Help me buy my first smoker

[phaphaphooey]

Long time listener, first time caller. I have enjoyed friends' smoked shoulders for years but always knew I didn't have the patience to smoke something myself until I learned about electric smokers. This I think I can handle. I have spent a long time reading on the forum and plan to get a MES 30 or equivalent as I don't anticipate smoking a large enough volume to justify a 40 as I can't see doing more than 1 or 2 shoulders at a time or 3 or 4 turkey breasts at Thanksgiving. Further, I plan to keep it in a garage and carry it to my patio when I use it so I like the lighter weight of the 30 models as I can drill the sides and install the handles for ease of carrying. I plan to just invest in a PID when the built in controller craps out. I plan to get the Amazon pellet tray as well.

To save money, I intended to buy an analogue MES 30 and just install a PID but from what I have read the analogues are not insulated whereas the digital ones are so, it sounds like digital it is. I guess my main question is, is there a difference between the MES 30 and the Smoke Hollow 30 aside from 4 racks vs 3 and the external wood chip filler? I know that they are both owned by Masterbuilt. I am not sure I care about 3 vs 4 racks as I will only be smoking fairly large stuff, no jerky or anything where I will need lots of rack volume. Also I don't care about the wood chip filler as I will get a pellet tray but I have read that some people pull the wood chip filler out a little bit to get the pellets to burn a little better so if that is the case maybe I should care about the external wood filler. I do like that the analogue models tend to have a 1500ish watt element whereas both of the digital models I am considering only have an 800 watt element. The Smoke Hollow is $50ish cheaper than the Masterbuilt so that is certainly alluring.

Please critique my thought process or bring up things I am not thinking of. I want to smoke all the meats just like you guys.

 

[phaphaphooey]

I keep on waffling back and forth. I would really rather buy a cheaper analogue and go ahead and get a PID so I can get great temp control but it seems that the analogues often have poor insulation but higher wattage elements which is confusing. Also I know the MES analogue basically just has a hole drilled in the top of the cavity and doesn't have a proper vent. Any clarity is appreciated.

 

[RichGTS]

I would say get the largest smoker you can - All good points above - I had a 30 and went to a 40 only because I wanted to be able to put a full slab of ribs across the racks without putting them at a angle or cutting them.

 

[4x15mph]

Long time listener, first time caller. I have enjoyed friends' smoked shoulders for years but always knew I didn't have the patience to smoke something myself until I learned about electric smokers. This I think I can handle. I have spent a long time reading on the forum and plan to get a MES 30 or equivalent as I don't anticipate smoking a large enough volume to justify a 40 as I can't see doing more than 1 or 2 shoulders at a time or 3 or 4 turkey breasts at Thanksgiving. Further, I plan to keep it in a garage and carry it to my patio when I use it so I like the lighter weight of the 30 models as I can drill the sides and install the handles for ease of carrying. I plan to just invest in a PID when the built in controller craps out. I plan to get the Amazon pellet tray as well.

To save money, I intended to buy an analogue MES 30 and just install a PID but from what I have read the analogues are not insulated whereas the digital ones are so, it sounds like digital it is. I guess my main question is, is there a difference between the MES 30 and the Smoke Hollow 30 aside from 4 racks vs 3 and the external wood chip filler? I know that they are both owned by Masterbuilt. I am not sure I care about 3 vs 4 racks as I will only be smoking fairly large stuff, no jerky or anything where I will need lots of rack volume. Also I don't care about the wood chip filler as I will get a pellet tray but I have read that some people pull the wood chip filler out a little bit to get the pellets to burn a little better so if that is the case maybe I should care about the external wood filler. I do like that the analogue models tend to have a 1500ish watt element whereas both of the digital models I am considering only have an 800 watt element. The Smoke Hollow is $50ish cheaper than the Masterbuilt so that is certainly alluring.

Please critique my thought process or bring up things I am not thinking of. I want to smoke all the meats just like you guys.

Have you looked at the Masterbuilt gravity series. It is a smoker that uses charcoal and includes a controller. It is not a top end choice but either are the MES'. It depends on how much you want fire vs. electric but it is close in terms of being automatic/controlled

 

[phaphaphooey]

Thanks for the input. Definitely want electric as ease of use is paramount. Set it and forget it style. Honestly I am leaning towards the Char-Broil analogue at the moment since it seems to be the only (reasonably priced) analogue that has an insulated body. Vent design looks decent as well. I assume it would be a nice little smoker once paired with a PID. Thoughts?

 

[Kevin DeShazo]

My first and current smoker is a MES40. It fits perfectly for me and the family of 4. Ive from packer brisket to jerky in it.

Ive had it for a few years and still use the loader tube, not a tray. Thought about a tray and still may do it, but I like to add some bourbon barrel char to the wood on occassion and dont think that would work in the tray or tube.

I havent used the Smoke Hollow but I can definitely recommend the MES

 

[kmmamm]

Given your criteria, the MES is probably your best bet. Whether you need insulation is going to be determined by where you live and the weather conditions you anticipate smoking in. If you are in a warm climate, you probably will not notice much difference. If you are in a cold climate and plan on smoking thru the winter, it will be very helpful. Unless space is a huge issue, consider spending a bit extra to get the MES40. Yes, it cost a bit more, but I am willing to bet the more you smoke, what once seemed like a lot of “extra” space will quickly be utilized. I have a corral full of very fine smokers both big and small to chose from and yet there are still times when the trusty MES40 is the right choice.

 

[phaphaphooey]

Thank you all. I guess what I am struggling with is that I don't see the utility in purchasing a digital electric smoker if I am just going to bypass the digital guts anyway and get a PID setup. In that case, it seems like paying for something that I won't use and the smart money is to go analogue + PID. The only thing I would be lacking is that only the digital ones tend to be larger and thus it would be hard to find a 40 equivalent in analogue format as almost all are 30 sized.

 

[kmmamm]

Sorry. me does think you are over thinking this. Buy an electric smoker, use it, then decide what upgrades you do /don’t want.

 

[phaphaphooey]

That describes my entire life.

 

[Kevin DeShazo]

Find a good deal on a MES 40 and get on. I was overthinking when my choice of smoker. What helped me decide was one hell of a sale on the 40s at the time.