After searching the internet to the end, reading a plethora of reviews, and just getting tired of over analyzing, I bought the Camp Chef Smokepro DLX with a SS lid. The majority of the reviews were positive, with the token “no good words” to say about it. I asked others, who owned them, what they thought, and they were satisfied. A couple of items that sold me on the smoker were the easy ash removing system and the ability to easily empty the pellet hopper. So, based on all the input, I selected this over other similar manufacturers.
Ordering was easy and shipping notification was fast and accurate. The packaging was excellent, and no damage was found on any items. Everything was packed very well, and all parts and pieces were present.
The instructions were easy to follow, as per the instructions, it is a good idea to have an extra person while you assemble it. Putting the legs on and uprighting could be difficult, and cause damage, if done alone. The finish was great, no scratches, dings, or other marks from the manufacturer. The only item that needs to be looked at, IMHO, is the bracket that is used to attach the lid handle. It goes on the inside of the lid, and it contacts the inside, bottom edge, of smoker opening when the lid is closed. This causes large gaps around the edge of the lid. I was able to file the slots vertically, which allowed the bracket to be moved upward, preventing it from contacting the smoker opening. There are slots on the bracket, but they are horizontal which don’t allow up and down movement of the bracket. If the holes were vertical, one could adjust the bracket so it would not hit the smoker opening.
Directions to get the smoker started were easy to follow. All functions were explained well. The smoker gets started quickly, and for what I’ve seen, maintains set temperature with-in +/- 8 deg. It took around 15 mins to stabilize, but it was rather cold out when I fired it up. I did use a blanket over the unit to help with heat loss. I have used it a couple of times, and it seems to work as advertised, except for one area, SMOKE (more later). Ash dump is easy, but one does need to clean out the inside every now and then. Because it is kinda like a convection oven, ash is spread throughout the bottom of the smoker. The burn is EXTREMELY efficient, which is why I believe smoke production is low. I did a 19 hour burn, which used about 20# of pellets, but there was less than 1/2 cup when I dumped the ash in the ash cup.
IMHO, smoke production is lacking. There is a low and high smoke setting, but it really doesn’t smoke like I thought it would. It will start to produce smoke, then quit, and later produce a little more. So, I’m not too sure how it’s really suppose to work. During the cook, I noticed very little, to no, smoke being produced. I believe an additional smoke generator would be required, based on the smoke flavor one wants. Again, because of the efficient burn, I think smoke production is limited.
So, I will grow in to the smoker. I like the idea of the quick start, and not having to constantly monitor the temp. I will probably add an A-MAZE-N-TUBE-SMOKER to help with the smoke. http://www.amazenproducts.com/product_p/amnts.htm
I found out that you need to keep the drip pan/grease pan, or whatever it is called, cleaned. I could not get the smoker up to a higher temp (400 deg) the other day, and I'm pretty sure it was the dirty drip pan that caused this issue. At least that is the info I have read on the net.
