Likes/dislikes, pros/cons of your toy(s)?

About 10 years ago, tired of dealing with flat tires*, I bought a solid core replacement wheelbarrow tire and wheel from Harbor Freight. It was the best purchase I have made in my life, of any product, at any price point.

Not joking. I don't post here much anymore, but this seemed like a really important piece of information to share.



*When you live in the desert and use a wheelbarrow to move heavy stuff around, conventional tubes don't last.

18.5" WSM - $220 shipped new (found a great online sale)
I really enjoyed my 18.5" WSM and used it as my first smoker exclusively for 3 or 4 years. I eventually wanted a project and built a UDS. The WSM is a GREAT product and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to get into smoking. Once I had a few smokers/grills I let a few friends borrow it to learn how to smoke and decide if they wanted to buy or build one as well.

UDS - $100 New barrel 2 grates with Kettle lid from a CL score
Two racks and a Kettle lid made it a great smoker (especially for the money) but I strongly disliked how I cut the top off the barrel to let the Weber kettle lid sit on top. It didnt seal as well as I would have liked (which never really affected anything but my ocd) but really I didn't like the bbq drippings to be all over he OUTSIDE of the smoker. All in I would want a lid that sits IN the drum so it can drip back IN the drum.

FEC100 - $3200 locally on Craigslist (basically new as the husband bought it for his wife to start a cooktruck biz but she lost interest before the project began; they were so damn cool we sat around and drank beer and chatted for about 3 hours before we loaded it up and went home... probably my favorite CL transaction... but then again we are dealing with smoker people so it should be expected I suppose)
I convinced my MIL to buy a FEC100 for her catering company and that thing is spectacular as you would expect. She tells me all the time how much easier her bbq jobs are now and how much money she makes with it. I just wanted her to buy it so I didn't have to dump the money into it, as I knew I would. Seriously the FEC100 is literally so easy my MIL can use it... but she doesnt... she makes her husband. His bbq went from beyond terrible as in I wouldn't put it in my mouth. I think I even made a post on here a few years ago about how to tell a southern MAN that his bbq is TERRIBLE. :shocked:

22.5" WSM - $180 on CL maybe 6 months old (guy bought it then wanted a BGE)
My 22.5 WSM is great. I do get the slight annoyance with trying to get to the second rack but the guy I got it from installed some awesome hooks ON the grate so it is REALLY easy to pull out. I don't find it uses much more charcoal, and even if it does the extra space is worth it. I made the best ribs ever on it 3 weeks ago. If I had to recommend one smoker it would be the 22.5" WSM, hands down.

XL BGE - $0 (a buddy let me borrow it as he won it from a Employee Appreciation Event at his work)
This thing is good and compared to the WSM is much easier to get over 350* as you would expect. for some reason I don't find myself using it very much to smoke on. I think the WSM is SOOOOO much easier to smoke on that I only use the BGE for grilling. It is nice but for $50 on craigslist a 22.5" weber Kettle can't be beat. Actually I dont use the BGE very much at all because I have young kids and lighting up the charcoal grill is much more work for me as I have to sit outside and watch the chimney to make sure the kids dont burn them selves or the house down. I know I am undervaluing it but I just dont find myself using it enough to justify the cost IF I had to buy it. I have NOT made pizzas on it, so maybe afterI give that a try I will use it more.

Weber E330 - $150 from Craigslist
We use the Weber propane grill a lot just because it is easy and effective. It was also a CL score that is WELL worth the cost since we use it at least twice a week. I believe we put $100 in it then needed some "flavorizer bars." The side burner I sometimes use to light my charcoal chimney if I cant find any newspaper... lol

Thremapen - $87 from a sale on their website
I received a gift card one year and decided to go ahead and order one of these things and I have been amazed since day 01. I use this thing probably more than any tool in the kitchen. I am probably too engineer-minded but I STRONGLY prefer knowing the temp of the meat compared to feeling it. Sure Ribs and brisket cant go on temp alone (or at all for ribs) but the Thermapen is great. I think I have gifted atleast 5 of them and each of those giftees have returned the favor and gifted a total of 10 more.


I would say all in my biggest complaint is not having a reverse-flow offset smoker to play with AND/OR a charcoal vertical cabinet smoker. I am currently on the watch for them on CL so I can get them for a decent price (patience saves a lot of coin I have found) so I will play with them some day...
I am also hoping to convince the MIL to buy a trailer reverse-flow smoker (SHIRLEY Fab I am looking at you...) because FREE to me is always in my price range. :mrgreen: I would just have to learn how to use it effectively and teach her staff, or worse her husband. My sales pitch is people LOVE her BBQ but when she has jobs where people don't know her, showing up with a trailer and lighting it should create business. It wouldn't take very long for her to make the money back and I could "store" it for her at my house. Also she can write it off depreciation and such... TAX ADVANTAGES and whatnot :twisted:

All in I think the WSM is by far the best smoker for the money. I have taught about 5 of my friends how to use it and as well as my wife and even my sister. It makes amazing bbq and cannot be beat for the price.

/Ramblings

I wish the lid on my santa maria wasn't so farkin heavy
and my pellet grill was a mak or yoder
and my kettle was a performer
and my wife was 30

I love the Traeger because it is easy and the temp is accurate and I can use it for anything.
I also like that my husband isn't 30 anymore I think he has grown up a little.

My thoughts

My first smoker was an orion, I still have it and it is sitting idle. It did its job and I could smoke 2 butts in about 6-7 hours. The problem is / was there is no real bark since it is contained.

I then bought a Propane / charcoal smoker from HD for 179.00. I still use it and have smoked up to 6 Butts at once. What I don't like about it is the size. It is 14 in wide by 16 in deep. I eventually bought the hooks for a PBC and attached eye bolts in the top. So I could smoke briskets or ribs without cutting them in half. The reviews were right that putting wood on the charcoal pan with gas would just ignite it. So I followed the advice and place my wood chips on an old griddle on top of it. It gives it a very good flavor. I find myself not using the water pan anymore. I saw a larger one at Bass Pro (24in wide) on fathers day 6 weeks after I bought this one. I do use this for Pork shoulders and fish.

The PBC: what can I say about it. The thing is great! although I have found it to be a little finicky with the Wal-Mart charcoal. I have since been stocking up on KB charcoal and have been liking the results better. ( I hate it when the manufacturer is right!)I still need the ash pan, and I find that I need to trim my ribs a little more so they don't sit on the coals. I did recently hang a 20lb brisket and decided to hang it like a U so the flat didn't hit the coals.

Weber Kettle: Everything else pretty much gets cooked on this. Although I just bought a new gas grill. I really enjoy using this with the mesquite lump charcoal.

Nex-Grill Gas grill with rotisserie: I just bought this on fathers day. My old gasser was not doing well and will be turned into a tailgate camping grill. I saw this grill last year and passed it up. I have been kicking myself ever since. I jumped on this as soon as I saw it go on sale. Sadly I have only used it as a warmer and have used the rotisserie already though. For that I really like it, although there seems to be a learning curve.

I have others but I have not used them yet. (damn yard sales and generous friends) :mrgreen:

The cons of all this is I have specialized tools that do one or two things well. When it would be nice to have one or two that can be combined to do more. Yes I know I can use the weber and PBC and the grill to smoke. But when I do a good size cook I use more than one at a time.

The Pros- Is I can be smoking food for the next few days and still cook dinner outside. Or multiple courses or meats.

I wish the wood tray in my masterbuilt propane was positioned differently so the wood wouldn't catch on fire and raise my temp. I cover it in aluminum foil now and that seems to have fixed the problem.

bjarolim said:

That was a hell of a review

Click to expand...

Haha I was stuck at work and waiting on some others to knock out their work, so I figured I could blab for a bit.

UDS- I love that it is "mine". Meaning I made it how I wanted it, and there won't be another one EXACTLY like it. I am always adding stuff to it. Love that it is portable (I have wheels on it). Love the fact that it uses hardly any fuel. And it's very easy to maintain temps. The two things I wish could be better- It's hard to keep the temp from going crazy when I take the lid off. And access to my lower rack is a bit tough. No harder than WSM though. All in all I love my little UDS.

Weber Kettle- Awesome versatility. I just bought another . No cons except lack of space maybe.

Absolutely love having an offset. She will cook enough for an army or just for a few people. The joy in working an offset....fire management, temperature management....for a guy like me it's really fun. I started with a masterbuilt electric, moved up to the UDS (4 of them) then took the leap to reverse flow. yes it takes a lot of time.....but to me it's time well spent.

However....like most cooks...I wish it had more capacity. I heard Santa joined this site so I'm hoping he sees this....:mrgreen::mrgreen: