Master Forge smoker at Lowes

I might try the ecourse.

I did get the internal temp around 165-170. It just dried out too much I think.

I thought of looking at some local used appliance shops for those gaskets.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Mike

I was wrong on the temp a little, you should wrap it with foil at 170 F and put it back in till it reaches about 200-205 F you don't get that much of a dark bark but the foil helps keep it moist. Also spray some kind of juice or juice and water mix every hour to keep it from drying out. Before u wrap it spray down with some juices.

I have been smoking on my Master Forge for about a month now and haven't had much luck with it.  The food has not really been that tender and I have followed the directions from people on this forum exactly.  Also when I put the meat on the racks the dripping don't hit the water pan much and makes a very big mess.  I am thinking about putting a larger foil pan on the bottom rack to catch the drippings so there won't be such a mess.  I'm not giving up yet but it is just very dissapointing that I can't get this thing to produce good smoked meats.

I purchased the Master Forge Smoker after reading tons of reviews and driving all over looking at all the brands of units available at the local chain stores.

Bang for the buck, This smoker is the best!  Packing alone was high quality, everything wrapped, standardized bolts, logical build order, complex parts preassembled, clean surfaces, good welds, even the outer box had shipping straps!

This is a solid unit and the complaints about the doors leaking smoke is not a problem. I used a plastic paint brush handle to pry the door lips square and also used a small wood block and a hammer to tap out the edges around the openings. The bar that crossed between the top and bottom door was pressed in and was causing a large gap. I used my hand to pull it out and worked around the edges and was able to make a nice fit for both doors. Seems they bent the sheet metal edges in a bit too far during manufacturing.  One other thing is when you tighen the door handle locks slide them all the way back in the slots to make the doors get pulled tight when the handles are in the lock down position.

I took the thermometer and put it in a small stainless steel bowl and placed it into my home oven. The bowl was so I could see through the window of my oven the face of the meter.  My oven is a newer model with digital settings and so I set the oven to 220 degrees and waited for it to beep that the temp was achieved. After about 20 minutes the thermometer was reading about 50 degrees high. So I removed the unit and once it cooled I took a wrench and unbolted the nut on the sensor and removed the thermo from the black metal holder. (dont need to loosen the two black bolts on the housing) Once I removed the meter, I used a small screwdriver and bent the tabs on the shiny metal housing and carefully removed the bezel and exposed the face of the thermometer and needle indicator.

I then used my finger to gently pull the needle backward about 1/4 to 1/2 around. The thermometer is made from a bi-metal coil. I did this several times until the needle would rest farther back from it's original resting point. I reassembled the unit and bent the tabs back down and put the nut back on the housing and returned to the kitchen and placed the assembly back into the oven. I set the temp to 220 and waited. This time the meter read about 10 degrees higher at 230.  Close enough for me and I did not want to re-twist the needle again and risk any more the possible breaking of the unit. Now if I am cooking anywhere between 220 to 250 I am happy, it's not that critical. 

So now I am all set and after breaking in the unit , I cooked my first  Pork butt. Be sure to line your water bowl with foil and make some wings so you get better coverage from the drippings. 

I used the cowboy hickory chips sold at lowes and they worked perfectly after a good soak pour off the water and let them dry a bit.  I like smoke flavor but I want to taste the meat too, so when my chips cook out after about 4 hours I don't add any more, even the owners manual says the smoke flavor sets in the meat in the first two hours. I like to add a small stainless bowel with apple cider vinegar on the low rack to add a little twang to the pork. I also dont like mixing meats, I like to cook pork with pork, beef with beef. It's not just smoke your making, it''s moist heat, low and slow. This cooker sure beats my old charcoal unit by a mile.

As you can tell , I am very happy with this smoker!! 

Alyxx said:

Well if you haven't yet you should take the 5 day e-course, then compare that to what you are doing, you should always be trying to reach an internal temp of 160 F on your butts and they should be easy to pull. As for my gaskets I found them in a salvage yard off some old ovens. You can buy them on line but they are pricey. If you do buy them make sure you get the push pins so they are easier to install, I covered that earlier.

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Alyxx,

Do you really mean 160 degrees internal of the pork butt to be able to pull it? I'm of the opnion that it takes an internal temp of 185 to 205 to pull pork.
 

I have Never not liked my GOSM smoker...Its propane and maintanes its temperature through out the smoke. Set it on low and it will hold a little above

225 degrees....Much better than my old (babysit) Brinkman charcoal smoker.

Just my thoughts.

Stay away from Master Forge Smokers- they are cheaply made, poorly designed, and very flimsy. i just bout one and have ordered the same replacement parts twice. if you want a good smoker buy a Smoke Hollow

if you read my post on may 23, 2012 i detailed my problems with the mf dual door smoker. as of today i have not received the SECOND set of replacement parts. btw, i posted basically the same review on the LOWES review site and i received an e-mail the next day telling me that my review would not be accepted on their site. tells you something about LOWES and how they dont stand behind their products or accept less than positive reviews. you would do well to stay away from master forge smokers and buy a smoke hollow propane smoker. i bought mine at gander mountain. and to that individual that was an engineer-what does the product you purchase and the good money you spend on it have to do with "tinkering" with it? if i spend my hard earned money on something, i do not buy it for the purpose of attempting to tinker with, or improve it. i want it to work as it's supposed to out of the box! if and when the replacement parts do arrive, and if they do not work as designed, and i'm betting they will not i will take it back to LOWES.

I've smoked using the 'out of box' Master Forge from Lowes...  The only thing I've done is to make sure that the doors close up nice and tight.  Smoke comes out, but not overly so.  Other than that, I seasoned once and started smoking.  I use large chunks of mesquite and smaller hickory and fruit wood chunks in combination depending on the type of meat I'm smoking.  The bi-metal thermometer is junk, but then they have been junk since they were invented a couple hundred years ago.  

I use the wood tray and the water tray that came with the unit with no issues, I do have a lot of wind, so I have to block off two sides (back and left) so the wind doesn't affect the flame so much, but it comes up to temp easily and stays that way for hours.  I used it again this past weekend on a turkey.  The smoke ring on that thing was almost an inch deep.  We ate it all before I could get the camera out and take a picture, but I'll try next time to put the fork down long enough to snap a pic.

I understand your frustration pizzaman1, but perhaps you simply got one of the 'lemons' that happen when manufacturing goes wrong.

Now, could this smoker be better?  Of course.  But for 150 bucks, I think it's a very good deal and a great intro into smoking with propane.

Also, I don't know a single purveyor of smoked meat that doesn't like to fiddle and tweak his smoker just a little :)

HiTechRedNeck

The only good meat is a smoked meat.

I'm still new to Smokin but I like my Master Forge and think that for the price it's a very good unit.

My biggest  problem is that the wood chunks always seem to catch fire, I've raised the tray and last smoke I made a foil packet but still cought fire. 

Tim

My Master Forge was garbage before I worked it over.

The water pan is big, but I took and drilled 1/2 inch holes through the flange on all four, about 1/2 inch apart.

Lets a lot more heat and smoke thru. I have never had a problem with the chip box, but sometimes do put it

up one slot.

Wind is the biggest foe for this unit, so I have foil insulation stuck on mine and now can hold 225 - 230 all day long,

even at 50 degrees and blowing wind. Only thing I can't do is smoke at any temp above 250, melts the inside of the insulation, still needs work,

but I don't usually smoke above 250 anyway.

I purchased a master forge duel door unit this weekend
First time smoker a 25 lb turkey
After much research decided to smoke for 2 hours them bake
Initially started a smoker up on gas with unit Empty, after 10 min. Temp went up to 500 degrees
So I felt comfortable that I could bake turkey okay
Start unit up on coal and put turkey in smoker, could not get unit over 100f (outside temp 25f on wind) so I started gas unit up and with coal and gas got unit up to 225f.
Had to get temp up to 325 min. So I removed water pan and replace it with smaller container
It worked and I got turkey finished on time and tasted great
Now I got a lot of mods to do
Insulation around doors
Modify water pan to allow heat to get around it -but let it still catch drippings
Thinks about insulation on sides of unit too
Also need digital Thermometer
Will keep you posted on progress

Congrats on the new purchase.  I have the same smoker, and have had a lot of sucess with it.  The one Mod I would suggest you get is the A-Maze-N tube smoker, http://www.amazenproducts.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=AMNTS.  I use the 12" version in my smoker, and it's helped produce some great cooks.  Good Luck.

I own this smoker and have been using it for over a year now.  My partner on my BBQ team liked mine so much he bought one too.  In our last three BBQ comps, we have taken a 1st in Ribs, a 1st in chicken, a 2nd in pulled pork, and a 3rd in pulled pork and have won about $1100 using the Master Forge smoker.  We have beaten several professional restaurants and caterers with rigs costing thousands of dollars with two $150.00 smokers.  I'd say this is one of the best buys on the market.

Let me also state that they are not insulated, they leak air and smoke like a screen door on a submarine, and they don't cook very well when the temperature is below 50 degrees.  But for a cheep smoker, you couldn't ask for much better.  All inexpensive smokers have the same problems this one has.
 

@ Smokin NW

I love the insulation job you did on your Master Forge.  I'm going to attempt the same on mine.  Thanks for the great idea.
 

Have the same smoker smoked a fresh ham last weekend everyone loved it.  Trying a Beef tenderloin this weekend and going to use iron skillet for wood chip to help control flair ups,  Any ideas?

What brand/name high temp silicone is recommended for sealing?  Thanks

Permatex High-Temp RED Silicon Gasket Maker. Good to 650* and can be used on ovens so it's food safe. Run a nice size bead, cover with cellophane (Saran) wrap, and close door. Wait about 24 hours for it to cure, open and cellophane will lift right off. Run a couple hours with a little wood to get rid of the chemical smell.

Have had this smoker a bit over two years.  One of the first modifications was to properly seal the doors.  Found some flat high temperature fireplace door seal material at True Value. It measured 3/4 wide by 1/8 thick.  Used red Permatex to hold it in place and it has been going strong since.  You will need 12 feet of the stuff to do both doors.

Another modification was the addition of 3 dial thermometers to measure box temperature.  One at the top, one at the bottom, and one in the middle.  Found them at Grainger.  They have a foot long probe and seem to respond quickly.  Just carefully drilled holes through the side of the box so the probe just slides in.  No other support is needed and they slide out for cleaning.

Just upgraded a previous modification which installed a needle valve in the gas supply.  Just upgraded from the needle valve to a true metering valve salvaged from some junk industrial equipment.  It takes a full ten turns from open to close and has a scale which allows you to record the setting of the valve.  Very cool looking. 

Overall, this smoker has done a great job and allowed me to tinker a bit.   If we did upgrade, it probably would be for size, we are getting close to outgrowing this one!   We primarily do sausages, pastrami, and some chicken. 
 

I've been using this smoker for just about six months now. I've made some very good smokes using this propane smoker.

One most recent struggle has been to get the temps low enough for smoking sausage. After reading some threads here and across the web I found an 'acceptable to me' solution.

Being that I have the newer model Lowes, the fittings underneath are not the same in some of the threads you see here regarding conversions to natural gas. In the newer version, the propane hose has a factory crimp and removing/replacing is not an option.


This is a King Kooker stainless hose with an adjustable valve fit to the original propane hose. The line was tested for leaks and every half hour during it's first smoke I tested for leaks.

Using this setup, I can adjust the flame extremely well and now can smoke sausages at a low temp.

An in progress after the modification...