So I've found it rather difficult to find much information, especially newer information, on the Super Smoker Box. I'll do my best to add some science as well as initial and long term impressions. This used to be an expensive upgrade at around 500 bucks, now it's the cost of a very decent grill of any fuel type at 900.
I bought my original MAK 2 Star with the thought that one day I'd snag this SSB, when I had the option between grabbing the SSB on a significant sale or the new all stainless 2 star, it made more sense at the time to go with the SS 2 Star though I did use my Big Poppa Smoker points from the purchase to snag the cover that accommodates the SSB. Luckily I (and more importantly my wife) hated the way that cover sits on a normal MAK, if it was gonna be windy I was better off removing the cover, time will tell if that's still the case now that it fits snug on the grill, but it lacks the straps the normal cover has. It also comes with all 5 grates though oddly only 2 hooks even though there are 3 hook rails, regardless most folks wanting hooks will have to buy some any way. There are also some other accessories for it that I'm not sure are necessary, like a pan and perforated pans (frogmat makes the most sense to me in the short term vs the price of those).
Fit and finish, if you've seen a MAK you know the attention to detail and fabrication is typically perfect... nothing out of the norm here. Though I do suspect if MAK were to ship these things flat with a bunch of pop-rivets or bolts and a return label for the rivet gun they could still make a tidy profit while significantly lower shipping costs. As it is now all the rivets for the body are coated and the shelf rails are riveted in after the fact. Still, it oozes quality. It fits perfect, just enough wiggle room on the front and rear to make installation a breeze without leaving any significant spots for smoke leakage.
Biggest negative so far is my routine has been thrown off. When I clean my MAK I typically open the warming box, lay one of the full size grates down on top of it and then pull out the flamezone and set that on top as well.
Another negative is it's not clear what makes for a colder smoke when opening or closing the rear vent. It's something I'll have to play with when doing a longer same temp cook so I get the correct data.
Use will be a long term thing, but currently I tested it while doing a burn in by running at 200 and then max temp which was 605 (middle grate temp with flamezone covers on peaked at 715). I placed the fireboard probe in the SSB close to the built in door probe. Surprisingly it was accurate to within 2 degrees with a few temporary deviances at 200+.
I bought my original MAK 2 Star with the thought that one day I'd snag this SSB, when I had the option between grabbing the SSB on a significant sale or the new all stainless 2 star, it made more sense at the time to go with the SS 2 Star though I did use my Big Poppa Smoker points from the purchase to snag the cover that accommodates the SSB. Luckily I (and more importantly my wife) hated the way that cover sits on a normal MAK, if it was gonna be windy I was better off removing the cover, time will tell if that's still the case now that it fits snug on the grill, but it lacks the straps the normal cover has. It also comes with all 5 grates though oddly only 2 hooks even though there are 3 hook rails, regardless most folks wanting hooks will have to buy some any way. There are also some other accessories for it that I'm not sure are necessary, like a pan and perforated pans (frogmat makes the most sense to me in the short term vs the price of those).
Fit and finish, if you've seen a MAK you know the attention to detail and fabrication is typically perfect... nothing out of the norm here. Though I do suspect if MAK were to ship these things flat with a bunch of pop-rivets or bolts and a return label for the rivet gun they could still make a tidy profit while significantly lower shipping costs. As it is now all the rivets for the body are coated and the shelf rails are riveted in after the fact. Still, it oozes quality. It fits perfect, just enough wiggle room on the front and rear to make installation a breeze without leaving any significant spots for smoke leakage.
Biggest negative so far is my routine has been thrown off. When I clean my MAK I typically open the warming box, lay one of the full size grates down on top of it and then pull out the flamezone and set that on top as well.
Another negative is it's not clear what makes for a colder smoke when opening or closing the rear vent. It's something I'll have to play with when doing a longer same temp cook so I get the correct data.
Use will be a long term thing, but currently I tested it while doing a burn in by running at 200 and then max temp which was 605 (middle grate temp with flamezone covers on peaked at 715). I placed the fireboard probe in the SSB close to the built in door probe. Surprisingly it was accurate to within 2 degrees with a few temporary deviances at 200+.
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