Masterbuilt 560-charcoal experience

[whistlepig]

I started with Royal Oak lump. Good flavor but burns too quickly. Next I tried B&B lump. Still good flavor and burn time a little longer than Royal Oak. Next was B&B briquets The B&B briquites are the best that I have tried. Long burn time and good flavor

 

[Hamdrew]

royal oak natural briquettes (brown bag) are pretty good, IMO of course

their regular ridged (orange) bag is the generic/store-brand for a lot of places. Like "ridged briquettes" at lowes, walmart, for me a local grocery store chain for example. they use binders and sand (for heat retention).

the natural burns better, for longer, and smells better to me (pretty good), and are 100% hardwood

 

[Chasdev]

Here's what I use and consider the best, I did try all the well known types and brands including FOGO and KJ jumbo lump, B+B etc..
Lump is good stuff but the jagged and odd shaped pieces get hung up on each other and the wood chunks I add with the lumps and tend to get hung up as they migrate downward in the charcoal chamber which can create a jam.

You probably can't find it, I buy at Costco in early spring when they have pallets of it on sale for well under $20 per two bags. After it sells out a few weeks later, it won't be offered again until a year later.
Last year I only bought 20 bags and ran out in early winter, this year I bought 40 bags and am in good shape until it comes around again.

 

[smballou]

how do you like your masterbuilt smoker im looking at the 1050 thanks sandy.

 

[Chasdev]

If you are asking me, then I love it.
If not, I still love it.
The ability to get 90% of stick burner flavored meat without having to buy very expensive and hard to store wood "sticks"
plus not having to babysit the fire while at the same time the cook grate temps stay rock steady hour after hour after hour is hard to not like.
Is it built like a tank? No it's not.
Have my door position sensors failed? Yes they have.
Is the fit and finish crappy? Yes in some areas.
Does that make me wish I had not bought it? No it does not.

 

[SKade]

I love my 560. Most of the time I’m just using Kingsford. I’ve tried a couple different kinds of lump but they have burned to fast and had to many pieces that just fell to the ash bin. I’ve got the updated grate coming. I’ll try some other lump and see what results I can get. The flavor with the briquettes has been just fine. The grill is so easy to use and gives great smoke flavor.

 

[whistlepig]

Lump leaves too many air gaps. Lot of temp swings and things not staying lit. Lump shows a lot of waste in my ash bin. B&B briquettes are much better,

 

[rparamount]

Hi folks, new here, first post:

I own a Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 and love the food it cooks but I hate the quality of the unit. I have had the lid sensors fail, the firmware for the controller is buggy to the point where my Android phone won't reliably connect to it anymore and I have to rely on my daughter's iPhone to use it wirelessly.

Finally, charcoal fell back through the fan door and melted the fan assembly completely a few weeks ago. I called Masterbuilt and they will replace the fan on warranty, but it will only arrive in July some time. So while I love the food it makes, I cannot stand the quality and the service. I am now stuck without my Masterbuilt for many months.

In the meantime I have bought a Weber Kettle and modified it with a BBQ Guru UltraQ controller and fan to hold me over until my parts arrive.

Having said all of that, I wish my Masterbuilt worked again, cause I absolutely LOVED cooking on it. If Masterbuilt were to tighten up things in their quality control, they'd have a really impressive unit.

-RP

 

[mcokevin]

Hi folks, new here, first post:

I own a Masterbuilt Gravity Series 1050 and love the food it cooks but I hate the quality of the unit. I have had the lid sensors fail, the firmware for the controller is buggy to the point where my Android phone won't reliably connect to it anymore and I have to rely on my daughter's iPhone to use it wirelessly.

Finally, charcoal fell back through the fan door and melted the fan assembly completely a few weeks ago. I called Masterbuilt and they will replace the fan on warranty, but it will only arrive in July some time. So while I love the food it makes, I cannot stand the quality and the service. I am now stuck without my Masterbuilt for many months.

In the meantime I have bought a Weber Kettle and modified it with a BBQ Guru UltraQ controller and fan to hold me over until my parts arrive.

Having said all of that, I wish my Masterbuilt worked again, cause I absolutely LOVED cooking on it. If Masterbuilt were to tighten up things in their quality control, they'd have a really impressive unit.

-RP

When did you buy your 1050? Most of the issues you are reporting seem to have been fixed in new units. I hope they're able to get you back online.

There are some other threads around here with replacement fan options for the 1050. It is a common part OEMed by someone else, if you are a little bit handy you can probably find a replacement fan that you use in the interim.

 

[rparamount]

I bought the 1050 brand new at the end of April 2020. I've cooked on it a ton during that time. I'm not going to invest in a new Masterbuilt given the current availability of parts, as it wouldn't be worth it to me. Also the firmware for the controller leaves a lot to be desired. Lots of bugs.

As far as OEM parts goes, I am quite handy and have already replaced the fan assembly myself with off the shelf computer fan parts, but it is not working as great as it was originally. The fan turns but doesn't achieve the desired results that the original fan did, even though I tried to match the replacement fan as closely as possible to the original. That is why I'm waiting on original parts from Masterbuilt and that is why I switched to a Weber Kettle in the meantime to tide me over until then.

Once the Masterbuilt parts arrive I will fix the Masterbuilt and probably sell it locally.

-RP

 

[O C]

I have the Chargriller GF, but essentially the same concerns regarding charcoal. I really liked the smoke/flavor profile with B&B lump, but have had things jam which fortunately I caught before it affected the cook. I've been trying the B&B and Kingsford briquettes, they seem to flow better. Just received a bag (40lb bag!) of Royal Oak Chef's Select briquettes to try. Don't know if its any better than regular Royal Oak or not, description says "UNIQUE BLEND: Made from American Oak and Hickory Hardwood with no additional ingredients". A bit pricey but wanted to give it a try.