- Aug 1, 2013
- 5
- 10
I just came across the site and like what I see so I decided to join and post. I started with a 1200.00 Traeger smoker and let me just say what a pos. I gladly returned it to Costco everything was burnt and dry. I had never had this problem in the past than I realized the cheap digital temp gauge was at 375 degrees even though it was set at smoke. I decided to go back to the basics and build my UDS. I bought a used orange juice barrel from Craigslist for 15.00 and had it blasted and powdercoated for 85.00. I ordered the Big Poppa Smoker kit for 139.99 and 4 hours later I was smoking. Total cost of build 239.99 and let me just say this thing cooks flawless. It will hold steady at 225 degrees on a basket of charcoal for about 7-8 hours and the food is outstanding. Never again will I buy a smoker I will just keep building my own.