What's the difference between a WSM and a Brinkmann Smoke-n-Grill except ten times the price???
Oh, probably 20 times the performance, over 2 times the capacity, and 100 times less headaches. You can't do a full packer brisket on the 15.5" Brinkmann grates...the 22.5"
WSM should handle all but the largest briskets (largest being 17-18lb+) with ease. Single pork butt per grate in the Brinkmann (unless laid on edge, then 2, with some crowding), with 2-3 on the 22.5"
WSM.
I have a Smoke n Grill, which I never used in it's stock configuration. I bought it for the barrel and grates, to add as a stacker for up to 4 grates of cooking with my charcoal Gourmet, which is heavily modified, btw...never used it stock, either. Fire control with these smaller, lighter built smokers can get pretty dicey, even with mods, as they do not have air-tight joints of the barrel and charcoal pan, or mechanical/manual means to control the intake air flow. In fact, the Smoke n Grill actually just uses an over-sized water pan for charcoal, and rests loosely on the legs of an open-bottom design...poor design concept, and very poor performance, that I can be sure of.
The Gourmet comes with a better design, with a charcoal pan having slotted holes for combustion air to get to the coal-bed, which does help to some degree, and a single hole for intake air on the bottom pan/base. It's better, but still not something you would want to attempt long smokes in without making additional mods, such as I did with mine. No fire control (combustion air intake control) and lack of provisions for ash fall-out are the biggest problems with either model.
I've drooled over the thought of having a
WSM in my arsenal for a few years, for good reason. They're built to last a life-time, are made in USA, with their only likely rival being a home-made UDS, when considering fire control, longevity of cooking without tending the fire, and fuel efficiency.
As mentioned, you get what you pay for. WSM = more dollars, Gourmet = cheap, SnG = cheaper. If performance right out of the box is what you want, do spare the coin. If you choose the Smoke n Grill, be ready to do lots of mods in order to make somewhat decent smoker out of it.
Eric