Ok, Im back...Finsally...LOL... darn computer died on me or I would have been back sooner.
I got the brinkman smoker I was talk about and here my opion of it.....
Assymbly was easy. Instruction sheet was detailed enough that it took about an hour and a half to put together. I recommend that you have someone assist though, I belive it would go faster with a little help.
I unpacked the entire contents and layed everything out. That help out a lot. The packageing of the screws, nuts, and bolts was cool. They were all placed on a cardboard sheet, seperated and labled then shrink wrapped. No more Pre-sorting!!!!!
The Next thing I liked about it, or more to the point, My wife liked was the adjustable charcoal shelf in the cooking chamber. Clean up is a breeze when the ashes have cooled. Just lift out and dump.
The instructions recommened pre-conditioning the entire grill / smoker by applying a light coating of cooking oil to the inside componets, the heating it up to cooking temps for about 2 hours, like a iron skillet.... did that to and glad I did. I missed a spot and rust started setting in after the third time I used it. Sanded that area down and repainted with grill paint.
Now the "bad" things.....
The Thermometer: If you get this model, spend the $15.00 for a real thermometer!!! the one that comes with it, well, ummm.... it shows "Warm, Ideal, Hot".....nuff said about that.
Charcoal tray: Great idea and works, but, before using, make sure the bottom try is securley attached to the grill section, it will come apart spilling the ashes, coals etc.
Smoker in genral: There is about 1/4" gap between the firebox and the cooking chamber. Needs a gasket of some sort. allows heat and smoke to escape, not a lot, but enough to be a temp control problem.
The firebox door area needs a little work too. the bottom of the opening has a 1/2" lip that makes raking out excess ashes out difficult. I will be cutting that lip out as soon as I can.
The rack inside the firebox is too narrow, not much clearance between it and the bottom of the firebox making it difficult to rake out the excess ashes. A wider grill would allow it to sit higher in the box, making more room at the bottom for raking.
Youll need a "raking" tool as well. I fashoned one out of an old stick and some scrap tin. I cut the tin to match the conture of the firebox, kinda like a cresesent moon and used a smal screw to attach it to the handle.
Overall, its a good smoker / grill and I look forward to to using it more often. My wife loves it as she cooks most of our meals on the grill side of it. (4-6 meals weekly).
On a scale of 1 -10, I give it a 6.5
