I’ve been smoking with my Weber Kettle for a few years and am finally upgrading to a full featured smoker and I am just having a really hard time choosing between these two. Both seem to have pretty good temperature stability and seem to be pretty hands off once you get things going. They were both reviewed favorably here, but I wondered if anyone could help me think through which one would be better for me?
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Masterbuilt MPS 340/G or Pit Boss 5 series?
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Club Member
- Nov 2017
- 7780
- Huntsville, Alabama
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Jim Morris
Cookers- Slow 'N Sear Deluxe Kamado (2021)
- Camp Chef FTG900 Flat Top Grill (2020)
- Weber Genesis II E-410 w/ GrillGrates (2019)
- Weber Performer Deluxe 22.5" w/ GrillGrates & Slow 'N Sear & Drip N Griddle & Vortex & Party Q & Rotisserie (2007)
- Thermoworks Smoke w/ Wifi Gateway
- Thermoworks Dot
- Thermoworks Thermapen Classic
- Thermoworks RT600C
- Weber Connect
- Whatever I brewed and have on tap! See it here: https://taplist.io/taplist-57685
Those are some pretty different cookers there - pellet versus propane. I think you gotta decide whether its easier to be getting 20 pound tank refills every time you smoke a butt or brisket, or if its easier to pick up a new bag of pellets at the store. Then decide which cooker is best in that type.
I've seen both good and bad reviews of the Masterbuilt thermostatic propane smokers. My personal pick for propane would be the Camp Chef Smokevault 24 - mostly because it can be converted to natural gas, and I've got that available outside. On pellet rigs, I cannot comment on the Pit Boss. In BOTH cases, I think you will find the smoke profile is going to be lighter than you are used to from the Weber kettle. The propane smoker with wood chunks may offer more smoke flavor than the pellet cooker if I had to guess.
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Founding Member
- Jul 2014
- 2601
- The Poconos, NEPA
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Smoker:
Landmann Smoke Master Series Heavy Duty Barrel Smoker (COS) - With mods including 2 level rack system with pull-out grates
Masterbuilt 40.2" 1200W Electric Smoker
Masterbuilt ThermoTemp XL 40" Vertical Propane Smoker
Gas Grill:
BBQPro (cheap big box store model) Stainless steel 4 burnerswith aftermarket rotisserie.
Charcoal Grill:
Weber Smokey Joe Charcoal Grill 14"
Thermometer:​​​​​​
Fireboard 2 with Drive cable and 20 CFM fan and Competition Probe Package
Fireboard 1st Generation
ThermoWorks Mini Instant Read
Lavaworks Thermowand Instant Read
2 Maverick 733
ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S Industrial Infrared Thermometer
ThermoWorks ThermaPen Mk4 x 2
Govee Bluetooth Thermometer with 6 probes
Miscellaneous:
Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulator - 1st generation
Anova Sous Vide Immersion Circulator - wifi/bluetooth connected
Favorite Beer:
Anything to the dark side and malty rather than hoppy. Currently liking Yuengling Porter and Newcastle Brown Ale. In a bar or pub I will often default to Guiness
Favorite Spirit:
Bourbon - Eagle Rare for "every day"; Angel's Envy for special occasions, Basil Hayden's, Larceny
Favorite Wine:
Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Super Tuscan Sangiovese (Including Chianti Classico Riserva) Brunello di Montalcino
Favorite Meat(s):
Pork - especially the darker meat. I love spare ribs and anything made from shoulder/butt meat
Chicken - Mainly the dark meat and wings
Beef Ribeye steak
Favorite Cuisine to Cook:
Can't list just one: Indian, Chinese, Thai, West Indian/Carribean, Hispanic/Latin American, Ethiopian, Italian, BBQ
Favorite Cuisine to Eat:
Indian, followed closely by BBQ.
Disqus ID:
David E. Waterbury
I have the Masterbuilt and I think it delivers very good product. I would much rather cook with wood chunks than pellets. As for propane, there is no way you have to get a new tank of propane for every cook - even brisket or pork butt. I find the tanks last a very long time - many cooks. If you keep a spare on hand it is never a problem. Plus, propane tank exchanges are EVERYWHERE these days. If, by chance, you did run out unexpectedly, I suspect it would be way easier to run out and grab a full gas tank than to pick up 50 or 100 lbs of pellets. One more thing - propane is propane. It's fungible. Not so with pellets.
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Club Member
- Jun 2018
- 702
- Vancouver WA
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SmokingSteve - "These are a few of my favorite things." (What I've got).
Camp Chef Woodwind 36" pellet grill with Sidekick and grill box and cast iron griddle.
2012 Weber Performer with gas assist. S-N-S Easy-spin grate and Slow-N-Sear Deluxe.
Two Gen 1 Combustion Predictive Thermometers with boosters and a display unit.
Two Thermoworks Thermapen Mk 4 (one purple, one yellow). One purple Thermopop. (Vikings fan).
Maverick XR-50 (needs replacement probes due to recent grease fire).
Misen enamel coated cast iron dutch oven.
Grill Rescue grill brush.
I have had the Thermotemp XL MPS 340G for two years now. It does a great job. I have never had any issues with it. I use wood chunks, not chips and get great smoke from it. With 4 shelves it has great capacity.Propane tanks last a very long time, typically at least 1 or 2 months depending on how heavily I am using it. Usually at least twice a week. You will spend a lot less on propane fuel vs pellets for a pellet rig.
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^^^What he said! I also use chunks, not chips.
For the sake of balance, there is at least one regular poster here who had a bad experience with his ThermoTemp and used to mention it every time someone asked a question about this smoker. For some reason he has not chimed in on this thread so far. It might have been Bkhuna . If interested you could probably find those posts by doing a search
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I've had the 340G for a couple of years (I think). I've got the temperature dial so it's spot on, but, always use a temperature probe to verify & to alert me if the temp drops & I need to swap tanks. I'm gonna ditto what is said above, a tank lasts a long time. It keeps a consistent temp thru the cook. I also use chunks, with some chips to get her started. I'm playing with a smoke tube & pellets now just to see what happens.
I have no experience with a pellet grill/smoker.
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Also have a 340G, had it about 2 years now. Got it based on Max's excellent review on the free side of the site.
I'd been using a Weber kettle with an original SlowNSear forever and, though I love it for most applications, just wanted something that I could set for a super long cook or do 3x the food in that every once in a while. Mine holds temp perfectly, it was exactly what I needed. I also felt that, using wood chunks, the smoke was not far off from charcoal. My neighbor's got a Green Mountain Daniel Boone pellet - it's awfully nice but doesn't deliver as much smoke flavor as the 340G can.
Good luck! And enjoy the ride down the BBQ gear rabbit hole.
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I'm looking to add a gas smoker to my collection of toys mainly because living in the SW we experience fire bans that disallow using charcoal fired appliances . Im intriqued by the temp control of the MB but also the natural gas capability of the CC SV.
I keep wondering why the MB can't be converted over as well. Is the orifice inaccessible to be drilled out? Is there anything unique about the gas line or burner that would make it impossible?
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Call me crazy but I think that would possible with the right fittings etc. Though propane is way more heat efficient, from my understanding.
I am not a gas plumber though, so please take that with a very sizeable pinch of salt! I wondered the same thing a few years ago and looked into it, but stuck with my tanks instead. Camp Chef sells kits for their gear, so I was thinking there shouldn't be any reason why not.
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Funny you should bring this up. My ThermoTemp coughed up a massive hairball this past week. Temps in the box were about 40-50 degrees cooler than where it was set on the dial. I eventually figured it out and the cook came out good, but it was very frustrating. But the wife just said "tough luck, you're not getting a new smoker so deal with it."
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Club Member
- Dec 2021
- 2041
- Buffalo, NY
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Weber 22 Kettle
Santa Maria kettle attachment
LSG 20x32 Pellet smoker
Fireboard 2
Fireboard Spark
SNS
Work Sharp E-5 Electric Knife Sharpener
Fillet Knife 7" | Flexible Blade | Valhalla Series
I have a traeger pellet smoker. Very happy with it. Basically you set the temperature you want and let it go. Very easy to run.
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Club Member
- Nov 2021
- 4526
- Alexandria, VA
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Pit Boss Copperhead 5 vertical pellet smoker
Weber Spirit 3-burner LPG grill w/GrillGrates
SnS Deluxe Kettle
Joule sous vide wand & tub
SnS-500 4-probe w/RF remote monitor (w/extra probes)
Fireboard 2 w/extra probes
Meater+ Wifi/Bluetooth T probe
ThermoPro instant read
Fluke 62Max IR gun thermometer
Full set Mercer knives
WorkSharp Ken Onion sharpener
Weber toolset (tongs, spatula, etc)
Meat Your Maker 11" vac sealer
Cookbooks: Meathead; Food Lab (Alt-Lopez); Salt Fat Acid Heat (Nosrat)
...and a partridge in a pear treeeeeeeeeee...
DaveD absolutely does. I knew I had the space for exactly one cooker (in addition to my Weber Spirit 3-burner), so I did a lot of research, and the Pit Boss Copperhead 5 ended up winning out on paper for me. Very happy with the choice, it's extremely easy to use and clean, runs extremely reliably and consistently with the turn of a knob. I have a background in experimental lab science, and so reproducibility is a big driver for me, and this unit completely delivers. Thumbs up. Disclaimer: this is the one and only smoker I've ever used, and only for just a couple weeks shy of one year. No expert by a very long shot.
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