Electric smoker or not?

[mythmaster]

I'm very happy with my 30" MES, but I would have gone with the 40" had I known that it existed at the time. Someone did a cost analysis with a kill-a-watt and it was something like $0.80 to smoke a rack of ribs (6 hours). I don't have the A-MAZE-N smoke generator yet, but plan to get one. Here's the link to their site: http://www.amazenproducts.com/index.html

 

[westernhunter]

The Bradley is the only "set and forget" watt burner I know of unless you spend big bucks on a pellet pooper...hopefully one day I will own an FEC100. All of the others need to be attended to at times to add wood. Also, none of the true set and forget watt burners can use your apple wood...pucks or pellets are needed.

I have the Bradley with a PID mod and love it when I want to plug it in and forget about it. I also have two 40" MES smokers and love them but must add wood now and then...the plus with the MES is that you can add your apple wood to the MES.

I do not own (but would love) the 22" WSM for long cooks. If you are handy and can get the parts, build a UDS which is great for long set and forget cooks. I have two of them and once the temp is stable, they can go all night and most of the next day on one load of coal and your apple wood.

I do lots of jerky now and used to do a TON of salmon when I lived in Western Washington. I always do jerky, sausage, and fish on a watt burner so I can keep a consistent low temp needed for these meats.

I don't own and have not used a propane smoker. However, I have heard that a coffee can with a big round of your favorite wood will smoke for a very long time once the temp settles in. That may be your best bet to set and forget and also use your apple wood. This summer I plan to mod my old New Braunfels vertical smoker by installing a propane burner.

If you find a true set and forget watt burner that uses wood chunks, let me know!

Weigh out want is most important to you...set and forget or using your own wood...and then make a decision. Problem is, you will most likely get addicted to smoking food and want more than one smoker!

I am sure that I just made your decision tougher...sorry.

 

[herkysprings]

I own a Bradley, WSM and an SnP converted to propane.

Each has their own uses. The Electric I like best by far for cold smoking and fish, for temp control, and for the racks.

WSM for pork butts and long cooks there I dont need to attend to the meat much. Propane on the horizontal where I need access to more of the grill space constantly.

 

[arnie]

Ben,

I bought a  Smokeshack Smokette with a cover 6 or 7 years ago. Roughly a year later I added the storage cabinet to it. I could have easily paid for the Smokette with all the money I wasted on buying cheap smokers.  

The Smokette did not come with a pan to catch the drippings so I use an old cake pan. When I mounted the Smokette on the storage cabinet I had to add 3 flat washers under each leg so the old cake pan would slide in and out. The only problem I have had with the Smokette was when I smoke wings I would have to load it 3 times to get the job done (I smoke a lot of wings when I smoke wings).  

Last November I purchased an Cookshack AmeriQue with a cover to ease my wing problem. The first thing I smoked in the AmeriQue was an 18 lb brisket. This was the first time I smoked a brisket and it came out perfect. I have used the AmeriQue every weekend for the last 5 months and I love it. I have had offers to purchase my Smokette, but I am still using it also.  

Both smokers use wood chunks

 

[scarbelly]

I have been using a SmokinTex 1400 for over a year with great results - I love the fact that I can use different fuels for different things and am not tied into pellets or discs as you are with some of the electrics - Also I use the A MAZE N SMOKER with it for cheese and even used it last weekend for a chicken - used it instead of filling the wood box and it worked great

 

[carter]

Cookshack is the real deal.  I have both an electric that burns wook chunks and a FEC100 that's an electric burner computer pellet fed set it and forget it wonder. It's a competition smoker with a smoke daddy cold smoke generator installed.  Check it out on the web, you'll be impressed.