Gateway Drum Smoker Straight Up 55G vs Hunsaker Vortex 55 Gallon Drum Smoker
vs
Quick take: The Hunsaker Vortex 55 Gallon Drum Smoker offers more cooking space (304 vs 22 sq in).
| Spec | Gateway Drum Smoker Straight Up 55G | Hunsaker Vortex 55 Gallon Drum Smoker |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ~$1,299 | ~$1,299 |
| Rating | — | 5★ (15) |
| Type | Charcoal Smoker | Charcoal Smoker |
| Cooking Area | 22 in grate, 3 cooking levels | One 304 stainless grate, 5 adjustable heights |
| Max Temp | 500°F | — |
| Fuel Type | Charcoal | Charcoal |
| Build Material | Powder-Coated Steel | Powder-Coated Steel with 304 Stainless Hardware |
| Hopper Capacity | — | — |
| Burners | — | — |
| WiFi / App | No | No |
| App control | No | No |
| Meat probe | No | No |
| PID controller | No | No |
| Side burner | No | No |
| Rotisserie | No | No |
| Searing | No | No |
| Dimensions | 33 x 35 x 48 in (shipping pallet) | 55-gallon drum |
| Weight | 130 lbs (shipping) | 110 lbs |
| Warranty | 1 year | 1 year |
Pros & cons
Gateway Drum Smoker Straight Up 55G
- ✓Two welded intake pipes plus an adjustable stack give genuine temperature control, which the sealed-drum designs deliberately do not
- ✓Three grate heights let you run hot-and-fast chicken close to the fire or brisket high in the barrel
- ✓Coating is rated to 1000°F, so it survives the hot spot around the intakes that burns paint off cheaper drums
- ✓High-capacity removable fire basket means long cooks without opening the drum to refuel
- ✓Arrives fully assembled on a pallet with the caster kit fitted - no build, no missing hardware
- ✓The 30-gallon version at $899 shares the whole design if you want the same cooker in a smaller footprint
- ✗$1,299 is triple the price of a Pit Barrel Classic that cooks by the same hanging method
- ✗Only nine reviews on Gateway's own store, so there is little independent data on long-term finish durability
- ✗130 lbs shipping weight and pallet-only delivery - no curbside handoff, and returns are expensive
- ✗No insulation, so cold-weather cooks burn through noticeably more charcoal
- ✗Nothing electronic: no probe ports, no fan port, no controller, and no thermometer beyond the one lid dial
Hunsaker Vortex 55 Gallon Drum Smoker
- ✓The lever intake has a printed scale, so a setting that produced 275°F last weekend produces 275°F again - rare on any drum
- ✓Vortex basket spreads heat around the drum rather than up the middle, which is the usual drum complaint about scorched centres
- ✓Five pinned grate heights that stay level, instead of the two or three fixed brackets most drums weld in
- ✓304 stainless grates, rib hanger and external hardware will not pit and flake the way chrome-plated parts do
- ✓Includes a stainless rib hanger with six meat hooks, so it hangs and grates out of the box
- ✓Made in Missouri with a factory that sells every individual part separately - a genuinely repairable cooker
- ✗$1,299 before you add a second grate or a logo plate, each $50 more
- ✗Fifteen reviews on the maker's own store is a thin sample for a purchase at this price
- ✗110 lbs and freight-shipped with a one-to-two week lead time - not something you pick up locally
- ✗No insulation and no electronics; the blower-fan intake that makes it controller-ready is a $95 option
- ✗Hunsaker publishes almost nothing about body steel gauge, which is the number drum buyers most want to compare