Customer Reviews

Smokenator 1000 & Hovergrill Kit

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you love slow and low BBQ but only have a Weber kettle, this is the product for you. I can now control the temperature to as low as 185 degrees and have it stay there for up to 6 ˝ hours, without having to add any charcoal. The water reservoir does need to be filled approximately every 70 minutes but the BBQ turns out nice and juicy, just like the pros do it.

The top rack is great for those occasions where you want to BBQ for a crowd, although it does get about 10 to 15 degrees hotter than the bottom rack.

All and all I'm extremely pleased with this product and two of my friends where so impressed that they ended up buying one for themselves.

Don, the man who makes and sells this product knows customer service. I ordered this on a Monday evening, and I had it in Fridays' mail. Also, I had one question, which I emailed him on a Sunday night, and he answered the same night.

Now, about the product. This item is well built, and is pretty dummy proof. I did not know it, but the thermometer that I had recently installed from a major home improvement store was flaky. At times it reads 100 degrees higher than actual. Even so, following the directions and setting the vent as per the manual gave me great results. I have a bullet style water smoker already, and the smokenator is giving me better results. The results are also superior to just stacking up coals on the left and the right with a pan seperating them. You can get this without the hovergrill, but I can't imagine why you wouldn't buy a hovergrill. It really gives you a whole lot more space.

I recommend this to anyone. But it would be especially usesful if you can't afford, or have no desire to buy a dedicated smoker. Over all, I recommend this over any bullet smoker.

Got the idea from amazing [...]. 'Meathead' says the Smokenator will produce better 'Q' than you can get anywhere uptown...he's right. My wife is not a big fan of smoked meat/barbeque but gave the country ribs and baby-backs high marks.
This product is definitely a 'thumbs up'!

Works better than described. I like it! Will smoke salmon and tilapia today. Whole chicken came out perfect.Ribs needed a few extra minutes in the oven. A definite Buy without reservations.Sold my Weber Smokey Mtn on Craigslist and replaced it with the 22.5 inch Weber One Touch Gold. Now have best of both worlds, a small efficient smoker and a grill combined in one small package.

I've used my smokenator several times since I've purhased it and what a great investment. Don's directions and communications are great and this is a very well thought out and built product. I have a weber performer which is an amazing grill but this turns it into a top notch smoker as well. I was really missing my old offset smoker but it had finally rusted through and my wife bought me the performer for my birthday. I found this product on The Smoke Ring and it received good reviews and I am very glad I purchased this. Smoked a few racks of spare ribs this weekend and they came out very good. I was better with my offset but I had over 5 years of smoking with that setup and I just need more practice with the Smokenator/Weber. I use my performer for everything and now i have even more excuses to use the performer. My gas grill sits very lonely and unused now.

I know that the title would seem to be contradictory, but hear (or read) me out. How many times in life have you run across a product and thought to yourself, "Self, that's so SIMPLE! I wish I had thought of that!" Well, the Smokenator is that product.

I wont spend a lot of time on the details of the product because there just isn't that much to tell. It's a an oblong piece of metal bent in the middle to a 90-degree angle to form a sort of crescent, the purpose being to hold charcoal against one side of your kettle-shaped grill. There are two holes cut in the top for the purpose of adding charcoal or wood as needed, and a small removable pan to hold water for the purpose of keeping humidity in the grill while extended barbecuing takes place. I'm telling you, folks, it's so simplistic looking that when you pull this thing out of the box, you feel sort of like you've been had.

But darn it if the thing doesn't work just as well as advertised.

I used it for the first time today - two racks of baby back ribs. Even though I struggled with the correct heat/vent manipulation, but my ribs came out looking as good or better as the stuff pictured above and they tasted fabulous. I barely had to add charcoal over four hours of barbecuing; I think I put in three more pieces. other than that, I just added water to keep the ribs moist. The Smokenator worked so well that I wish I had more stuff to grill tonight!

So I could sit here and quibble about the price, but instead I think I'm going to go to the kitchen and have a couple more perfectly made ribs. A few more outings like this and I'm not going to remember how much I paid for this thing at all. To the Smokenator people, I say well done and to the victor goes the spoils. To everyone out there who likes real barbecue, I say get this product -- it works!

This is a GREAT product for the occasional meat smoker. I didn't want to buy a full-fledged smoker for the occasional use I would have for it but this mod allows me to get more use out of my One-touch gold. One issue I've had - and I chalk it up to my inexperience, is that I have had some trouble - at three hour intervals - with the temperature dropping. However, the setup is so easy and tending to the grill takes minimal time. my first effort was to smoke a 5.5# butt... 11 hours later, the best-tasting BBQ I've had in a while... greaseless, smoky, and tender! If I can reproduce this every time with my smokenator, I will be in hog-heaven!

If your limited for space and want to try smoking this is the thing for you. Easy to set up and easy to convert back to regular grilling. Awesome product

I was intrigued by this product when I first saw it. The set-up is easy and the cooking instructions were spot on. It's perfect for someone with limited space or for someone who is an "occasional smoker" and doesn't want to invest in a separate smoker.

I had a Weber which I love to use since it does such a good job, so when I wanted a smoker, and saw this, I decided to give it a try. I've already owned wood smokers, electric and charcoal vertical water smokers, and even ordered a gas smoker that was on sale.
The wood smokers need too much tending for my taste, and the vertical smokers do a decent job but not quite as good as what I like, and the one I had til it rusted out was hard to maintain a fire without modifications.
I now alternate back and forth between the Smokenator and the gas smoker when I need to smoke something. If I have the time, I prefer the Smokenator, because I like using charcoal, and this device does an outstanding job, especially with ribs. The only downside is that you have to check the water pan hourly since it's small. I only use the gas smoker if I need to go longer periods between checking the water, as the gas smoker i have will go at least 3 hours on 1 water fill.
I get lots of compliments when using either one, but get more compliments when using the Smokenator.
I definitely recommend the Smokenator as a smoker, and if you don't have a Weber already, go ahead and get one of them while you're at it!