What's your take on electric smokers? Cabelas has one on sale I was thinking about trying.

Cookshack electric smokers are excellent. More expensive than some of the others, but worth every penny.
Built in Oklahoma.

I personally like a charcoal smoker better. I think the charcoal smoker gives off a smokier flavor. I used to own both but now only have a charcoal one.

Electric smokers work okay, but make sure the smoker you are looking at can operate within the temperature ranges you will be using. I definitely recommend that you buy a digital thermometer to use with it. I have owned 2 and have found that the ones with the smokers are not very accurate.

Read some reviews to make sure the components (thermostat, heating element, etc.) will hold up over time. I had a Cajun Injector that had the heating element go out within a year. I had only used it 6 or 7 times.

I have a masterbuilt electric smoker and I love it. Easy to regulate temperature, thermocouple type thermometer to measure internal temp of what you are cooking, and it uses wood chips. I filled the wood chip repository twice for a 14lb Turkey I smoked for Thanksgiving. Turned out great.

P.S. Mine has a remote control where I can monitor temp/ time remaining for cooking/internal temp of meat.

don't get the small ones - they are worthless unless you can fit a full brisket in them.

I have a small smoker masterbuilt and never use it.

Get a Bradley electric smoker. Compressed wood hockey pucks auger-fed into a burner. Good stuff.

Scott

Might look into building a UDS, cheap to build and pretty much a set it and forget it cooker!!

I good knife fixes that problem.

Thanks y'all

I bought the cheapest electric barrel smoker that Lowe's carried. I liked it fine except for two reasons.
The highest temp I could reach while using the water pan was 225, which is ok but a little more variety would help.
The second reason is that after a couple of years it blew up one day. I don't know what made it short out but I
heard the noise inside the house. The power plug and the receptacle at the base of the smoker were burnt to a crisp.
A replacement element and power cord were $40 from the manufacturer. I scrapped it because I only paid $80 for it new.

If I decided to buy a new smoker it would be electric but a bit better grade than the cheapest one in the store.

I've had a Masterbuilt for 7 hrs and it's still going. Dont use it that often any more since I have 3 other smokers. I like Charcosl n wood chunks smokers best but the Electric has put out a lot of Good BBQ.












I did drill the Tiny Intakes holes out bigger and run a fan blowing into intakes-- better cleaner burn on the wood chips and ill run 3 trays of chips.