# Is this a deal?



## Ambrella (Jun 13, 2018)

Hi there-

So apologies in advance because I’m basically waltzing in to a new forum and asking for expert advice... But I want to get my husband a smoker for Father’s Day, I have no freaking clue what to look for, and I have very little money to work with. He’s been talking about one for years. I found this on Craigslist and am not sure what to think. I tried some Googling but I don’t even know what I’m looking at. They are asking $90. It’s rusty. They say it works good. Thoughts?


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## RiversideSm0ker (Jun 13, 2018)

Ambrella, what is the most you can afford to reasonably pay for a smoker? This will give us more info about what to recommend. This unit is in rough shape so I'm not sure you want to inherit somebody else's flaws. 

George


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## Ambrella (Jun 13, 2018)

Unfortunately, $100 is the most I could do, and that's stretching it. We've been pretty strapped since I started staying home with our daughter full-time, but he got me a concert ticket to a show I REALLY wanted to go to for Mother's Day, so I want to try and splurge a little bit now that it's his turn. I know that he'd prefer to not have electric. Thanks in advance for any advice. At all. I'm in the dark!


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## radio (Jun 13, 2018)

Ambrella said:


> Hi there-
> 
> So apologies in advance because I’m basically waltzing in to a new forum and asking for expert advice... But I want to get my husband a smoker for Father’s Day, I have no freaking clue what to look for, and I have very little money to work with. He’s been talking about one for years. I found this on Craigslist and am not sure what to think. I tried some Googling but I don’t even know what I’m looking at. They are asking $90. It’s rusty. They say it works good. Thoughts?




If that maxes out your budget and you cant afford a new one, that is a dandy smoker that just needs a little TLC.  I see no major structural problems from rust other than the racks inside.  I would offer them $50 and buy a couple of wire brushes and start cleaning the rust from the racks inside.  Use some vegetable oil on them and build a fire to season them again and learn how to manage the fire.  I highly recommend an external probe thermometer to monitor the temp in the cooking chamber.
I have an older New Braunfels Bandera built like that one and love it!

Edit:  You won't find a better smoker anywhere near that price


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## pc farmer (Jun 13, 2018)

My opinion?????     Get it if you can.    Maybe get it cheaper IF you can.   Alittle work it will be like new.   Cant see the FB inside thou.


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## flatbroke (Jun 13, 2018)

It like an Oklahoma joe Bandera. Says OK joe in the firebox. Must be. I think your husband will like it. Rust wouldn’t bother me. Can clean it up. Will need new racks.


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## mike5051 (Jun 13, 2018)

It needs some cleaning up, but it is a good deal.  $100 bucks could get ya a 22" Weber Kettle on sale, but that ain't really a "smoker".  

Mike


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## RiversideSm0ker (Jun 13, 2018)

I’d like to commend you for your personal sacrifice. Staying home with your child is no longer a popular decision these days. The loss of income can be extremely difficult to overcome. In my opinion though it is worth the rewards it brings in how you can care for your child. You can’t put a price on quality of life.

If you are getting recommendations from these guys who know what they are talking about, then this must be a decent buy. I agree with trying to talk them down some more. You will be putting some sweat equity into this as a project. If you end up getting this please have your husband jump in here and let us know how it all turns out in the end.

George


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## flatbroke (Jun 13, 2018)

Oh and i forgot to add. Welcome to the forum.


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## HalfSmoked (Jun 13, 2018)

Go for it some elbow grease will make a world of difference. Smokers are not the cleanest machines in the world when being used anyway. Clean the racks and oil with vegetable oil or mineral oil which is food grade approved. Welcome to the forum and now you see how it works you ask a question and you get answers.

Warren


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## motocrash (Jun 13, 2018)

I'm with the rest of the guys. Get it if you can and most people list things a little higher than they'll take to allow a little haggling. 
Welcome to the forum from Virginia.


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## chopsaw (Jun 13, 2018)

First ,,, Welcome here . 
Second , why not just include him in your idea ? Go look at it together .


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## 73saint (Jun 13, 2018)

A little tlc and you can smoke a lotta meat on that baby!


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## Ambrella (Jun 13, 2018)

RiversideSm0ker said:


> I’d like to commend you for your personal sacrifice. Staying home with your child is no longer a popular decision these days. The loss of income can be extremely difficult to overcome. In my opinion though it is worth the rewards it brings in how you can care for your child. You can’t put a price on quality of life.
> 
> If you are getting recommendations from these guys who know what they are talking about, then this must be a decent buy. I agree with trying to talk them down some more. You will be putting some sweat equity into this as a project. If you end up getting this please have your husband jump in here and let us know how it all turns out in the end.
> 
> George


Aw! Thank you! Yes it’s definitely a sacrifice amd hard on us financially. I was a teacher for 12 years...we went from two decent incomes to one income that barely pays the bills, but it’s been worth it. We are (almost) making it work. If this boils down to putting in some elbow grease, I can definitely do that. We are in the process of working out our backyard to be a family hangout/toddler haven, and i just want to get something for hubby that will make him happy. He works really hard for me to be able to stay home. I messaged a lower offer...we will see. I’ll update with progress. Thanks everyone for being so welcoming. I’m excited to enter the world of self-smoked, delicious meats!


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## 801driver (Jun 13, 2018)

Welcome from Oklahoma,
Looks like a deal to me, a little clean up, use it a while and it will need a little clean up again just like now, but hopefully without the rust if you use it enough, Ha Ha.

Like posted above, an external remote read temp sensor makes life a whole lot easier, especially just getting started out.  He will definitely have a smile on his face, very thoughtful of you.

Do send him to this site and use the search icon with the horizontal bars at the top.  Everything to get started and keep going is on this site with very helpful people.


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## gmc2003 (Jun 14, 2018)

Personally I would skip it and go for the Weber kettle. Granted it's not a true smoker, but I use mine for smoking butts, ribs, chickens and almost anything that doesn't require the space my WSM provides. It's basically a twofer a great grill and pretty darn good smoker. The basic black model is about $99 brand spankn new.

Chris


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## RiversideSm0ker (Jun 16, 2018)

Hey Anbrella, just wondering if this worked out for you guys or not? Either way Happy Father’s Day to your hubby from me. He is a rare breed taking on the lone provider role and deserves props for that.

George


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## dnovotny (Jul 26, 2018)

get him a gmg ( green mountain grill) pellet smoker can't go wrong and as a beginner he will turn out great food...


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## SmokinLogs (Jul 27, 2018)

I’d pay $90 for it, but I’d definitely offer less. The worst that could happen is they say no. It’s not in that bad of shape. You could have that looking good and smoking good pretty quick.


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