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Propane Smoker...?

Discussion in 'The Smokehouse' started by woody5506, Nov 30, 2017.

  1. woody5506

    woody5506

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    Before I get lit up for this, I currently do all my smoking with a Weber Smokey Mountain, BUT....I've been curious about a good propane smoker for when I just don't have the better part of a day to dedicate to the smoker. That being said, from what I've seen, every different model out there seems to have flaws. Masterbuilt seems to be the most popular, yet there's plenty of complaints of it being difficult to maintain a temp under 300 degrees. That to me seems ridiculous.

    I know there's no "perfect" smoker out there, but does anyone have any suggestions within that few hundred dollar price range?
     
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  2. OhioStihl

    OhioStihl

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    A friend of mine has master built electric smoker. He has had good luck with.
     
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  3. blacksmith

    blacksmith

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    Welcome to the club woody5506, well this is more like a family than a club. You'll like it here. I don't have much experience with smoking food with propane or electric, I usually smoke mine over charcoal and chips or use the side box smoker if I need a lower temp. I am sure someone on here will be able to help you out!
     
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  4. TurboDiesel

    TurboDiesel

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    Can you build/weld?
    Custom is the way to go!
     
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  5. woody5506

    woody5506

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    Thanks for the feedback. No welding experience but I have no doubt you're right about custom being the best. Make it how you want it. But with Christmas around the corner and the family bugging me about what I want, I figure the price point of a lot of these propane smokers isn't too unreasonable. If Weber made one, I would no doubt buy that.

    I've considered electric but I just don't think I can do it. 10 or so years ago when I was in high school I worked at a BBQ place which is how I learned to smoke, and due to town ordinances they weren't allowed coal/wood smokers so they only had electric. The meat always came out great but I know it wasn't "real deal" smoking.
     
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  6. OhioStihl

    OhioStihl

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    Woody, I hear what your saying about electric but hear me out. My pellet smoker isn’t as authentic as real wood, charcoal is getting close, propane and electric are in the same boat. You can run electric or propane and add real wood chips.
    If you want something that you can set it and forget it then something with a thermostat will be the way to go. The people with the big green egg or the komando’s can run a long time without babysitting too.
    Putting meat on the smoker and then going deer hunting, wood cutting or motorcycling and not worrying about it is fantastic.
     
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  7. swags

    swags Moderator

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    Like OhioStihl said a smoker with a thermostat is super easy. I have a pellet smoker that is pretty much set and forget. Pellet smokers are great for anything in the 200-400 degree range.

    I have a big custom made smoker that I only use wood in but it’s high maintenance to keep temps where I want them. Since I built the big smoker I rarely use the pellet smoker anymore though. It’s a lot more work but I love using the stick smoker.
     
  8. Chvymn99

    Chvymn99 Moderator

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    Welcome to FHC woody5506 ... I've got a homemade propane smoker. Its good for consistancy in temperature once you get it set up. But the smoke was the issue, trying to keep consist smoke for the first 4 hours was the hardest part. I just bought a traeger pellet smoker. So far so good, a little getting use to.
     
  9. swags

    swags Moderator

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    I’ve had a traeger for over a decade now, still going strong
     
  10. OhioStihl

    OhioStihl

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    Just a thought, buy propane or electric if it can consistently hold the temps you want, add a smoke generator for the smoke factor. I believe they are good up to 225 degrees then they don’t smoke as well. I use a pellet smoke generator for my smoked cheese or when I want more smoke than my Traeger is putting out.
     
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  11. woody5506

    woody5506

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    You guys really got me thinking about electric now...Or possibly just sticking with my charcoal one instead.

    I'm not all that familiar with a smoke generator, but I don't think it would be necessary for most of these common propane/electric smokers. I know regular wood is added to either propane or electric smokers, but one issue that seems common with the Masterbuilts is because they seem to run hot, people say the wood chips easily flare up and burn off quick. Simple mods to the wood tray can be done to avoid this though. Lots of people seem to get rid of the regular wood tray and replace it with an 8" cast iron pan. The more I read reviews and watch youtube videos the more I'm steering away from getting one.
     
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  12. OhioStihl

    OhioStihl

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    Type in Amazing smoke tube or Maze into a search engine. They use pellets. One thing will lead to another, you will end up smoking cheese and these smoke generators work great.
    399AEFDF-6537-4401-8ADE-B6647841B49A.jpeg
     
  13. BigPapi

    BigPapi

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    I use a Brinkmann propane smoker (yes, I got lit up for it! :)) for the same reason - set and forget. I start with a pan of lump charcoal and wood chunks, run it hot enough to catch fire, extinguish the fire, add meat once the smoke is a steady blue stream, and run the burner real low to keep the coals doing their thing. It holds whatever temp I want as long as the bottle has gas, so I can split wood, play with the kids, nap, etc. One thing I'd recommend is to calibrate the thermostat of whatever off the shelf unit you might buy - or just replace it with something better. The stock units tend to suck.
     
  14. lukem

    lukem

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    I use my weber gas grill as a smoker quite a bit. I just set a stainless steel bowl full of wood chunks directly on one of the burners and make a foil shield to block the radiant heat. Works good, but not as good as a "real" smoker.
     
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