I definitely want some sort of temp control, so the Brinkmans seem off
the shopping list.

Meco has a thermostat plus a door to add more wood, so that seems
ideal. But around here, folks seem to have had big problems with Meco
heating elements failing quickly.

THen there's Char-Broil, temp control! But no little door. So the big
question is, I guess, is the lack of a door to add wood chunk that
awful??? I'll be doing chickens and the occassional fish fillet. And
some tea smoking. No on here ever talks about tea smoking....Thanks!

Higgins wrote:

I definitely want some sort of temp control, so the Brinkmans seem off
the shopping list.

Meco has a thermostat plus a door to add more wood, so that seems
ideal. But around here, folks seem to have had big problems with Meco
heating elements failing quickly.

THen there's Char-Broil, temp control! But no little door. So the big
question is, I guess, is the lack of a door to add wood chunk that
awful???

Yes, IMO. Awful is a good word for it.

I'll be doing chickens and the occassional fish fillet. And
some tea smoking. No on here ever talks about tea smoking....Thanks!

The smokers you mention are all cheap ass units with many limitations,
so I'm not surprised you have misgivings. Consider cookshack, smokintex,
bradley, etc. They have good temp control, they're front loading, and
they're much better made.

I do a lot of tea smoking myself. I use a tea/rice/sugar mixture
usuually.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

"Higgins" wrote in message
m...
I definitely want some sort of temp control, so the Brinkmans seem off
the shopping list.

Meco has a thermostat plus a door to add more wood, so that seems
ideal. But around here, folks seem to have had big problems with Meco
heating elements failing quickly.

THen there's Char-Broil, temp control! But no little door. So the big
question is, I guess, is the lack of a door to add wood chunk that
awful??? I'll be doing chickens and the occassional fish fillet. And
some tea smoking. No on here ever talks about tea smoking....Thanks!

My first smoker was a Meco. It was OK as a first foray into BBQ. The
element did burn out after a couple of years of frequent (as much as 3 times
a week) use. I later moved up to a Kamado #7, but I keep the Meco around
for those times when I have large quantities of fish to smoke. Replacement
of the element was simple, and a modest expense when compared to charcoal
fuel costs.

James Emanuel

Reg wrote in message om...
The smokers you mention are all cheap ass units with many limitations,
so I'm not surprised you have misgivings. Consider cookshack, smokintex,
bradley, etc. They have good temp control, they're front loading, and
they're much better made.

I do a lot of tea smoking myself. I use a tea/rice/sugar mixture
usuually.

That, of course, is actually the correct answer. But that's more cash
and space in my apartment than I'm willing to devote to this venture.

I'm using a Brinkmann electric and use a temperature probe inside the unit.
I've found that if you put a couple of quarts of water in the pan it hold
pretty steady at 225-240. What I do is make sure the water is gone after
about 3 hours. Then the temp gradually rises to 280. At least with ribs
that gets me really good results after about 4 1/2 to 5 hours. If it's
warm out or there is direct sunshine on the rig it tends to run a bit
hotter. So I have an electric fan trained on the body of the smoker.
Depending on the speed of the fan and its distance from the body I can
maintain temp pretty well. One thing to watch out for is the wood chunks
you put in. I soak them for a few hours. But if they are too dry they will
actually catch fire and the temp will shoot up. Not a good thing. So you
have to monitor pretty closely and have a squirt bottle of water ready in
case there is ignition. If it happens open the door and put out the flame.

Anyway, this works for me. I know I should probably invest in a more
sophisticated "real" smoker but I'm getting good results so why should I.
The old hands around here seem to have it right: It's not the rig, it's
taking the time to figure out how to use it. Good luck!

Peter
"Higgins" wrote in message
m...
I definitely want some sort of temp control, so the Brinkmans seem off
the shopping list.

Meco has a thermostat plus a door to add more wood, so that seems
ideal. But around here, folks seem to have had big problems with Meco
heating elements failing quickly.

THen there's Char-Broil, temp control! But no little door. So the big
question is, I guess, is the lack of a door to add wood chunk that
awful??? I'll be doing chickens and the occassional fish fillet. And
some tea smoking. No on here ever talks about tea smoking....Thanks!

Higgins wrote:

That, of course, is actually the correct answer. But that's more cash
and space in my apartment than I'm willing to devote to this venture.

I was afraid of that. The $ card trumps all others.

Given you have to pick from the lesser of several evils,
I'd go with the one that has temp control. Get the charbroil...
$60 at Lowes, etc. The variable temp control makes all the
difference. The lack of a front loading feature is inconvenient
but not a deal breaker.

--
Reg email: RegForte (at) (that free MS email service) (dot) com

So I went with the Meco. Ordered from BBQs Galore online and is showed
up in 3 days. Now I just have to assemble the thing, which looks like
a 1-2 hour job.

Thanks for all the help...