Advice on buying my first Gas (propane) smoker.

[Danpfl68]

I've managed fairly well smoking ribs with a very cheap, barrel charcoal grill with an offset smoker but it's a royal pain when I try to do something with a longer cooking time, like a pork butt. I've decided to buy a gas smoker but am concerned about some of what I've read. Here are some of my concerns:
I live in Florida, everything rusts...quickly. Are there any materials or treatments anyone would recommend to lengthen the smoker life?
I've read many comments about problems getting temperatures low enough on propane smokers, are certain models better at this? Constantly worrying about temperature control for 12+ hours is exhausting.
What size should I shoot for? I normally cook for just a couple of people but two or three times a year I do large parties and would like to be able to do 4+ butts at a time.

[Nate]

Danpfl68 , I don't have much experience with gas smokers however if temp control is your primary concern then I would highly recommend considering a Pellet Smoker (if funds allow). They are amazing at temp control and you should be able to get 4 butts on at a time (providing you don't get the smallest one... I have a traeger jr and can only get 2 on there at a time). I am not sure about the rust thing... That would be a good question for a manufacturer if you call them. RecTec grills are rumored to have really good customer service and that is the pellet smoker I am looking at myself.

As far as the vertical gas smokers go... Make sure you will have the room you want and that the shelves are adjustable with different spacing options... it may have four shelves in it but you may not have enough room between each rack to put a butt on each one... (that is a problem i ran into with my vertical offset smoker).

The Camp Chef Smoke Vault and Char-Broil Vertical Gas Smoker both have gold medal reviews in the ratings and reviews section.

[MagWarrior]

I have a camp chef. Stay away from them. The distance between the water pan and the wood tray make it almost impossible to keep the wood smoking. It is not sealed like it should be so it has a lot of leakage.

[mgaretz]

I'm with Nate. I started smoking on my Weber Gas Grill, then bought a vertical gas smoker. Had to add a needle valve in the propane line to get fine enough control to hit a low target temp (225f). Got a pellet grill (a Traeger) and it was a vast improvement, but still had to babysit the temps. Took it back and got a Rec Tec. Couldn't be happier. So skip the propane smoker and get a pellet grill with a PID temperature controller.

[Max Good]

Click here for our Searchable Reviews of vertical gas smokers: http://amazingribs.com/bbq_equipment...el_tid%5B%5D=2
316 marine grade stainless steel would be a good choice for your environment. Unfortunately I don't know of any models constructed of 316. Some big commercial gas smokers are stainless steel, but most residential gas smokers are coated metal. It's true that many have trouble holding low temps. We tested Camp Chef's Smoke Vault and found it had a very good temp range from low to high. Smoke Hollow's Dual burner model also provides a good temp range.

Size is up to you. We advise to go big. You can cook small amounts in a big smoker, but not the other way around.

[LangInGibsonia]

I like my Smoke Vault a lot. I have the 24" and it is plenty big for up to 6 butts. No problem at all getting the temp down to 200 and even below but when it is cold outside the temp tends to yo-yo a bit. I don't think you'll have to worry to much about cold temps in Florida though.

[MBMorgan]

As an added data point, here's a link to a Steven Raichlen article on vertical gas/propane smokers:

http://barbecuebible.com/2015/03/06/vertical-propane-gas-smokers/

[DWCowles]

Welcome Danpfl68

[Danpfl68]

Thank you all for the comments. I found a used (2cooks) gas smoker on Craigslist that I'm going to try out. If i need to upgrade at least I will not have spent too much $$.

[BigAndyA]

I kept going back to CraigsList when I bought my stainless GOSM a couple of years ago. It took a little patience but one day two popped up and I bought one. It works great for me. I've had no issues with temperature control. For salmon, I fill the water tray with ice and that keeps the temperature inside the cabinet perfect. Good luck.

Andy.

[Danpfl68]

Thank you all for the comments and advice. I found a used smoker on Craigslist in really good shape for about $150. It's huge: 5 adjustable racks plus meat hooks, two burners and a separate door for smoke chips and water pan.

I tried it out this weekend on a couple slabs of ribs. Using only 1 burner on med/low I kept a consistent temperature around 230 with only a little tweaking when the sun was fully up (85 degrees here yesterday).

Ribs were perfect in about 4 1/2 hours. The Memphist Dust I found from this site is a great rub.

[LangInGibsonia]

Great find! Smoke Hollow makes really nice gas smoker. If I recall it is well regarded in the product testing here and I have used my friend's a few time very successfully. Those go for over $200 new.

[cfrazier77]

I have one of those, it is a Sam's Club special model that sold for $300 and then they clearanced them out at $250 to make room for a new model. It is a good smoker but it is finicky sometimes. Here are some hints, get a half sheet pan and wrap it with foil. Put it on the bottom rack and that catches all the grease and helps with hot spots. Trust me on this one. In cold or wind it can have problems reaching higher smoking temps. I put some fiberglass insulation on it with duct tape and it worked perfect. A wood box full of splits last 1 hour, full of pellets lasts 3 hours. Keep a spray bottle full of water handy set on stream, sometimes the wood box catches on fire and you spray it with a little water to take care of the problem. Get a metal can with a lid. Once your smoke goes out use pliers to remove the wood box and dump the wood in the bucket. It is lump charcoal. Without a lid it will flame up. I use it in my kettle grill.

If you have any other questions feel free to email me anytime. [email protected]

[Danpfl68]

Thanks for the advice. I'll give the sheet pan idea a try. Would covering the bottom cooking rack with foil work as well?
I have a grill gazebo (also from SAMs) that my smoker will be under, on windy days I block the wind with a tarp hanging from side rail of gazebo. This seems pretty effective for me.

[cfrazier77]

Foil on the bottom rack would probably not work out very well. All of you drippings are going to fall there, and they add up. If it was just a sheet of foil it would run off the edge.

[Huskee]

Welcome to The Pit Danpfl68! Nice to have you here, and it looks like you got a great bunch of help in your smoker search. Congrats on finding what you wanted! When you get a minute, we'd love to get an intro from you in the Introduce Yourself channel.

Since this is your first post, please check out our homework assignment post for new members, it contains a few how-tos and please-dos. This will help you learn your way around so you can get the best experience from our forum.

Also, it's very important that you add the domain AmazingRibs.com to your email safe list in case you are ever drawn as our monthly Gold Medal Giveaway winner!

Hope to hear & see more from you!

[juliedlaub]

Good Afternoon ... new Pittmaster Club member here! I am currently in the process of designing and building a new outdoor kitchen. I would really like a large propane smoker but am having a hard time finding a "built in" model. Does anyone know where I can have one made?