Buying my first smoker combo

[phillipleondria]

Hello everyone. I have been searching around and reading up for quite a while on grills, smokers, and the combo units of them both. I have decided for me it would be in my best bet to get one of the charcoal, gas, smoker combos to use for me and my family. I love to grill on charcoal or gas, but my wife only uses gas. I am interested in trying my hand at smoking some meats as well, as I have never done so but I think its time to expand my cooking a bit. I have settled in on three choices and would like everyone's opinion on them. First the Smoke Hollow 4 in 1 combo, I know it needs a few mods from checking around the sites, but from what i have read every combo needs a few here and there like extending the chimney inside, adding a small grate to the charcoal tray as its to large for most lump, or briquets, and the lids will need a good seal. My second choice is slightly different, its the Oklahoma Joe Longhorn Combo, from what I read other than the charcoal tray it needs the exact same mods, aside from the charcoal tray but the doors leak like a sieve, and the chimney needs extending as well. The third choice I have is the Char Griller Trio, same basic mods yet again, I am left to wonder about the quality and personal experiences of those who have used these grills. I am wary of most reviews on places that sell them as I know sometimes those are paid reviews, and often the company themselves doing the reviews through employees. All of these grills are around the same price range, of less than 500.00 us, and thats about my budget, however if you have experience with a good combo unit i am open to suggestions. Thank you guys for the help.

 

[larmar]

Are you currently grilling on either charcoal or gas? The reason I ask is that you might want to consider a grill for grilling, and a smoker for smoking. 

You can get a decent no frills gas grill like a Broil-Mate 165154 for grilling:

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/grill/broil-mate-165154-lp-gas-grill

And for smoking consider something like a Camp Chef Smoke Vault 24 vertical gas smoker ($224 on Amazon):

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment_reviews_ratings/smoker/camp-chef-smoke-vault-24 

This way you're satisfying both your wife and yourself with gas, all while keeping the peace and staying within your budget.

Then if you if you should end up with some extra money and space, you still can't beat a good old Weber to satisfy your charcoal needs.

Whatever you do, you might want to reconsider a Char-Griller:

http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipmen...r-duo-model-5050-combo-gas-and-charcoal-grill

I also have a co-worker who is extremely disappointed with his.

 

[phillipleondria]

Curently I have neither my old grill died last year and we moved into an apartment shortly after. Ground floor with a huge patio mind you. The apartment living though is why i am leaning towards a combo unit as well.storage space is limited, and i am an all season griller.

 

[lemans]

Here is my two cents.. I have the Chargriller trio for about 5 years now. When I bought it I was new to the smoking addiction. Like you my old propane died and I was looking for a new grill. I bought the Chargriller and used it once with charcoal before I added the smoker box. After many mods and $$$ I got it working
Good. Did many smokes on it. But!!! Because of its thin construction it looses a lot of heat.. if I was to do it again I would buy the okey jo, they use 3/16 steel and it's built like a tank and it is more expensive than the Chargriller but it come with the firebox that cost me $100 extra. The smoke hollow .. only saw it at sams
IMHO it is not made well.
The other way to go: buy a Weber 220 or 310 propane and a 22.5 kettle.. if you can't do it on a kettle
It can't be done.. and this is from a guy who owns 2-22 WSM's!!
Good luck on your choice..