Help on buying smoker....

[bird_dog0347]

Well I'm finishing up the recommended seasoning process on it this afternoon. The instructions said to oil the inside and bring it up to 225-250 for about 2 hours, then take it to 450ish for another hour, then shut it down and let it cool completely. It held 250 no problem for 2 hours, and once I got it hotter my only problem so far has been keeping it under 500... but I likely put too much wood on there too fast. Either way, so far it held the temps I'll be cooking at most of the time really well. Which is really all I can ask for from my first smoker. As for buying better, used, etc... I wanted the best I could get without breaking the bank to see if this is something I'm willing to use the rest of my life. If so, and I get hooked on it, I'll buy a better one and take this one to my uncle's lake house. The good news is the only smoke leaks I saw were at the top hinge area of the fire box, but I might be able to bend something to seal that up...

[Txstang1]

Found this from Academy site...

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/st...smoker&Ntk=All

I looked at that one but ended up going with an Oklahoma joes brand smoker from lowes. They are both real similar.


Bcoop, mine leaks a lil smoke too. You said Matt tried rtv and it didn't work too good. I was thinking about using foil and rtv. Do know of anyone that's has tried that ?

Edit/ just saw the OP already bought one.

[bcoop]

Well I'm finishing up the recommended seasoning process on it this afternoon. The instructions said to oil the inside and bring it up to 225-250 for about 2 hours, then take it to 450ish for another hour, then shut it down and let it cool completely. It held 250 no problem for 2 hours, and once I got it hotter my only problem so far has been keeping it under 500... but I likely put too much wood on there too fast. Either way, so far it held the temps I'll be cooking at most of the time really well. Which is really all I can ask for from my first smoker. As for buying better, used, etc... I wanted the best I could get without breaking the bank to see if this is something I'm willing to use the rest of my life. If so, and I get hooked on it, I'll buy a better one and take this one to my uncle's lake house. The good news is the only smoke leaks I saw were at the top hinge area of the fire box, but I might be able to bend something to seal that up...

Welcome to your new addiction.

[bcoop]

Bcoop, mine leaks a lil smoke too. You said Matt tried rtv and it didn't work too good. I was thinking about using foil and rtv. Do know of anyone that's has tried that ?

The RTV just doesn't hold up well. You can foil around the edges, with no RTV, and it should help significantly. Looks white trash, but hey, it works.

[Baron Von Crowder]

The RTV just doesn't hold up well. You can foil around the edges, with no RTV, and it should help significantly. Looks white trash, but hey, it works, Jack.

fixed that for you.

[Txstang1]

The RTV just doesn't hold up well. You can foil around the edges, with no RTV, and it should help significantly. Looks white trash, but hey, it works.

Right on , I have foil on it now but it doesn't ever want to stay in place. Maybe foil and a little rtv to act as a glue or adhesive.

[4.6coupe]

http://www.thesmokering.com/forum/

Check out/do a search on what smokers they recommend... Some they totally shy away from due to inconsistant temperatures as stated above.

[the spindoctor]

To seal the lid on my cheap smoker I bought some fiberglass insulating rope from mcmastercarr and it worked like a champ. Get the kind with the flange and then just cut it to length and screw it down.

[whitetrash]

I am currently looking at the original smoker posted. My only thing is I wanna add grates to the main box so it can be duel purpose. Anyone ever had issues with doing that?

[Silverback]

Just get high temp oven gasket material or the fiberglass rope mentioned above

It seems to get the job done the best from the forums I read.
The rtv worked but it's a major pain to get it right.

[Bputacoma]

what can i expect from a cheap electric smoker? with brisket (bbq quality wise) i'm lazy and don't really wanna have to keep the fire going in the cheap thin wood ones.

[Rafa]

I bought a used one from A+ a few weeks back. It was custom made from what looks like 3/16's and 1/4' steel. Got it from him on the cheap. I got new wheels and casters on it. Got a baffle welded inside, which I should of taken it maybe a few more inches down, oh well. Gonna freshen the outside up a bit with some high temp paint. I'll post up some pics later this week.

[bcoop]

what can i expect from a cheap electric smoker?

A lot of harassment from me about cooking a brisket in an oven, jokes about being in the kitchen with the women, etc. Just ask 2165 Turbo Rail.



You just can't produce the results that you can with an offset. That goes for verticals, ovens (electric), etc. A while back I invited anyone to try. Nobody has taken me up on it yet. You aren't really smoking anything at that point. You're baking it, with a little wood for some flavor. Might as well use that nasty ass liquid smoke, IMO. I'm not saying you can't do an ok job. But your bark will pale in comparison, and the smoke ring will be weak, as will the smoke flavor.

[Bputacoma]

A lot of harassment from me about cooking a brisket in an oven, jokes about being in the kitchen with the women, etc. Just ask 2165 Turbo Rail.

Ahhh, i don't mind the harassment. but sub par bbq would suck. when I could easily go to Spring Creek and not do it myself.

I'll just hold off and buy a better smoker, hopefully a cheap side smoker like the academy one.

Thanks!

[bcoop]

I'll just hold off and buy a better smoker, hopefully a cheap side smoker like the academy one.

Thanks!

Don't be afraid to buy a used one. For a little more money, you can get a MUCH better used smoker.