Best Deals On Electric Smokers (2024 Update)

I had some experience with smoking meats prior to purchasing this. I needed something small and electric, and this fit the bill. I have used it to smoke fall-off-the-bone ribs, as well as chicken. My only complaint is the cord length. The instructions(as well as common sense) state that the unit should be operated at least 10 feet from any structure, but the cord they supply is only about five and a half feet long. It also states in the instructions that the unit should only be hooked directly to a gfci outlet, so that rules out extension cords. But aside from that, this is a solidly built unit, that absolutely can get the job done.Richie

Father’s Day gift done right! Easy set up and curing process . My husband cooked smoked chicken and pork and said it worked very well. He loves it and our BBQ was a hit! Many compliments and recipe requests! Can’t beat that especially first time using it.Anonymous

I always read the one-star reviews of a prospective purchase first, and after receiving my smoker, I am baffled by them. My smoker arrived well-braced with styrofoam inside a heavily corrugated shipping carton and each loose piece (legs, grates, control, etc.) was heavily wrapped and braced inside. Everything was in perfect condition and all the parts were there. The smoker took all of ten minutes to assemble (legs, handles). It is well-made and sturdy. After seasoning per the instructions, I used it for the first time today to smoke a beef brisket and it turned out perfectly. This was a great purchase at a great price and I look forward to using it a lot in the future.Charles

My previous MB electric smoker finally gave up the ghost. It was a heavy, well-built unit, like a tank in construction, which worked incredibly well. I didn't even look at other offerings when I went to buy my replacement. Sadly, this was a real mistake. The new unit that I got as a replacement weighs in at less than half that of the old smoker (I weighed them) and came with the aluminum bottom buckled, as it is very thin aluminum. The unit won't get to temp. It won't hold temp. The digital display disagrees with the actual temp. This was confirmed by two calibrated digital thermometers. The lack of a human customer service agent to speak with, the frustration of placing a warranty claim for parts, and the world's most annoying chat-bot (I should test the impedance on the unit???) have convinced me to never buy another Masterbuilt product again – a company that I had recommended countless times to people in the past. You can only go so cheap in your build quality before you lose customers. I understand the need to be price competitive and to be as profitable as possible, but you should never beat yourself. That is what MB is doing. Without even looking at or comparing MB with a competing product, for me, they knocked themselves out of the running for any future purchase. And, I'm really disappointed in that. I liked Masterbuilt. I liked their old customer service. And, I most certainly liked using my old MB electric smoker that worked.NeverAgain

35 year Executive Chef. I've had my smoker over a year, it's had about 40 runs to date. Unit definitely got better after first 5-6 uses, it's perfectly seasoned now. I've smoked everything in this, brisket, shoulders, ribs, fish, bacon, cheese, herbs, you name it. I rarely trust unit thermometers, however after using several external thermos, the unit is very accurate. I've gotten good smoke as low as 160 degrees. Trick is to start high and go low. Also, I use this on my apartment balcony, perfect for the apartment dweller that thinks they can't smoke. Usually, if it's electric, you're good. Well done Masterbuilt, excellent smoker!Chef17

First time in my life I've ever entered a review, I was very excited to get this smoker unit and having read numerous reviews decided to order the accessory smoker box before even using the DES the first time. The reason was reviews that said if you fed chips into the small standard tray, you would spend a lot of time feeding the pan along with a problem of the heating element shutting down when the smoker reaches temp thereby reducing the amount of smoke produced. Believe what people say about the stability of the acc box with the single hook bolt that comes with it. Don't know for sure but, much of that problem would go away if they simply gave you two bolts with the purchase. It comes with 4 – 1 1/2" long stabilizer bolts that thread into the bottom of the box which do you absolutely no good if the DES is mounted on the legs that it's shipped with, they put the bottom of the acc box about 8" off the ground. I fabricated a plate that solved the problem but, I'm not sure what the engineering group was thinking when they reviewed that design…A simple on/off switch controls the acc smoke box and, it puts out a lot of smoke you might get a little over two hours of smoke per fill with dry chips. Now to the DES. with the acc box we were able to get some very flavorful meat from our efforts, one of my major complaints is that this unit is very slow to get back up to temp after opening the door for treatment of the product. The first time I used it on a pair of pork shoulder roasts, it's winter in IL so I left it in the shop with the walk-in door open and a box fan set up to blow over the top to force the smoke outside. The temp in the shop was about 40 degrees and it took us between 9-10 hours to get them to 165 degrees internal temp with the smoker set at 225 degrees. Don't misunderstand, they were tasty but, my goodness, that's just way more time commitment than I'm prepared to make. The second time I went to use it I plugged it in, and nothing would light up. I registered the product so I could file a warranty claim and, as I went through the troubleshooting process, one of the steps was to look under the unit for possible damage to the circuit board cover. It said nothing about removing the cover and checking connections inside which turned out to be the problem, none of the wires were off their spade posts but, something was going on because after removing and pushing them back on the unit powered up. That allowed our second smoking adventure to begin two full chickens and two slabs of St Louis ribs. We decided to do the chickens beer can style, no cans, just a couple of can stands to keep the birds standing upright to insure smoke infusion. As it turns out, two birds standing is about all the room there is in the smoker. I was going to remove the top rack but, alas the standard size grocery store birds would not fit. We started in mid-morning with the birds and didn't get done with the ribs until 2:00 AM. This was all done with the DES sitting outside on the deck most of the day with a doubled-up blanket draped over it to help it conserve heat. Loved the chicken and the ribs were outstanding but, once again what a time commitment. When I made up my mind to return it to the vendor, I decided to clean it a bit, took the drip pan out and cleaned it, it had chunks of grease cooked to ash on it, there were burned/cooked dry ash grease dops on the shield over the heating element, and there is also a small trough on the back wall that is supposed to direct grease to the drain hole that runs right over the top of the heating element that was filling with cooked dry grease ash. Did not have to clean the grease drip cup outside the drain as there never was a drip that came out of it. Honestly, most of the grease ends up in the water pan which needs cleaning after each use. Very high hopes with a huge let down. Find it so frustrating to not be able to actually speak to someone when something doesn't work and the fact that I waited from Sunday to Tuesday for response from CS and then it was without any direct response to my question.Mathrrd

This smoker was easy to set up. I smoked boneless chicken thighs for my first test run. They came out juicy and tender. Easy to set and monitor. The clean up is not too bad. I didn’t have to use much elbow grease. This will be a fun winter time project.LaVonne

This is a very nice smoker, easy to use and clean. Everything taste amazingly delicious in this smoker. It heats up to temp. fast too. I really love the front glass door to watch your food getting smoked. The timer is awesome and can all be controlled by your phone, through BluetoothWiFi. This company also backs up their product with their warranty or any defects. Great company and awesome smokers. I highly recommend and endorse this smoker. I use mine on my houseboat and no issues at all as it’s electric and it doesn’t omit that much smoke at all. It goes into the food. Delish!Electra

I've had this for a little over a year, it smokled a little in the beginning but now it produces no smoke. The wood chips are barely burnt aftere 6-8 hours set at 250 degree or higher. It is impossoble to smoke at 225. design looks good but that all you get, looks. I'm really irritated. It is obvious the chip tray sits way to high off the heating element. Wasted my money and time on this smoker. The bluetooth is enitrely worthless. I am selling taking a sledge hammer to this piece of crap.Notsmokingtoday

I thought Bradley was a quality product. Don’t be fooled. Mine is 2 years old and used about 8 times. It was “finnicky” right from day 1 but thought it’s was just me. Now past 1 year warranty and won’t heat up. Element not working or fuse. Bradley can’t help other than offer possibilities and want to charge me for all the possible replacement parts. That is a hard no ! Inferior product, terrible customer service. I will put that money towards a better proven product.Frustrated

I've had my Original smoker (non-digital) for 2 years now, and I LOVE it! Living in a condo limited my choice of smoker to an electric model, but that hasn't limited what I can do with it. Cold smoking is easily accomplished by sticking a pan of ice in the unit. (I prefer the bottom rack) Tried all the traditional stuff, like meat, chicken, etc. All with great results (eventually). Ever had coleslaw made with smoked cabbage? Cheese is amazing! Buy the cheap stuff, no one will know, and it helps offset the price of bisquettes. Forget the manual, it's just too vague. Fire up your Google machine and experiment! And finally, having to endure Canadian winters, forget the digital stuff, and Get A Cover. I use this thing several times a week in the summer and a couple times a month in winter. P.S. The shipping box worked nicely as a temporary stand. And the reason for the title is that I'm constantly adjusting recipes, smoke times, wood flavors, etc., because I'm trying to see if there's anything that doesn't taste better SMOKED!TJSMOKER

Great concept with the biscuits,but unfortunately that’s all this smoker has for you. Make a long story short my unit started on fire because of the design! It is terrible in cold weather barely gets enough heat with normal temperatures. Stay away from this smoker!knappster

Threw wings and thighs on for a few hours, amazing job for first time. Looking forward to using this with other meats and fish. Seems to hold a nice consistent temp once you figure out the dial. Very pleased with this purchase. The farm and fleet guy was very helpful also!Smokin John

Bought as a gift for my son. Arrived dented and sent pictures. They send a replacement after numerous calls. The replacement was also dented and certainly looked used by the residual ash left inside. Smoke escapes from door. Did a halfway decent job of smoking but feel like when paying full price, I should have received brand new, top notch product which this was not…. twice!Pixus

Im throwing away my smoker. Got it about a year ago and have only been able to successfully cook 3 times out of about 8. It trips the electric. Tired of fighting it and googling ideas any time I want a freakin piece of chicken! Just when we think we figure out the problem and cook something, the next time it trips the electric again. I have thrown away food because its my only source to real smoke. I have tried lower temps, no extension chord, a heavy duty short extension chord and 3 different outside outlets. Trips on low temp. Cant cook on a lower temp anyway since it does heat up to even 200 and the chips wont smoke – according to forums for THAT issue. Already had to not soak chips. Have tried other items in the outlets. They work. Its the smoker. No rust – had issue since it was new.picklesmith

I wish I would have listened to reviews stating that the temp on this machine would not get high enough, but being a broke college student I went with the cheapest option and that is certainly what I got. The gauge (doesn't read correct) shows up to 400 degree F but this smoker can't even sniff 250 degree F on a good day at full heat. I have always bought masterbuilt products for years and loved them. I had no problem with the simpler analog function of the dial and was even okay with a smaller rack size but this smoker simply isn't as advertised. Sadly, my next purchase may have to be one of the more high end smokers on the market as this poorly made version is the bbq equivalent of an easy-bake oven. Save your money.Ryan

worked okay for a few smokes, then one day the plug melted into the outlet (lucky i didnt burn the house down) so i had to pry it out and a prong broke off in the outlet (which had to be replaced immediately since thats where i plug my pool pump in when im not smoking). NOW the nightmare is their TRASH web site erroring out (both mozilla and microsoft based browsers) when trying to file a claim ( who doesnt love spending 15 min filling out forms to then have it all erased) or even simply contacting support because THEY NO LONGER OFFER PHONE SUPPORT! this company is hot garbage and ill never buy another one of their products. good thing i got the extended warranty from walmart so EVENTUALLY ill get my $ back. the smoker itself took a long time to get up to temp and never really stabilized until literally hours of fiddling with the knob, didnt help that the thermometer on the front was USELESS but i use digital probes because of that very fact. the drip cup was constantly spilling too. as for the stuff i smoked ofcourse it came out delicious, but anyone who knows how to smoke can do that. it generally took a good hour or more longer than it should have because of the fiddly thermostat but it got there eventually.michael

I assembled, was 30 minutes into the directed “ seasoning “ prior to use and my breaker tripped. So I thought faulty GFCI. Nope, took to two other outlets – not on the same circuits – and they tripped instantly. A short to ground? Yep…. So disappointing #1. Contacted Masterbuilt via online app. You have to take pictures of your receipt and Model / Serisl number and upload to their website while registering. And I get an email saying 5 business days. So I called Bass Pro – where I ordered online – and they said I could travel to my nearest bass pro ( 30 miles one way ) and exchange. Disappointment #2 ) grabbed a new / in box unit and while investing to assembly, the unit was dented. Inward and outward. So another trip to Basspro- 120 miles round trip. They gave me a choice of a floor model or a boxed unit. After looking at the box with slight cardboard damage I chose the floor model. So now I sit , 1.5 hours into the seasoning process hoping this unit works. Overall, this is a low end unit, marginal quality, suspect electrical components. BassPro needs to rethink carrying this brand as I seen more than a few returned units in the customer service return area. MSRP is 150.00. I bought on sale for About $88. It’s worth about $25. Think twice about this unit. Maybe I was in that 5-10% failure range. Frustrating to say the least.Buzz618

35 year Executive Chef. I've had my smoker over a year, it's had about 40 runs to date. Unit definitely got better after first 5-6 uses, it's perfectly seasoned now. I've smoked everything in this, brisket, shoulders, ribs, fish, bacon, cheese, herbs, you name it. I rarely trust unit thermometers, however after using several external thermos, the unit is very accurate. I've gotten good smoke as low as 160 degrees. Trick is to start high and go low. Also, I use this on my apartment balcony, perfect for the apartment dweller that thinks they can't smoke. Usually, if it's electric, you're good. Well done Masterbuilt, excellent smoker!Chef17

These work great….for a season. I got one, with the extended warranty, thank God, and used it for anything and everything. I loved this smoker. However, after 1 season, the electrical panel went out. I babied this smoker. With the warranty, they gave me the same one, just some newer features because it was newer. Again, worked great for 6 months. The panel went out again. I went back to gas. Had it years and it still works perfectly.John

I've had the smoker for a month now, and used it on a couple occasions. Smoking our meats gives us another option in our family culinary repertoire. I'm still gaining experience with it, but the smoker seems to do a good job of maintaining fairly consistent temperature, and good smoking. A pork loin roast, and a whole chicken have turned out tasty. As recommended in the Owners Manual, I cleaned the unit after each use with mild soap and water. What concerns me, is that the black paint along the the inside edge of the door frame started peeling off with the first use. We'll see how the paint degrades over time. If ours is an isolated incident, then this points to a manufacturing quality issue. If this is more widespread, then this points to a product / process development issue. Perhaps a powder coating finish would work better?kmiller99

For the price, I guess it's ok. Very thin aluminum, maybe I overlooked the guage in the specs. I haven't used it yet but judging from the thickness of the tabs holding the racks, I don't see a way to put any meat on there that would weigh more than a few pounds. For smaller pieces, it will probably work ok. Turkeys are out of the question along with bigger meats (venison roasts, ribs, etc). The small pan used for the wood must use small chips/pellets. I have many apple trees and have 2 huge burlap sacks full of cut apple wood for smoking. No way to use it in this smoker. But I will keep it and will use it, it's just not quite what I wanted. So I'm building my own aluminum smoker out of heavier weight metal and a large wood burning box on the bottom. Like I said, I haven't used it yet but these are my first observations. The good thing is: It's aluminum and should never rust.c-moisee

The unit caught on fire after first use! I don't understand why the unit caught on fire but fortunately I was close by monitoring the smoking process and noticed dark smoke coming from the unit and when I checked the unit there were flames blazing inside. It burned the meat inside to a crisp! The inside of the box was severely burned from the fire in the box. I have owned one of these units for many years in the past and didn't experience this type of issue. Now, I'm anxious regarding using these Big Chief Smokers. This could've been a very dangerous and costly manner had I not been monitoring the smoking process. I had to dump water onto the top of the and allow the water to drain down to where the fire was burning to extinguish the fire. If, I had taken the front cover off I'm certain the oxygen in the air would've carried the fire!JJ

I like it as I had one before. I just wish the wire on the racks were a little closer together. Other than that works great . I have been smoking peppers and will do my jerky in a few days. What I like is is is a cool smoke. Does not cook the meat but dries it and the same for the peppers. I would definitly recommend it for all smoking where you do not want to cook the productEric

For the price, I guess it's ok. Very thin aluminum, maybe I overlooked the guage in the specs. I haven't used it yet but judging from the thickness of the tabs holding the racks, I don't see a way to put any meat on there that would weigh more than a few pounds. For smaller pieces, it will probably work ok. Turkeys are out of the question along with bigger meats (venison roasts, ribs, etc). The small pan used for the wood must use small chips/pellets. I have many apple trees and have 2 huge burlap sacks full of cut apple wood for smoking. No way to use it in this smoker. But I will keep it and will use it, it's just not quite what I wanted. So I'm building my own aluminum smoker out of heavier weight metal and a large wood burning box on the bottom. Like I said, I haven't used it yet but these are my first observations. The good thing is: It's aluminum and should never rust.c-moisee

The unit caught on fire after first use! I don't understand why the unit caught on fire but fortunately I was close by monitoring the smoking process and noticed dark smoke coming from the unit and when I checked the unit there were flames blazing inside. It burned the meat inside to a crisp! The inside of the box was severely burned from the fire in the box. I have owned one of these units for many years in the past and didn't experience this type of issue. Now, I'm anxious regarding using these Big Chief Smokers. This could've been a very dangerous and costly manner had I not been monitoring the smoking process. I had to dump water onto the top of the and allow the water to drain down to where the fire was burning to extinguish the fire. If, I had taken the front cover off I'm certain the oxygen in the air would've carried the fire!JJ

I like it as I had one before. I just wish the wire on the racks were a little closer together. Other than that works great . I have been smoking peppers and will do my jerky in a few days. What I like is is is a cool smoke. Does not cook the meat but dries it and the same for the peppers. I would definitly recommend it for all smoking where you do not want to cook the productEric

I would like to say I was in love with this smoker! After watching YouTube and reading a lot of reviews online we decided to go with the pit boss copperhead before turkey day. We ordered the copperhead 5 series smoker from Walmart offline Sunday the 18th and receive it Tuesday the 20th. I started the assembly of the smoker And had a few initial issues. First issue being one of the rivets on the one of the legs was not fully crimped and was able to spin, no big deal I was able to hold it with some pliers to tighten it down. Second issue is no matter how I adjusted the hinges the door was not aligning causing it to not be able to seal correctly(pic attached). After looking at it closely I realized the cabinet is not square and leans towards the front right side. So this causes you to have to lift up on the door before latching up to go to good seal. Third issue is because of the strain the door places on the latch all you have to do is bump the cabinet and the latch automatically pops off and the door will open. Fourth issue is with the display cover, when I first un-boxed the smoker I realized the display cover was Warped and I noticed the Adhesive was not holding it down correctly(pic attached). I thought it was an easy fix just by pushing it back down with my finger but unfortunately the adhesive is not sticking and keeps popping back up which will eventually allow Debris in behind it. Fifth issue is the unit shut down in the middle of a cook with a error code ErL. Even with all these issues we where willing to just have it repaired. Until we contacted customer support…. we were told we could put in for warranty replacement parts or take it back to where we bought it from. So I decided we are just going to get our money back and try a different brand I don’t need the headache of replacing the main cabinet at this point I mean its BRAND NEW! and you want me to fix it????Repairman

After using a wood firebox smoker for 20 years I stressed about getting a pellet smoker. I did a test of some ribs on a friend's Traegar and had decided to avoid pellet smokers until reading and researching more. I finally bit the bullet after I heard that Joe Traegar was now involved with Pitt Boss and seeing several articles about the Coppertop vertical smoker. I almost bought the version at Lowe's but found out that one did not have adjustable shelves. My 3 closest Wal-Mart stores were sold out so I had to drive to a bordering state to buy the last one in stock (hint – do not trust online Wal-Mart inventory counts). I got the smoker home. It was packaged very well. Assembly was not bad but I did have an issue with the heat deflector plate and had to call Pitt Boss. I left a voice message and got a call back within 30 minutes and told how to solve the issue. I followed all instructions for setup and burn in. I did order a smoker tube from Pitt Boss to cold smoke but I also use it for added smoke and sometimes for a second wood flavor to my meats. Overall I love this thing. Being able to put a brisket on and actually get sleep was also as amazing as the brisket tasted after 14 hours. Cleaning the grill interior is easy. The glass door takes some vinegar to get the heavy smoke off. Emptying the excess pellets is not fun. Why they didn't put the pellet drain on the bottom baffles me. I keep my smoker on a covered patio and have the smoker canvas cover, bit I would still never leave pellets in the feed bin. Only other complaint is the control panel on the bottom needs to be covered when you open the door to baste or remove food to avoid the ultimate dripping. I do see a newer Pitt Boss vertical smoker has controls at the top and that has to be nice to have. I've had my coppertop almost a year and have done about 10 overnight 12-16 hour smokes, about a dozen or more 2-4 hour sessions and 5-6 cold smoke runs. The smoker still looks new on the outside and I'm still very happy. I also like the oak pellets that seem to be hard to locate so I end up ordering those from Pitt Boss.Denis

From reading other people’s reviews about the smoker not maintaining a constant temperature , varying above or below the set temperature by 30-50 degrees had me nervous to smoke for the first time on it. I got looking at the smoker before I began to cook and noticed that the water pan is directly have the heat source and the thermometer. That’s the problem right their. The pan is blocking the heat to rise up though smoker so the temperature is going to always read way above what you have it set at. I remove the water pan completely and placed a aluminum pie pan about 12 inches above the burn pot so now the heat and smoke had 8 inches on each side and 3 inches on the front and back of the pie pan to rise up and maintain a constant temperature. I placed a 8 lbs pork butt 12 inches above the pie pan. So when the heat passed by the pie pan the heat would then hit the meat at all sides. I set my temperature at 275 degrees and the lowest it ever dropped to was 265 degrees and never went above 275. Also make sure there is no heat escaping from the door. Make sure the door is sealed completely. Also the smoke stack is adjustable which makes a difference in air flow and a constant temperature. I know a lot of you are thinking that the water pan helps with 2 things. When filled with water it keeps the meat moist and also is a drip pan from the fat rendering off the meat. I have smoked with off set smokers (charcoal and wood) and electric smokers (at least 100 times) and I have never used a water pan for the steaming affect. It all comes down to maintaining a constant temperature and knowing how your smoker works. Know when to wrap your meat and when to pull it off the smoker. Maintain a constant temperature and the temperature inside your meat is how you get moist meat. Wrapping your meat allows moisture to go back into the meat (steaming process). The second thing the water pan does is collects the drippings from the meat. (So what). I know you are thinking well it’s not making a mess at the bottom of the smoker. (Correct) But I suggest that you just line the bottom of the smoker with aluminum foil making sure not to block the drip hole or the heat box holes. Easy to clean. Just replace the aluminum foil plus the juices from the meat hitting the hot surface below will give you that steam affect with its own natural juices and seasons your smoker with the meats flavor. A way to save money on pellets is once your meat has reached its ideal temperature to be wrapped, I suggest to put it in the oven at the same temperature you were smoking it at. The smoker is just an oven that produces smoke. Once wrapped the meat is not getting anymore smoke on it so what is the point of keeping it inside the smoker and using up pellets. I suggest that you always clean out your hopper and auger and make sure that there aren’t any pellets in them. You do not want moisture on your pellets which could damage your smoker plus you don’t know what meat you are going to smoke next and what flavor of pellets you want to use. Always clean out your burn pot before next use also. Be consistent. The only problem I see with the smoker is where the power switch and temperature readings is located. Things are going to spill on it or fall and it’s hard to read and always have to bend over. Should be on the top or on the side of the smoker.BigMeat11

I bought this 2 weeks ago. Went to use it yesterday for 2nd time and it quit halfway through. I can go turn it on right now and it will say the meat is at 140f. Well there's nothing in it. It also says it has a temp of 310 inside. Noooooooo! The icon that says the burner is on wont light up. I was told its the heating element. This product is junk!!!!Gordon Henry

We really liked this smoker for the first year but 4 months later it just quit working!!! Looks like it may have a short in it but there is no way to get inside to fix it. Every time you plug it in it just trips the breaker! I have had other smoker's that lasted for years so I did not buy an extended warranty.Karen

It's not terrible, but not top of the line either. The meat probe has never worked and customer service was not able to troubleshoot the issue. I have an external meat probe that I use instead of the one built into the unit. The burner sits too low below the chip cup, so it didn't create much smoke the first time we used it. My wife folded some aluminum foil to fill the gap between the burner and the tray and that helped immensely. The display shows a temp about 10 degrees below the actual temp, but if we set it to 210 it stays pretty close to the 225 target desired. All in all, it smokes, maintains temperature and seems to do the job. But the performance out of the box reflects the budget price point.Andy

ive been using this smoker since oct 2020, it is my first offset. i have made some pretty good bbq on it, as I'm still learning the world of offset smoking. Heres a few things about this smoker. You are getting what you pay for. The metal is thin, so it easily warps, especially in the firebox area. During the first burn through and seasoning fire, there were significant gaps in the cook chamber lid and firebox lid. Get ready to buy gasket sealers, which is no bid deal. But the warps in the metal after a few smokes, increase the gaps, letting out a lot of smoke. With the thin metal, around a 1/16 of an inch, it makes it very difficult to keep heat in, especially on a cold day. Temperatures spike up and down, so heat management is very difficult. Be ready to baby sit this smoker constantly. Sometimes thats exhausting especially with a 12+ hour brisket cook. Another issue is the smoke stack is above grate level, so it doesn't have good airflow. Airflow has been a constant problem, especially on days with no wind. Even with all the vents wide open and the fire box door open, it doesn't have enough draw on the air. I'm sure it wouldn't cost a whole lot more for the manufacturer to move the stack down to grate level and ad a longer stack. And I'm sure most of us would pay the extra if it meant better airflow, which is one of the most essential components of offset smoking to produce clean smoke. Most offset smokers come with the stack above grate level, which makes absolutely no sense at all. Also another complaint is the thermometer ports are on the upper half of the cook chamber lid, not at grate level. We all know heat rises, but manufacturers keep putting the ports higher up on the lid rather than at grate level. Some smokers do have a second rack in the cooking, which then would make sense for a thermometer to be that high, but not on this smoker. A thermometer port at grate level would be more beneficial. So i bought a digital probe thermometer to record temps at grate level. Besides all of that, its a good smoker to get a taste of offset smoking, if a taste is what you want. Besides that, its a decent smoker to get into the world of meat smoking. If you have enough patience and determination to learn and fail, and learn some more, you'll make decent bbq. I'm already looking for a smoker that will better address all of the problems i have mentioned.dimavan

I purchased this online through Amazon. Ordered it on Sunday, received it on Wednesday. I was excited to get it put together and start using it. I put it together by myself. Two people would be easier. The Oklahoma Joe's emblem was broken off the lid when i opened the box, not a big deal. just used high temp silicone to hold it on. The major problems with this smoker are; The main compartment lid and the firebox lid are not even close to fitting correctly, the firebox is held together by 4 bolts, 2 on the left side and two on the right side. after assembly there was a 1/4" gap in the front and rear of the firebox. The Longhorn smoker leaks smoke like a sieve. I purchased gasket sealers for the main compartment and firebox. both lids still have major leaks. added two after market clamps to the main compartment, still leaks. i have ordered extra clamps for both firebox and the main compartment. hopefully this will correct that. The firebox half, I sealed with a half tube of high temp sealer. On the burn in, it is recommended for a temp of 250-300 degrees. Well, the paint on the firebox was bubbling up and burning off. I have had this for just over a week. the firebox now droops down on the right side. the heat seems to weaken the metal on the right side of the main compartment where the firebox is attached. I bought an automotive jack stand to hold it up. Also you will need to seal the exhaust pipe and cap for leaks. You would think for the amount of money these cost, the tolerances would be much better. how hard should it be to match a lid to the smoker and have it fit? The temperature across the cooking surface was not as even as Oklahoma Joe's claims. So I purchased an after market solid steel baffIe. This helped with two things, one, it helped keep the temperature even and 2, I had to remove the inside mount for the factory baffle plate and drill holes in the new baffle and use the top 2 bolts for the firebox, but what it did was help the firebox from drooping by reenforcing the main compartment. I very tired of sending thing back so I just decided to make this work. But by the time you spend Time and the money you need to to make this smoker preform correctly, you would be better off just buying a higher quality one to begin with. I could have had a 1/4" thick steel smoker that was all welded and ready to go for the same amount I have spent on this Oklahoma Joe's reverse longhorn smoker, this is half the thickness. Bottom line, this smoker is not ready to go out of the box. you need to spend time and money to make it work correctly.Disappointed again

I read reviews till I was Nauseated at all the negatives with people thinking they were buying $1500 to $2500 heavy iron pit that would seal easier. So my expectations were not as high as I realistically wanted them to be But ,,,,,,,,, I am So Pleasantly Surprised, and Happy, with the way this Offset Smoker cooked and burned and, even sealed as far as that goes. No, It Does Not seal completely but it sealed sufficiently. And I used a fairly small load of charcoal to burn it in, as the previous owner did not even use the pit for some reason. I was very Happy with the level of Heat that it held. I checked the heat from close to the Firebox to the smokestack end and it was approx 50 to 60 degrees different. If you have ever had an Offset smoker you know it ‘WILL BE’ that way, unless it was made with a defector shield to keep the heat from just rising straight out of the firebox into the smoke chamber ! Overall for the price of this smoker, it does just what SHOULD BE Expected of it, and it performs really Well !Krace

Purchased smoker as it was supposed to be a great starter smoker and I was looking to get into smoking meats. After following instructions and maintaining unit as required, I noticed that the PH option would heat the unit as desired; however, once I set the temperature to get to temp it would only heat to around 110 degrees. After contacting Charbroil, I was told to replace the heating element (~$30 plus shipping & taxes). Well, that didn't work and now I'm stuck with a smoker that I've used maybe 15-20 times but won't heat like it is supposed to. Charbroil only stands by their product for so long so won't help anymore; but I could continue to buy replacement parts in the HOPE that one of them will work? I'd spend the extra money and get a unit from a company that stands by their product.JJ33

For 2 years this smoker performed great! No problems, everything turned out as expected. Then I noticed the heating element wasn’t getting as hot as it had in the past. I removed the back cover where the connections are and found one connection almost burnt off. I contacted customer service, spoke with a supervisor, explained the problem and even sent a picture. Since I was one year out of warranty, I get it, they couldn’t do much except give me money off a new one. Didn’t want to spend over $150 on one that’ll probably do the same thing. I repaired it myself but sad that the quality control is terrible! And my smoker is stored in a garage, not exposed to any weather or elements.Gordon S

I wanted to get into smoking with an entry-level priced smoker, and I thought this product would fit the bill. The smoker is very easy to work with by and large, and I made a number of excellent meals with it. Dynamite ribs, amazing pulled pork, chicken thighs, queso, etc. I was very happy with my purchase at first. However, the smoker stopped heating about 18 months after I bought it, right in time for winter. When I checked it in the spring, I found the connectors to the heating element had completely corroded. Worse off, this is not an easily replacement/repairable part, unless one is an experienced electrician. At its price point, I wasn't expecting this product to last for decades, but getting less than two years out of it was very disappointing. Customer service was great when I contacted them. They were straight with me that this wasn't an easily replaceable part.GS123

Bought this unit in the spring to replace a Bradley Electric smoker. It was easy to assemble, looks good some of the parts feel a little flimsy but given the price point I’m happy. Don’t follow the instructions for the “seasoning smoke“ it calls for far too much charcoal and I found it impossible to control the heat… in fact it pushed the thermometer to its stop. Also the smoker leaks everywhere…. I purchased a roll of self adhesive smoker gasket and sealed both doors and the chimney stack. With the gasket installed the smoker works really well… just be careful how much fuel you use as less and a little more frequent works best. Heat control is now good I did a test on the supplied thermometer by suspending it in boiling water… it was within a couple of degrees of accuracy so all good, I was concerned because others have mentioned that the thermometer is not accurate. The wood chip box works very well… problem is that it is quite tricky to empty and refill during a smoke. I have now opted to use the wood chip box at the start of a cook and when more wood is needed I simply add some wood chunks directly onto the charcoal…. this works very well. I’ve probably done about 10 cooks on it in fact doing a 10lb pork shoulder as I write this… must say I’m very happy everything has turned out well… great bark and smoke ring produced and the flavour is better than my Bradley. I would say that for the money you can’t beat this unit.Paul

Love this! Purchased for my husband for Father's Day. Easy to put together and use. I was concerned about it not being big enough. Size is not a problem! I can smoke an entire meal in it with the 4 shelves. Highly recommend!!Twinsmom

If you could find one, buy it. This is a great little smoker. It regulates temperature well and produces enough smoke even at 200*. It's smaller than the bigger one's but great for a small family. Well built with a latching door. Find one and get smokin'TinoD