Backwoods Chubby G2....or similar?

[clubmanager]

Have to admit, I'm all over the place on choosing a Smoker! After a lot of consideration, I think (keyword, think) I want a charcoal smoker that I can walk away from for 8 hours or longer. I've stumbled on the Backwoods Smokers and really like the G2 Chubby but curious about a couple of things.....
1. Does it feed charcoal via gravity?
2. Can I use lump wood or just charcoal only?
3. Can I load enough to walk away for 8 hours?
And lastly, considering all the above, is there a better choice?

Ideally, I'd like to smoke 3-4 Briskets at one time, use a full sized steam pan/half hotel pan....and to the extent I'm able, American Made.

I've used electric and propane smokers but in both cases, could only load a small amount of wood at a time. I only currently have a Masterbuilt vertical smoker but want something larger/better and more inline with my needs as listed above. I'll keep it for backup I suppose....it ended up being free so...;)

If any of my questions are straight-up dumb, I'll apologize in advance. I think 'I know just enough to know that I don't know' as the saying goes.

 

[JckDanls 07]

1. Does it feed charcoal via gravity? YES... edit... Upon further review... NO this is not a gravity fed smoker
2. Can I use lump wood or just charcoal only? MIXTURE from what I have read
3. Can I load enough to walk away for 8 hours? NOT SURE... Web site says 8-12 hours

I do not have a GF (gravity feed) .. But I have looked into them a few times...

 

[normanaj]

This is from their website:

G2 Chubby

The G2 Chubby is a bigger version of our original Chubby.The upgrades from the original Chubby include additional 6″ of smoker depth, heavy duty wire racks, a new large capacity fire box and a bigger water pan. These additions are what our customers asked for the capacity for larger cuts of...

shop.backwoods-smoker.com

 

[normanaj]

From the pics on their site it appears to use a charcoal basket on the bottom of the cabinet.

 

[PingMe]

Have to admit, I'm all over the place on choosing a Smoker! After a lot of consideration, I think (keyword, think) I want a charcoal smoker that I can walk away from for 8 hours or longer. I've stumbled on the Backwoods Smokers and really like the G2 Chubby but curious about a couple of things.....
1. Does it feed charcoal via gravity?
2. Can I use lump wood or just charcoal only?
3. Can I load enough to walk away for 8 hours?
And lastly, considering all the above, is there a better choice?

Ideally, I'd like to smoke 3-4 Briskets at one time, use a full sized steam pan/half hotel pan....and to the extent I'm able, American Made.

I've used electric and propane smokers but in both cases, could only load a small amount of wood at a time. I only currently have a Masterbuilt vertical smoker but want something larger/better and more inline with my needs as listed above. I'll keep it for backup I suppose....it ended up being free so...;)

If any of my questions are straight-up dumb, I'll apologize in advance. I think 'I know just enough to know that I don't know' as the saying goes.

The charcoal is in a drawer behind the bottom door, there is no feed system.
I find that charcoal burns more consistently, but I have used lump in the past.
Yes, if you set the airflow to hold the temp around 225-250, and you use decent charcoal, (I prefer B&B briquettes), this thing will run for 10-12 hours. You will need to re-fill the water pan before the fire goes out. I have a Fatboy and have smoked multiple briskets at once.
Good luck!

 

[jcam222]

Many of charcoal cabinets with fire basket can still be hands off. My 270 smoker will run a good 8-10 hours without me doing a thing once dialed in. I do like to toss in a wood chunk or two form time to time but it’s overall hands off.