I'm thinking of this unit myself but I saw this review here on SMF. Makes sense and gives me concern. What do you think about this?
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?showcase/smokin-it-model-2-electric-smoker.8699/reviews
My biggest concern with the unit however (and I have used mine for a LONG time) is the lack of damper controls. So what you end up with is something called the "burp" when smoking with this unit. The "burp" is caused by your wood source demanding oxygen inside the cook chamber and not having enough-so as a result the burning wood attempts to draw it's oxygen from the exhaust hole in the top of the unit. The manufacturer most likely does not add a damper because they want to protect the electronics/burner in the unit from extreme temperature fluctuations. This problem is well documented on the "smokin-it" forums.
There are a few solutions. 1-You can ramp up the temperature of your smoker slowly and this will extend the burn time of your wood source causing a less oxygen demanding fire 2-You can wrap your wood pieces or chips in aluminum foil and poke a few holes around them-this serves the purpose of choking oxygen at the source of the fire.
Either way you look at it, you cannot and WILL NOT get optimal smoke flow/quality with this unit. Those who cook on them are used to it. You only need anywhere from 2-5oz of wood depending on what you're cooking and regardless of what kind of wood or how much you ALWAYS END UP WITH THICK, WHITE SMOKE-NOT THE THIN, BLUE SMOKE needed for optimal BBQ. Sure, you can cook some good tasting BBQ but anyone with oxygen controls to their fire will have the upper hand over this unit.
http://smokingmeatforums.com/index.php?showcase/smokin-it-model-2-electric-smoker.8699/reviews
My biggest concern with the unit however (and I have used mine for a LONG time) is the lack of damper controls. So what you end up with is something called the "burp" when smoking with this unit. The "burp" is caused by your wood source demanding oxygen inside the cook chamber and not having enough-so as a result the burning wood attempts to draw it's oxygen from the exhaust hole in the top of the unit. The manufacturer most likely does not add a damper because they want to protect the electronics/burner in the unit from extreme temperature fluctuations. This problem is well documented on the "smokin-it" forums.
There are a few solutions. 1-You can ramp up the temperature of your smoker slowly and this will extend the burn time of your wood source causing a less oxygen demanding fire 2-You can wrap your wood pieces or chips in aluminum foil and poke a few holes around them-this serves the purpose of choking oxygen at the source of the fire.
Either way you look at it, you cannot and WILL NOT get optimal smoke flow/quality with this unit. Those who cook on them are used to it. You only need anywhere from 2-5oz of wood depending on what you're cooking and regardless of what kind of wood or how much you ALWAYS END UP WITH THICK, WHITE SMOKE-NOT THE THIN, BLUE SMOKE needed for optimal BBQ. Sure, you can cook some good tasting BBQ but anyone with oxygen controls to their fire will have the upper hand over this unit.
