# New guy ready to buy my first smoker



## old vet (Feb 19, 2019)

I love smoked meat, fish and fowl and it's time I started smoking my own. 
I am looking at a couple recommended newby smokers.
The Weber Smokey Mountain 18 inch and the Weber  Pit Barrel Cooker
The barrel looks easy to use and will hold larger chunks of meat on the hooks.
Now I'm looking for your recommendations.


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## weedeater (Feb 19, 2019)

Don’t own either of those smokers so I am no help with that. What I can do is welcome you to SMF. You have come to a happy place!  

Weedeater


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## kruizer (Feb 19, 2019)

Welcome to SMF from Minnesota. Take a look at the Weber Kettle.


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## old vet (Feb 19, 2019)

weedeater said:


> Don’t own either of those smokers so I am no help with that. What I can do is welcome you to SMF. You have come to a happy place!
> 
> Weedeater


Thanks for the welcome.


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## jfleming9232 (Feb 19, 2019)

Welcome aboard from South Alabama!


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## SunnyDC (Feb 19, 2019)

Also a newbie with a brand new offset I haven't even "broke" yet!  Welcome. This is a fantabulous place.

Sunny


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## Will Smoke (Feb 19, 2019)

Pit boss pellet grill... word is born


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## old vet (Feb 19, 2019)

jfleming9232 said:


> Welcome aboard from South Alabama!


Thank you jfleming9232.


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## old vet (Feb 19, 2019)

SunnyDC said:


> Also a newbie with a brand new offset I haven't even "broke" yet!  Welcome. This is a fantabulous place.
> 
> Sunny


Thank you too SunnyDC


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## old vet (Feb 19, 2019)

Will Smoke said:


> Pit boss pellet grill... word is born


I looked at the pellet smokers and was wondering how good of a smoke they gave the meat and how long the pellets last.


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## gmc2003 (Feb 20, 2019)

First and foremost let me welcome you to the forum. Glad you joined up. Onto your questions. First, I don't recall Weber making a pit barrel cooker(I may be wrong). However, I really like my WSM - as it's very user friendly and there aren't any electrics that can go south during a smoke. They will last for what seems like a lifetime, and the customer service is top-notch(if you ever need them). There are also plenty of WSM users here that will help answer any questions you may have. For the money I think Weber gives you the best bang for your buck.

Chris


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## phatbac (Feb 20, 2019)

WSM is a great smoker and so is the pit barrel but I like the WSM for flexibility because you can cold smoke on it and turn out great tasting food!

Happy Smoking,
phatbac (Aaron)


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## HalfSmoked (Feb 20, 2019)

Welcome to SMF you are seeing the benefits of this great group already with the help being offered to you.

Warren


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## Will Smoke (Feb 20, 2019)

40lbs. will get you 40+ hours low and slow easily, its the high temps that eat them up, but your usually not cooking over thirty minutes at high temps


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## TomKnollRFV (Feb 20, 2019)

I personally prefer my electric, but that is because it's alot easier on my back when I don't need to bend over alot. Also means I hit a few buttons and the overnight portion takes care of it self :)


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## noboundaries (Feb 20, 2019)

Old Vet, welcome to SMF. Glad you're here and looking for input on which smoker to buy.

Best flavor? Stick burner, and both horizontal/vertical offsets.Takes a lot of baby sitting. A reverse flows helps with the time commitment.

Ease of use and no baby sitting? Electric and pellet smokers, but less flavor and electronics can fail.

Best combo of ease of use and wood flavor? Barrel (least expensive) and cabinet smokers. The cabs are pricey, but most efficient. The barrels (Pit Barrel, UDS, and WSMs) each have their pros and cons, but provide great flavor and nothing can fail  other than the pit master. I smoked two butts in my 22.5" WSM overnight  last night and slept like a baby.  I do have a temp controller on it, but use it as a backup only. It cruised all night at 224F chamber temp. The con? You'll never smoke a whole pig in a WSM, unless it is a small suckling.

Every smoker has a learning curve and no one technique works best. Finding your best way of doing things is all the fun.

Decide how much time you want to spend babysitting the smoker, what flavor you want and how much you want to spend, then get it! Happy smoking.


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## old vet (Feb 20, 2019)

gmc2003 said:


> First and foremost let me welcome you to the forum. Glad you joined up. Onto your questions. First, I don't recall Weber making a pit barrel cooker(I may be wrong). However, I really like my WSM - as it's very user friendly and there aren't any electrics that can go south during a smoke. They will last for what seems like a lifetime, and the customer service is top-notch(if you ever need them). There are also plenty of WSM users here that will help answer any questions you may have. For the money I think Weber gives you the best bang for your buck.
> 
> Chris


Thanks for the welcome. You're correct. Weber does not make it. It's just Pit Barrel Cooker. The WSM does look pretty good too.


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## old vet (Feb 20, 2019)

phatbac said:


> WSM is a great smoker and so is the pit barrel but I like the WSM for flexibility because you can cold smoke on it and turn out great tasting food!
> 
> Happy Smoking,
> phatbac (Aaron)


Thanks Aaron.


TomKnollRFV said:


> I personally prefer my electric, but that is because it's alot easier on my back when I don't need to bend over alot. Also means I hit a few buttons and the overnight portion takes care of it self :)


Thanks Tom. I do like the ease of use of the cabinet smokers. In your opinion, could an electric cabinet be used inside a screened in porch?


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## old vet (Feb 20, 2019)

noboundaries said:


> Old Vet, welcome to SMF. Glad you're here and looking for input on which smoker to buy.
> 
> Best flavor? Stick burner, and both horizontal/vertical offsets.Takes a lot of baby sitting. A reverse flows helps with the time commitment.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the welcome. The less babysitting the better and big flavor would be ideal, but I will probably feel different once I get started.


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## old vet (Feb 20, 2019)

HalfSmoked said:


> Welcome to SMF you are seeing the benefits of this great group already with the help being offered to you.
> 
> Warren


Thanks for the welcome. Yes, I am getting a lot of good info.


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## old vet (Feb 20, 2019)

kruizer said:


> Welcome to SMF from Minnesota. Take a look at the Weber Kettle.


Thanks for the welcome.


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## TomKnollRFV (Feb 20, 2019)

old vet said:


> Thanks Aaron.
> 
> Thanks Tom. I do like the ease of use of the cabinet smokers. In your opinion, could an electric cabinet be used inside a screened in porch?



I sure think so. Honestly they don't produce much smoke and as long as it's ventilated properly it wouldn't be an issue. I mean I've fired mine up in the garage now and it was alright. Just make sure there's an air flow through the porch. I don't know if you got a fancy sun room esque one or not. Might want to take the wife's cushions inside before running it though.. Lol.


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## Winterrider (Feb 20, 2019)

I personally would never use one in an enclosed space like that. A woodchip/ pellet flare up could mean catastrophe. That's just me though. Unless you are going to watch it 100% of the time.


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## HalfSmoked (Feb 21, 2019)

Even if no danger of fire (and I make this statement lightly) there is residue from the smoke.

Warren


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## old vet (Feb 22, 2019)

Winterrider said:


> I personally would never use one in an enclosed space like that. A woodchip/ pellet flare up could mean catastrophe. That's just me though. Unless you are going to watch it 100% of the time.


I was just ruminating on a way to keep it secure when I can't watch it although we have never had a problem with that.
The fire risk and smoke is enough to nix it.


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## old vet (Feb 22, 2019)

HalfSmoked said:


> Even if no danger of fire (and I make this statement lightly) there is residue from the smoke.
> 
> Warren


Staining the walls, ceiling and the ceiling is under the attic so I'm sure smoke would get up there too.


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## TomKnollRFV (Feb 23, 2019)

Right now <due to winter> I'm hauling my MES into my garage when not in use. Otherwise it's right outside the back door of the garage. When I can, I plan to either buy or build a small enclosure for it. I'm not worried about starting things on fire. I've seen people build smoker sheds for stick burners. But the only thing you won't see me use is a Pellet Burner. Major money sink and they are the most prone to failures. <If you look around, you can also find videos of them suffering quite literally explosive failure>


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## Will Smoke (Feb 25, 2019)

You scared to fly too? Plug and smoke my friend, like any and all you neglect/misuse, you (may) lose. Im sure you got some lip smackin going on player. #PitBossNation


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