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Looking for a new smoker

H. Vachon

H. Vachon

King of the Hobo Hut
Joined
Aug 30, 2019
Messages
4,144
I’ve been looking into replacing my Cuisinart charcoal smoker. It’s cheaply built and doesn’t hold temp worth a damn. I’ve pretty much got my mind made up that I want to look into Digital electric smokers because I’m looking for a more “set it and forget it” approach. I hate having to babysit my charcoal smoker every 10 minutes for 8 hours so I hardly use it these days. I’m aware I won’t get as good of flavor with a digital but like I said, my intention is ease of use.

Im not close minded to LP smokers but I’ve heard they can be finicky as well. I’m limited to about a $250 - $300 price range. Just curious if anyone has any brand suggestions or brands/models to avoid. TIA!
 
Set and forget. So easy even I can use it.

I put a brisket flat on this morning at 6:30, and just wrapped it at the stall about 15 minutes ago.
IMG_20200314_100646.jpg
 
Just noticed your price range...Pit Boss has some smaller models that are a bit cheaper than this one which was $600 at Lowe's
 
I was looking at some digital models from Pit Boss and the reviews seem to be split. Some say they are decent, and there are a bunch of people
Who are having electronic failures. Though that could just be user error. I would like to have a bigger model like yours, but the footprint is also a deciding factor. We are a few years out from buying a new house and the one we currently own has a tiny single stall garage that I need to play Tetris with everytime I buy something lol
 
H. Vachon said:
I was looking at some digital models from Pit Boss and the reviews seem to be split. Some say they are decent, and there are a bunch of people
Who are having electronic failures. Though that could just be user error. I would like to have a bigger model like yours, but the footprint is also a deciding factor. We are a few years out from buying a new house and the one we currently own has a tiny single stall garage that I need to play Tetris with everytime I buy something lol
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PB has a compact "tailgater" version that is pretty portable.
Also, take the negative reviews with a grain of salt. (Same with the 5* ratings for a purchase that is only minutes old.) Any mass produced item will have failures, especially anything with electrical components. Where a company shines is their customer service. I've not had any reason to use them, but I've heard PB has good CS.
 
Scap said:
PB has a compact "tailgater" version that is pretty portable.
Also, take the negative reviews with a grain of salt. (Same with the 5* ratings for a purchase that is only minutes old.) Any mass produced item will have failures, especially anything with electrical components. Where a company shines is their customer service. I've not had any reason to use them, but I've heard PB has good CS.
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They have a LP vertical smoker that seems to fit my bill pretty well. It may not be as easy as a digital, but from what I’ve been reading it’s also less likely to fail. Have you ever used an LP smoker or only pellet?
 
Wally has a model in your budget.
You can keep it outdoors if you keep a cover on it. Assuming you have an outdoor area you can store it.
Screenshot_20200314-102521.png
 
Sadly the only safe place we would have to keep it is on the deck. I’m about to rebuild it this summer and my wife already has everything mapped out how she wants it, and despite my best efforts, there is no chance it’s going there. I’ve learned to pick my battles 🤣

I was looking at this guy here for $250. But I’ve never used a LP so I’m in the fence

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H. Vachon said:
They have a LP vertical smoker that seems to fit my bill pretty well. It may not be as easy as a digital, but from what I’ve been reading it’s also less likely to fail. Have you ever used an LP smoker or only pellet?
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I started with an offset wood burner that was handed down from my Pop. I used it until it was too rusty to bother with anymore.
Fast forward a few years and I just got this smoker a few months ago. I run it at least once a week, some weeks it's almost daily. It hits and holds temp so quick that my charcoal grill is feeling neglected.

LP: I've only used gas grilles. Actually, I've never seen an LP smoker around here. I have no doubt that any consistent heat source is adequate, but I'd certainly miss the smoke flavor unless you used a smoke tube in conjunction.
These are supposed to be pretty good for adding smoke

A-MAZE-N Products - Smoker Tubes, Fuel, Fire Starters, and More

A-MAZE-N Products builds and sells quality BBQ Smoker Tubes, smoker boxes, fire starters, wood pellets and Q-MATZ for gas, charcoal, and pellet grills.
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LP smokers still have a wood chip dish, so I could use the same pellets you put in yours, I would just have to refill it every two or three hours. Otherwise it can burn chips, or pucks. You would still get the same smoke flavor, it’s more the ease of use and the heat source that changes
 
Bah, humbug. I will always use a real smoker. Yea, I know; I'm old and opinionated, but sitting by the fire for hours is part of the fun. And besides, the wife don't give you shit. You're working. :p Be careful what you give up, you may miss it.

Doc
 
Devil Doc said:
Bah, humbug. I will always use a real smoker. Yea, I know; I'm old and opinionated, but sitting by the fire for hours is part of the fun. And besides, the wife don't give you shit. You're working. :p Be careful what you give up, you may miss it.

Doc
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I feel ya there Doc, I also love the taste of authentic smoke, but with the work schedule, I never have the time dedicate solely to smoking (outside of cigars/pipe that is 😉)
 
Went out to look around today just for shits and gigs and ended up finding this Masterbuilt pellet smoker on sale. I had to up my budget a little bit but I got the best of both worlds. Pellet fed while still having a smaller foot print. I put it up on the deck to preseason it/ show the wife how nice it would look up there 🤣 Thank you all for your advice!

F293003D-73EA-41CE-9C4A-F7CA580E7715.jpeg
 
I bought a Masterbuilt, last Fall after using an offset for years. I purchased the LP one and while I like it, the flame is pretty hard to keep it consistent. I need to do some mods, but it works and I've done a lot of things on mine. Most recently a pork butt, but I did a 16 lb turkey for Christmas and it turned out great.
 
H. Vachon said:
Went out to look around today just for shits and gigs and ended up finding this Masterbuilt pellet smoker on sale. I had to up my budget a little bit but I got the best of both worlds. Pellet fed while still having a smaller foot print. I put it up on the deck to preseason it/ show the wife how nice it would look up there 🤣 Thank you all for your advice!

View attachment 30131
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That's awesome.
Did you get a cover for it?
You will hate yourself if the pellets get wet in the hopper/auger.
 
I have to go back tomorrow to buy a cover. I assumed it came with one, because the display had one. I was wrong lol
 
I had my pellets bridge and the auger ran dry once. So now, I make it a habit to poke a stick in the hopper about once an hour if I see them starting to bridge a bit. Another note is to vacuum out the ash in the fire bowl. The manual will give you good info on what to do after use.
 
Well, I was secretly hoping you would go pellet. You didn't say, what model is this? Looks ready, I've got a fork and knife in hand.
 
Scap said:
I had my pellets bridge and the auger ran dry once. So now, I make it a habit to poke a stick in the hopper about once an hour if I see them starting to bridge a bit. Another note is to vacuum out the ash in the fire bowl. The manual will give you good info on what to do after use.
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Yeah, also, there’s a lot of ash and dust in the base of the smoker but hardly anything in the tray that’s supposed to catch the ash. Not sure if it’s because it was such a high temp the heat was lifting them up or if I have a problem. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow if there’s ash all over the pork from 215 degrees lol.
 
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