Trail Embers smoker

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Rings Я Us

Smoking Guru
Original poster
Jul 3, 2017
6,326
909
Southeast Michigan
I'm curious to find out more about the Trail Embers 22" vertical water smoker sold at Tractor Supply stores.

Does anyone know if they are any good?
I have heard with a DigiQ or Party-Q installed they work flawlessly. They supposedly hold 20 lbs of briquettes.
Just wondering if anyone bought one yet. The retail price is $199.00 but I see them on sale for $99 at times.
 
I don't own one, but that looks like one very interesting bullet smoker.  Air inlet seems a little small, but like you said, with a DigiQ it would be enough. Thanks for asking about it.

Would be interesting to know if it is porcelain or painted sheet metal.  Answer: I just read the manual.  It is painted metal, not porcelain.  I inferred that from statements how to paint the exterior should it rust.     
 
I was reading the owners manual myself and read some threads in another site.. People call it a "WSM clone". It does have stainless steel doors and a hinged lid. Couple mods that wsm owners like to do. Looks nice for $99.00 when it's on sale. I missed the last sale a couple weeks ago.
 
My reply is a little late since the original post but I thought I post anyway for others looking. I believe I came across this thread when I bought mine. I've been using mine for about 6 months now. It does well with some mods. My first complaint is because it has two doors and a thin strip of metal in between, it doesn't hold a perfect circular shape to well. This cause some issues with some nice size gaps in the doors. I used lava lock on both the door and the frame and this problem was solved. I did the same where the body meets the fire box and the lid as well.

My second complaint was the intake damper just falls out every time I clean it. Just a minor annoyance. Third, I just couldn't get much more then 6 hours before needing to refuel. So I added a digiQ , it came with the pit viper fan. This gave me an extra coulple hours before refueling and as bonus i got seal up the intake vent altogether (no more falling out).

As far as the digiQ, great purchase with one exception. The pit viper fan they recommend is too small. Go with the pit bull. You can't reach the higher temps without a struggle with the viper. (FYI the recommend kit is the same one for the Weber Smokey Mountain 22.5" as you wont find this smoker in their drop down menu)

My next mods are to add a two fan setup using the smaller viper fans (since I already own one) and I'm also going to build a charcoal basket that can hold a bit more. I may also do something with top vent to keep rain out. For the price I think its still a good deal. You can get the digiq and this smoker for around the price of a 22" WSM. Although I can't really compare it to any others as this is the only one I've ever owned. I can tell you I've have had some mouth watering briskets come off it and it does look pretty cool sitting in the backyard.
 
Where did you find one to purchase. I'm looking for a few more but I guess the company stopped production .
 
I got mine at TractorSupply on sale for about $100, Ive heard Home depot has been known to carry them. You might be right about them being discontinued. I didn't realize I may have bought the last one.
 
Do any other users have experience with this smoker? I bought this and have enjoyed using it, though it’s not as efficient as I’d hoped. I can get 6-8 hours on one load. The air intake seems limited compared to WSM. The water pan is also huge and I cannot get temps above 200 with water in the pan. I usually smoke with the pan, no water.
 
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