Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I used to have "Little Chief" top-loading electric smoker years ago that
I used mostly for fish. Worked great. When I pretty much stopped fishing
I got rid of it; it was in sad shape. I had been slow cooking ribs on
my 15 year old 2-burner Char Broil gas grill putting them on foil on
the warming shelf. This took constant monitoring to suppress fire from
the run off grease. I got this smoker hoping it would maintain a constant
temperature and no fire. This it does fine. However, it does not
produce enough smoke to satisfy me. Research online show this to be a common
complaint. The problem is, I think, that because the heating element is turning
on and off to maintain temperature, it does not keep the chips in the holder
smoldering. This smoker is well insulated, which exasperates the problem.
I contacted Char Broil about this and they said if I wanted more smoke,
add more chips. Duh, now why didn't I think of that!
I bought a Smoke Daddy device and installed it on this smoker. This is
a aluminum cylinder that attaches by a one inch pipe through the side of the
smoker. You fill it with chips and heat it from below with a propane torch and
put on the caps. It comes with a pump that forces air through the unit and
into the smoker. This unit produces all the smoke you could want. I runs maybe
four hours on a filling. I wap it with a mallet occasionally to settle the chips. Problem solved.
The smoker came in a factory box that appeared to be undamaged. However, there were several small dents here and there on the unit. This I assume
was done at the factory. These do not affect the operation on the unit.
Also, I find that the hinges are slightly adjustable to improve the fit of the door. I slip a piece of foil under the heating element and spray everything
with vegetable spray including inside the Smoke Daddy (smokedaddyinc.com). This significantly aids in the cleanup. I like the idea of a removable
temperature control and element. As there is no internal wiring or computers,
one can probably turn the hose on the inside (I did). If you drill a hole for the Smoke Daddy pipe, make sure you leave enough clearance to unscrew the S.D.
I didn't consider this and lucked out in just clearing the smoker's handle when rotating the S.D.
The spec calls for a 11/16 hole (I think). I did have this size and a large drill to spin it. Your results may vary. By the way, the Char Broil cover for
this smoker is quite nice.
Possibly the smoker could be larger. Two pork rib slabs and six large chicken breast completely filled it. I'm going to try putting the ribs in a vertical rack for more efficient use of space.
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