Smoker advice

[Knob Creek]

I have never agonized over buying anything like this before. I've used a charcoal smoker for years now and had good results. But it is a lot of work and difficult on colder days to keep the temp up. Now it is just my wife and I so I'm looking for something easier. The electric units seem to have the elements burn out. Looking now to move to propane. Maybe a Smoke Vault.

 

[robjax]

As soon as it arrives and I do the test burn I'll add some pics...

Ok, so it arrived....It seems a very beefy item. Haven't tried it yet. In looking at it the only thing that seems a disappointment is that the basket on the bottom is only attached with four spot welds in ther bacxk and 6 across the front....It's about a 40 dollar difference for this upgrade for the 22" I would have expected to have run the whole seam. Could be to allow for expansion and contraction with heating and cooling. We'll see...Anyway, for the first few times I use it this shouldn't be an issue....

here are some pick of the item i just received. not used yet...Just got it and opened it...

 

[dogdoctor]

For those that are purists - you can't beat charcoal and wood chips/chunks. I'd love to have a BGE - but it's not in the cards at this point. For those that would like the set it and forget it style (it really has it's benefits), then I have to recommend the Bradley Smoker. I smoked on very poorly made (cheap) vertical smoker grill for years until it fell apart. Then I moved to the kettle style grill and just smoked with that too. It wasn't until my father bought be the Bradley as an anniversary gift that I finally saw the benefit [to me] of an electric smoker. It also gives me the chance to smoke cheese in the winter very easily.

* plus there is a very active online community and hacks you can do to a Bradley - like adding a second heating element if you really like smoking during the colder months.

 

[robjax]

Ok, so it arrived....It seems a very beefy item. Haven't tried it yet. In looking at it the only thing that seems a disappointment is that the basket on the bottom is only attached with four spot welds in ther bacxk and 6 across the front....It's about a 40 dollar difference for this upgrade for the 22" I would have expected to have run the whole seam. Could be to allow for expansion and contraction with heating and cooling. We'll see...Anyway, for the first few times I use it this shouldn't be an issue....

here are some pick of the item i just received. not used yet...Just got it and opened it...

ok...so the test burn is happening here...

You can see I place the element into the grill. Fists very nicely. I am also creating a starter stack of 12 briquettes.

I have placed the briquettes into one corner as instructed.

Here you can see that I have added the rest of the briquettes and the one quart of water as instructed.

The burn seems to be progressing nicely.

Just put the lid with the thermometer on..

The temp is 225' after 10 minutes...

Just charcoal but you see the smoke is pretty heavy..

The grill thermometer is no good for this as it is in the upper heat zone. I need to get something I can lay on the grill grate to see what the temp is there. But with the lid off I can hold my hand in the cook chamber for a while so it is definitely cooler than the thermometer indicates. So still more testing but the next test will be cooking. I may also need to teak the air flow.

If I turn the lid around it;s about 100 degrees cooler. So definitely need something to lay on the grate for a more accurate temp reading of the cooking area.

 

[thorin]

If I turn the lid around it;s about 100 degrees cooler. So definitely need something to lay on the grate for a more accurate temp reading of the cooking area.

I use an inexpensive oven thermometer on the grate next to the meat and it seems to work pretty well.

 

[robjax]

I use an inexpensive oven thermometer on the grate next to the meat and it seems to work pretty well.

Thanks fort that tip...I'll get one this week....this burned all day...so that's nice for smoking small items...

 

[JAYNOSE79]

Nice. I haven't used mine yet because of all the rain this weekend. I am smoking a brisket this weekend for the pats game so I will get some use out of it.

 

[robjax]

Nice. I haven't used mine yet because of all the rain this weekend. I am smoking a brisket this weekend for the pats game so I will get some use out of it.

I was amazed at how long it burned. I would have had a longer burn if i restricted the vents earlier. I have to pick up some nice apple wood chunks. I only have a bag of the chips for the gas grill smoker trays. I think this will work just fine. I work from home so I might not wait until the weekend...lol