Smoker purchase question?

[zump]

Hi all, thank u for all the kinds welcome messages! I'm brand new to smoking meat and my wife is buying me one for my birthday (may15th). I love in Southern California so it's relatively summer all the time! I am currently playing around with smoke on my grill! I was wondering which smoker I should get? I'm leaning towards charcoal. Opinions on that? Basically just looking for weekend smoking for small groups(8at most), relatively inexpensive $500 max! I was planning on getting the Weber smokey mountain 18' but after reading around on here I need input! Please help!!

 

[welshrarebit]

I bet you can find a WSM on Craigslist for half of what it would cost brand new! Then you'll have money to get a kettle and build yourself a mini-WSM as well...

 

[damon555]

You will not be sorry if you purchase the WSM....It's a great design. The 18" should work fine for your stated purpose. Heck for $500 you can get 2 WSM's if you can find a few used ones. 

 

[zump]

Like I said I'm new to this whole thing. Kettle? Please don't laugh at my ignorance haha

 

[welshrarebit]

Like I said I'm new to this whole thing. Kettle? Please don't laugh at my ignorance haha

Weber kettle... The charcoal grill.

 

[damon555]

edit: misunderstood

 

[noboundaries]

Since you are familiar with charcoal, definitely the WSM.  The WSM, especially the 18.5" will give you plenty of capacity for 8 people.  This is the time of year to find them on Craigslist if so inclined.  I've seen a bunch of 18.5"ers up here in Sacramento in the last two weeks.  Even saw a 14.5" mini WSM the other day.  They don't last long, typically only a day or two, if that.  Most were only $50 bucks or so under list but they were all brand new.   

I checked CL for LA, Orange County, and San Diego but only found Kettles for sale, no WSMs.  A bunch of Big Green Eggs, but those will bust your budget big time. 

If you pick up a Kettle, get the 22.5".  You'll be glad you did, but you already have a grill, unless it is gas.  You can smoke on a Kettle, I do it all the time, but it is easier on the WSM especially for long smokes of 6 or more hours. I only do short smokes (1-3 hours) these days on the Kettle.    

 

[golfpro2301]

You could always go pellet. GMG makes a great cooker called the daniel boone. No tending fire just keep it loaded with pellets.

 

[the macdaddy]

I just purchased a GMG DB and really like it.  Have not done much on it yet.  But my first ribs this weekend will be a priority.  Test run before Mother's day!

 

[oldschoolbbq]

If you're planning to jump in choose a Weber , like the 22.5 . Read through some of the reviews on this:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/newsearch?search=Weber+22.5+reviews&=Search  

Have fun and . . .