Help Choosing a Smoker for a Newbie

Like many, my family and I really enjoy grilling and BBQ. This past weekend we had fantastic smoked ribs and are now looking to purchase a smoker. Originally thinking it was going to be an easy purchase I'm really nowhere closer with deciding with what to buy.

I certainly cannot justify the Big Green Egg, or similar, for a first go-around; however, I don't want to spend $100 on a POS when spending $300 will give a quality product that will keep everyone happy. I'd appreciate positive and negative reviews for your equipment - I'm currently considering the Brinkmann Smoke 'N Grill (~$80) and the Weber Smokey Mountain 18.5 inch (~$300).

Many thanks in advance for taking time to give input.

Do you want electric, charcoal, gas, or pellet fuel. I use charcoal and electric. I have a masterbuilt electric and a home made charcoal. I prefer the flavor of charcoal over electric but the convince and easy-to-use properties of the electric make it a good choice also.

Sorry, excellent observation! I originally was looking for electric for convenience, but decided charcoal would deliver the better end product. I'm open to change and happy to be convinced otherwise.

I have a Treager electric pellet smoker. Love it! Turn it on, throw some meat on and sit there and drink beer all day!

Get the Weber Smokey Mountain. I have the 18.5" model and it is so easy to use and creates excellent food. I was going back and forth on what to get but finally dropped the cash when there was a coupon that worked and got it for around $270. I have yet to screw up any food it's that easy

With my electric I can come home from work turn it on, thaw a couple chicken breasts and have them ready to eat by 6:30. I can also throw a pork butt on it for 12-14 hours and not worry about leaving the house for a few minutes to do something. I do love my charcoal pit though, throw some pecan logs on there and let it go.

Real men build their own smokers.

My brother and I built a Ugly Drum Smoker (UDS) out of a 55 Gallon drum earlier this summer and have used it a number of times with great success. We have a two rack setup and have down multiple racks of ribs and pork shoulders at the same time.

Yes it requires work and effort but hey, so does making amazing beer.

There are plans all over the internet for UDS and the cost is around $100-$150 depending on what you want to do to it.

Like most charcoal smokers they require attention but at the end of the day you get to say you built the very smoker you used to smoke the food. Its quite rewarding.

Don't buy the $150 one at Lowes that runs off propane. I bought one and its garbage. It won't put out enough heat and leaks smoke like a sieve.

I own a BGE - but if I was doing it over again and budget minded - WSM! Seems like a whole lot of bang for your buck... plus tons of info out there on usage. If you have google, you should have no trouble mastering the WSM in a short time.

I have been using smokers of many different style and heat options. I recently purchased a Masterbuilt XL 40. This is a huge smoker! 1330 square inches of rack standard and room for more. Mine is propane powered, the MES 30, is the electric version, and great in it's own right. Like many smokers, tweaks can be done to improve their usage. I paid 199.99 at Amazon, and by signing up for Prime, I got two day no charge shipping. By only using the flame intensity w/o any mods, I can hold temps from 160 F through 300 F. The only time I need to open the smoker is to put more water in the water pan. I suggest you go to "Smokingmeatforums.com" There is wealth of info there, and opinions on probably every smoker/bbq made. Personally, i now prefer propane to electric, the electric may require less tending to sometimes, but i can't always have electricity out camping/etc.

I love my BGE. It is amazing but I understand not wanting to drop a dime on it (received mine as a wedding present, ie best present ever!) I would get the WSM if I needed another smoker now. I had a electric smoker than cost ~90 bucks and it would not get up to temps if the wind was breezy. I have seen the WSM at BBQ comps and they are nice. I say get it unless you decide to pony up the cash then get an egg....you won't regret it.

I second the UDS. If you're handy you can build it yourself easy in 2 or 3 hours. If you're not into that, there are kits available so you don't have to source all the parts. I've never used an egg, but I can tell you the UDS consistently turns out some of the best barbeque you could get. Once you get your temp dialed in it's "set it and forget it". You could probably smoke for over 24 hrs with a full basket of charcoal and not have to reload. It's super fuel efficient. Can you tell I'm biased? I'm all for cool toys, but these smokers are just so simple they will not fail you. Happy smokin'!

I bought a 18.5" Weber Smokey Mountain this spring and I love it. I got it used for $175 and it was in perfect condition. I would suggest also spending 50 bucks on a remote temperature gauge. Then go to cash and carry and buy their ridiculously cheap Lazzeri lump charcoal.

Sometimes it would be nice to have sliding racks, or even just the larger WSM, but most of the time it's perfect for my family.

Andy

i also have a UDS and love it. the only problem i have is i cant find a dome lid to fit the circumference of my uds so i cant smoke turkeys. but using the minion method for coal you can easily get 12 hours of cook time and its some of the best chow ive eaten. though im strongly contemplating selling it and my gas grill and buying a bge off craigslist.

I have a bge and smoked a butt last weekend for 16 hours and still have the charcoal left that I loaded up in it...roughly 4 lbs left. It's super efficient

Great feedback, thanks.

As nice as the BGE is I'd love to get it; however, it's really pricey and I recently bought a nice grill. I began considering the UDS before starting the thread, but the footprint on a 55 gallon drum isn't small and it'd force a big rearrangement of garage stuff - also it'd be a big challenge to effectively use that since its got so much cooking space.

The more I read about the brinkmann, the more it seems its got to be modified for good performance.

My manager is happy with the electric smoker he uses, but he too modified it to improve its performance.

For the moment, the WSM is in the lead, but I'm not ready to decide yet.

Any other good/bad reviews are still very appreciated.

I always enjoy this video of doing a pork butt on a WSM:

BrewWNC said:

Like most charcoal smokers they require attention

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My WSM doesn't require any attention.

The only reason I mess with it is because it's boring to just let it sit there and do it's thing.

Quadrupled said:

For the moment, the WSM is in the lead, but I'm not ready to decide yet.

Any other good/bad reviews are still very appreciated.

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UDS' are nice if you are into DIY.

WSM straight of the box is wonderful. My only complaint about it is that you can't add a lot of charcoal through the door; but then again - you shouldn't need to add any charcoal unless you're cooking for more than 24 hours.

I went with the camp chef 24" smoke vault a couple years ago and am very pleased with my purchase. It's propane powered and allows me some automation without losing all control. The automation is the propane power. I no longer need to be keeping coals on hand and ready, or swapping in fresh coals with old ash. Plus I retain control of the wood I choose to use versus a pellet burner. I can harvest wood from fruit and nut trees in my area for free most times. Apple has by far been my favorite for pork ribs.

I love my WSM. Under $300, easy to use, and I've gotten it so that it will go for 22 hours straight or more on a single load of coals. I added a DigiQ controller and now can even do overnight cooks in the middle of Wisconsin January.

Oh, and Mem Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, home Depot has a huge sale on charcoal. 40.4 lbs of Kkngsford blue for $10. I think Ive bought 180 lbs so far this summer.

WSM is a good choice, but I personally prefer an off-set smoker. If you choose to go that route there are many regional brands (depending on where you live), so the brands we have in Texas may not be available where you live. The key is you want a smoker that can hold the heat, otherwise any savings you may have from your purchase will be wasted on fuel if you end up going with a thin, flimsy metal like you will find at Home Depot or Lowes.

You want a smoker that is thick and solid as it will hold temperature much easier. I have an original New Braunsfel smoker (before charbroil bought them out) which is made from very thick metal. I can smoke a brisket for 18 + hours off of a 1/4 bag of lump charcoal and 3-4 small pecan logs.

Even more great feedback, thanks again.

jammin, great video!

AZ_IPA said:

UDS' are nice if you are into DIY.

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I do enjoy DIY (keggles, keezer, home projects), but the UDS would be more fitting to my family if it was a bit smaller maybe ~25-30 gallons. I expect these smaller sizes may be available as well, but I'm pretty certain I'll take the path of least resistance with a ready-made smoker.

I don't think I'll pull the trigger for a few days, so opinions are still useful. Again, thanks to everyone.

I love my WSM. It's so easy.

JonM said:

I love my WSM. Under $300, easy to use, and I've gotten it so that it will go for 22 hours straight or more on a single load of coals. I added a DigiQ controller and now can even do overnight cooks in the middle of Wisconsin January.

Oh, and Mem Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, home Depot has a huge sale on charcoal. 40.4 lbs of Kkngsford blue for $10. I think Ive bought 180 lbs so far this summer.

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Not that I'm going to buy it, but how does the controller work? Does it control temperature just through air flow?

Another vote for the WSM. I just bought one in June when I decided my cheap offset smoker wasn't doing the job. I'm still getting used to controlling temps by manipulating the vents, but the end product has been outstanding.

Quadrupled said:

Not that I'm going to buy it, but how does the controller work? Does it control temperature just through air flow?

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Yeah pretty much. I'm about to jump into it with my WSM. There is a fan that is mounted to one of the air inlets on the bottom and the other 3 are closed off. Then there is a temp probe that you put on the cooking grate and it's all connected to a control panel/box if you will. Set your temperature and the fan will kick on allowing air in to raise the temp. Once you're at your temp it shuts the fan off until it drops. Kind of like a RIMS/HERMS system in brewing using a PID

^yup

I use a BBQ Guru on my BGE. I hold temps within +1/-1 degree no matter the weather. Sleep like a baby overnight. 16+ hour smokes worry free. SWMBO bought it for me for my birthday :rockin:

Quadrupled said:

Not that I'm going to buy it, but how does the controller work? Does it control temperature just through air flow?

Click to expand...

Yep, close two vents, and attach a little 10 cfm fan to the remaining vent. The DigiQ is connected to the fan, and it has a probe that you clip to the grill grate. If the temp drops a bit, the controller tells the fan to blow in a little air and stokes the coals back up to the right temp. Keeps the temp rock solid for hours and hours.

And it has another probe in the meat, so you can just look at a display to keep an eye on the food temp without opening the lid and losing heat.

JonM said:

And it has another probe in the meat, so you can just look at a display to keep an eye on the food temp without opening the lid and losing heat.

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almost forgot about that... my guru runs the pit temp down to a minimum once the meat probe registers set temp. overcooked meat... not even once

Oh, and for the OP, DigiQ is a thing made by BBQ Guru - we're both talking about the same awesome little gadget.

Quadrupled said:

Great feedback, thanks.

I began considering the UDS before starting the thread, but the footprint on a 55 gallon drum isn't small and it'd force a big rearrangement of garage stuff - also it'd be a big challenge to effectively use that since its got so much cooking space.

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What's the footprint on the WSM? I'm not familiar with those smokers, but the grill that goes in a UDS is the same one out of the 22" Weber. Which means the drum is about 24" diameter I guess. I've got only one rack in mine and I don't feel like it's a lot of room at all. In fact, I'm considering adding another rack below the current one for more capacity. We're a family of three and most of the time it's plenty of room. But occasionally for a party or event where you want to do ribs, you'll want more room. Two big pork butts will feed a lot of people, and you'd be stuffing the drum pretty full to get two 9 or 10 pounders in there without touching the sides.
The great thing about the UDS is that it works equally as well if I put on one chicken, or a big brisket. Same fuel usage and stays super moist every time. That's my two cents.

I've got a WSM and it's a great smoker. Check out http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ for loads of good info.

I have a Bradley smoker that works awesome. I also have a traeger, but those are pretty expensive. I have the big one and it was $900. I spent $300 on the Bradley.

I've had 4 different smokers over the years and have went to WSM the last few years - it is awesome.... If I ever needed another smoker, I would buy another WSM.

Thank you Quadrupled for asking the question and thank you HBTers for once again bringing the experienced opinions!

I was spoiled by my FILs heavy duty offset and have been gimping along with my Brinkman Smoke n Grill since moving to CO. It sounds like the WSM is a much better unit but I dont like getting down on my knees to add wood through the little hatch or stoke up the coals. I really like offsets but I can't afford a really nice heavy one and I don't think I'll be happy with the light metal on the Charbroil offerings.

Any suggestions on a decent offset in the price range of the WSM?

worthogg said:

What's the footprint on the WSM? I'm not familiar with those smokers, but the grill that goes in a UDS is the same one out of the 22" Weber. Which means the drum is about 24" diameter I guess. I've got only one rack in mine and I don't feel like it's a lot of room at all. In fact, I'm considering adding another rack below the current one for more capacity. We're a family of three and most of the time it's plenty of room. But occasionally for a party or event where you want to do ribs, you'll want more room. Two big pork butts will feed a lot of people, and you'd be stuffing the drum pretty full to get two 9 or 10 pounders in there without touching the sides.
The great thing about the UDS is that it works equally as well if I put on one chicken, or a big brisket. Same fuel usage and stays super moist every time. That's my two cents.

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yeah the UDS uses the grill surface from the largest one touch grill which is 22.5" diameter which puts the drum diameter around 24". all the drums are different sizes but some allow you to use the lid off of the largest weber with no fitament problems. they do take up a good amount of space. but cost, fuel use and quality of chow is stellar. people have added 2nd racks to their UDS with no problems. 2 10lb boston butts is a lot of meat and it would be tight. this is the site i used to build mine. http://www.thepickledpig.com/forums...32-our-uds-cooker-how-build-one-part-1-a.html the only difference in this one and mine is i mounted the thermometer just below the grill rack to get the temp of my cooking surface. i actually built one for me and one for the in laws camp. they use it all the time and love it. they want mine if i go to a BGE

additionally no matter what smoker you are using mostly if its basket type you should google minion method for starting your fire. you use way less coal and sustain the fire for a much greater period of time.

worthogg said:

What's the footprint on the WSM? I'm not familiar with those smokers, but the grill that goes in a UDS is the same one out of the 22" Weber. Which means the drum is about 24" diameter I guess. I've got only one rack in mine and I don't feel like it's a lot of room at all. In fact, I'm considering adding another rack below the current one for more capacity. We're a family of three and most of the time it's plenty of room. But occasionally for a party or event where you want to do ribs, you'll want more room. Two big pork butts will feed a lot of people, and you'd be stuffing the drum pretty full to get two 9 or 10 pounders in there without touching the sides.
The great thing about the UDS is that it works equally as well if I put on one chicken, or a big brisket. Same fuel usage and stays super moist every time. That's my two cents.

Click to expand...

Well, my recollection of the drum dimensions was completely wrong ~ 3.5' tall x 2.5' diameter. Although its still larger than the 18.5" WSM that I'm considering.

I'm really beginning to lean pretty hard toward the WSM. Maybe I'll eventually desire more space with the two-racked UDS, but time will tell.

Thanks to everybody for the input!

Random thought here, but Know what else is fun with the two-rack 18.5 WSM? Hanging sausages under the top grate for smoked sausages.

These are just linked Polish sausages hanging from some all-stainless steel hooks I got from McMaster-Carr.

JonM said:

Random thought here, but Know what else is fun with the two-rack 18.5 WSM? Hanging sausages under the top grate for smoked sausages.

These are just linked Polish sausages hanging from some all-stainless steel hooks I got from McMaster-Carr.

Click to expand...

Love it!

JonM said:

Random thought here, but Know what else is fun with the two-rack 18.5 WSM? Hanging sausages under the top grate for smoked sausages.

These are just linked Polish sausages hanging from some all-stainless steel hooks I got from McMaster-Carr.

Click to expand...

I love HBT and all the awesomeness everyone brings to the forums.