Help buying a smoker

[tubes82]

Hi All,

After reading a lot about different smokers I still cant decide and I am probably more confused than when I started. I already have a weber kettle which I use to smoke on and I was originally thinking a WSM would be good because of the double levels and it might make the meat taste even better than the kettle because it's a dedicated smoker. I have about $1400 to spend and i'm not really interested in grilling as I already have the weber kettle for that. Really for low n slow, and possibly a turkey, chicken and lamb roasts. Not interested really in doing pizza's in there either.

So now the big question do I get a WSM, Pro Q, Yoder pellet, Hark tri fire, big green egg or something else?

WSM - Seems pretty easy to use and is what I'm leaning towards at the moment.
Pro Q - Only heard about them 2 days ago. I like the features like the temperature probe holes and the hanging rack in the roof. Don't know about the quality though.
Yoder Pellet - Are these really expensive to run?
Big Green egg - Not to interested in the extreme heats for pizza. I don't think I would ever cook a pizza in there. The maintaining temps for such long periods sound good though.
Hark tri fire - I have heard these are hard to keep at a consistent temperature. I don't mind checking on it but they sound like they might be to hard. If the meat comes out a lot better though it would be worth it.

Which one of these have the best tasting meat really it comes down 2? Really doing my head in trying to work it out. Would hate to blow $700 on a WSM only to find out the yoder, offset, or BGE does heaps more and the meat comes out better.

[Davo]

Hi Tubes,

Yeah a bit of a dilemma so I hope I can help with the decision.

The Yoders will cost a lot more than your $1500, a YS 640 is over 3k new but versatile, they can basically do anything but you don't want that.

Komado/ Green egg type cookers are good and economical to run....I've never used one but the guys here who have them love them.

Pro Q & WSM....well what can I say....Weber is the original water smoker, they are extremely well built even if they don't have some of the fancy features or the Pro-Q's.

Pro-Q's have 2 sizes avail, the 18.5 inch and the 20 inch....the smaller one is rather tinnie in my opinion while the larger one is better built but it's still no match for strength as the WSM's.....the WSM's just seem to fit together better...Pro-Q's have clamps...WSM's don't need 'em.

The WSM's come in 3 sizes now....the baby 14.5 inch, the Standard 18.5 inch and the 22.5 inch. If I had your $1500, I'd go the 22.5 inch WSM without question.
Once you learn how to set one up....(heaps of youtube videos on them) they will cook all night and you get some valuable sleep.

I would also look at the Louisiana pellet grills, a mate of mine has one and they are as solid as and work just like a Yoder....in fact they are imported by the same bloke.http://www.louisiana-grills-australia.com.au/
Any pellet grill will be heavy on pellets if going flat chat....around 1kg/hour, but on smoke settings, they will use a paltry 250grams per hour. A 10 kg bag of pellets are about $30 pending the wood type...you get lots of different pellets from Hickory to Applewood/peach/ oak etc.

Hope that shed some of the doubt.....

Cheers

Davo

[tubes82]

Thanks Dave.

I am a bit of a weber fan. My father in law kettle is 30 years old and he uses it every week. I think I would go a weber over the pro q. Now it really comes down to WSM v Pellet. Offset look's to hard I think. I wouldn't enjoy being stuck checking the fire every 30 minutes on the offset.

What put's out better food the WSM v Louisiana pellet in your opinion? What about the Traegers? Are they any good?

[Davo]

I had one of the original Traegers, the 075 Texas but they have recently been resesigned with the saw horse angled legs, better digital thermostat and 2 probes. I'd definately give them a look. I had to sell mine a few years back as i was out of work and bills needed to be paid.
I really miss it as it was one of the last USA built models.

Pellet grills give you a nice subtle wood smoke flavour, WSMs give you a decent but not overpowering but the offsets give you a lot of dry smoky flavour but as you say...takes more tending.
I told the Mrs...one day i'll get another pellet grill.

Yeah yeah...in your dreams she says

[Pesto3]

Hey tubes, I am a big fan of the Kamado Joe's. You can pick up a classic (18 inch grill) for just under $1500. The great thing about the Kamado Joe's is that everything you need is pretty much included. There are accessories if you want to splurge down the track. Great for low n slows. So easy to hold temps. What ever you choose be sure to pop some pics up.


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[tubes82]

Thanks guys. Think I am going to head down to a BBQ shop and have a look at the weber WSM and a treager pellet smoker. Will probably save the $ and go the WSM. Just worried about the WSM temp control. I'll post some picks if I actually ever make a decision haha.

[Pesto3]

They look like a good smoker. Good luck with what ever you end up going with!


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[Davo]

Once you get used to them, WSM's hold their temps very well for many hours.
Very important not to become too anal about temps except for meat internal temps.
The cooker temps can fluctuate pending ambient outside temperatures but as a rule, when smoking, as long as you stay within 225F to 250F, you'll be ok.
But even 250 to 320F is still slow cooking and is in the actual Barbecue mode. 350 to 400F is roasting and 420F onwards is in the grilling territory. 180-250F is smoking.
You do all this by using the 3 botton damper vents.
The Wsm is almost set and forget but not quite.....gotta give you something to do besides snoozing with a beer in your hand.

Cheers

Davo

[Davo]

http://tvwbb.com/

This American forum is where i began over 8 yrs ago befire this forum began.
Its everything Weber but especially concentrating on the WSM.
Lots of Youtube Videos about WSM'S

They are easy to use, lots easier than offsets but still giving you plenty of control.

Cheers

Davo