Newbie needs help deciding

[volntitan]

OK...did some more searching. Need some input...

18" Smoke Vault at Academy for $149. But doesn't seem well built? Not sure.

I know I talked about "no charcoal", but someone brought up a good point. Yes Charcoal is messy. BUT he pointed out that I will have ash regardless and grease will still be produced outside of the unit regardless. So now wondering if the Weber Smokey Mountain should enter the picture. I know it gets great reviews, but I am concerned about the capacity. I would like to have something that I could cook some ribs and say turkey/chicken/roast at the same time.

Man...I wish I could be one of those people that can just go out and buy something without doing research.....

 

[volntitan]

OK...here are 2 "box" smokers I can get locally.

1) 18" Camp Chef from Academy

2) BBQ Grillware Smoker from Lowes. Don't know the dimensions yet.

Any thoughts on these units?

 

[kueh]

Couple of question not asked ....

How many people still grill now they have a smoker?

Who wished they had a larger smoker now ?

If you look through a lot of the posts here, the grill becomes a bit obsolete. Most foods seems to turn out better when cooked in a smoker. Sure, it takes more time, but lately, I've been appreciating better produced food.

The only problem is the skin on chicken turns out "rubbery", but can be crisped by a short time on a grill.

 

[watery eyes]

They don't carry the Regular or Big Block GOSM at your local WallyWorld...???

Of the lower priced gassers....the GOSM snd it's look-a-likes are super easy to operate and perfect your technique.

 

[kueh]

If the smoker from Lowe's is this one, then this is a good choice.
Found the other, choice comes down to looks and how much room. You need to have a look at them. Go for the larger one. you could get the smaller one, but soon you'll wish you got the larger one. Wider is better than taller (personal opinion).

 

[deejaydebi]

When it comes to size go bigger. I wise man once told me (Dutch I think? Maybe Gunslinger, anyway ...) whatever you think you need get the next bigger smoker. I'm glad I did! I almost bought the Camp Chef 18" I think Ron has it and seems to be very happy with it. Me? I bought the 24" wide and added the optional 5th rack after two weeks - but I am a smoke-junkie!

I like to have at least enough room to lay out a rack of ribs without fussing. After using my beloved ECB and the hassle of trying to get everything in there or out of there I wanted the biggest smoker I could find. The Camp Chef 24" wide was the one. Be careful of some of the ads. They sometimes list the height of the unit and say 38" smoker and the darn things only 17" wide! You can barely get a nice rack of ribs in there without cutting or curling!

I could have gotten the GOSM wide body but frankly it bothered me that so many people have them and had to make mods to get it to work right. SHouldn't we be able to buy something and have it work out of the box? I'm always afraid I'll void my warrentee and need it. I don't like to tweek during the warrentee period.


BTW it does look nice but it not just a smoker, it's also a bake oven and makes great pies (with or without smoke)

 

[volntitan]

Believe it or not, Walmart near us sells ZERO smokers. I went to see the one at Lowe's and it seems very sturdy. Heavier than the 18" Smoke Vault at Academy. But isn't as big. 4 racks and 16 x 16 approx.

 

[racingstudebakers]

I bought the Grillworks smoker from Lowes. I love the thing. There's a whole thread somewhere here about it. It has four racks and I think, plenty of room. It holds it's temp VERY well.

Oh, better hustle over and grab one! I was at Lowes yesterday and they just lowered the price to $139.00. I paid $169.00 but when I pointed out that I'd had mine for just a couple weeks, they gave me the difference back! I've sold three of these for Lowes, and we are havin' a ball!

Good luck with the hunt!

 

[watery eyes]

I'll have to do a search to see what mods people had to do on their GOSM and what type of GOSM it was.

My Big Block worked flawlessly right out of the box.....