Customer Reviews

Masterbuilt 20070210 30-Inch Electric Analog Smoker

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4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have owned a number of of smokers. One was a Brinkman charcoal "bullet" type smoker. It worked well but had to be watched over a lot. Then I decided to get a Brinkman electric bullet smoker. It didn't have any adjustments for temp and it couldn't get warm enough during the winter months even though I live in the south. Then I bought a Charbroil vertical propane smoker. It was by far the worst smoker I have ever owned. The wood chips and water are in the same pan in the base. The poor design made you steam the meat as much as smoke it and adjusting the temp was almost impossible. I also owned a wood burning offset smoker. It worked great but you had to constantly adjust the fire to keep the temp where you wanted it. So I started looking for an electric unit without a glass door. I have no use for a glass door. You can't see inside when the smoke gets going and the glass needs to be cleaned constantly.

Not long ago I purchased the Masterbilt smoker and I love it. It was reasonably priced and did not have a glass door. It exceeds my expectations every time I use it. It heats up quickly and stays at the correct temp. The smoker is economical to run and requires very little tending. The water pan and the wood chip pan are both relatively small but once filled, they last for 5 to 6 hours. Once the temp is set, the water and wood chip trays are filled, and the meat is in you can close the door and forget about it for at least 5 hours. The meat comes out smoked but not steamed and not the least bit dried out.

Originally I wanted a smoker with a digital control but during the 3 hour burn in period recommended in the owners manual, I adjusted the controller until I got the temp to 225° and marked the controller with a Sharpie. Now I just plug it in and set it to the mark. The digital would have been nice but it certainly isn't needed.

All in all this smoker has been great.

We bought this smoker in February, used it about a dozen times, and it died in November. It was tripping the GFI outlet. I called Masterbuilt and they said it must be the controller and charged me for a new controller for my 9 month old smoker. When I tried the new controller I got the same result. I can only assume it's the heating element and the smoker is now trash because I've no intention of replacing major parts every nine months.

Do yourself a favor and pay more for a quality brand.