New to me, free Masterbuilt

[Southern]

So I've been looking to get back into smoking after a long hiatus and recently joined the forum. I've been soaking up info trying to figure out which smoker to get. I know I want to go with an offset, but as I got home from work tonight a neighbor was throwing out a Masterbuilt Pro dual fuel! Still looking for an offset, but it was priced right and I have something to tinker around with until I find the offset for me.

So, my reason for the post, is I've never used propane to smoke before, and never one of these cabinet types. Anyone got any things I should look out for or check? (being that it's used with an unknown history). Looks like it just needs some clean up.

 

[obmitch]

great luck!
I would think 5 minutes with the old owner would would tell you more than hours of speculation!

 

[mike243]

They work well, good therms are needed as they can run pretty hot and the factory 1 wasn't very good or at least mine did ,cooked a lot of good food on mine

 

[ameskimo1]

Love my MB Dual Fuel, made many a great meal on it. I almost always burned sticks, chunks, and lump or a combination of them and would use the gas to light them, then shut it off. In the winter (it gets cold here in Michigan) I more than a few times used the gas on its lowest setting (including dialing back the tank valve) just to hold basic heat, then burned the sticks/chunks/lump along with it. It is also a great cold smoker and in my opinion, after about 10 years I still think its probably one of the best values on the market.

That being said, I was also looking for an offset but this past December wound up getting a Grilla Silverbac. I love it and haven't used the MB since, although that will change this fall when I get back to smoking cheese and a few other items. Good luck with it, they are truly an under appreciated smoker but they have been around somewhere short of forever.

 

[solman]

I more than a few times used the gas on its lowest setting (including dialing back the tank valve) just to hold basic heat

you should know that propane tank valves are designed to either be fully opened or closed. opening them part way increases the chance of a propane leak.