# Masterbuilt Extra Wide Propane Smoker First impression



## seaham358 (Nov 30, 2012)

Ordered a Masterbuilt extra wide propane smoker from Basspro shops for $220 delivered and it arrived today..

Very easy to put together and no issues with missing parts etc.













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Had it together in about 30min counting unpacking.. Again super easy













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






The Grate rails are adjustable so I can move them or take them totally out if needed.













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






LOVE the grates.. They have hooks on the bottom so when you slide them out they do not fall off the rails.













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012


















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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






My old smoker had the magnet door latch which worked ok, it would sometimes pop open when I had the thermometer run out the door.  The Masterbuilt has a nice door latch which I find easy to work













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Water pan and chip pan.. Reviews say that the water pan is too small and the chips/chunk wood catch fire because there is too much air allowed in the bottom. I will be using an old cast iron pan placed on the Masterbuilt chip pan to hold my chunk wood.













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012


















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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Double wall front door













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Full inside pic













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Ordered a Cover from ebay $22 delivered.. Char-broil cover is over $20 cheaper then a Masterbuilt cover. 













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Heavy duty material and it fits perfect













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__ seaham358
__ Nov 30, 2012






Have it seasoning now, used spray oil for first coating. Directions say to get up to 400 but it is stalled at 350.  Outside temps are around 28 degrees and a cold wind so I'm thinking 350 maybe all I'll get. 

I Will post more as I get to using it. Hope to be smoking something on my days off Monday of Tuesday..


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## tom c (Nov 30, 2012)

Nice looking Smoker


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## msuiceman (Dec 2, 2012)

soon you'll realize that the water pan is way too small if you like to use water pans.... some seem to like to go dry with a big heat sink of sand instead (I haven't tried that yet). To get more of a water pan, and also make cleanup a bit easier, i use big foil throwaway pans so they hold a lot more water for long smokes and catch the drips and then just throw it out.

Mine is well seasoned, and the door thermo is about right (though I use two double remote mavericks to monitor temp of both smoker and meats.

just bought an a-maze-n pellet smoker for cold smokes (going to try cheese soon, not the biggest fan of lox). may have to add another close-able baffle to use as an inlet for the a-maze-n smoker if I want to use it along with the propane burner for hot smokes.


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## seaham358 (Dec 4, 2012)

First smoke with new smoker the other day, some wings and thighs.  First thing I noticed was I could fit everything on one rack!! How nice is this... I even had extra room. 

Liking the extra room in the new smoker.  The door latch is great, easy to open and it pulls the door closed tightly with room to adjust it more if needed.

After messing with the control knob for the first 30 min I think I got it figured out for temp control. Have it turned down almost to the lowest setting to get a 240-245 steady temp.

I like using a cast iron skillet for the chip pan. I can put big chunks in and once they get burning they burn slow and last a long time. Had a nice steady light smoke rolling through the whole 3 hour smoke.The thighs were a little dryer then I used to get from my Kenmore smoker.. Not sure why?  I never used a water pan in my smaller smoker and I did not use it in

the new smoker. I'll have to do a few more smokes to see if I need to start adding water during my smokes. So far I'm liking the Masterbuilt XL smoker.

Going to smoke a meatloaf today, it's over cast with a light rain looking to see how the temp holds up.  With my Kenmore it had no issues keeping temp in rain, snow, sun or cloudy days, hoping the Masterbuilt can do the same.


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## spoolinaz (Dec 4, 2012)

Been using mine for 6 months or so. Every weekend. Had as much as 70 lbs of butt in mine. I love it. I never use a water pan. I have converted it to NG and added a thermostat and get stable temps of  anywhere between 150 to 400. It's a good smoker. Add an AMZN pellet tube smoker for cold smoking and you're all set!


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## spearby (Dec 8, 2012)

hi everybody iam spearby from nsw australia . i bought the same sort of smoker last week put it together ok but they dont supply any directions with the thing .what temperture to smoke at or how long should you smoke it bit slack i think. now smokers are just starting to go on the market down here.would anyone know if i could buy a book on a vertical water smoker that would tell me how to use it to its best. i love smoked fish like tailor or mullet we wouldnt get the fish you guys get. thanks for any help


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## seaham358 (Dec 10, 2012)

Spearby welcome to the site..

You can find all the info your looking for right on this site.

There are sections for Meat, Fish, Poultry etc.. The folks on this site are super helpful and you will get good advice here

Stop by Roll Call and introduce yourself.


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