Looking at propane smokers

[Boudreaux]

I once enjoyed reading this forum, but have been away enjoying my Weber SM charcoal smoker. Well, I'm back looking for info.

Anyone here has info on a Masterbuilt ThermoTemp Propane Smoker...???
My research thus far has led me to feel I might enjoy the idea of less attention to long cooks with that unit. My concern is reliability in Materbuilt.

[Joshw]

I have been reading a lot about them over the last week. Looking for a vertical, to hang sausage in. The biggest complaint I have seen, is flame out. Seems like a lot of the issues were resolved with properly installing the thermocouple. But it is something I have been mulling over. Another issue, is the temp will only go down to 175, and I would like to get lower, for sausage.

Also been looking at the normal propane smokers, and installing a needle valve. This gives really good control, but you also have flame out issues, and with this style, you don't have the safety gas shutoff that you have on the thermotemp.

Now I am considering an electric, which I am not a fan of, but it seems like it would be the most reliable for steady low temps. But researching them, They have their own set of issues.

I have used both electric, and propane in the past. I get the ease of use, and they have their benefits, but I have never got the flavor out of them.

[Pedro7]

Maybe look into a pellet smoker as well? They are also very set and forget

[KevinJ]

Why not just invest in a automatic temperature controller like a Pitmaster IQ or Guru? Turns your WSM into set it and forget it.

[jpbsarris]

I agree that the main issue with the propane models is unstable flame at low settings. It doesn't take much wind to blow the fame out. It seems that a lot of them have too big of a burner for low temp use. You definitely want one with a safety device to stop the gas if the flame goes out. I put on of these in a propane smoker a while back and it worked good for lower temp and doesn't blow out easily. You can get an adapter to run it off a larger tank.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3500W-Porta....c100005.m1851

[bschoen]

I would think the the Masterbuilt electric would have better control.

[Mikhail]

Propane heat has no flavor profile. Given that I see no advantage in a propane cooker that you have to haul tanks for and will inevitably run out in the middle of a cook over an electric.

[Czarbecue]

Do not get the Thermotemp version of the Masterbuilt. I have one and it’s highly annoying to have the igniter go out because the sensor does not recognize the flame. It’s a common issue if you read on the other smoking meat website. I fixed mine by soldering my own copper wire to lengthen the sensor wire. I still have flameouts though due to the design. Other than that, I like it. I only smoke sides or chicken in it. The flavor is too light, no matter what chunk/chip combination I use.

[Joshw]

Originally Posted by Czarbecue

Do not get the Thermotemp version of the Masterbuilt. I have one and it’s highly annoying to have the igniter go out because the sensor does not recognize the flame. It’s a common issue if you read on the other smoking meat website. I fixed mine by soldering my own copper wire to lengthen the sensor wire. I still have flameouts though due to the design. Other than that, I like it. I only smoke sides or chicken in it. The flavor is too light, no matter what chunk/chip combination I use.

That's what I have decided, in my research. Good idea, bad implementation.

I went with a Smoke Hollow 44". Home Depot has them on sale for $289. Curious have you tried using amaze-n-tube in your gasser? I read on other forums, where people say they work really well. Others say, there isn't enough oxygen, so they do what they call a , mailbox mod. Basically duct a mailbox into the smoker, and use a tube in the mailbox. Also been looking at the Smoke Daddy smoke generators. They seem like a nice straight forward option, but a little pricey.

I am going to use mine, mainly as a cold smoker, and for sausage. I felt like the gasser, would give me more control than the electric. The electrics claim 100 degrees but in research, there is a lot of talk about temp swings, and that is not good for sausage.

I figured the gasser would give me more control, even if it meant some mods, or a little more monitoring. Also, the electrics have a reputation, of going out in a couple of years, where a gasser should last a long time, if cared for. If you want to go electric, Academy has a MB 140S 40" on sale for $199. From other forums, I gather this is a descent model #. Apparently there are major differences between each MB model, and there are a lot of them.

[airedale]

I have a Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24" that I used for a year or two as a smoker. It's OK, but at low flame settings it is hard to get the wood chips hot enough to smolder. I even added a fresh air pipe to the chips from the back of the box and that did not help. So "set and forget" really did not happen although I did produce some good 'cue from the box.

Now I have a CC DLX pellet grill for hot smoking and use the Smoke Vault strictly for cold smoking with an A-Maze-N maze. The maze produces about 11 hours of smoke, good for making bacon. 2-4 hours is enough for cheese. The tin box is especially good for bacon because the inside height makes hanging the bellies easy.

If I were in the market, though, I would look hard at the Pit Boss vertical smokers (https://pitboss-grills.com/Shop-Pit-...rtical-smokers). I would be interested in the pellet version but there is a gasser too. The vertical design would let me ditch the Smoke Vault and regain some deck space as I could cold smoke and hot smoke in the one box.

[Joshw]

Originally Posted by airedale

I have a Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24" that I used for a year or two as a smoker. It's OK, but at low flame settings it is hard to get the wood chips hot enough to smolder. I even added a fresh air pipe to the chips from the back of the box and that did not help. So "set and forget" really did not happen although I did produce some good 'cue from the box.

Now I have a CC DLX pellet grill for hot smoking and use the Smoke Vault strictly for cold smoking with an A-Maze-N maze. The maze produces about 11 hours of smoke, good for making bacon. 2-4 hours is enough for cheese. The tin box is especially good for bacon because the inside height makes hanging the bellies easy.

If I were in the market, though, I would look hard at the Pit Boss vertical smokers (https://pitboss-grills.com/Shop-Pit-...rtical-smokers). I would be interested in the pellet version but there is a gasser too. The vertical design would let me ditch the Smoke Vault and regain some deck space as I could cold smoke and hot smoke in the one box.

I seriously considered the Pit Boss Copperhead 5. Been eyeing them, since they came out. The reviews on them are pretty bad though. Lots of complaints about auger jams, huge temp swings, and bad electronics. If I were wanting one, for my main smoker, I might have given it a chance, but I think for doing smoked sausages, the temp range, and swings would kill you. They are on sale now for $399 with free shipping. Sign up for their mailing list, and you can get an extra 10% off. https://www.ganderoutdoors.com/produ...BoC9KwQAvD_BwE

[jasonjax]

Pellet