My wonderful wife, yes she is absolutely wonderful, gave me this smoker for Christmas. It is very well built. The only thing I would change on it would be to rotate the handles 90 degrees so they are in the down position when the door is closed. The cover would fit better and they wouldn't unlatch when your using it. Other than that it smokes very good! keeps the heat steady and is easy to clean.
I've used the smoker only once smoking whole chickens. The chickens turned out great. None thing I noticed is that I could not get the smoker temp. past 210 degrees. It worked fine for the chickens but in looking at other meats that possibly require higher cooking temps I am curious how it will perform. I am new at smoking and would like any advice on getting temp up. In wondering how accurate the temp gauge is, I installed another gauge in the top of the smoker, but have yet to use it.I understand outside temp may be a factor, but it was in the 60"s the day I cooked. Over all, I like the smoker. The wood chips lasted, but the water pan last for only an hour or less. I would appreciate any suggestions on temp.
Used smoker 1st time but heat is restricted by too large (length) of a water & wood bowl tray. Hard to get it above 220. Food was juicy but took way too to long to cook: 5 hours for a 5lb whole chicken. If they shorten the this tray by about 4” or put vents in it, that might help the heat get to the food. This is so close to being perfect. Please redesign the tray and send me one to try out.