Need help choosing a smoker.

[yendik1]

Hello everyone. I am totally new to smokers, but my dad asked for one for Christmas this year. I was hoping some of you nice folks could lead me in the right direction for choosing one. Some of the things I know for sure is that he wants to be able to do a turkey so size is important, but I don't know how big is needed. My budget is a maximum of $200. I live in Ohio, so nearby I have Bass Pro Shops, Menards, Cabellas, Lowes, Home Depot, Meijers and a few others. Maybe even Gander Mountain. So I need to know between propane or electric which cooks hotter, which is easier to tend to and anything else you think I should take into consideration. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Last year he got a pair of long johns and 2 flannel shirts from me, so anything anyone can add so I can do better this year would be great. Thanks very much!!!

 

[mkooser]

im in the same boat! I like the reviews on this one http://www.basspro.com/Masterbuilt-Extra-Wide-Propane-Smoker/product/10219561/

 

[cmm5350]

Honestly you are almost better off saving your money or trying to get someone else to chip in with you.  Any of those smokers from big box stores are less then par.  For $200.00 though you could do a pretty nifty UDS (Ugly drum smoker)  Not really ugly, just a name.  It could be even more touching for your father that you built him a smoker ;) 

 

[yendik1]

I went with the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18". I read through the reviews and looked at the company's website and it seems t be a solid smoker. A few reviews mentioned being able to do a turkey so that sold me. For $160 from Amazon with free shipping I couldn't pass it up. A member from here reccomended it too. If you look at the reviews for the one posted I was a bit worried about the problems with the door sealing and having to replace the water bowl and drip pan.

 

[soupcan]

I went with the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18". I read through the reviews and looked at the company's website and it seems t be a solid smoker. A few reviews mentioned being able to do a turkey so that sold me. For $160 from Amazon with free shipping I couldn't pass it up. A member from here reccomended it too. If you look at the reviews for the one posted I was a bit worried about the problems with the door sealing and having to replace the water bowl and drip pan.

I have the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18" and I love it.  It has plenty of room for turkey, full racks of ribs, big hams, and brisket plus it has a wide temperature range as well.  After 5-10 smokes it seems to hold temp very well.  I have been very pleased.

 

[demosthenes9]

I went with the Camp Chef Smoke Vault 18". I read through the reviews and looked at the company's website and it seems t be a solid smoker. A few reviews mentioned being able to do a turkey so that sold me. For $160 from Amazon with free shipping I couldn't pass it up. A member from here reccomended it too. If you look at the reviews for the one posted I was a bit worried about the problems with the door sealing and having to replace the water bowl and drip pan.

Thing is, with most smokers, people will come up with tweaks or mods to improve them.   Making the door seal better and changing out water/drip pans are simple and inexpensive fixes.

Heck, even folks that buy $1800+ smokers will tweak/mod them to get better performance.