Howdy from Tennessee

[shakyspillcus]

Hello, my name is John. I don't have a smoker right now but with your help I will have one really soon. I have never smoked and I live in a apartment, but I'm lucky I got a back deck. I plan on driving the neighbors crazy with the smell

A friend recently brought me some smoked venison and I thought I had died and went to heaven. I asked where did he get it and he told me a neighbor did it. I contacted him and he sent me here.

I'm thinking about getting a gas smoker because I'm not good with keeping temps with charcoal. maybe in the future I will get a charcoal smoker.
So any suggestions on a gas smoker and how many smokes can I get out of a 20# tank will be greatly appreciated.

 

[mr mac]

Welcome to the SMF John! Lots of friendly people here to help you along in your journey!

Mac

 

[acemakr]

John, welcome to the forum. Mac is right - there are a lot of folks here willing to make that journey as painless as possible. Including which smoker to buy.

 

[mr mac]

I have to tell you, I love my gasser! I have the Masterbuilt gas unit and love the steady temps I get out of it even in the snowy cold temps we see just north of you.


That said, almost everyone here who has a gas unit will tell you it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. What you need to do first is determine your needs. For me, a 24" wide behemoth is too big for my deck and with only four mouths to feed, totally unnecessary.

As for how many smokes you’ll get from one bottle is dependent on a couple of things. How many really long smokes will you do using just the smoker, or, in other words, will you use your oven to finish a smoke in foil? Who fills your bottles is also a big issue in how many smokes you’ll get. For instance, if I buy one of those Blue Rhino bottles I might get a bottle that’s 3/4th of the way or just over ½ ways filled. If I have it filled at the local U-Haul it gets filled and costs less, just something to think about.

Finally, how much money do you want to spend? My unit was right at $140 on sale. Smoke Vaults are around $200 for the 18" unit and $250 for the larger one. GOSMs are around $140 on up and a Kingfisher will set you back an easy $1K.


Hope that helps.

Mac

 

[irishteabear]

Welcome to SMF, John. Glad you joined us.

 

[shakyspillcus]

Thanks for the welcomes.
Here is my back deck, not really big. I also have 4 mouths..that and possibly the random neighbor that might visit. I was planning on getting my tanks at Lowes but I'm open for suggestions. I also thought about going to the local gas place and seeing if they have any deals.
As for money, the wife said no more then 250.

 

[mr mac]

In that case, Wal-Mart is back to selling the GOSM ( <-- clickable link) for just under $150 and, with free shipping ot the store is a hard deal to beat. As for your bottle, Wally World also carries them as does the other big box home supply places (don't foget to ask about price matching if one place is closer than another).

 

[harleyguy]

Welcome to SMF my fellow Vol. I know nothing about the gas smokers, but I'm quite sure some one will be around shortly who can help you with that. Again, welcome. You will be amazed at what you will learn on this site.

 

[richoso1]

Welcome to the SMF, you're in the riight place. As far as a 20# tank is concerned, it varies but you can figure 25 hrs. will put you in the ballpark. Try to buy a larger smoker than what you think you'll need, long-term you'll be happy. It's all good my friend.

 

[etcher1]

Welcome to the SMF forum, You came to the right place. Good people and good info.

 

[rdknb]

Welcome to SMF, what I did was buy a back up bottle that way I can be ready just in case other ran out

 

[orlandosmoking]

Welcome aboard the SMF!! Lots of great info, recipes, and ideas here for your reading pleasure as well as a friendly and helpful group to answer all your questions. Enjoy your stay.

　
Don

 

[mballi3011]

First off welcome John to SMF. It sounds like you are well on your way to be an outstanding new member of this fine site. You'll like it here cause there are abunch of good folks here that would just love to help you out with just about anything to do with smoking. We really like to have newbies here because they can bring in a new propective to how things are done. There's nothing like a new set of eyes to give and new way to make things that little differant to make things alittle better. So I hope you know about the Qview here.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=58920
Here's a link to photobucket it's free and easy to download pictures. Then if your really new to smoking Look up the E-course.
http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...play.php?f=127
It's also free and it will give you the basics of smoking. So after all of that you just need to go grab something to smoke and if you have any question just post them here and we will answer it quickly so you don't have any mishaps with your smoke.
Welcome To Your New Addiction

 

[beer-b-q]

[font=&quot][/font]

[font=&quot]Welcome to SMF, Glad to have you with us. This is the place to learn, lots of good info and helpful friendly Members.[/font]

[font=&quot]For Those of you New to Smoking, be sure to check out Jeff's 5 Day Smoking Basics eCourse.[/font]
[font=&quot]Click Here it's "FREE" ... 5 Day eCourse[/font]

[font=&quot]I Would Highly Suggest Reading these posts on Food Safety by bbally. [/font]

[font=&quot]This thread will tell you basically everything you need to know and the man explaining it is[/font]
[font=&quot]both a ServSafe Instructor and a HACCP Instructor.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...t=72852&page=2[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=86620[/font]

[font=&quot]Here you can get the 2009 USDA Food Safety Guide from his site.[/font]
[font=&quot]http://prochefblog.com/public_pics/f...09foodcode.pdf[/font]

[font=&quot]How to post Qview to Forum:[/font]

[font=&quot]When you uploading to Photobucket I always use the Large IMG setting, 640 x 480 it is a nice size...[/font]

[font=&quot]Everyone here enjoys seeing the Qview so be sure to post plenty of pics...[/font]

[font=&quot]Large ones that us old people with bad eyes can see.[/font]

[font=&quot][/font]

[font=&quot]For Step By Step Instructions On Posting Qview Check Out This Tutorial[/font]

[font=&quot]http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/for...ad.php?t=82034[/font]

 

[chef jeff tx]

Howdy, welcome to the SMF!!

 

[walt408]

Welcome to another Vol. I am also new to smoking and have learned a lot here here during the past month.

I have about decided to get a Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM). It should just about be within your budget. From what I have read, this charcoal smoker holds temperature very well. Anyway, just start a thread with your question and you will receive lots of advice.

Btw: how far are you from Cumberland Gap?
Walt

 

[treegje]

Welcome to the SMF, We are glad to have you onboard

 

[shakyspillcus]

Thanks for the warm welcome. Walt, I'm near Crossville. I ordered my Gosm 25'' from Wal mart last night, the guy said it could take up to 3 weeks getting it. so until then I'm going to be reading here a lot getting ideas.