Masterbuilt Gravity Feed

[randyrayd]

I finally convinced the better half and pulled the trigger on this one. The reason for posting is to inform that Home Depot will assemble the MB Gravity Feed Smoker for free. I have to wait a few days, but it probably would have taken that long for me to assemble in my spare time. That plus the only negative comments have been regarding assembly and I'm not a very patient person.

 

[ross77]

I finally convinced the better half and pulled the trigger on this one. The reason for posting is to inform that Home Depot will assemble the MB Gravity Feed Smoker for free. I have to wait a few days, but it probably would have taken that long for me to assemble in my spare time. That plus the only negative comments have been regarding assembly and I'm not a very patient person.

Just make sure to double check their work. It’s kind of a bear to assemble and I’m not 100% sure I’d trust a Home Depot lackey....

 

[randyrayd]

Thanks! Definitely will. I inspected the floor model for quite a while like I was going to buy it and everything appeared to be as it should. Of course I couldn't check the electronics, but the one I go to has stood behind anything with which I have had an issue.

I figured if they have put together any (at least two floor models I know of), that's more experience than I have.

 

[Will Squared]

I think you are going to love the 560. I have done about a dozen cooks on mine and I love it.
I have seared on high and dried on very low (160' is what it will hold at the low end).
I love the versatility of the fuel used.
The grate at the bottom of the fire chamber allows olive size embers to fall into the ash bucket to ignite your chips. I screen these and run them back through.
I intermix the stack in the bin with lumps, briquets, and the filtered charcoal pieces.

The last cook today I dumped in all the remaining dust from my mesquite lump bag and I think that did not burn as well. I was grilling and it labored to catch up on the high temps. I think it was because the fire did not breath as well with all the lump dust... I live and learn.

The lesson, for me, is if I want to sear then use mostly briquets.

Sometimes the lump bag has bigger pieces, logs, and they still go down the bin !

Can't do that with a pellet burner.

 

[Will Squared]

I used my M560 to cold smoke sliced cheese yesterday.

No fire... just a smoke tube.

I put the tube on the grate and cheese on the top rack. The closest slices got a little melty.

Lesson learned... next time I cold smoke in the 560 I will lift out the manifold (lifts right out easy) and put my smoke tube down on the drip pan.

 

[Will Squared]

Tip:

Cover your manifold and drip pan in aluminum foil.

It won't need to be changed for many cooks and will keep things easier to clean.

 

[Will Squared]

Yesterday I cold smoked cheese in the morning cool then dried 36 bananas, dry part way, then dice and dry further.

Today I grilled pineapple at higher temp then diced and dried it on lower temps.

The banana and pineapple are for trail mix.

The 560 is very versatile !

 

[randyrayd]

Thanks for the advice! I never would have thought about trail mix and I could smoke some mixed nuts and sunflower seeds. It's getting too warm deep in the heart of Texas for cold smoking but I have done it when cooler with a maze or tube in my plain charcoal grill.

Also a tip return...I watched a video comparing lump charcoal and B&B came out winning. Size consistency, longer and hotter burn and less dust and what I call "rocks and pebbles."

 

[Will Squared]

lso a tip return...I watched a video comparing lump charcoal and B&B came out winning. Size consistency, longer and hotter burn and less dust and what I call "rocks and pebbles."

I saw that one too. I have burned B&B and it burns good. This was a 40lb bag of mesquite lump that I can pick up cheaper... $16.99 at our local Smart & Final store. I mingle briquets in with it.

I cold smoke in the wee hours when it is cooler.

I have family that all moved near Waco after being burned out of Paradise last year.
They tell me they love it.

GOD Bless Texas !

 

[rexster314]

The Masterbuilt 560 is such a game changer. Using large chunks of your choice of wood, mixed in with lump charcoal gives you an excellent smoker and for those briskets needing 12 hours or more of slow STEADY heat makes it ideal. The fact that it can also climb to and stay at 700 degrees for some serious steak searing makes it a winner all round. Out of the two months I've had mine, it's probably cooked 45 days out of those 60, from steaks, fajitas, canadian bacon, pizza, chicken, sausage, fire roasting tomatoes and peppers for salsa to using it as a warming station for a buffet. The addition of a Fireboard controller makes it even more handy as it can now go as low as 130 degrees for as long as the charcoal lasts

 

[randyrayd]

I cold smoke in the wee hours when it is cooler.

I have family that all moved near Waco after being burned out of Paradise last year.
They tell me they love it.

Sorry to hear about the family being burned out.

I'm tempted to do some nighttime cold smoking but will probably wait until fall. I might read up on hot smoking since I love bacon so much.

 

[randyrayd]

The Masterbuilt 560 is such a game changer. Using large chunks of your choice of wood, mixed in with lump charcoal gives you an excellent smoker and for those briskets needing 12 hours or more of slow STEADY heat makes it ideal. The fact that it can also climb to and stay at 700 degrees for some serious steak searing makes it a winner all round. Out of the two months I've had mine, it's probably cooked 45 days out of those 60, from steaks, fajitas, canadian bacon, pizza, chicken, sausage, fire roasting tomatoes and peppers for salsa to using it as a warming station for a buffet. The addition of a Fireboard controller makes it even more handy as it can now go as low as 130 degrees for as long as the charcoal lasts

The Firebaord sounds like the PID I have on the Akorn but how does it interface with the fan in the MBGF? It seems like if the fan isn't constantly running, the stack of fuel would be like a charcoal chimney. Of course, I don't even have my gravity fed smoker yet oh, so maybe I will better understand after I get one. I dont think I'll need to go to low for any of my smokes anyway.

 

[Will Squared]

It seems like if the fan isn't constantly running, the stack of fuel would be like a charcoal chimney. Of course, I don't even have my gravity fed smoker yet oh, so maybe I will better understand after I get one.

The stack acts like a dead zone.
The Burn Area is just the bottom 3" or so. The Fan is the Money Maker like you said. The fan blows up through the Fire Zone and through a port into the Manifold. When you are in Full Tilt Boogie it is throwing sparks the length of the Manifold. This is creating the heat. The grill maintains some temp. The zone in the cook box can go up but it can drop 80' or so by opening the lid. You still need to open the lid so you want it rocking out. You want your grills heated up to hold temp. I use a couple of probes besides the one they give you (plus the probe on the box wall) and have found that you can have different temps in different areas at the same time.
I did some chicken and veggies on a grill tray on the middle shelf area. I had a probe hanging below it (below the metal tray) and found it was consistently 20' hotter. Thinking about it later this could be used as a tool to build heat up quicker... throw in a tray on the top shelf at different times to increase focused heat like say searing.
It cooks hotter with all briquets.
The 700' is not a scary thing at all because you can shut the thing down in just a few seconds.

Going to grill some chicken thighs tonight ...

 

[rexster314]

The Firebaord sounds like the PID I have on the Akorn but how does it interface with the fan in the MBGF? It seems like if the fan isn't constantly running, the stack of fuel would be like a charcoal chimney. Of course, I don't even have my gravity fed smoker yet oh, so maybe I will better understand after I get one. I dont think I'll need to go to low for any of my smokes anyway.

You have to make up a patch cable with a 2.5 barrel connector on one end and a JST plug on the other. It will plug directly in the MB fan connector and directly into the Fireboard Drive cable. I played around with it yesterday before steak night, and it kept up a slow 130 degree temp with very little use of the fan, and no more than 20% fan speed

 

[randyrayd]

Thanks, y'all. I'm going to be drooling like Pavlov's dogs until I get this thing and start cooking!!!

And Will Squared, let me know how the yard bird turned out.

 

[negolien]

My grandparents lived above lake Oroville when I was growing up. I also work security at a hotel in Sacramento where fire victims stayed. Some strong as* people those survivors are.

 

[Will Squared]

And Will Squared, let me know how the yard bird turned out.

Turned out excellent.
Salt, pepper, garlic, grilled, and cooling to put in Foodsavers. One half cubed and one half in strips. Just simple but can be turned into anything from soup to tacos.
Value Packs of boneless skinless thighs are $1.98. Lunch is coming from the half of the Pack that I smoked yesterday. I love leftovers !
Wife had me pick up a pork tenderloin to smoke and slice for sammies. That will be next...

...or maybe the pineapple that I picked up...

...dunno...

 

[Will Squared]

My grandparents lived above lake Oroville when I was growing up. I also work security at a hotel in Sacramento where fire victims stayed. Some strong as* people those survivors are.

My 86 yo Mother in law and Sister in law drove down through a tunnel of hell at creepy crawl speed on an empty tank of gas. They all stayed at our house for a month. Now they are near Waco somewhere.
My Momma always said, "What doesn't kill ya will make ya stronger."

 

[RCAlan]

After viewing this video... I see I might have to increase my bbq arsenal before the Summer...
Having multiple options is never a bad thing to have...

Pellet Pro Austin XL and a few more mods... in SoCal and Always... Semper Fi

 

[krj]

Glad to see a "bigger" youtuber was pleased with the performance of the 560. Hopefully we'll see a few more Kosmo videos of their crew using it for more than just doing some quick steaks.

Downside is that I've been struggling to wait on 1050 and this didn't help my anticipation any. Gotta stay strong!