Camp Chef SMV24S 24 instead of a pellet smoker?

[porktaco]

I currently have  MES40 which I will continue to use. But I am looking to add an additional smoker and I started looking at the pellet smokers. After reading post regard the pellet smokers have a hard time maintaining a consistent temp , I decided to look at other options.It appears that most brands of pellet smokers tend to fluctuate 20 -25 degrees during heat cycles and that is what i am trying to get away from with my MES40.

I am now looking at the SMV24 from Camp Chef. I know nothing about them or smoking with propane and I was wondering if I could get some thoughts about this smoker?

1. How much fuel is needed for a 6 hour smoke at 225? Will one 20lb tank do it?

2. Will it hold 3 racks of ribs ?

3. Does it hold constant temps? Very important

4. How is it at low temps,around 225?

5. Are modes required to get good results, or is it ready out of the box?

6. Could I use my A-maze_N tray with it, and where do I place it?

I found one shipped for around $230 and I could have it in a few days. I have a smoke off coming up at the end of this month and I wanted to use it along with my MES40.

Thanks for any input

Rick

 

[SmokinAl]

 
I currently have  MES40 which I will continue to use. But I am looking to add an additional smoker and I started looking at the pellet smokers. After reading post regard the pellet smokers have a hard time maintaining a consistent temp , I decided to look at other options.It appears that most brands of pellet smokers tend to fluctuate 20 -25 degrees during heat cycles and that is what i am trying to get away from with my MES40.

I am now looking at the SMV24 from Camp Chef. I know nothing about them or smoking with propane and I was wondering if I could get some thoughts about this smoker?

I have had a SV 24 for several years.

1. How much fuel is needed for a 6 hour smoke at 225? Will one 20lb tank do it?  You can probably get 40 to 50 hours on one tank

2. Will it hold 3 racks of ribs? Yes, easily

3. Does it hold constant temps? Very important It will hold constant temps all day long, if it's not in a direct wind.

4. How is it at low temps,around 225? Perfect

5. Are modes required to get good results, or is it ready out of the box? I have never done any mods to mine, other than buying more racks.

6. Could I use my A-maze_N tray with it, and where do I place it? I always have used wood chunks, but I'm sure you could put it on the bottom rack above the water pan.

I found one shipped for around $230 and I could have it in a few days. I have a smoke off coming up at the end of this month and I wanted to use it along with my MES40.

Thanks for any input

Rick

Hope this helps!

Al

 

[bregent]

I've never used an SMV24 but I've used similar gas cabinet smokers. You'll find it nearly impossible to keep an AMNPS lit in there because the gas will use most of the available oxygen. A smoke tube might work. I built a mailbox mod for mine.

The gas smokers I've used did maintain a pretty constant temp, but relative to ambient temps because there's no thermostat. So if you're smoking overnight and the outdoor temps drop 20-30 degrees, so will the temp inside the smoker. 

As far as pellet smoker temperature fluctuations, most are in the range of +/-5 to +/-15 these days. This is by design as they produce more smoke with more variation. I've put out some great food on my first pellet grill that had +/- 25F swings - it's really not a big deal and it probably tighter than many household ovens. The only part that it might come into play is if you're smoking fish or sausages - but you probably can't get a gas smoker to run low enough for that anyway. IMO, the temperature swings you'll get in most pellet grills are trivial. 

The biggest thing to note is that pellet grills put out less smoke flavor than other smokers. You can use supplimental smoke devices if you want, but I like to smoke profile I get without them.

 

[dirtsailor2003]

I don't have the SV-24, but I have GOSM and it works great with the AMNTS smoke tubes. You can cold smoke with them, or hot smoke with the tube in the cabinet as long as you keep your pit temps below 285. After that the pellets ignite and burn rather than smolder.

As mentioned above by Al, wind is a killer for propane smokers. Easily solved by shielding the smoker.

My GOSM is a bit larger but not by much. I can fit ten racks of spares on my five grates.

 

[porktaco]

OK, I ordered the Smoke vault and it is on the way. 

Since I placed the order I have been reading post about the issues to expect. First off , why cant we find a product that does what it is designed to do without making mods to it right out of the box. After dealing with the MES40 for a couple of years and having to purchase smoke trays and make other mods just to produce something that the product was designed to do in the first place, smoke meat!!!

I decided to look at other options, and each one had issues that had to be dealt with before you could enjoy a "stress free" smoke. I looked at the pellet poopers but they had issues like peeling paint and temp swings. 

Now, it looks like the smoke vault is no exception. From what I now know, I will need to add a needle valve , a wind deflector , and a gasket around the door. I have found the needle valve , but I am not sure what people are doing for the gasket or the wind deflectors. Can someone please make some suggestions. I have a smoke off coming up in a few weeks and I would like to use this unit without having to deal with all of the stress of keeping it going. It seems like the manufactures would include these updates in their newer modules even if they had to bump their cost up a few bucks.

Also, once I get these updates made, how do I need to set it up? 1.Where do I place the AmazeN smoke tube? 2. Where do I set the upper and lower vents? To raise or lower the temps, do I adjust the vents or do I change the flame/gas? 

Smoking should be stress free

Thanks for allowing me to vent

Rick 

 

[dirtsailor2003]

My opinion is you don't need a door gasket. My GOSM leaked like a sieve for 10 years. Never worried about it. If you have a needle valve temps will be easy to control and leaking smoke is good. As for blocking wind it's as simple as leaning anything around the base of the smoker. Once again with the needle valve this isn't as crucial except when doing really low temp smokes, like 120-140 pit temps. The wind can blow that out. Higher temps won't be an issue.

I do recommend getting one of the AMNTS tube smokers from Todd. I love all of mine and they work great for cold smoking and hot smokes as long as the pit temp is below 285.

If you have any questions once you get your new smoker feel free to PM me. Even though mines not the same all vertical propane smokers work on the same principle and there are many mods not needed once you have the needle valve.

 

[porktaco]

Thanks for the info. 

DirtSailor I am sending you a PM now.