Customer Reviews

Char-Broil 06701289 Charcoal Water Smoker

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

As it comes out of the box, you will have a hard time keeping the temperature up into the cooking range (200 F) on this smoker, unless you add hot coals every 30 to 45 minutes. The problem is that the fire does not get enough oxygen with the fire pan provided. To increase air flow, I drilled about 30 half-inch diameter holes in the bottom of my fire pan. Then, I bought a charcoal grate from Home Depot. I set on top of a 3 inch tall collar made of aluminum flashing that sits in the drilled out fire pan. Many of the barbecue sites on the web have other detailed instructions for modification of water smokers.

As the fire burns, ash will drop through the fire grate into the fire pan. Eventually enough ash will accumulate to block the air holes, so it is important to keep these open by poking a stick around to keep the air paths open. Be careful of hot coals dropping from your smoker and starting a fire. I use a shallow pan filled with moist sand to protect my deck. Also, I heat up the water to boiling on the stove before adding to my smoker. With these modifications, I can keep the fire in a reasonable temperature range by adding wood chunks and cold briquettes a few at a time.

I think a product should work without the buyer having to extensively modify the equipment. However, very good barbecue can be produced on this unit after the modifications have been made. If you want to give smoking a try without investing much money and can make the necessary modifications, this unit will work ok. If you want a water smoker and can invest $180, buy the Weber Smokey Mountain Smoker. I will probably buy a large smoker with an offset fire box in a few years, but this one will work for now.

This smoker is the bargin member of the smoker family. For the money it's a good starter unit. Don't buy it if you plan on getting serious about cooking with smoke. We found it effective, but labor intensive to maintain a temperature for longer smokes. It produced great smoked salmon filets in less than 2hrs but on the turkeys and ribs, it was a lot of work. If you're handy, you can modify it as suggested in another review. We ended up with a Brinkman All-in-One gas unit and wouldn't trade it for anything. It's a 160k btu burner for deep frying birds or boiling lobster. It grills, charcoal or gas. It smokes, charcoal or gas. It has vents to get air inside the charcoal pan. We mounted a professional grade themometer in the lid and with gas, can maintain smoker/bbq temps between 150 and 300+ indefinetly.

We purchased this item and saw great uses. However, just getting it out of the box indicated a problem. The base unit was out of round and I struggled to get the top packaged in it out. The top was perfectly round and the base could never be "squeezed" just right to allow a proper fit. There was always a gap of at least 3/8" on one side. I took it back to the store and because of my time putting it together, they offered me an upgrade for the same price. Same problem on two more so I said forget it got a refund. Poor workmanship and quality control.

You will love the way food can taste when cooked on this adorable (yet quite sizable) red smoker. Remember to make your pitcher of margaritas early because it can take a while before the charcoal heats up enough to slow cook the food. Hence it is best for an all day/night event, not a quick meal. Don't be afraid to get creative with the food you smoke (fruit and veg are just as good as seafood and meats!) It's fairly easy to clean as well. Enjoy.

I purchased this charcoal smoker, because I could not find an electrical one. I had used an electric one for years, but found my old one had rusted out. With company coming for the weekend and summer heat upon us, I opted for the charcoal smoker.

I found it was hard to keep the heat control in the proper cooking range. I had to keep adding charcoal and still could not get the proper temperature for my food. The smoke was working but the charcoal did not heat up enough. I waited four hours and then had to finish the food in my oven. There was to much uneven heat as compared to an electric smoker, which I could just plug in and leave. This way I was tied up to this charcoal smoker and could not enjoy my family while food was cooking.

I did love the red color, but when it comes to the finished product it was not a plus. I will continue to look for an electric smoker.

I've used this smoker for over 8 months now and love it. I've used other more expensive smokers before and cannot tell much of a difference in quality of end result foods. This smoker does in fact have a few flaws that are suggested in previous reviews, however there is nothing keeping you in the way of assembling and making a wonderful unit. I add a few coals every 45 minutes to an hour just to keep the fire going strong. You won't be dissapointed. This smoker cleans up very easily too as long as you use tin foil to cover the coal pan (bottom pan).

First of all, follow directions for lighting a fire in this and the first time, DO NOT cook in it, just let the fire burn to season the cooker. We noticed a little "new" taste first time. Another hint is, if you are going to use water, fill the pan at the same time you start your fire and all will be ready at the same time. You have to "practice" fire tending but it's well worth it. We smoked rainbow trout and it was delicious. I just bought a second one for my son-in-law's b'day and we are having a "great ribs smokeoff" soon. Should be fun! Get one, you won't regret it.

For the price, you can't beat it. I've had mine for about 3 weeks now and have done pork butts, brisket, and ribs, all of which have come out awesome. Follow Chris Cox's advice for the modifications or it wont cook good at all. The WSM(Weber Smokey Mountain) is a much better smoker but if cost is an issue, the Char-Broil is the best choice. Don't rely on the temp gauge supplied, go buy a digital instant read thermometer to monitor grill temp. They sell remote monitoring thermometers with dual probes, 1 for smoker temp and the other for internal meat temp. You place both probes in the appropiate place when starting then use the remote to view real-time temps. You can program it for certain temps so it'll beep when the food is done or the smoker temp drops too low. It's made by Redi-Chek, Remote Smoker Thermometer but other companies make them. Can't wait to fire it up again this weekend. Happy BBQing.

I purchased this smoker a year ago, to start cooking out some ribs for a family gathering. I had a long time ago the electric version of this cooker, and since getting into charcoal with my grill -- thought that I might as well go Charcoal with the smoker as well (Charcoal + Wood is a heck of a lot of fun for me).

Well, this thing could not keep temps up no matter what. The ash would choke out the fire, and I was constantly tending it. The end result was fine -- it just was a TON of work! Threw it out a few months ago, and got a Weber Bullet Smoker.

I'm running it now, and it has been maintaining a temperature of 235 degrees (+/- 5 degrees) for the last 4 hours! It's a bit more expensive ($200 compared to $35) but if you want something that will last you and you can afford it, I completely recommend that smoker.

If you're considering buying this thing, DON'T!!! It will not maintain a useable smoking temperature. Everything you've read is true.

However, if you are like me and it's too late because it's already sitting in your back yard, do this:
Buy a Weber 72201 Replacement Charcoal Grate available here on Amazon. It fits perfectly into the charcoal pan with a little bit of space underneath it for ash to fall down. Second, yep, drill a few holes in the pan below the level of the grate you just added. These two things will let the excess ash fall away and let a little air in so you coals don't go out. Also, I suggest using natural lump charcoal, the bigger chunks, instead of briquettes or at least use the large size briquettes. These will last a little longer for smoking. Good luck.

A little update, if you want to convert this P.O.S. to an electric smoker search for "Smoker Electric Converter" and you'll find a kit pretty cheap that is for converting a charcoal water smoker like this to an electric water smoker. You plug it in and adds some chunks of hardwood every couple of hours for smoke. Works great to make this thing useable.