List Price: $309.99
Sale Price: $279.52
Today's Bonus: 10% Off
4 stars for the smoker. Depending on your pain threshold, 2 or 3 stars overall. I wish I could give three seperate reviews. Actually I can, so I will.
1. The Smoker is great. Plenty of room to smoke multiple items simultaneously. If you are trying to decide between the 18" and the 24" all I can say is I've never regreted the extra space. A couple of hints... a) if it isnt burning very hot it could be a safety feature in the regulator. Detach the tank, then detach and reattach the regulator hose from the burner unit, then reattach the tank and open the gas slowly. b) don't rely on the thermometer on the front door. Buy a two probe electronic remote thermometer, one probe for the smoker temp the other for the meat temp, you'll wonder how you ever lived without it. I can't get mine away from my wife who uses it in the oven! c) figuring out how to maintain a steady low and slow temperature will take some trial and error, the steel walls are thin so if the outside temp is variable as it is in the Northeast (or windy) you'll have to adjust as you go, especially if you smoke overnight. If you use water in the pan (recommended), temp shoots up as water level drops and you may want to consider adding a little water to the pan each time you open the smoker to check your food. I know a guy who filled his water tray with sand and swears it goes far to keep the heat steady, but I think I'd miss the moisture. This stuff is all a normal and no reason to pass. I use the heck out of this unit and it's great. Also bought the turkey canon (best turkey ever) and the outdoor cover, both work well. Bought the rib rack, could do without this, but I suppose if you do a large volume of ribs it might come in handy. For me, this is a step up from an electric barrel smoker, which also worked well but was inconvenient to load and monitor during cooking.
2. Packaging. UGH! The many comments listed here reflect my experience as well. The shipping packaging is absolute garbage! First the thing shows up looking like it was dragged across the Pacific behind the ship and then dragged from the warehouse to my driveway. The cardboard is poor quality and is falling apart by the time you get it. Worse still, almost no real attempt is made to protect the smoker itself inside the packaging. The smoker has the misfortune of being both heavy, and constructed of thin steel so the thing gets manhandled and will show up with the corners and sides dented. The specifics are detailed in other reviews. One additional observation, I'm not sure it's UPS. Mine was delivered in two days and it's not possible for UPS to have inflicted that much abuse on the thing in that amount of time. I believe the problem is primarily ill conceived packaging by Camp Chef. It wouldn't be that difficult to rectify, a larger box of heavier grade cardboard with larger styrofoam corners and perhaps some bracing for the smoker door which is guaranteed to dent the way it's currently being packed.
3. Amazon (Prime). Service was great! I called to send the smoker back because of the damage and they arranged pick up and delivery of a replacement to my home, both of which occured the very next day. The delivery driver even helped me tape back up the poor excuse for a box that it had come in.
Alas the replacement smoker was also damaged! The damage was less extensive (i.e. the door wasn't entirely collapsed) and these things are such a pain to unpack and repack that I decided to live with it this time. Hey I had a Pork Butt to roast and the thing is going to be outside anyway, isn't it?
Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>
I bought this smoker after do some research and talking to my buddies about theirs. I have used it twice now and am happy with the results and I plan on using it much more. The purchase and shipping provided by Amazon was first rate. I will use Amazon again.Best Deals for Smoke Vault 24" Black
At first the smoke vault looks a bit gimmicky, yet it delivers with some wonderful applications. Bake all the way up to 500 degrees pizza, casseroles, etc. Smoke cool by opening the door. Smoke hot and sizzling, smoke wet. With the enournous size, I can do two turkeys! Great for fish, game, ribs, anything. Heats up quick, easy to assemble, easy to use, easy to clean!Honest reviews on Smoke Vault 24" Black
I'll keep this short and sweet. The shipping issues that so many people have complained about seem to have been addressed. My Smoke Vault arrived in an extra layer of packaging layered with sheets of polystyrene; there was virtually no damage to the outer box, and none whatsoever to the product itself. So far as I can tell, the biggest complaint about this product has related to this, so that should put the matter to rest.As for the product itself, I've used it three times now; once to smoke 6 pork shoulders, once for some chicken, and the last time to smoke two large hams. This thing practically sips propane. I started with a tank that was so light I figured I'd get a couple of hours of use before changing it for a fresh one. Instead, it made it through 11 hours of smoking pork, three hours of chicken, and two hours of ham before finally calling it quits. Very impressive. I've also noted that I can get about three hours of smoke from two moderately-sized chunks of wood. I definitely recommend well-soaked chunks rather than wood chips.
Once you get your temperature set right where you want it, the Smoke Vault will hold that temperature without fail for as long as you want it to (assuming the weather does not change dramatically.) This means that your smoker will require very little babysitting, unlike my side-fire-box charcoal smoker, which requires me to sit beside it all day drinking beer just to be sure the temperature doesn't spike too high or drop too low. The downside to the smoke vault? You won't need to sit by it all day drinking beer. Oh, well. If, like me, you need to make large quantities of barbecue for your business, this is the smoker that you want. It may be a little less romantic, but then I prefer to save the romance for the eating. The only thing you really need to worry about with the Smoke Vault is refilling the water and adding another wood chunk or two every three hours or so. Do that, and you're going to be very happy with what you get out of it.
One minor con: as someone else noted, the heavy cast-iron wood pan, which sits directly over the burner, became warped after my first use. Mine, however, still fits into the smoker and does the job just the same, so I'm not terribly worried about it. Still, it was kind of odd for it to happen at all. Not a big deal, though.
No comments:
Post a Comment