# Char-Broil Deluxe Digital Electric Smoker



## Bummed (Jul 12, 2016)

Well look what showed up on my door today. I know this forum is very heavily MES but I really like the features of this. I'll post a proper review once I get to use it.













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Everything arrived in 100% working order no dents or extra screws and the sticker came off the window easily. 













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Seasoned it properly and now it's ready to go! 













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## SmokinAl (Jul 13, 2016)

Looks like a great smoker!

Can't wait to see it in action!

Al


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## hardcookin (Jul 13, 2016)

Always great to get a new smoker! Enjoy!!


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## Bummed (Jul 13, 2016)

I am very impressed with it so far.  I smoked up some large mouth bass to break it in. 













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Yes that's a turkey platter, the filets were huge! 

Brined it in salt sugar and water for 6 hours and let them sit out on rack for an hour while the smoker pre heated and smoked them at 200 for 1.5 hours on cherry wood.  No added spice and they were out of this world! 













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Doing my first butt on Friday I can't wait!


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## nc-grayson (Jul 20, 2016)

Any updates here? I'm new to smoking and have the chance to pick this smoker up for free. I've read mixed reviews on amazon. Hows it holding up?


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## smokesontuesday (Jul 20, 2016)

If it's free get it. You're not out anything except some time if it sucks.


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## Bummed (Jul 20, 2016)

Sorry for the lack of updates, yes I did a butt last Friday and it turned out so good.  Sorry I don't have pics but the smoker is working great. 

I picked mine up at Sam's club for $215 with free shipping.  If you can get it for free I would jump on it. 

If you have any specific questions let me know.!


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## Bummed (Aug 1, 2016)

I finally got my pictures from my damaged phone of my pork butt. 













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It was my first and I decided to go full out Jack Daniels. Used the JD mustard for the binder and JD pork rub topped with some brown sugar.













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Wrapped it and let it sit overnight. 













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Used Jack Daniels wood chips mixed with some cherry.  Put it in 5am @220 and it took it out at 2pm.













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It turned out amazing! The bone slid right out and the PP just melted in my mouth. 













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Froze the leftovers and reheated in the oven and it turned out just as good. 













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## barefooter (Dec 1, 2016)

Im getting the step down from the smoker you have ( Char Broil Digital Electric Smoker)

I have read some reviews on them and a lot of people are saying to use the wood box without the cover. have you found this out to be that case?


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## Bummed (Dec 7, 2016)

I know what you are saying and I did try it and the chips caught fire so beware of that if you try it. I've never had an issue with the wood chip box though, it will smoke for a good 6 hours or more which is way more than you will need for most smokes.

Hope you like yours as much as I do!


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## cashxx (Dec 8, 2016)

One thing I like about that Char-Broil smoker is that it cooks the meat to the desired temp and then the smoker goes into warming mode!  I don't think Masterbuilt has that feature, you set a temp you want it to run at and then a timer for how many hours, which makes no sense to me.  If I would have known that I think I may have gone with the Char-broil as well!  One thing I like better on the Masterbuilt though is the optional cold smoking unit you can hookup up to it, but it seems more people go with the A-MAZE-N Maze tray for the smoke. Also get a 1 year warranty with the Char-Broil vs 90 days with Masterbuilt.


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## simon templar (Dec 21, 2016)

Bummed...

Keep us updated on all of this.  I am looking at the 40" version as well.  Unless I run across a screaming deal somewhere, I'm not planning on pulling the trigger til the weather turns....so I have lots-O-time for research.

I get lots of conflicting information on them, however. Some say that they won't smoke deep enough to make a smoke ring where others say they do great. Some say they get warm enough...some say they get too warm.  

I'm about to pull  my hair out.  And at my age...that's not a good idea.

....sT


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## smokesontuesday (Dec 22, 2016)

Electric smokers don't produce a smoke ring. 

The ring is just for looks anyway so it doesn't really matter but if you want a ring you're going to have to look at another smoking method.


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## simon templar (Dec 22, 2016)

SmokesOnTuesday said:


> Electric smokers don't produce a smoke ring.
> 
> The ring is just for looks anyway so it doesn't really matter but if you want a ring you're going to have to look at another smoking method.


Yes, I know it's just a looks thing.  I mentioned it and the rest more as an illustration of all the conflicting information I've run across.

I keep bouncing back and forth between the masterbuilt 40 b/t digital 40 and the CharBroil b/t 40.  Looked at the Landmann 40 for a little while...and might still be were it not that it's apparently been discontinued already (hmmm...what does THAT say?)

I've had pretty good luck with Charbroil grills in the past (with a couple notable exceptions)...but I am leaning more and more Masterbuilt on this round.

....sT


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## simon templar (Dec 22, 2016)

SmokesOnTuesday said:


> Electric smokers don't produce a smoke ring.
> 
> The ring is just for looks anyway so it doesn't really matter but if you want a ring you're going to have to look at another smoking method.


Yes, I know it's just a looks thing.  I mentioned it and the rest more as an illustration of all the conflicting information I've run across.

I keep bouncing back and forth between the masterbuilt 40 b/t digital 40 and the CharBroil b/t 40.  Looked at the Landmann 40 for a little while...and might still be were it not that it's apparently been discontinued already (hmmm...what does THAT say?)

I've had pretty good luck with Charbroil grills in the past (with a couple notable exceptions)...but I am leaning more and more Masterbuilt on this round.

....sT


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## barefooter (Jan 1, 2017)

ON your smoker does it run hot? and does it tell you the cabin temp?? or just the set temp

Got My New Gift out of the box all looks good. Seasoned it properly and now it's ready to go!

Then the fun started doing a pork loin have the smoker set at 225° to hit an IT of 145°

1 hr into it the meat is at 110° so I break the #1 rule and open the door to see that my oven thermometer is at 325°

so i kicked the smoker down to 100° now the cabin temp drop to around 225°-250° with the door cracked open.

So I called Char-Broil and they are sending me new parts.

All in all the meat turn out great (my wife not big on smoked flavor said you can make this again) so that's a good sign

so we will see what round two bring with the new parts(no parts yet)

I Exchanged it at the store for the same model and im getting the same results....


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## old sarge (Jan 1, 2017)

If the second unit is doing no better than the first but the final results are good, you may just have to live with it.  Or you could look at a whole other animal like the units from Smokin-it.  They are more expensive than what you see in various stores but they work very well.


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## Bummed (Jan 1, 2017)

I replied at your thread, but mine does not show actual temp. I set mine for 225 and then set the time for a lot longer than I need it so that it will stay on. I have an iGrill2 to monitor internal temp.


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## tkelsey25 (Apr 9, 2017)

I have a masterbuilt electric smoker and it produced a smoke ring. Pork shoulder and turkeys smoke great on it. I have a pellet smoker for ribs and everything else. For a beginner the electric smokers are great. That's how I got started.


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## ou812dano (Jun 11, 2017)

The ambient temp outside makes a big difference on how hot it runs. I'm having trouble getting good smoke at lower temps with mine though. Any pointers?


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## Bummed (Jun 13, 2017)

I generally don't get any smoke below 200, I have to use a AMPS or the Char-Broiler tube for lower temp smokes like Jerky.


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## ou812dano (Jun 15, 2017)

Thanks for the info. Have u ever thought about adding some more vent holes?


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## Bummed (Jun 16, 2017)

ou812dano said:


> Thanks for the info. Have u ever thought about adding some more vent holes?


No not really, I have 2 left hands as it is and they are wrecked too! I bought this electric to learn how to smoke, I hope to take the leap into the charcoal/wood world soon.


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## daricksta (Jun 16, 2017)

cashxx said:


> One thing I like about that Char-Broil smoker is that it cooks the meat to the desired temp and then the smoker goes into warming mode!  I don't think Masterbuilt has that feature, you set a temp you want it to run at and then a timer for how many hours, which makes no sense to me.  If I would have known that I think I may have gone with the Char-broil as well!  One thing I like better on the Masterbuilt though is the optional cold smoking unit you can hookup up to it, but it seems more people go with the A-MAZE-N Maze tray for the smoke. Also get a 1 year warranty with the Char-Broil vs 90 days with Masterbuilt.


I don't see where a warming mode is necessary.  When I'm done smoking I like the unit to shut itself off. Also, when I'm done smoking ribs, I take them out and let them rest on the kitchen cutting board for about 15 minutes before slicing and serving. For a brisket, I wrap it in foil and place it in an empty cooler with towels or newspapers on top of the brisket and, if I have the time, just let it rest for a couple of hours 

I think the MB controller makes perfect sense. I always warm up my smoker before placing food inside that's to be smoked, When I'm ready to start I set my cooking temp and the number of hours I plan to smoke, usually setting it on more hours than I'll need. Since the controller temp display is usually somewhat inaccurate, I monitor temps with my Maverick ET-733. So really, setting the total cooking time is just a reference point for me. I don't insert therm probes into ribs; I go by how they look after about 4 hours of smoking. With briskets, I go by the IT to determine when it's done. The elapsed time on the timer just lets me know how long the stuff's been in there. I use the temp display as a reference point too,  but after about 1/2 way thru the smoking, the controller temp and the ET-733 are usually pretty close to each other. 

But, yeah, the CB warranty is better than the MB. I also use the AMNPS instead of the Cold Smoker. It's just easier for me to deal with just my MES 30 Gen 1 alone instead of dealing with two separate units when I smoke.


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## Bummed (Jun 17, 2017)

I've only used the warming mode once, I had a butt in and it was at 180 and I needed to run out for awhile. So I set the temp for the butt to 200, when I got back 2 hours later the smoker was in warming mode at 120 and the butt was nice and juicy ready to eat.

I normally don't use it but in this case it really came in handy!


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## ukjeff (Jun 17, 2017)

Hi,

Greeting from a sunny Eng;land. Hope it isn't a problem to tag my first post and question onto this thread. 

New owner and first post!  I'm cooking lamb shoulder using the probe and it seems to both run out of smoke fairly quickly and the cave is running at around 150c.  Is that the correct temperature for it to reach or is it too high.  I rather expected it to stay around 107. I have set the probe to 90 and after two hours the internal temp is around 75. I do recognise I could use manual and reset it to 107 next time round and let it cook to internal temp.  Any suggestions really appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff


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## ukjeff (Jun 17, 2017)

Hi hope it's OK to tag my first post to this thread. 

Greetings from a sunny England.  New owner and  I'm cooking lamb shoulder using the probe and it seems to both run out of smoke fairly quickly and the cave is running at around 150c.  Is that the correct default temperature for it to reach or is it too high.  I rather expected it to stay around 107. I have set the probe to 90 and it is currently 75 after two hours.  Is it better to use temp and time and set it to say 107 and remove it when it reaches internal temp.  All suggestions and help appreciated,  

Thanks.

Jeff


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## ukjeff (Jun 17, 2017)

.... hi all,

as another datapoint the oven has switched down to three bleeps and after 3 hours the internal temp is only 73 (target 90) and the cave is reduced from 160 to 80.  Is this all normal or do I have a faulty unit?

Thanks.

Jeff


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## dr k (Jun 18, 2017)

UkJeff said:


> .... hi all,
> 
> as another datapoint the oven has switched down to three bleeps and after 3 hours the internal temp is only 73 (target 90) and the cave is reduced from 160 to 80.  Is this all normal or do I have a faulty unit?
> 
> ...


Hi Jeff I don't have this smoker I have the Gen 1 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker.  Some one will hopefully help with your questions.  The MES have a controller sensor and a flat round snap switch emergency shut off sensor incase the smoker gets too hot.  This emergency sensor says 150C on the face = 302F.  MES smokers heat between 100-275F so if yours smoker goes to 150C or 302F but should not go this high, the sensor may have tripped shutting off power to the heating element and has to cool down before resetting to allow electricity to the element .  Some MES smokers only get to 275F or less some as high as yours which may be a great thing.  Just set it lower.  Most of us get a digital two probe thermometer with one probe in the food chamber and the other in the meat.  Since these can be boil/ice water tested you can see if these are calibrated correctly.  If the therm is showing a good boiling reading at your altitude then set the smoker according to this therm and not by the stock controller sensor since they tend to be inaccurate and not where your food is. 

-Kurt


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## ukjeff (Jun 18, 2017)

Dr K said:


> Hi Jeff I don't have this smoker I have the Gen 1 40" Masterbuilt electric smoker.  Some one will hopefully help with your questions.  The MES have a controller sensor and a flat round snap switch emergency shut off sensor incase the smoker gets too hot.  This emergency sensor says 150C on the face = 302F.  MES smokers heat between 100-275F so if yours smoker goes to 150C or 302F but should not go this high, the sensor may have tripped shutting off power to the heating element and has to cool down before resetting to allow electricity to the element .  Some MES smokers only get to 275F or less some as high as yours which may be a great thing.  Just set it lower.  Most of us get a digital two probe thermometer with one probe in the food chamber and the other in the meat.  Since these can be boil/ice water tested you can see if these are calibrated correctly.  If the therm is showing a good boiling reading at your altitude then set the smoker according to this therm and not by the stock controller sensor since they tend to be inaccurate and not where your food is.
> 
> -Kurt


Kurt,

Thanks for your reply.  I've decided to accept defeat and simply use time and temp using some probes.  I had a good day today, pre-heated manually as I think the inbuilt heats too high.  As the wood chips are smallthey then burn off too quickly so I put them in later to time their smoke start to just before the proteins go. Thanks again


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## daricksta (Jun 18, 2017)

UkJeff said:


> Kurt,
> 
> Thanks for your reply.  I've decided to accept defeat and simply use time and temp using some probes.  I had a good day today, pre-heated manually as I think the inbuilt heats too high.  As the wood chips are smallthey then burn off too quickly so I put them in later to time their smoke start to just before the proteins go. Thanks again


UkJeff, so it looks like you solved your non-heating cave problem, or have you? Anyway, you just described why I stopped using wood chips years ago. They burn up too quickly and need to be replenished about ever 20-30 minutes. Way too  much work. I use wood pellets in my electric smoker. Many of us on SMF buy pellet smokers from A-MAZE-N Products. I don't know if they ship to the UK or not but you should be able to find similar products there. Wood pellets burn longer and, in my opinion, provide better wood smoke flavor.


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## ukjeff (Jun 18, 2017)

Thanks,

Although the smoke stops after an hour ormtwo, it is of such intensitymthat it has given us sufficient smoke.  I'm still,learning ...

Thanks.


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## Bummed (Jun 20, 2017)

Hey Jeff, that temp fluctuation isn't normal. once it hits your target temp it should drop to about 48c (120F). I never have an issue with wood chips, I get 5-6 hours of smoke with a full box which is more than you will ever need for just about any smoke.

I had an issue with my probe about a month after I got it, Char Broil sent me a new replacement and its works fine ever since.


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