# New Masterbuilt portable/camping smoker!



## travisty

Anyone see the new Masterbuilt propane travel smoker they just announced!?








Looks awesome, but sadly they are selling exclusively though Sams club, so ill either have to wait till they release to amazon or somewhere else, or have to get a membership to Sams Club 
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Anyway, if you haven't seen it, go to masterbuilt.com and check it out, it looks sweet! It takes the smaller tanks which they say will last about 4 hours before you have to switch out, or of course you could get an adapter to a larger tank.


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## mummel

TY for the info but I cant see this gizmo working right.  You'll probably go through a 10 propane bottles on a smoker.  It doesnt seem practical.  I'd like to learn more though.  Good idea, just dont think it makes sense using camping propane.


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## chef jimmyj

Looks good for a couple on a budget or smoking Chicken. 4 hours on a tank does not get much done...JJ


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## travisty

Yeah, like I said I would probably just use the adapter and run a full sized tank on it.

Did anyone manager to figure out the price on it? Sams club will only show the price if I have a card, or if my local store carries them, and neither are the case.


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## garyinmd

I looked here in town and it was $99.00.

Gary


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## biteme7951

Cute little unit. $99.98 at Sams club in Michigan. 4 hours is about right on a 1lb cylinder using a 5000btu burner. That's the same heat output as a 1500 watt electric element so you could probably hold higher temps pretty well in that sized unit. The 20lb cylinder would be the best option cost wise.

Barry.


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## h8that4u

Wife just got me one at the local Sams club for our anniversary, $99.00+tax. Doing the initial burn in now, it jumped right up to about 350 degrees on the door gauge, it seems to be 20-30 degrees high compared to the Maverick. The small chip tray I loaded with pellets, and it lasted about 45 mins, but it does not hold a bunch so not to bad in my opinion.

Its 70 here today, but calling for 4-8 inches of snow tomorrow, so most likely will be this weekend before I try to smoke a pork butt on it.

I will pick up the adapter for the full size tank in the next day or two.

I work away from home and stay at hotels a lot, so this will be nice while I am traveling and at work for 12 hrs, I can fire this up and smoke some meals.

I will post some photos and more about it after I try it out.


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## Bearcarver

I looked into this little thing for a guy who asked me about it.

Besides the little tank, you can hook it up to a 20 pounder too.

It' a neat little thing for $99.98 at some Sam's Clubs.

The video shows a whole picnic table full of people to be fed, but it's so small, you would have to cut a rack of ribs in half & put half on each of the two little shelves. Then each of those people would get one Rib.

I figure it would be good for 2 people going camping.

Bear


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## travisty

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Perhaps if you did burgers or something you would be in better shape on space usage. Though I wonder what size of butt you could get on there if you just used 1 rack, perhaps that or a chicken would get you the most amount of food for the chamber.

I do a lot of camping, and usually just my wife and our small children to feed, so I think it would be cool for that. Anyway, im just waiting till they show up at a Sams Club near me, and ill probably pick one up


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## Bearcarver

Travisty said:


> Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Perhaps if you did burgers or something you would be in better shape on space usage. Though I wonder what size of butt you could get on there if you just used 1 rack, perhaps that or a chicken would get you the most amount of food for the chamber.
> 
> I do a lot of camping, and usually just my wife and our small children to feed, so I think it would be cool for that. Anyway, im just waiting till they show up at a Sams Club near me, and ill probably pick one up


Probably get a mess of Dogs, maybe 8 Burgers, but I'm sure if you removed the top rack you could easily Smoke a full Butt in there---8 or 10 pounder.

That'll feed a bunch!!!

Bear


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## h8that4u

Sorry it took so long to reply, I have used this little thing twice now and so far I would have to say its surprisingly very good for the price.

The first smoke was last Friday in Colorado Springs, CO. Smoked a 10+ lbs pork butt and a pan of Dutches Wicked Good Baked Beans.

I started at 6:45 am, the temp outside was 16F, smoker got right up to 300F, filled the water pan and chip tray with Apple and Maple wood pellets.

At 10 am I added the pan of beans and temp of the smoker was staying pretty steady at 275F. The weather outside had turned snowy and windy, had to

move the truck around to help block the wind but it was chugging right along. I pulled the pork butt a little sooner than I really wanted it had an IT of 192F, at 12:45. But I was hungry and still had to drive back home. The pork pulled a little harder but tasted great. All 10lbs of pork and the pan of beans got demolished and no left overs at all.

Today I smoked to racks of baby back ribs. Started at 8:00 am and ran the temp of the smoker at 250- 275 and pulled the ribs at noon.

Again the ribs tasted great and had a nice smoke ring. I am now in Salt Lake City Utah and the temps outside during todays smoke was 35 at start and 57 at noon. The smoker maintained a steady temp all through the cook. I had I flare up at the start, but put some foil over the bottom rack to catch the drippings, and had no more issues.

I did have to cut the ribs in 1/2 to get them on the smoker, but was able to get 1 rack of ribs on each shelf in the smoker.

The photos are of the first smoke, did not even think of photos today. I will be here with work for about a month and will use this smoker quit a bit so I will try to get more photos and add more of a review later.













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__ h8that4u
__ Apr 7, 2016


















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__ h8that4u
__ Apr 7, 2016


















20160331_092449.jpg



__ h8that4u
__ Apr 7, 2016


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## Bearcarver

h8that4u said:


> Sorry it took so long to reply, I have used this little thing twice now and so far I would have to say its surprisingly very good for the price.
> 
> The first smoke was last Friday in Colorado Springs, CO. Smoked a 10+ lbs pork butt and a pan of Dutches Wicked Good Baked Beans.
> 
> I started at 6:45 am, the temp outside was 16F, smoker got right up to 300F, filled the water pan and chip tray with Apple and Maple wood pellets.
> 
> At 10 am I added the pan of beans and temp of the smoker was staying pretty steady at 275F. The weather outside had turned snowy and windy, had to
> 
> move the truck around to help block the wind but it was chugging right along. I pulled the pork butt a little sooner than I really wanted it had an IT of 192F, at 12:45. But I was hungry and still had to drive back home. The pork pulled a little harder but tasted great. All 10lbs of pork and the pan of beans got demolished and no left overs at all.
> 
> Today I smoked to racks of baby back ribs. Started at 8:00 am and ran the temp of the smoker at 250- 275 and pulled the ribs at noon.
> 
> Again the ribs tasted great and had a nice smoke ring. I am now in Salt Lake City Utah and the temps outside during todays smoke was 35 at start and 57 at noon. The smoker maintained a steady temp all through the cook. I had I flare up at the start, but put some foil over the bottom rack to catch the drippings, and had no more issues.
> 
> I did have to cut the ribs in 1/2 to get them on the smoker, but was able to get 1 rack of ribs on each shelf in the smoker.
> 
> The photos are of the first smoke, did not even think of photos today. I will be here with work for about a month and will use this smoker quit a bit so I will try to get more photos and add more of a review later.


That's great !!!

You'll be getting your money's worth in no time at all !!

Thanks for the Great Report !!---------
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Bear


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## travisty

Looks great "H8that4u"! glad to see the thing in action. By the way, I live in Salt Lake City myself. If you want some suggestions for great BBQ (or any other food for that matter) let me know, I can tell you what's good.


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## travisty

It almost looks like you could get 2 10 pounders in there if they were pretty close! Or at least do a 10 and a 7 or something, that could feed plenty!


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## rkingce

How has your Portable been working? I bought one but am having issues with temperature being to high. Cant get it below about 250 degrees with all the vents open and on low. what is the lowest you have been able to get. I try to smoke everything @ 220.


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## shawneeleelee

This is the first time I have seen this.  Sam's has a 1 day sale on it for $79.00 on August 6th.

Going to Florida for a couple months in Jan/Feb 2017.  Was planning on taking my MES30, but this unit looks much more portable.

I too have a question about how to get temperature low enough for smoking bacon.

Looks like it would be OK for pulled pork, chicken, etc., for tailgating or camping.

But if I can't smoke bacon, it will be of no use to me for my Florida trip.

Maybe altering the low setting on the burner somehow......

Any thoughts?


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## shawneeleelee

Thinking about adding an electric heating element to make it more flexible.

I have some ideas I can share.....


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## Bearcarver

Shawneeleelee said:


> This is the first time I have seen this.  Sam's has a 1 day sale on it for $79.00 on August 6th.
> 
> Going to Florida for a couple months in Jan/Feb 2017.  Was planning on taking my MES30, but this unit looks much more portable.
> 
> I too have a question about how to get temperature low enough for smoking bacon.
> 
> Looks like it would be OK for pulled pork, chicken, etc., for tailgating or camping.
> 
> But if I can't smoke bacon, it will be of no use to me for my Florida trip.
> 
> Maybe altering the low setting on the burner somehow......
> 
> Any thoughts?


All you really need to cold smoke Bacon is an AMNPS and a Cardboard Box.

Link:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/99316/cardboard-box-cold-smoker

Bear


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## h8that4u

With the small tanks, it will run 250 on low and 300 on high, I also got the adapter hose to run off a full propane tank, for some reason using that it will run 200 on low and 250 on high.

I bought a thin piece of sheet metal from home depot 1ft x 1 ft to place above the smoke box/water pan shelf to help deflect grease and stop the flare ups, I will put that into action sometime next week while down in Texas.


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## duane5705

Hey Guys, just picked up one of these from Sam's last night for $49, marked down from $99.  I figured I have wasted more money at one time than this thing costs...  Looks like they are trying to get rid of their inventory to make more room for Christmas decorations!


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## rxhuskerx

I picked up two of these at Sams a couple of weeks ago for $49 (one for me and one for my neighbor).  The first weekend I did two racks of baby back ribs and and a jalapeno stuffed pork tenderloin and they turned out great.  I normally use an offset smoker, and nobody could tell the difference. Last weekend I did 3 pounds of smoked salmon, and again, it turned out just like the offset.

Today I was at Sams to get some items for a pork loin smoke this weekend, and they had them marked down to $29, so of course, I grabbed the last one (other than the display).

They will both go on vacation this summer so we can do 4 pork butts at one time.

I'm very impressed by this little smoker.  It holds temps at 225 - 250 easily while hooked up to a 20 lb tank and can reach over 350 if you turn it on high.

Mike


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## carol russo

Just picked one of these up to use at our motorhome at the dog shows. We have two MES30's at home but thought this would be easier to transport.

We made ribs last weekend and with a bit of wiggling we were able to fit 4 racks of baby backs. The ones on the top rack were great but the ones on the bottom burned. That bottom rack is too close to the burner.

Anyone else move that rack higher?  Maybe I just need to learn the smoke better...

Thanks!

Carol


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## severechase

I have had the same problem with being unable to complete a smoke without the portion of the meat directly above the burner on the bottom rack getting burnt.


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## severechase

Tried another pork butt today...was real careful to not let temp climb above 225 and I even placed foil across bottom to at least buffer flame, not that I had high expectations of that helping.   However the result was the same, bottom portion of butt that sits over the burner got chrunchy black not even half way through the smoke.  

 Only solution I've found is to spend the time cutting away the burned portion once done, but this isn't ideal.   Anyone have any tips or suggestions on how to avoid this?


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## h8that4u

I now have 3 of these, one I keep in the back of my work truck, one at the house for the wife to use while I am away, and a new one in the box (just in case). What I have done for all of them is at the local HD, they have a thin sheet of metal that fits perfectly just above the rack that holds the smoke box and water tray, it keeps grease flare ups down to nothing and helps with the burning of the meat on the lower rack. I also when doing ribs will rotate the upper and lower racks about 1/2 way through the cook.

I have found that pellets will give a longer and cleaner smoke than chips do.


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## carol russo

h8that4u said:


> I now have 3 of these, one I keep in the back of my work truck, one at the house for the wife to use while I am away, and a new one in the box (just in case). What I have done for all of them is at the local HD, they have a thin sheet of metal that fits perfectly just above the rack that holds the smoke box and water tray, it keeps grease flare ups down to nothing and helps with the burning of the meat on the lower rack. I also when doing ribs will rotate the upper and lower racks about 1/2 way through the cook.
> 
> I have found that pellets will give a longer and cleaner smoke than chips do.


Where in Home Depot do you find this sheet of metal?

Thanks,

Carol


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## h8that4u

I dont remember the isle but they have small angle iron and small sheets of metal like diamond plate or smooth, the one  I am using is HD model #56032, if you put that in the search on their web site it should pull it right up for you.


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## h8that4u

Also, amazon is selling them now but the price is a lot higher than the Sams price, but amazon also sells a really nice looking canvas carry bag for the smokers. Also on amazon they have an electric model of the same size.


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## jokensmoken

Hi Carol,
I had the same issue with mine and devised an easy fix that helped.
I got a couple of those disposable aluminum flat sheet pans ( the ones that look like a cookie sheet), poked a bunch of holes in it with a screw driver...put a small bricks on the floor of the smoker in each corner that supported the pan above the burner and chip tray.
It dispersed the heat well.
It's a little bit of a pain to add chips too, but it did work.


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## riverdick

Just put mine together. I won it on the local radio show. 
Anybody know what the chain and rod is used for.


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## h8that4u

It is used to hold a match( so you don't burn your fingers) to light the burner if the push button quits working.


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## travisty

Man, I wish I could have gotten in on that $49.99 at Sams. Still haven't been able to convince the wife that $100 is worth it. Amazon has them as low as $88, but that's still a bit too high. Ill keep my fingers crossed for a $50 one. Also I don't have a Sams membership, so that wont work for me.


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## h8that4u

Travisty said:


> Man, I wish I could have gotten in on that $49.99 at Sams. Still haven't been able to convince the wife that $100 is worth it. Amazon has them as low as $88, but that's still a bit too high. Ill keep my fingers crossed for a $50 one. Also I don't have a Sams membership, so that wont work for me.


I still have a brand new one in the box down in the basement , I should be heading to Elk Ridge in a month to a month and a half, if you really want one I can bring you one.


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## travisty

h8that4u said:


> I still have a brand new one in the box down in the basement , I should be heading to Elk Ridge in a month to a month and a half, if you really want one I can bring you one.




Wow, that would be awesome! Will you be going through Salt Lake at all on your way to Elk Ridge? What could I buy it from you for?


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## h8that4u

Travisty said:


> Wow, that would be awesome! Will you be going through Salt Lake at all on your way to Elk Ridge? What could I buy it from you for?
> My personal email is removed if you would like to contact me that way.


I am sure I will be there several times (in Salt Lake), I should be in Elk Ridge for a month or two, and will have to run for parts and other stuff several times. I would take 55 for it to cover taxes that I paid when I bought it.

Also I would remove your email from the open forum as you could become flooded with spam.

Just pm me your contact info when you have time and I will stay in contact with you as I know more on dates.


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## drunkenmeatfist

This doesn't cause any issues with heat distribution? I bought one of these smokers a couple of months ago because I live alone and am new to smoking. Also I have only used wood chips because the manual said not to use pellets and I can be a dork that follows rules. The chips usually last 30-40 minutes max, but you say the pellets are better?


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## travisty

*Anyone still interested in these, WalMart just clearanced them out for only $45!! Picked one up myself the other day.  *


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## tmoosetrax

For you guys that have one of these smokers thinking of getting on at lowes (72.00) . What kind of time do you get out of each fill of the wood chip box i've read different people and they range anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hr. I see h8that4u got about 45 minutes. Im guessing that the time could not be that bad or you guys would be mentioning that in your post. It's always good to get a answer from guys who usually smoke compared to other review site where someone has never used a smoker before and you have no idea what they were doing. Thanks for any input may just pick one up this weekend.


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## drunkenmeatfist

tmoosetrax said:


> For you guys that have one of these smokers thinking of getting on at lowes (72.00) . What kind of time do you get out of each fill of the wood chip box i've read different people and they range anywhere from 15 minutes to 1 hr. I see h8that4u got about 45 minutes. Im guessing that the time could not be that bad or you guys would be mentioning that in your post. It's always good to get a answer from guys who usually smoke compared to other review site where someone has never used a smoker before and you have no idea what they were doing. Thanks for any input may just pick one up this weekend.


I think it was usually around 30 minutes worth out of that little tray. I liked that little smoker, but it is more convenient to have a normal sized smoker. If you are planning on using this thing strictly because of its portability then the short time of smoke production is fine. If not, then it would be a pain to refill the chip tray so often. Let me know if you have any other questions, I did a bunch of smoking on that little guy.


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## h8that4u

I have been in Texas for the last few weeks and using mine again about every other day. I had some pellets that I had in a 5 gallon bucket. Well they got wet and are now saw dust.

When I load the small tray with the dust it will last just under an hour. I picked up a new bag of pellets for different flavor and the pellets will last 30- 45 mins. The biggest thing I have noticed

is that the pellets tend to catch fire and cause a big spike in temp and then I have to hit with some water to kick down the flames. Even with the thin sheet of metal over the trays.

With the saw dust I can use the water pan(filled with the saw dust) and chip pan and get 4-5 hours of smoke with out having to reload, The water pan starts on the side close to the chip pan and burns nice and slow.


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## drunkenmeatfist

h8that4u said:


> I have been in Texas for the last few weeks and using mine again about every other day. I had some pellets that I had in a 5 gallon bucket. Well they got wet and are now saw dust.
> 
> When I load the small tray with the dust it will last just under an hour. I picked up a new bag of pellets for different flavor and the pellets will last 30- 45 mins. The biggest thing I have noticed
> 
> is that the pellets tend to catch fire and cause a big spike in temp and then I have to hit with some water to kick down the flames. Even with the thin sheet of metal over the trays.
> 
> With the saw dust I can use the water pan(filled with the saw dust) and chip pan and get 4-5 hours of smoke with out having to reload, The water pan starts on the side close to the chip pan and burns nice and slow.


Sounds like a good idea


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## ericksaint

Now I have to go back and read this whole thread. I picked one of these up last week on clearance at wally world as a camping smoker. For 45 bucks I couldn't pass it up, now I found out they have it at another store for $21 two weeks later. Gonna go see if I can get a price adjustment.

I bought it on a whim, now I want to see what/if  it's good for.


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## ericksaint

Well. I'm taking back the $45 one because I bought two at $21 each. Finally opened it to check it out. Gonna be hard to get more than 2 racks of baby backs in there. 

Target also had the char broil smoker tube on clearance for like 7 bucks I think. Going to try that as a pellet backup to the tiny chip tray.

For people with the tubes, do I just pack the char broil one with pellets and light with a torch? I've seen the videos for the Amazen tube but have never used anything like it.


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## markedman1132

My son just picked up one for me at $21 at Walmart. Hoping it can allow me to smoke 2 racks of baby backs when tailgating.


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## drunkenmeatfist

>





markedman1132 said:


> My son just picked up one for me at $21 at Walmart. Hoping it can allow me to smoke 2 racks of baby backs when tailgating.


I have done that before. You will have to cut the racks in half to get them in there, but it is easily done.


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## ericksaint

Yup two isn't a problem I jammed 3 in this past weekend camping. Squared then up a bit and cut in half before doing my rub. Rotated and swapped top for bottom after an hour or so of smoke, then another hour. Then wrapped for 2ish hours, then a bit unwrapped to firm up the bark.













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__ ericksaint
__ Sep 6, 2017


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## nverlast1

With this grill are people using chips or pellets like ampns?


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## travisty

I haven’t actually used mine yet. I just got it for camping and such, so I’m just planning on using chips. Don’t want to have to add my ampsts, pellets and a torch to the packing list, so it’s just a convenience thing I guess. 
Anyway, that’s me.


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## ericksaint

I'm using a cheapie char broil pellet tube on clearance from Target. You can see it laying down in the bottom right of my pic above. I modified it a bit by drilling a bunch of holes in the top cap.

The chip tray is so small I only used it during seasoning, so higher temps than normal smoking, but it was eating chips every 15 minutes.


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## markedman1132

I was able to fit in 3 racks of baby backs. I used the Prime Reserve baby backs from Sam's Club. Smoker stayed right at 225 for 5 1/2 hours. Came out perfect. Got my $21 worth in one use.


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## Urdazed1

Anyone have any more hacks for this smoker. Just got it for Christmas and realizing the chip tray is really small. 
Think a larger rectangle grill chip pan or even a small cast iron pan would work?


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## GatorRage

NewB to smoking meat in a smoker here, but not to grillin' and chillin'. I picked up one of these the day before Thanksgiving, did the initial burn and then smoked some grouper with apple chips. Awesome! Thanksgiving morning I threw the 10 pound brined turkey on and now I am hooked. My favorite is the pistachio shell smoked bird.


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## Urdazed1

Update on my first couple runs with this little smoker.
Held steady at 225 for a half day smoke on a small shoulder and a brisket flat for New Year’s Eve.

Used a rectangular chip pan to replace the laughably small pan that comes with the smoker. Worked really well and was able to go over an hour without refilling.


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## dan vanhamme

i have had one of these for a few years i can not keep the temp below 250 i have a 20 lb tank hooked up
im looking for any tips from anyone


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## solman

dan vanhamme said:


> i have had one of these for a few years i can not keep the temp below 250 i have a 20 lb tank hooked up
> im looking for any tips from anyone



most people use a needle valve to help fine tune the propane flow but those tend to be 1/4" npt connections, while i believe yours is a 1/8" npt on the part of the regulator that goes into the smoker. i have a similar regulator on my table top charbroil grill, and i put a 1/8" ball valve to help reduce propane flow, like this one (link). or you could get 1/8" to 1/4" adapters to get a needle valve to fit, which would be my first pick.


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