Spend my money?

[Garyclaw]

Build a UDS......

 

[Killa J]

I’m going to buy a Fireboard to try to control the temp. Thinking if I light less charcoal and use a fan controller, it might use less charcoal.

On a side note, do briquettes usually smell bad when you’re using them in a smoker? I pour the bag of lump in the basket and light a few spots. The basket wasn’t full, so I added maybe 4 or 5 pounds of Ridge charcoal. When the area with the Ridge started to burn, it smelled bad. I usually light them in a chimney and don’t notice a funky smell. But my wife even came outside and said whatever I was burning smelled bad.

 

[70monte]

I’m on the fence about getting something else. My wife might lose her sh... stuff if I buy another cooker. And $1000 buys a lot of charcoal. Just something about spending almost as much on the charcoal as on the food rubs me the wrong way for small cooks. Maybe I need to try a temp controller on my Dancook kettle. It doesn’t have adjustable intake dampers, so I haven’t found it works well for smoking - only grilling so far. But maybe with the intake holes covered and a blower fan on one, I can get good stable temps.

The Marshall is a great smoker but does use a lot of charcoal. I've had mine for almost four years and have only used it about 3 or 4 times. I bought it because I got a great deal on it plus I thought I would be cooking for more of the family get togethers which didn't happen. I don't even use the Open Range much these days.

Most of the time I'm just cooking for the two of us so I use the PK 360, the M1, or the Hasty Bake Legacy the most. I do use the PBC occasionally as well.

Luckily my fiancée doesn't say too much about how many cookers I have or buy so that is a plus. Good luck on your decision.