Help me pick my next smoker

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gutshotem

Newbie
Original poster
Jan 7, 2016
5
10
Hello all, long time lurker-first time poster.

So long story short, I just ended a two year relationship with an abusive 2nd Gen 40"MES. Thankfully, I bought the extended warranty so I'll be receiving either a refund or cabelas store credit for $320ish in the next few weeks.

I think I'm done with the electric game at this point. I also already own an 18" WSM and plan on purchasing a BGE in a year or so when I get a deck built. 

I'm looking to have something easier to work with, hence my interest in propane. 

I will also be using this smoker for snack sticks and hopefully some sausage at some point so something able to get down low in temp is needed. 

It needs to be similar in size or larger than my 40" MES because I do like to cook for family and friends and it's also nice to do larger batches of sticks when I butcher a deer.

Lastly, if I can use my Cabelas credit that would be a plus but not completely necessary.

So what says you guys? Am I looking in the right direction? Would a pellet smoker be a better option than propane? 

Thanks in advance.
 
Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn and share ideas. The search bar works great for finding info. If you don't find an answer, start a thread and wait for several different answers.
I myself have a Gen1 mes 40 that I love using and a couple of charcoal smokers so I can't help with the question of pellet or propane. Best of luck.

Smoke it up
William
 
Thanks William. 

Anybody else have any suggestions? 

I looked at the two masterbuilts at cabelas yest. The double door with the window is nice but I'm not sure if it's worth almost double the money over the single door 44" model. Anyone think different or have any other suggestions?
 
I've got a Masterbuilt 40" glass door smoker and really don't care for it. It doesn't produce much smoke at low temps and I can't get it to go above 300 on high, in cold temps maybe 240. Not good for chicken. Constantly having to check temp.

Just purchased a smoke tube to help with the smoke, I think I'm going to a BGE or Pit barrel cooker.
 
What are you looking to smoke? Propane can be great but also hard to control at lower temps. A needle valve mod can help with that. I use my propane smoker for sausage, jerky, smoked fish and it takes a bit of babysitting even with the needle valve. I will eventually set up a home built electric smoker with a PID controller. Then my propane smoker won't have a use anymore. All the other meats I smoke go in the WSM or mini-WSM.
 
Not much of a selection at Cabela's. As Case pointed out, Gasser's are good and can be modified to go low but you need to babysit them, the slightest wind and you are scrambling to relight. Of what Cabela's has, the Masterbuilt Sportsman Elite 40 gasser is a good price but the 44" is bigger. Worth twice the price? If I am spending Cabela's credit, your investment already made, I would probably go for it. Besides if I went cheaper, my wife would want something or money back...
wife.gif


I have been researching Pellet grills and none I found go below 150°F and anything under $800 has a crap controller and is very small...JJ
 
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What are you looking to smoke? Propane can be great but also hard to control at lower temps. A needle valve mod can help with that. I use my propane smoker for sausage, jerky, smoked fish and it takes a bit of babysitting even with the needle valve. I will eventually set up a home built electric smoker with a PID controller. Then my propane smoker won't have a use anymore. All the other meats I smoke go in the WSM or mini-WSM.
I'll be smoking a lot of different things on until I get a BGE in another year or so. I guess i smoke ribs, pulled pork, and chicken the most but I also like venison snack sticks and want to get into sausage more. The only thing I don't really see myself smoking much is fish. 

I'm a little dismayed to hear that propane needs to be babysat as much as it sounds. Like I said, my 2nd Gen MES40 was a nightmare with temp swings etc. I don't mind tinkering a little and have read up on the needle valve replacement. 

Perhaps I should take a second look at the basic MES30 for my set it and forget it needs. They don't seem to have as much trouble as the 40". 
 
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