# Does anyone know about electric smokers?



## jericoliz (Mar 12, 2021)

Hi have a GMG pellet smoker which I love.  Thing is, I'm always afraid of running out of pellets in the middle of the night if I try to smoke a large brisket.  I've heard that with an electric smoker, if the wood chips burn down it will still continue to heat and cook the food and I can add more chips when I wake up.  True or false?  ALSO....I'd love a recommendation on a moderately priced electric smoker (digital preferably) .  Thank you!!!


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## gmc2003 (Mar 12, 2021)

Giving a shout out to 

 tallbm
 and 

 Bearcarver
 one of them should be able to help you out. To answer one of your questions. Yes the electric smoker will continue cooking when you run out of chips. It will act like a normal oven. There are ways around running out of chips. One of the more popular ones it the mailbox mod. Just do a search for Mailbox mod and you'll see a ton of threads.



Chris


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## bregent (Mar 12, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> Thing is, I'm always afraid of running out of pellets in the middle of the night if I try to smoke a large brisket.



If you make sure the hopper is full before bedtime, there is little chance it will run out of pellets. Most pellet grills burn about 1lb per hour at 225F.


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## jericoliz (Mar 12, 2021)

bregent said:


> If you make sure the hopper is full before bedtime, there is little chance it will run out of pellets. Most pellet grills burn about 1lb per hour at 225F.


That's good info.  Thanks!!  I'll get in touch with GMG and see how many lbs of pellets the DB hopper holds.  Then I can sleep.  :)


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## Bearcarver (Mar 12, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> Hi have a GMG pellet smoker which I love.  Thing is, I'm always afraid of running out of pellets in the middle of the night if I try to smoke a large brisket.  I've heard that with an electric smoker, if the wood chips burn down it will still continue to heat and cook the food and I can add more chips when I wake up.  True or false?  ALSO....I'd love a recommendation on a moderately priced electric smoker (digital preferably) .  Thank you!!!




You're on the right track, but you'd do better to get an AMNPS Amazing Smoker smoke generator, to go with an Electric Smoker.
If you want to get a Masterbuilt Smoker, below is most of what I know about them:

Masterbuilt Smokers (Bear's Thoughts & Findings)
MES Generation Number Recognition Pictures & Pics (Digital Units)

Bear


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## tallbm (Mar 12, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> That's good info.  Thanks!!  I'll get in touch with GMG and see how many lbs of pellets the DB hopper holds.  Then I can sleep.  :)



Hi there and welcome!

It seems bregent has you covered.  I think most hold at least a 20 pound bag but I'm just speculating so definitely find out for sure hahaha.

If you really want to go electric we can help you out but I think just filling up the hopper before you go to bed will solve your problems.

But just to tease, I burn about a measuring cup and a half of pellets for 12 hours of smoke using the A-Maze-N Pellet Smoker (AMNPS) tray and my mailbox mod with my electric smoker.
I do overnight brisket and pork but smokes all the time and sleep through 90% of the smoke with little hassle these days. I setup pellets and smoker, put in meat, and forget until the alarms tell me to check for tenderness on briskets and pork butts.  I enjoy my sleep :)


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## jericoliz (Mar 12, 2021)

tallbm said:


> Hi there and welcome!
> 
> It seems bregent has you covered.  I think most hold at least a 20 pound bag but I'm just speculating so definitely find out for sure hahaha.
> 
> ...


I checked with GMG and they say my hopper will hold 18 lbs of pellets.   Zzzzzz  :)      I sure appreciate the information and the quick response.  Thanks!


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## Fueling Around (Mar 12, 2021)

I have a pellet pooper. 
Pellets in the hopper are great for heat, but eh for flavor.
I use a smoke tube loaded with pellets to add ~4 hours of thin blue smoke.  After that 4 hours the surface temperature of the meat is beyond the point where it takes in flavor and starts the exhale process of giving up internal moisture.

I've only cooked 1 brisket on the pooper and it was done much faster than expected due to the convection action of the continuous fan.


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## Steve H (Mar 13, 2021)

I started with a cheap electric landmann smoker. Then added a PID control. And mailbox mod. With the A-maze-n tray. I get about 12 hours smoke with it. I get great cooks from it. There are pros and cons on both types smokers. You could loose power to the electric smoker. Or get a auger failure on the pellet smoker, seems like I read that quite a bit. But, I don't believe I'd buy a electric smoker just for the concern you stated. I do highly recommend a remote thermometer with temp alert if you don't already have one. So if you loose heat, or it gets too hot. You'll be notified.


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## Bearcarver (Mar 13, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> I checked with GMG and they say my hopper will hold 18 lbs of pellets.   Zzzzzz  :)      I sure appreciate the information and the quick response.  Thanks!




I think I should caution you that no matter what Smoker you have, if you plan on sleeping while it's running, I would use it far enough away from your house, or anything that could catch fire, if the smoker went up in flames.
Same goes for if you plan on leaving the area while it's in use.

Bear


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## jericoliz (Mar 15, 2021)

Steve H said:


> I started with a cheap electric landmann smoker. Then added a PID control. And mailbox mod. With the A-maze-n tray. I get about 12 hours smoke with it. I get great cooks from it. There are pros and cons on both types smokers. You could loose power to the electric smoker. Or get a auger failure on the pellet smoker, seems like I read that quite a bit. But, I don't believe I'd buy a electric smoker just for the concern you stated. I do highly recommend a remote thermometer with temp alert if you don't already have one. So if you loose heat, or it gets too hot. You'll be notified.


I do have a remote thermometer.  It kept loosing the wifi signal so I gave it up.  I think I'll drag it back out and see if I can do better with it.  I'm not familiar with a PID control or mailbox mod or A-maze-n tray.  All new stuff to me.  I think I'll be watching a few YouTube videos.


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## jericoliz (Mar 15, 2021)

JackmaElen said:


> Hello Everyone,
> I would love to guide you about the electric smokers which will help you to get complete understanding. It will help you find the best electric smoker so you can get what you deserve, without the hassle of all the research I went through!


Thank you.  I think, for now, I'm going to brave it and see if I can smoke through the night without running out of pellets.  If I'm successful, problem solved.  If not, I'm going to take you up on your offer of more electric smoker info.  :)


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## jericoliz (Mar 15, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> I think I should caution you that no matter what Smoker you have, if you plan on sleeping while it's running, I would use it far enough away from your house, or anything that could catch fire, if the smoker went up in flames.
> Same goes for if you plan on leaving the area while it's in use.
> 
> Bear


Good advice and well noted.  Thanks!


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## Fueling Around (Mar 15, 2021)

A-Maze-N tube
A-Maze-N tray

I have a cheap hexagonal knockoff that works well.  Wife picked it up for me around $7 I wish she had bought 2 of them.

My electric is a Big Chief.  I  never let it go overnight.  It had no on/off temp control.


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## Bearcarver (Mar 16, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> Good advice and well noted.  Thanks!




I like to let people know.
Even the most harmless looking smokers can light up.
Even an Electric MES can do it.
I know of one that somehow Fat Grease got inside the door, and lit up. Luckily he wasn't far away & saw the whole door go up in flames. He put it out, and only needed a new door, which Masterbuilt gave him free of charge, probably to avoid any problems.

Bear


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## jericoliz (Mar 16, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> I like to let people know.
> Even the most harmless looking smokers can light up.
> Even an Electric MES can do it.
> I know of one that somehow Fat Grease got inside the door, and lit up. Luckily he wasn't far away & saw the whole door go up in flames. He put it out, and only needed a new door, which Masterbuilt gave him free of charge, probably to avoid any problems.
> ...


Another good reason to clean my smoker out from time to time!!  Speaking of cleaning..do you know if it's ok to use Easy Off Oven Cleaner on the inside on the smoker?  Mine has a bit of grease and I'm not sure how to get it off.


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## Winterrider (Mar 16, 2021)

Sure the Easy Off would work. I use this, but usually only on and around door. The rest gets an occasional scrap and high heat to sanitize.


			Robot or human?


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## Fueling Around (Mar 16, 2021)

Easy Off is not recommended for painted or bare aluminum.
I just scrape excess


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## Bearcarver (Mar 16, 2021)

jericoliz said:


> Another good reason to clean my smoker out from time to time!!  Speaking of cleaning..do you know if it's ok to use Easy Off Oven Cleaner on the inside on the smoker?  Mine has a bit of grease and I'm not sure how to get it off.



Mrs Bear cleans my shiny racks.
I keep the water pan covered with foil, and I removed the bottom pan, and cover the floor with foil too.
The only thing I actually clean is the glass & door, and the best I've found is "Awesome".  I also clean the 2 sensors on the back wall now & then.
The walls & ceiling I wipe with a dry rag, if anything becomes loose & could fall on my food.

Bear


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## mrmike2021 (Oct 25, 2021)

I’m looking into an electric smoker myself and wonder can I make cedar plank salmon with it?


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## 1MoreFord (Oct 25, 2021)

Like Easy Off, Super Clean does not play well with aluminum.  You can't let it stay on aluminum very long and Must be completely rinsed off.


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## Bearcarver (Oct 26, 2021)

mrmike2021 said:


> I’m looking into an electric smoker myself and wonder can I make cedar plank salmon with it?



I personally wouldn't know why you couldn't.
I like it better without the plank, so the Smoke can get to All Sides, but if you want it on a plank, why not?

Bear


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## clifish (Oct 26, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> Mrs Bear cleans my shiny racks.
> I keep the water pan covered with foil, and I removed the bottom pan, and cover the floor with foil too.
> The only thing I actually clean is the glass & door, and the best I've found is "Awesome".  I also clean the 2 sensors on the back wall now & then.
> The walls & ceiling I wipe with a dry rag, if anything becomes loose & could fall on my food.
> ...


Never thought to use that on the door window,  I just used it last weekend to clean the outside of my gutters and siding.  It seems to be the only product that can clean the "baked" in black on my white gutters.  you do have to rub with a rag to clean it but at least it works


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