****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Previous ReviewsBefore buying this smoker, I poured through all the reviews to ensure I wasn't buying a dud. I found several to be helpful, but I didn't find one that covered everything I was interested in so here goes... But let me give you the punch line first, the unit operates as advertised and you shouldn't have any problems, but here's a few things to think about...Vendor to buy from...The first thing I noticed in the reviews were several said their smokers arrived damaged and recommended not to buy from Northern Tools. They said in most cases they were able to fix the problem themselves by bending the metal back in place. That's fine, but if I buy something brand new (and pay a brand new price), then it should be brand new.I was extremely worried about the lid where this seemed to be a trouble point. I wanted the lid to fit snuggly as it should, not bent! I'm not buying a smoker to smoke meat just to have it escape through a damaged lid!So I ordered from River Country. At the time, their price was the same as Northern Tools (if you realized theirs was $20 more, but you got the gauge) and the shipping was actually less. The unit arrived quickly, but the box was damaged. Upon opening the box, I found the unit to be very poorly packed. This is an Old Smokey problem, not River Country or Northern Tools. Just one piece of bubble wrap seperated the top from the unit, but nothing wrapped the unit inside the box. So I did have dentin the side of mine. But the lid was fine so I was placated. Nothing was missing.ConstructionThe unit is easy to assemble, instructions are clear, but this isn't a high durable item. The handles just screw in with nuts and loosen over time unless you are able to really ratchet them down. The socket to plug the power supply in is loosening on mine as well (although this part came preassembled), but I should be able to tighen this too.The one feature I really don't like on this unit is the way the shelves and drip pan are held in place. You put in screws, tighten with nuts and then the shelves and drip pan just sit on the screw lengths. From a weight stand point, I haven't had a problem, but let me tell you, if I had a dollar for every time my hand, sleeve, hot mitt etc... snagged on the screw, I could buy a nicer smoker. You constantly have to reach in, of course, and getting a little snag or a small slice in your skin due to a screw thread isn't fun. ESPECIALLY when you try to clean the unit.The racks have folding handles, a very nice feature, so you can turnthem downward a little. This is so handy so you don't have to pawthe sides of the smoker with your mitts to get a hold of them sinceif you didn't fold them down, they would be flush with the sides. Theracks are very light weight, but seem to hold weight well. The drippan is heavy duty! The small tray for the wood chips has very subtleedges, but it's not enough to keep chips from falling off. If you accidently hit the tray, like when you're lowering it into the smoker, chips fall off. A wire basket or high edges would have been a nice feature, but not on this one.The unit sits on a wire stand. It's not much to look at, but does the job quite well. Mine seems level and doesn't wobble or tip.Last item to cover here is the cord. It's heavy duty, should hold upwell over time, but it's only 5 feet long. It may seem like a lot, butit's not. Most of us have our outdoor outlets by our front door or backdoor and so now the smoker is setting next to a door where people arecoming and going. 5 feet just isn't a lot to move the smoker out of atraffic area. I'm sure you can use a grounded, heavy duty extension cord,but I try to avoid extension cords on heating units.The GaugeBuy the temperature gauge! You absolutely need it to maintain thetemperature in the smoker. Outdoor temperatures really do affectthe inside temperature more than you might think. The gauge instructionsdon't tell you where to place the gauge and this I understand. Theydon't know what type of smoker or grill you might be attaching it to.So I did fully expect the Old Smokey instructions to recommendthe best place to attach it, but it didn't. Very disappointing.I really only had 2 options, in the lid or near the bottom. Anywhereelse it would interfere with the screws that hold the racks and drip panin place. I opted for the lid. Didn't want it too close to the heatingunit. This turned out to be a great choice. Now I can just glanceat the top and see the temperature and it seems to be representative ofthe whole unit's internal temperature. I drilled a hole in the lid asinstructed, but the metal is so thin and pliable, it bent when I drilledthrough it. But once I put in the gauge and tightened it down, themetal evened back out and it looks nicely installed.OperationThe unit operates very easily. Just layer the absorbant on thebottom, put chips in the tray and turn on. It heats up very quickly.Put in your drip pan and meat and you're smoking! As I said inthe very beginning, it operates as advertised. Remember though,it's a tool, not a chef. I saw many reviews that talked about howgreat the food was. That is more of your talent, not the smoker.It will smoke to the temperature you select, but the rest is up to you.Everything from the type, quality and cut of meat (or vegetables), rubs, marinades, sauces, type of wood chips, volume of wood chips, how long you smoke etc... One quick note, I have read from several sources, not to mop (baste) in electric smokers...SizeSerious smokers may want to consider buying something bigger.This just isn't going to hold a lot food. It will hold a whole porkshoulder of average size on one rack and maybe a chickenand some vegetables on the other. But whole slabs of brisketfor instance, will need to be cut down and then, will still probablynot all fit.Final ThoughtOverall, I am very happy with this smoker. It has a few annoyingfeatures, but it performs well. It's a great buy for the casual smoker.
