Buying new smoker

[merrymanb]

I have been smoking only about6 months and have used only wood so far in a Char-Griller vertical smoker. I am about to buy a gas smoker so I don't have the hassle of finding and buying the wood. I only have room on my patio for one more smoker. What would everyone recommend to buy if you can only have one gas smoker?

 

[mossymo]

Glad you joined us merrymanb, :welcome1: from North Dakota!
I don't have much experience with gas, but someone who does should hopefully be along soon.

 

[gary s]

[h1]

Hello and welcome from East Texas. This is a great site, lots of information and great people that are willing to throw in their two cents worth on about anything.   [/h1][h1]  [/h1][h1]Gary[/h1]

 

[jirod]

What do you plan on smoking?  I have a two door Masterbuilt that I really like, but it isn't very wide.  I can only fit one rack of ribs per shelf cause I have to angle them from corner to corner to get them to fit.  Same thing with a whole brisket.  Part of the time I wish I would have bought the Extra-wide Masterbuilt, but I do like the 2nd door.  Makes it easier to load chips, or now that I have the AMNTS, I can rig the bottom door open a little bit to allow enough oxygen for the tube to stay lit, and not lose a lot of heat.  Sure others would be able to give you some mods to accomplish this in any smoker, but that works for me.

 

[merrymanb]

I looked at the two-door Masterbuilt but I do think it is too narrow. I think I am down to the Masterbuilt extra-wide or the Smoky Hollow(Landmann).

 

[frog1369]

I'm new to this also and looked at soooooo many options including Smoky Hollow, Masterbuilt, MasterForge, etc. but decided on a Smoke Vault from Camp Chef.  Just ordered it, so I can't personally say anything about it yet, but it seems to get great reviews 

 

[bdskelly]

Welcome to the forums! We are happy that you joined the group. You'll find plenty of information here with over 1 million posts! Make the search bar at the top of the page your new friend. Or, simply post your question in the area that applies. You'll get plenty of helpful advice.
Also consider enrolling in Jeff's 5 day E course. It gives you lots of great information to start you off on the right foot! Best of all is that it's free!
Again, WELCOME
Brian

 

[merrymanb]

Already done the 5 day course.

 

[scredx3]

I have a Landmann GOSM and love it. They can cost a little more, but the quality is top notch. My exact model is listed in my signature. You definitely get what you pay for. Some smokers are less expensive, but components like the racks, water pans, and wood chip boxes are lower quality. A lot of people like to customize or upgrade their smokers with aftermarket components. I paid more up front, but I'm happy with it as it is. I'm not overly mechanically inclined so that was my best option. If you're pretty handy, you could save a fortune by buying a less expensive smoker and just upgrading a few components that might be lower in quality.