looking for recommendations on new smoker

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WFO_SS

Found some matches.
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been looking at smokers the last few weeks to replace my old oklahoma joe's offset. would mainly be used for my small family, with occasional 12-20 person entertaining. ability to also use for charcoal grilling would be nice, too. narrowed down to backwoods g2 chubby or humphrey's weekender, or weber smokey mountain. i have no experience with either insulated cabinet style or WSM. originally was looking strictly at cabinet style, but seems to be barely available and shipping is a real bitch of an expense. i'm appalled at the lack of availability of these 2 in the dfw area. i'm also shocked at the nearly double in price of these over the last 3-4 years. WSM has a huge aftermarket for mods and can be nearly set & forget with temp controllers, etc. don't want a pellet smoker & don't want electric. need something with a smaller footprint than my stick burner & easier to move. looking for real world experience & advice. thanks
 
Will be honest, I don’t have any experience on your your first two choices you mentioned. But I can’t say enough good things about the WSM. Absolutely love cooking on mine. I have it set up with the BBQ Guru, which works great at holding temps. Some say the 22 is a fuel hog, but I don’t find it to be out of line. My only real complaint about the WSM is the door. Don’t understand just why Weber went cheap on it. Just my 2 cents.
 
no way a wsm could be more of a fuel hog than the old stick burner. but the lavalock door would absolutely be one of the first mods done.
 
Do you need an insulated smoker? If so, those cabinet smokers will hold temps really well. Going from a stick burner to a charcoal burner, are you concerned about different flavor profiles (i'e', smoke)? There is a huge price difference between the cabinets and the WSM. Fuel costs are slightly more on a 22" WSM, but I think it comes to only 2 to 3 bucks each cook.
 
i don't necessarily need an insulated. i had planned on replacing the horizontal offset with a modded bandera, but it seems those aren't even available right now. when i started researching, i noticed how popular the insulated are. main benefit would be for smaller footprint/size & ease of use. the cost of insulated is off putting to me, to be honest. i could have a totally tricked out wsm for about half the price it would cost me to get an insulated. but after seeing what BGE style & pellet styles are going for these days, i'm not completely opposed to the price. i'm not a competitor, so i'm not super concerned about the stick burner vs charcoal flavor profiles. wood chunks mixed with charcoal would suffice for my needs. using a temp controller would also be new to me. for my cooks, i've just always planned on losing lots of sleep tending to the fire on my offset lol
 
Look at the M1. They are close to you in Mesquite TX so you could pick it up or they may even deliver that close. It has the ability to wood smoke, charcoal smoke, and grill all in a fairly small foot print.
 
70monte said:
Look at the M1. They are close to you in Mesquite TX so you could pick it up or they may even deliver that close. It has the ability to wood smoke, charcoal smoke, and grill all in a fairly small foot print.
Click to expand...


dang, that's a really nice setup. unfortunately, little more than i'm wanting to spend. i'm more of a bang for the buck type. plus, i'd need to get rid of my gas weber that's not very old.
 
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I really like my Humphrey's Long Weekender. It was the cheapest of the three models I have, but it is also my favorite. Comes up to temp quick, does not use a lot of fuel, and has a large capacity.
 
Having cooked on all sorts of cookers an insulated cabinet has been by far the best to suit my needs.
The thing I hated about WSM's is the lack of capacity, taking the sections apart to remove the ash and start the fire and removing a grate to get to the second grate. My WSM is a fuel hog in comparison to my insulated cabinet and unlike my insulated cabinet I find my WSM is extremely temperamental in windy and cold conditions.
A WSM is fine if you don't mind putting some effort into it. Me, I've usually got better things to do than setting up wind barriers when needed, insulation blankets when cold and refueling on long cooks. With my insulated cabinet I start the fire set my controller when up to temp I put the food in and walk away until the food is done.
For me the extra money for the insulated cabinet is well worth it as it affords me the time to do other things rather than tending a cooker. Being in Texas I would think LSG would be an option?
 
I've seen quite a few Battle Boxes on Facebook marketplace. Most looked like they were in decent shape. It's worth checking for used units.
 
Ever thought about a 26” Weber Kettle with a Slow n Sear? Pretty versatile.
 
stlbbqstore.com. Just got a fresh shipment in from Humphreys. Look them up on Facebook. Great people to deal with. They ship everywhere, like even to Australia. Serious BBQ store. They are resellers of Shirley Fabrication smokers if that tells you anything.
 
Love my WSM, but my PBC is easier. Given what you’ve said, I’d also think about a gateway or hunsaker drum.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I got my 14" and 18" WSM's used because I already had 22's. For a ~$100 you can get a gently used WSM that is pretty hard to tell from new except they generally need some cleaning or a good burn out.

That is a really easy entry point to see if you really like WSM smoking. If not, you get your ~$100 back on Facebook or whatever site you use.

Be patient, more used smokers are turning up in a tough economy and I expect even more people who aren't really committed to the BBQ lifestyle to let theirs go. Even with my herd, I'm not opposed to the right IVC or gravity-fed joining in the fun here in rural East Texas!

Consider waiting for the Fall Bash in Belton to see some options in person. When you actually put your hands on something, it is a whole lot easier to understand why you do or don't want one unit over another.

Also, are you like me and figured out you really like playing with the fire and wood or, are you busy and want a more set-and-forget option? If you hang out next the firebox instead of under the Pavillion at Belton you will know what you really need as opposed to what you think you want! :-D
 
stljay said:
stlbbqstore.com. Just got a fresh shipment in from Humphreys. Look them up on Facebook. Great people to deal with. They ship everywhere, like even to Australia. Serious BBQ store. They are resellers of Shirley Fabrication smokers if that tells you anything.
Click to expand...

Amazing store, just picked up my Yoder 1500 from them yesterday.
 
due to this forum, i'm looking into assassin & m1 now. that assassin looks great for that price just concerned about shipping cost.
 
Sid Post said:
Also, are you like me and figured out you really like playing with the fire and wood or, are you busy and want a more set-and-forget option? If you hang out next the firebox instead of under the Pavillion at Belton you will know what you really need as opposed to what you think you want! :-D
Click to expand...


i've always used a stick burner. few cooks on my grandfather's old homemade brick coal bed cooker (he was a mason.) i have 2 littles now, so i'm pretty busy. but with all the controllers out there now, a lot is more hands free now. idk. it's all such a different game than 13 years ago when i bought my first offset
 
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