Just bought a cheap smoker, no idea what I'm doing!

[SpiralOut]

So I just picked up this Masterbuilt smoker from Lowe's and I'm planning on smoking some baby back ribs tomorrow. I've made baby backs in the oven quite a few times, but I've never used a smoker before so I'm a little bit in over my head.

A few concerns:

• There's not really a good way to directly access the charcoal pan. It looks like I'll either have to go through the side door or all the way down through the top of the smoker to add the charcoals from the chimney. Any tips on how to manage this? Would it be dangerous to just drop them through the top (it's like a 12" drop)?
• There are no bottom vents to speak of. I've been reading about how to manage temps in a smoker and it seems like it's all about regulating the airflow. How am I going to do that without vents?
• I'm reading that there's some controversy over whether to use water in the pan or not, any thoughts about that?
• Any other tips for a first-timer?

Thanks!

 

[SonnyE]

Oh, I see after viewing the link.
You use the door to add coals or smoke wood. At least that was the way my Brinkman Smoke N Grill worked before I hacked into it.
Read the directions carefully, and I would start off with something you can toss over the fence the first time. Maybe some hamburger, or chicken thighs?
If those taste good, then by all means do a wonderful batch of ribs.

And Welcome to Smoking Meat Forums!

 

[lamar]

Welcome to your new addiction. You will love it.
Don't forget to do a seasoning burn before your first cook.
SmokingAl should be along and can post a pix of his method of adding charcoal through the door.
Good luck.

 

[Rings Я Us]

That smoker a bunch of us have. You may want to do some modifications to it eventually. The pan needs vent holes to let ash fall out . The charcoal needs to be off the bottom of the pan by way of a grate or expanded metal disk. You will need to use a digital dual probe thermometer for keeping track of the cooking grate temperatures and internal temp of the meat. The thermometer in the smoker lid will be off by a couple dozen degrees likely.
You should use the water pan full of hot water I guess. It will help keep your food from burning. You have not modified the lower area to be able to control cooking chamber temps yet.
There are a few modification threads in here for the Brinkmann charcoal smokers that is same basic design as yours. You can see that enclosed bottom area with some dampers works best . It is the question as to how you can enclose your smoker and add the legs back on and install dampers for air adjustments that is the main problem.
I hope you get that thing to work with minimum effort for now.. and get the ribs done satisfactory..

Good luck.. ask if you need more specific info..