I've been smoking ever since December with a Brinkmann trailmaster vertical offset. My girlfriend's parents from Alabama gave it to me (it was their old smoker, as they'd upgraded to a horizontal offset smoker in order to fit more meat on it, and well, their new one works amazingly well and I love it) as a present after I fell in love with their smoked food that we eat down there.
Ever since, I've fell in love with smoking. It's a passion bordering on obsession to be honest. Smoking food should be considered a form of art. At the very least, it's a science.
With that said, I do love the smoker. I really, really do and I greatly appreciate that they gifted it to me. They painted it and even brought it up here to me! However, the issues are vast. I guess everybody knows it, but Brinkmann no longer exists as a company (as far as I know?), so trying to fix/modify things is iffy. Heck, I'm not engineer minded, and despite looking at/for mods, I haven't found any decent solutions to my problems. My problems with this vertical offset smoker? Smoke leaks and, in the fire/charcoal chamber, charcoal ashes very quickly and gets under the charcoal grate; I have no way to get these ashes out of the way. I know I could invest in a charcoal basket, but in stores around here I haven't found anything that would fit nicely into the fire chamber.
And another thing, the vent/damper on the side of the fire chamber is rusted and is virtually useless at this point. I can't use it. I have no idea of how I would replace it, anyhow.
I've been saving up money for the last six months, just setting some aside in case I find the next big 'toy' I want. I'm not a big materialistic kind of guy... I'm simple... I like food, caffeine and simply being outdoors, but sometimes big cost items tickle my fancy. I just bought the grill I've wanted for years two weeks ago! The STOK drum charcoal grill! (I'm a cast iron freak and this grill has cast iron grates.)
On Mother's Day, I smoked two pork shoulders, two chuck roasts, about eight skewers of thick cut bacon, bacon-wrapped cheese stuffed jalapenos, 15 potatoes, a pork sirloin roast, 16 country pork ribs, 16 chicken thighs and two whole cornish hens (I used my STOK grill in the process as well as the Brinkmann vertical offset smoker.....)
With that said, I had temperature control issues all morning, which annoyed me to death. I stayed up late the night before with my little lady and some friends watching the UFC 211 PPV and got up that morning eager to smoke. My biggest annoyance with the smoker, asides from the smoke leaks, is simply (which it is definitely related) the annoyance of keeping the temperatures high. I don't even bother closing the top vent, even if I see the temperatures racing past 300+ degrees, because I know they'll drop within 25 minutes.
I want the 22.5" WSM. Want. My girlfriend says, "You don't need it!", but... she's kinda tired of smoked food (yeah, I can't believe it either!) since she claims her family only ever wants to smoke food (maybe I should just move in with them, eh?)... she likes to joke that, when she moved in with me last June, she was "finally away from smoked food!" until her family gave me the Brinkmann.
Anyway, she says I don't need it, but.... but.... buuut.... I really, really, really want it. I'm like a hyped up kid in a candy store after he's eaten three bags of Sour Dude sour belts candy! I have the money set aside for the 22.5" WSM... but SHOULD I invest in it? I want to say YES! YES! YES! but maybe some rational, sane and level headed person on here might have a differing opinion? Weber >>> Brinkmann from what I can see and tell... but should I just keep my Brinkmann? It does the job, but it's a ton of work. I actually think it has made for a fantastic first smoker, because it's made me work so hard at trying to hone my "abilities" and learn the fine tuning of smoking. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, my fellow smokin' brethren.
Cliffnotes because I'm a long-winded feller:
~ My main squeeze's parents gave me their old offset vertical smoker.
~ Smokes OK, but temperatures are inconsistent, smoke leaks and is an aggravation.
~ Searched for mods, but don't see any viable solutions.
~ Badly want a 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain cooker...
~ Girlfriend says I don't need the WSM...
~ I want one insanely badly anyway
~ Do I really need one? Or should I suck it up and keep my Brinkmann and save my $400 like a responsible human being?
Ever since, I've fell in love with smoking. It's a passion bordering on obsession to be honest. Smoking food should be considered a form of art. At the very least, it's a science.
With that said, I do love the smoker. I really, really do and I greatly appreciate that they gifted it to me. They painted it and even brought it up here to me! However, the issues are vast. I guess everybody knows it, but Brinkmann no longer exists as a company (as far as I know?), so trying to fix/modify things is iffy. Heck, I'm not engineer minded, and despite looking at/for mods, I haven't found any decent solutions to my problems. My problems with this vertical offset smoker? Smoke leaks and, in the fire/charcoal chamber, charcoal ashes very quickly and gets under the charcoal grate; I have no way to get these ashes out of the way. I know I could invest in a charcoal basket, but in stores around here I haven't found anything that would fit nicely into the fire chamber.
And another thing, the vent/damper on the side of the fire chamber is rusted and is virtually useless at this point. I can't use it. I have no idea of how I would replace it, anyhow.
I've been saving up money for the last six months, just setting some aside in case I find the next big 'toy' I want. I'm not a big materialistic kind of guy... I'm simple... I like food, caffeine and simply being outdoors, but sometimes big cost items tickle my fancy. I just bought the grill I've wanted for years two weeks ago! The STOK drum charcoal grill! (I'm a cast iron freak and this grill has cast iron grates.)
On Mother's Day, I smoked two pork shoulders, two chuck roasts, about eight skewers of thick cut bacon, bacon-wrapped cheese stuffed jalapenos, 15 potatoes, a pork sirloin roast, 16 country pork ribs, 16 chicken thighs and two whole cornish hens (I used my STOK grill in the process as well as the Brinkmann vertical offset smoker.....)
With that said, I had temperature control issues all morning, which annoyed me to death. I stayed up late the night before with my little lady and some friends watching the UFC 211 PPV and got up that morning eager to smoke. My biggest annoyance with the smoker, asides from the smoke leaks, is simply (which it is definitely related) the annoyance of keeping the temperatures high. I don't even bother closing the top vent, even if I see the temperatures racing past 300+ degrees, because I know they'll drop within 25 minutes.
I want the 22.5" WSM. Want. My girlfriend says, "You don't need it!", but... she's kinda tired of smoked food (yeah, I can't believe it either!) since she claims her family only ever wants to smoke food (maybe I should just move in with them, eh?)... she likes to joke that, when she moved in with me last June, she was "finally away from smoked food!" until her family gave me the Brinkmann.
Anyway, she says I don't need it, but.... but.... buuut.... I really, really, really want it. I'm like a hyped up kid in a candy store after he's eaten three bags of Sour Dude sour belts candy! I have the money set aside for the 22.5" WSM... but SHOULD I invest in it? I want to say YES! YES! YES! but maybe some rational, sane and level headed person on here might have a differing opinion? Weber >>> Brinkmann from what I can see and tell... but should I just keep my Brinkmann? It does the job, but it's a ton of work. I actually think it has made for a fantastic first smoker, because it's made me work so hard at trying to hone my "abilities" and learn the fine tuning of smoking. Any input is greatly appreciated. Thanks guys, my fellow smokin' brethren.
Cliffnotes because I'm a long-winded feller:
~ My main squeeze's parents gave me their old offset vertical smoker.
~ Smokes OK, but temperatures are inconsistent, smoke leaks and is an aggravation.
~ Searched for mods, but don't see any viable solutions.
~ Badly want a 22.5" Weber Smokey Mountain cooker...
~ Girlfriend says I don't need the WSM...
~ I want one insanely badly anyway
~ Do I really need one? Or should I suck it up and keep my Brinkmann and save my $400 like a responsible human being?
