Time for a New Smoker

[55499]

So I'm moving on up and would love some recommendations! 

I've been smoking for a while on a El Cheapo (Walmart) Char Broil Propane Vertical Smoker.  However I do have experience with the horizontal offset smokers as my brother in law has an oklahoma joe and then my other brother also has an old country 20in smoker.  Both bought at academy sports. (I like the old country betta).

So now I want to graduate to the horizontal off set smoker.  I'd like to get one that's heavy built and avoid the Char-Griller type models.  So I'm willing to spend $400 to $700 range.

The problem with the Yoder and Horizon smokers in my opinion is not enough real estate if you know what I mean.  For $800 I should be able to smoke a lot more food than the small 16" chamber they offer.

Any recommendations on what to get or how to get a good price? I will be living in Tulsa, OK soon so I'm sure I could find some good builders out there too, but not sure if I can in my price range.

Any help and/or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

 

[ravanelli]

Hi 55499, if that is your real name :)  

I just bought a Horizon 16" last month, and I am still in the process of writing my review of it.  I will say that the 16" chamber is great for small families and parties, and it conserves fuel for these smaller smokes, but if you are going to be doing large volumes you would want the 20" I'm sure, which as you noticed moves the price up.

With the price comes quality, Horizon makes a wonderful product, very durable and it's a real beauty, so if you do decide to make that investment you can rest assured it's going to last.   

Good luck on your purchase!

 

[fourashleys]

I have heard good things about many brands. I finally decided to ditch my ECB and build my own. I got $1000 into it but it's abeast. I highly recommend building one if you have the chance. I had never built one and hadn't welded in 25 yrs. The folks on here helped out tremendously and I got what I wanted at the price I needed.