In reply to Curtis73 :
Here's a thought, I use a Blink camera to monitor my 3d printer while I'm at work. I can pull up the camera at any time and make sure it isn't piling up plastic string on the build bed or just dancing around in mid air with a clogged nozzle. You could do the same thing with a regular thermometer probe, just aim the camera at the display and check it ever hour or so.
In reply to Toyman01 :
Great idea! It just so happens I JUST installed 2 blink cameras on the porch.
I read a bunch of reviews on the vertical pit boss and there are a LOT of complaints about the digital display failing quickly...often on the first use.
Also, a bunch of complaints about the auger binding, and it being a nightmare to repair/replace, with little to no customer support. Not sure if this is specific to the pit boss brand/model, or if this is partly operator error/design flaw (seems the culprit is pellets getting wet and turning into concrete.)
I can understand how fixing this on a vertical smoker would be more of a pain in the ass on a vertical smoker might be more of a pain in the ass as the auger (and control box) are so close to the ground.
Any thoughts? I'm sure I'm overthinking this, but I'm also thinking I don't need an enormous paper-weight on the porch (which is covered...FYI...so hopefully moisture shouldn't be a huge issue.)
In reply to poopshovel again :
That's why I bought an electric one. No augers, no pellets, no charcoal, no fire tending. Just add wood to the smoke box, set the temp you want, set the probe temp, and walk away. My charcoal fired one ended up on the scrap heap because I never used it again.
I used to have a pellet smoker. All the bells and whistles. I gave it to dad. I hated it. Too much to go wrong, and it sometimes did.
Barrel charcoal smoker here. Dump, light, add meat, walk away for 8 hours. Also have an electric that I sometimes use, but the electric that I have (brinkman barrel) only really works in non-windy and warmer temps. As soon as it drops below about 50, or a good breeze picks up, it can't maintain temperature. Just not enough BTUs available from the 15 amps it gets. I'm sure there are ones that don't have that issue.
After owning half a dozen smokers including vertical and horizontal, wood, charcoal, electric, and gas, my next one will be:
- Vertical
- Dual fuel; charcoal and gas
- Big. Like 150 gallons big. Smaller items like salmon or a pork chop can be smoked on the grill. I want to be able to do lots of meat at once.
But honestly... for a "baby's first smoker" I would get a vertical barrel in your choice of charcoal or electric. No display, no digital readout, nothing fancy. Heck, Alton Brown smoked salmon in a cardboard box. I would buy this one in a heartbeat. $79, no frills.
Toyman01 said:In reply to Curtis73 :
Here's a thought, I use a Blink camera to monitor my 3d printer while I'm at work. I can pull up the camera at any time and make sure it isn't piling up plastic string on the build bed or just dancing around in mid air with a clogged nozzle. You could do the same thing with a regular thermometer probe, just aim the camera at the display and check it ever hour or so.
I have some wyze cameras which I could point in the right direction if the weather is cooperating. The smoker is not really near a covered space and I don't think they'll play well with rain.
But, a waterproof version could be procured.
Curtis - As far as I know, Wyze has yet to produce a waterproof camera. If I am wrong, please let me know as I’d love to pick up a couple to expand my Wyze cam coverage.
Back to the original subject, loaded up the old Weber Genesis with a bunch of wings today. Smoked up real nice with a foil pack of hickory over the back burner. Love me some smoked meat!
No one has talked about home made smokers such as two large clay planters, a hot plate, a metal plate and a grill rack. Do they really work?
In reply to Rons :
I tried one years ago and it worked ok but it's limited in size and unless you already own all the parts you don't save much over buying the Brinkman electric.
Rons said:No one has talked about home made smokers such as two large clay planters, a hot plate, a metal plate and a grill rack. Do they really work?
Do they work? Yea to a point. If you're doing fish or cheese or other lighter things sure, but you couldn't, or more you shouldn't, try something like a pork butt or brisket in such a contraption.
Rons said:No one has talked about home made smokers such as two large clay planters, a hot plate, a metal plate and a grill rack. Do they really work?
Yes, they do. Smoking is super simple. Hold a moderate temp of 220-270 for a long period of time, and something making smoke. Alton Brown does it in a cardboard box.
Woke up at 4:30 this morning, put a pork butt on the smoker and now I have a nice butt sitting in a cooler just waiting for me to pull it and eat as much as I can.
I'm a bit of a hack, but I do enjoy my Pit Barrel Cooker...Especially for brisket. Rendered fat dripping directly onto hot charcoal makes for some rather tasty smoke.
T.J. said:and now I have a nice butt
Curtis73 said:Rons said:No one has talked about home made smokers such as two large clay planters, a hot plate, a metal plate and a grill rack. Do they really work?
Yes, they do. Smoking is super simple. Hold a moderate temp of 220-270 for a long period of time, and something making smoke. Alton Brown does it in a cardboard box.
Yep. Years ago I knew a guy who made a homemade smoker out of a stolen newspaper vending machine--remember those metal boxes that would eat your quarters and maybe/maybe not unlock the door for you to grab the paper? He used the bottom section as a firebox, punched some holes between it and the top (with added rack) for meats. Worked brilliantly, and everyone knows stolen=tasty.
Margie
This thread got me wanting to pick up a smoker again. I had a charcoal vertical barrel for a while, but it was a pain to keep lit and it rotted out, so it got tossed. Since I don't have time to babysit the coals all day, I'm thinking an electric or a propane smoker and a good wifi/wireless temp probe is the way to go for me.
My dad and a friend of mine have Camp Chef Smoke Vault propane smokers, and although basic, they have been great. I'm warming up to the idea of electric smokers like the ones made by Masterbuilt after having some amazing ribs at a friend's place last year; they were every bit as tasty as stuff I've had from charcoal and propane smokers.
What I don't know too much about is the side box smokers, specifically the pellet-style ones like the Traeger ones everyone seems to swoon over. I've seen some on clearance at HD lately, but it's the size of my regular propane grille and I don't know if I want to take up that much more space on the patio. Also, I like the idea of just using wood chips, which you can get cheap pretty much anywhere, as opposed to the pellets. Are these things that much better?
Dad has my old Traeger "puck" smoker. I hated it. I had trouble with the pucks falling apart and jamming, so if I didn't pay attention I got smokeless roasting. Nothing more frustrating than promising everyone at a party a 15 lb smoked brisket only to deliver plain roast beef. I'm firmly in the simplicity camp. Barrel smokers are like a carburetor in an EFI, VVT, ABS, active-cylinder-management, traction-control world. Sure, you have to pump the pedal before you start it, but it is as reliable as dirt.
Marjorie Suddard said:Curtis73 said:Rons said:No one has talked about home made smokers such as two large clay planters, a hot plate, a metal plate and a grill rack. Do they really work?
Yes, they do. Smoking is super simple. Hold a moderate temp of 220-270 for a long period of time, and something making smoke. Alton Brown does it in a cardboard box.
Yep. Years ago I knew a guy who made a homemade smoker out of a stolen newspaper vending machine--remember those metal boxes that would eat your quarters and maybe/maybe not unlock the door for you to grab the paper? He used the bottom section as a firebox, punched some holes between it and the top (with added rack) for meats. Worked brilliantly, and everyone knows stolen=tasty.
Margie
My next one will be made from an old commercial water bladder tank. It's about 6' tall and 27" in diameter. Dual fuel; charcoal and propane. Lots of people use old file cabinets. Build a fire in the bottom drawer and put meat in the upper drawers.
So, uhh, I have a smoker again.
I had to pick something up from my cousin tonight, and he offered me this thing for free. He won it in a contest a few years ago and never used it. Brand new. I'm not the biggest fan of these types of smokers (I've had a couple and they both rotted out and were a pain to keep the heat in) but this one seems to be made a little better than the ones I had. A quick search of the Googles shows that these were built for promotional purposes for a few beer companies ( like Magic Hat, as you can see here) and the reviews are not favorable. People cite that they are hard to keep the heat in. Messing around with it real quick, I noticed the door doesn't seal too well, so maybe that's why. I think with some light tinkering, I can make it work well enough.
Any tips on improving this thing?
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Wrap a packing blanket or a old bedspread around it. It will keep all the heat in you can stand, even when it's freezing outside.
Driven5 said:I'm a bit of a hack, but I do enjoy my Pit Barrel Cooker...Especially for brisket. Rendered fat dripping directly onto hot charcoal makes for some rather tasty smoke.
Ive had a PBC for a few years now. I love it. I call it the CrockPot of smokers.
So, here's a problem...
That's with the door latched! That's definitely not going to help heat retention. I may need to add some hooks or latches to seal it completely.
In reply to RevRico :
I was thinking something like that might be part of the fix. This was a problem on my old smoker too. I'd like to avoid dealing with that this time around.
EDIT: Ordered! Now to deal with the latch.
Did some smoker mods to my free promo smoker:
First, I added latches, and I used some cork rubber material to make a gasket for the side on the barrel:
Then, I added some of that high-temp rope gasket to make up for the door gaps:
Really happy with how it came out. It's very tight on the latch side, so I didn't add gasket there, but I have some left over if I need to. Hoping to do a test smoke next weekend.
You'll need to log in to post.
