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13spicerub

13spicerub

Meat Mopper
Original poster
Sep 11, 2007
180
11
NYC
after 5 years of apartment living, i'm moving into a townhouse with a patio/backyard so i can finally return to BBQing.  

I've had a horizontal offset smoker and a vertical charcoal smoker but now im married with a kid no time to mess with charcoal.  I had a propane attachment for the vertical smoker but never felt comfortable leaving it unattended.  Electric seems to be the way to go for the new place.

1st question is regarding the electric bill - if i run one for a couple hours every sunday, is it going to skyrocket my electric bill?

2nd - MES seems to be the way to go as far as price and availability in my area.  Any tips, tricks, MODs?  i started searching the forum but theres just too much info.

thanks
 
13spicerub said:
after 5 years of apartment living, i'm moving into a townhouse with a patio/backyard so i can finally return to BBQing.  

I've had a horizontal offset smoker and a vertical charcoal smoker but now im married with a kid no time to mess with charcoal.  I had a propane attachment for the vertical smoker but never felt comfortable leaving it unattended.  Electric seems to be the way to go for the new place.


1st question is regarding the electric bill - if i run one for a couple hours every sunday, is it going to skyrocket my electric bill?

2nd - MES seems to be the way to go as far as price and availability in my area.  Any tips, tricks, MODs?  i started searching the forum but theres just too much info.

thanks
Click to expand...
One guy here on SMF went to the library and checked out a kilowatt meter. It was about $2.00 for a 9hr. Smoke. Those 1875 watt hair driers drain electricity. After the mes 30 at 800 watts or the 40 at 1200 watts start cycling on and off after the initial heat up, it's pennies.
-Kurt
 
Read my old post on this exact subject:

MES 30 energy measurements using kill-a-watt power meter

As several people pointed out in that thread, you may actually be money ahead compared to buying charcoal or propane or big chunks of wood to fuel other smokers, grills, or BBQs.

Oh yes, you also might want to look at my long post in this thread about the electricity cost of sous vide cooking:

Do you think a sous vide is cost effective?

I provide more detail about the power meter you can borrow or buy to measure the electricity usage of not only your smoker, but other appliances as well.
 
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