, and lose out on the benefits of cooking on a larger/nicer pit in the process.

Question 9

Do you make smaller pits?

Accepted Answer

The smaller you make an offset smoker, the more likely you are to end up with a blast furnace.

Seasoned hardwood needs to be burned cleanly to avoid smouldering, in large enough quantities to maintain a coal bed and combust the next splits of wood upon refuelling.

Temperatures within the cooking chamber of a small offset <50 gallons will be very tricky to keep within the low & slow temperature range and you will be faced with huge temperature swings unless extremely small splits of wood are used as the fuel source. Keeping the fire lit will be an additional problem as maintaining a large enough coal bed will be very difficult due to how quickly small splits of wood burn.

There also needs to be enough air volume within the cooking chamber for the heat from the firebox to dissipate, otherwise you're effectively cooking with direct heat (defeating the purpose of having an offset firebox).

Question 10

Why are your pits so heavy in comparison to others?

Accepted Answer

In short, we don't believe in planned obsolescence or cutting corners to maximise profits, so we strive to use the most heavy-duty materials possible across all of our product ranges.

As purchasing a well functioning offset smoker requires a non-trivial amount of money, we want our customers to be assured that they are receiving a product that is truly built to stand the test of time, for generations to come.

Thinner metal is prone to warping from the extreme temperatures offset fireboxes are subjected to, as well as potentially rusting through over time. We would rather overbuild our pits to mitigate any of these potential issues from ever occurring.

Should you also wish to upgrade to another model at a later date, your pit will retain much more value than something less well constructed.

Question 11

Why are the fireboxes of your offsets so large?

Accepted Answer

By having a larger firebox you have the ability to move the fire closer or further away from the firebox throat, giving you another option for cooking temperature regulation. Additionally, by placing the fire closer to the firebox door there is less chance of flames inadvertently being sucked through into the cooking chamber.

Lastly, giving the fire more room to breathe, so to speak, allows for a less intense, gentler heat which means that larger fires can be built to extend refuelling times.

Question 12

Why aren't your pits painted?

Accepted Answer

No matter how careful you are, paint will chip, flake and scratch during the normal operation of an offset. This leaves you with very few options for rust prevention when this occurs.

Our pits are naturally-patinaed, then weatherproofed with a rugged polymerized linseed oil coating that can be maintained indefinitely with a light coat of oil as needed. Full maintenance instructions can be found in our user guide: https://www.leviathanpits.com/maintenance

Furthermore, due to the reduced costs of forgoing the painting process we are able to allocate more resources towards the overall construction and more important features.

Question 13

I've heard fire management baskets don't work, is this true?

Accepted Answer

There is some truth to this statement. A badly designed fire management basket will indeed make your pit run worse than without one.

Our Materia fire baskets are designed to concentrate the coal bed as splits burn down, which in turn 'powers through' newly added splits due to the intense condensed heat source. A common issue that people encounter is sub-optimal placement of newly added splits and struggling with greener wood - our Materia fire baskets help to solve both of these issues. The spacing of the fire grate and airflow slots have also been optimised to balance adequate airflow against allowing the coal bed to simply fall through the basket; another common issue of poorly designed fire management baskets.

There are also secondary benefits; being able to easily reposition the fire within the cooking chamber, as well as extending the life of the firebox by elevating the coal bed off the base of the firebox.

However, the use of a fire management basket still comes down to user preference - our pits are designed to operate both with and without them.

Question 14

Do your larger pits require a lot more wood?

Accepted Answer

Our pits have been designed with efficiency in mind, this means that there isn't a linear relationship between the cooking chamber volume and fuel consumption.

Initially, our larger pits will take slightly longer/more wood to reach a stable temperature due to their additional mass, but once the metal has become heat-soaked, our larger pits do not require much more wood to maintain a steady temperature than our smaller models.

Question 15

Can you make me something totally unique?

Accepted Answer

Yes! We offer a rapid prototyping service for small and large scale one-off items to help you develop your ideas into finished pieces.

It should be noted that bespoke items can come with a higher price tag due to the additional time allocated to the design & fabrication process.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I place an order for one of your pits?

What customisation options do you offer?

Do you have finance options?

Do you provide international shipping?

What shipping options are available for UK customers?

I'm unsure if an offset smoker is for me, convince me.

I've never used an offset smoker before, can you offer some guidance?

I'm just starting off on my offset smoker journey, shouldn't I start with a budget pit to gain some experience?

Do you make smaller pits?

Why are your pits so heavy in comparison to others?

Why are the fireboxes of your offsets so large?

Why aren't your pits painted?

I've heard fire management baskets don't work, is this true?

Do your larger pits require a lot more wood?

Can you make me something totally unique?

CONTACT

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Keep up to date with new product launches and news

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do I place an order for one of your pits?

What customisation options do you offer?

Do you have finance options?

Do you provide international shipping?

What shipping options are available for UK customers?

I'm unsure if an offset smoker is for me, convince me.

I've never used an offset smoker before, can you offer some guidance?

I'm just starting off on my offset smoker journey, shouldn't I start with a budget pit to gain some experience?

Do you make smaller pits?

Why are your pits so heavy in comparison to others?

Why are the fireboxes of your offsets so large?

Why aren't your pits painted?

I've heard fire management baskets don't work, is this true?

Do your larger pits require a lot more wood?

Can you make me something totally unique?

CONTACT

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST Keep up to date with new product launches and news

JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Keep up to date with new product launches and news