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I got this item at Wal-mart for 70 bucks. The one difference is the one sold in stores has a cool touch handle that is less durable.
The good:
It gets the job done...with modifications.
Meat came out very tender and cooked to perfection.
The unit is very easy to assemble, though mine had a missing screw & nut.
The bad:
The charcoal bowl it came with is nearly useless. It has no holes or venting to let the heat circulate around the coals so the fire is smothered unless you constantly move coals up. The temperature, as designed, rarely gets hot enough to actually cook. ALSO, quality is suspect. Calling this unit "heavy duty", as the box description does, is a huge stretch. It dents easily, as I learned when my son (120 pounds) braced himself against it to stand up during assembly.
The fix:
I considered drilling holes in the bowl but, instead, I bought an adjustable charcoal grate I found at my local home improvement store. This allows the temperature to reach 300 degrees (or more, depending on how much coal you use). I also ordered an extra shelves from Brinkman, enabling me to prepare more food at once.
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I bought this actually at Wal-mart for about 30 bucks cheaper. Installation was quite a breeze but one of the first things I noticed was how small a cooking area there really is. As soon as I had it assembled the first thing I thought to myself was, damn, I should have purchased a bigger one.Make sure you read the instructions and season it BEFORE you smoke something. Pretty easy process.
One thing you MUST do before smoking anything is take about a 1/2in drill bit and drill about 2 dozen holes into the charcoal pan, otherwise you'll be spending all day tending to it. I learned this the hard way. I had read about this issue online and only drilled a few small holes. Drill as MANY as you can in there. Once I did this I was able to maintain a much higher temperature.
Only other thing is the temp on the door is off as much as 40 degrees colder then indicated. This is a rough estimate but just a heads up.
Would I get this again? Yes I would. I've smoked almost every weekend since and recently smoked about 10lb of chicken thighs for a BBQ and everyone complimented the taste. I think now after a few smokes it's getting well seasoned and look forward to more smokes this summer.
***EDIT***Sept 11, 2011. Need to update this as the main smoking door hinge busted off, which shouldn't have with simple operation. The smoker still works, however it's a PITA to do it. Definitely will be upgrading next summer.
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Please everyone,I see A LOT of reviews that say... it wasn't hot enough. Or doesn't cook fast enough. THAT IS NOT THE SMOK"N WAY! I have been using a smoker for about 3 years now. And I've done every meat there is. It cooks at lower temps! FOR A REASON. 125 to 250, 300 max. I have a similar model. IF YOU DON"T HAVE THE TIME.... DON"T GET ONE. The slow cooking, in my opinion, is a all day love affair! And trust me.... it is well worth the wait! When ever I use the smoker, ALL the meat it gone!!! And I mean gone in lightening speed. So please, take a deep breath, enjoy your day, have a glass of wine, beer, whatever.... and let the smoker do its thing. I thought I wouldn't like one, but I use it most. More than my gas, or weber. And that says a lot, for patients... it is worth the wait! Oh, brine the meat for 24 hrs, you won't be disappointed!
Honest reviews on Brinkman 8105502W Vertical Cooker
I got the Brinkmann smoker for fathers day this year and was happy to get one. I've never owned a real smoker. I have been smoking on my Weber kettle grill for the past few years. The Brinkmann is not a very pricy smoker but it does get the job done. Its a good one to start out on to see if you even like smoking meat. It being cheap you'll find the quality is on the low end side of the smokers, but still good enough to run for long amounts of hours. I learned its hard to keep the temp at 225 or even hit it with charcoal and wood chunks. I suggest using natural wood charcoal to help you keep the temp up. I have smoked some tri tip and ribs over the fathers day weekend at 188 degrees for 4 hours and everything came out perfect. Even with a few of the issues I seen with this smoker I still say you should buy one if you are looking to save a buck and to learn how to smoke. This smoker is lite and I can see me taking it to the lake or on camping trips to smoke some fish. Enjoy.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Brinkman 8105502W Vertical Cooker
once you do the mods that have been mentioned here and on several you tube videos this is a great smoker for a great price! i replaced the charcoal pan with a wok, put in a new thermometer, and you are set. this thing has produced some great results. easy to maintain 250 degrees with no problem. my fire continued to be hot most of the day. i smoked some ckicken, ribs, and a delicious boston butt that all came out delicious. you cant beat grilling and smoking with charcoal and wood! i'm very pleased with the smoker and as always AMAZON!EDIT....i've made some aditional modifications to the smoker including some stove gasket around the doors and better hinges on the doors. the smoker is performing very nicely now that everything is sealed and the temps are right on with just adjusting the vents top and bottom. VERY NICE!
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