New GOSM 38" wide body came in damaged

[macguy]

I need some help from the experts here.

Ordered a new GOSM 38-inch wide body smoker from BJs at a great price. Came in last week but had a hole in the front of the box that also hit the front door. It has a nice dent and scratch which I can probably live with (BJs has already contacted Landmanns so a new door may be on its way).

While unloading the rest of the unit to make sure there wasn't anything else damaged - I noticed looking inside the smoker unit that I could see a thin strip of light through the top back right section of the welded area.

Is this normal or should I be concerned that the body may be damaged as well.

Some hi-temp black silicone will probably fix it but it is irritating getting damaged goods.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks!

 

[forluvofsmoke]

**it happens...what you're describing is not abnormal for many cabinet smokers...my old GOSM 3405-GW was dinged up pretty good when I opened up the carton. My SV-24 had shipping damage as well.

If you don't receive a replacement door, I have some tips for straightening that out and getting it to close fairly tight. The weld-joint leaking up on top shouldn't cause much issue, as you need to vent the heat and smoke to keep the convection process of the smoke chamber happy, and to keep smoke from becoming stagnant and bitter. If it is a massive leak, say 1/4" wide and 1/4-1/3 the width of the cabinet, it could cause excess venting on that portion of the cabinet and result in some turbulence in the flow of heat/smoke...this may cause food to cook more quickly in that area, as well as have more smoke deposited on the food, while on the opposite side food may be exposed to less heat and smoke. The other possibility is getting precipitation into the smoker through that gap, but it would likely just drip down inside the cabinet, close to or directly on the cabinet wall, and not contact your food at all...I guess that could cause some grease to be washed out the bottom, prematurely.

When you set it up for smoking, be sure to level it really well and spread the legs out evenly so the cabinet is not twisted...this can make or break your door sealing reasonably well when closed. A few ounces of water in the pan will assist you in determining how level it is. Once you've got it level, you can determine if anything needs adjustment, like the door closer/latch, or maybe the door itself is a bit twisted. That's the main draw-back with cabinet smokers...they are very finicky about being level and having their weight evenly distributed on each leg.

Shout if you need help with tweeking that door...once I know what it looks like and how it fits into the cabinet when closed, I can help you straighten it back out and keep the damage to a minimum...fir or pine wood blocks (softer wood) can be a wonderful tools for situations like these. Rubber mallets make a great mate to the soft wood, too.

High-temp sealant should do fine for the gaps, but don't apply this until you have the door fitted as best you can...you may find that you must tweek the cabinet in order to get the door to fit properly...the sealant could prevent you from doing this.

Keep your chin up...things will start coming together soon, and you'll be enjoying the experience of smoking foods and dining on them!!!

Don't blame us if you get the mod bug and decide to transform your GOSM...

BTW, welcome to SMF!!!

Eric

 

[macguy]

Thanks Eric for the great response. Nice to have all the knowledge and help from everyone here on this forum.

I was ready to start working on your suggestions when Landmann USA dropped me an email letting me know they were sending a replacement unit out right away - now that is customer service! I have to give a big shout out to Cindy Harrell at Landmann for jumping in and taking care of this issue quickly - Landmann has a customer for life now!

Hopefully the new shipment (it is already on the truck en route) comes in OK - you never know with UPS.

Thanks again, Eric.

Wayne

(macguy)

 

[forluvofsmoke]

WOW!!! Glad to hear they're stepping it up and you're getting great support from Landmann!!! UPS has been known to get a little rough with packages, but then, FedEx has some issues as well...unfortunately, there are few options out there for shipping from venders, but if they're jumping on it like this, I'm sure they'll handle any future product warranty issues with satisfactory results, as well.

With customer service like you're getting I would definitely have to consider Landmann if I'm ever on the market for a new smoker.

Thanks for reporting back...I like reading good news.

Eric