# Masterbuilt 7 in 1 Smoker Questions



## jmusser (Mar 4, 2021)

Just picked up a used one of Craigslist for $40 . Only have had electric before so looking forward to learning something new. Worst case its a new propane cooker. Wondering if anyone that has experience with one had any tips, tricks, etc.  Didn't have much luck in the search.






Looks like you can use the propane to light the coal? or do I need to start them in a chimney thing before?
Can you use straight wood chunks and propane to start em and supplement heat?
Can you smoke on the bottom rack right above water pan? or should I mod to bring higher up?
Any recommendations on charcoal to use? Just reg Kingsford type stuff or are there better options
Wood- chunks or chips?
Does the water pan really need to have a liquid in it?

Thanks in advance!  Jarod


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## Winterrider (Mar 4, 2021)

Interesting, have never seen that outfit before.


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## bill1 (Mar 4, 2021)

Not sure what sort of grates it has inside or how handy you are.  And I suspect the manufacturer's intent was the propane is the heat source throughout the cook and that you would have a chip box etc slightly above for smoke flavor.  The access port may just be to keep a water pan full, or maybe you could slide in an Amazen smoker tray or tube, chip box in there.  

But I agree, the propane burner could be a convenient way to start a charcoal and wood fire (no chimney needed) and then it's turned off afterwards.  It also allows you to go cheap on the wood fuel and when it's gone (as determined by dropping temps) you switch back on the gas, assuming your ash has not become an issue for the burner.  The smoke is of less importance for flavor at the tail end of the cook anyway.  

Kingsford briquettes leave too much ash for me.  My opinion  is that most any _lump _charcoal is good enough. Royal Oak has a faithful following here.  

Water pans are controversial here. I'd estimate about 3/4 of the bullet smoker folks use them (with liquid). Other cooker types see less love for water pans or moisture maintenance in general.  Some like beer, wine, juices, soda pops in their pans.  I suggest spritzing the meat with those (if you want)  and just use water in a water pan.


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## jmusser (Mar 4, 2021)

bill1 said:


> Not sure what sort of grates it has inside or how handy you are.  And I suspect the manufacturer's intent was the propane is the heat source throughout the cook and that you would have a chip box etc slightly above for smoke flavor.  The access port may just be to keep a water pan full, or maybe you could slide in an Amazen smoker tray or tube, chip box in there.
> 
> But I agree, the propane burner could be a convenient way to start a charcoal and wood fire (no chimney needed) and then it's turned off afterwards.  It also allows you to go cheap on the wood fuel and when it's gone (as determined by dropping temps) you switch back on the gas, assuming your ash has not become an issue for the burner.  The smoke is of less importance for flavor at the tail end of the cook anyway.
> 
> ...


Thanks Bill!
Interesting contraption here. Very flexible setup. Hope it works okay.

Messed around with it a bit today.  Needed new propane hose and did some cleaning. I can put in smaller chunks of charcoal and wood as it cooks.  and chips during cook but agree with as time goes on not as much needed. 

There is one grate right above water pan and one at top maybe 16" up. Found a manual and can cook on both racks. Trying to add a middle shelf too. Will prob get A MAZ N tray for cold smoking.

Never found the water needed in my electric but my newer Bradley needs it to put out pucks. It has a pan/tray with air flow allowed that holder of the fuel to be separated from the burner. 

Appreciate the advice and honesty!


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## cmayna (Mar 4, 2021)

Looks like a fun toy to play with.


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## MJB05615 (Mar 4, 2021)

Looks interesting, haven't seen that one bewfore.  I was recommended from this forum to use Walmart's brand of Lump and Briquettes.  Expert Grill brand. They're made by Royal Oak for a lot less.  I get a 8lb bag of lump for $5 and a 16lb bag of briquettes for $6 usually.  Used both and they burn hot and long.


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## jmusser (Mar 5, 2021)

MJB05615 said:


> Looks interesting, haven't seen that one bewfore.  I was recommended from this forum to use Walmart's brand of Lump and Briquettes.  Expert Grill brand. They're made by Royal Oak for a lot less.  I get a 8lb bag of lump for $5 and a 16lb bag of briquettes for $6 usually.  Used both and they burn hot and long.


Appreciate the advice and specifics. 
Being not many know of it, that scares me a little. I look forward to playing with this thing. Just take apart different chambers and shift around. Propane smoker, propane grill, deep fryer, boiler, charcoal smoker/charcoal grill, wood cooker. Might be fun to take camping. First use will actually be for a seafood boil today. LOL 
Sure the mods will begin and this thing will be a Frankenstein by the time I am done!


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## MJB05615 (Mar 5, 2021)

Sounds like you're gonna have some fun.  You sai you found an owner's manual for it?  That may help.  Post some pics as you go.


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## garyinmd (Mar 5, 2021)

I used one of those for many years, put wood chips in foil and poked holes in it for smoke.  Worked great at the time


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## bill1 (Mar 5, 2021)

In my gas grills I mount a cast iron pan or griddle over the burner and put chips or chunks inside.  Lots of variations on that them in the propane smoker section of this forum.   Not sure if this  bullet smoker will make that easy or hard to tend.


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## jmusser (Mar 6, 2021)

Alright.. here is the breakdown
1) Propane burner- used for seafood boil last night





2) Fire pan for charcoal and wood, stacks on top of propane stand or self standing





3) Water pan and bottom rack





4) Riser and top shelf
	

		
			
		

		
	











4) Lid






Got her smoking today with some wood chips and charcoal. Fired up quick with propane and have mostly had to supplement with some propane to keep in temp range. Really windy out here but holding its own so far!


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## Workaholic (May 29, 2021)

I have one of these.  Since I got my WSM, it has gone by the wayside.  My thoughts are that it definitely needs mods to be able to use it as a charcoal smoker.  No way to control the air.  No space for ash collection, either.  Haven't tried using the gas part, as I need to replace the hose on mine, too.  

I have tried to use the charcoal grill part, and found it lacking, as the charcoal wouldn't maintain enough heat to truly cook anything.  I may mess with mine a bit this summer to try to mod it a bit.  Not sure what I want to do with it yet.


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## Steve H (May 30, 2021)

You might want to read this:
Masterbuilt 7 in 1 Smoker – A Very Popular Choice (masterbuiltsmokercenter.com)

There is a recall on them.

Currently, the Masterbuilt 7 in 1 Smoker is not available for purchase due to a product recall that is related to a fire hazard. Consumers are being advised by the Consumer Product Safety Commission to stop using this product immediately and contact Masterbuilt at 800-489-1581 to get a new gas hose.


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## Workaholic (May 30, 2021)

Steve H said:


> You might want to read this:
> Masterbuilt 7 in 1 Smoker – A Very Popular Choice (masterbuiltsmokercenter.com)
> 
> There is a recall on them.
> ...



I've tried calling them.  Will try again in the near future.  Thanks for reminding me about that.


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## bill1 (May 31, 2021)

Workaholic said:


> I've tried calling them.  Will try again in the near future.  Thanks for reminding me about that.


They'll send you a new gas hose.  The old ones had weak fittings and could pull out.  5 failure reports with 1 reporting property damage from the fire.  
The bad hoses say Guangfang on them.  Wouldn't hurt if all of us check any propane hoses we've gotten in the last 10 years and ensure we don't have a similar problem


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## jmusser (May 31, 2021)

Thanks for the heads up. I appreciate it!


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## bill1 (May 31, 2021)

To be fair, it appears Guanfeng may strictly be a hose manufacturer.  Vendors that use it include Dozyant and Excelfu (no I am not making this up), as well as Flame King and Gaspro.  Clearly the fault in the Masterbuilt recall lies with the vendor who attached the (loose) fittings, and not necessarily the hose itself.  Identifying the hose manufacturer, stamped every foot or so on the hose, was adequate to identify the problem assembly, but shouldn't be used to cast aspersions on the hose manufacturer.


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## bill1 (May 31, 2021)

If anyone has this problematic Masterbuilt hose assembly, I'd love to know if it's CSA rated.  Many high pressure hose connections are stronger (to a pull-out test) under high pressure than low.  It would be a common mistake for a test lab to only test hose pull-out force at max pressure, erroneously assuming that's worst case.  

But The Code is not that forgiving.  IFGC 403.11.1 (2018) says hoses must withstand pull-out forces of the (equivalent) tensile strength of the base hose or more.  So Guangfeng 232968 (common 5/16 size) is rated 350 psi.  The tensile strength of the material should be 4X that or 1400psi.   So at a "quarter pipe" fitting (approx .5" dia or  .20 sq in) a "NRTL-listed" hose should have a 280 pound pull-out strength, regardless of pressure.  Almost certainly the problem hoses were failing at much less than that.  And of course, most cookers use such hoses on the low-pressure side of the regulator so they don't see anything like bottle pressure of 150-200psi.  

But again, this is probably not the fault of the hose but of the fitting, or the person/process attaching the fitting.  (Unless Guangfeng recommends a fitting/process that just can't work safely with their hose.)


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