Features:

  • Features five chrome-plated cooking grates and a total cooking space of 1382 square inches
  • Heavy-Gauge Steel Body Construction. The temperature gauge features a smoke zone which indicates the ideal temperatures for infusing the perfect amount for smoking flavor. Also, the cool to touch handles, allow you to access fuel and food safely.
  • Cool-touch spring lid grip provides safer access to food
  • Stainless temperature gauge with "Smoke Zone" indicates the ideal temperature for infusing smoke flavor
  • Oversized steel wheels for mobility before and after use
Excelleny Value

Product arrived extremely well packaged. Not a dent or ding anywhere. The fastening hardware was sorted and packaged in a 'blister' pack. Nothing missing and no extras. I added heaver split lock washers, but really couldn't say if they will make a difference. Instructions were well written and easy to follow. I followed the advice of other reviewers and sealed all the joints with either 3M Fire Block FB136 sealant or high temp RTV. If you are using only high temp RTV, plan on using at least two tubes. Also as recommended, I added rockwool tape to the firebox lid, main front door and little back door. One roll did all three with about 4 inched to spare...whew. Test fired the unit right after assemble. Between the firebox vent and top vent I had no trouble regulating the temperature between 200º and 225º. Granted I did need to mind the fuel, but that and a cold one is what it is all about. For under $300, I don't think you beat this smoker. California friends all have the $600+ electric plug-in, pellet fired cooking appliances. Sorry boyz, but that just ain't BBQ'n. -Satisfied Texas Native

Great smoker for the price.

This is my first offset smoker. I want to be able to smoke barbecue with the stick burner before moving on to more expensive smokers. I wanted something for reasonable price, but I did not want a smoker constructed of thin steel. I got this on sale for half the retail price on Amazon. The smoker is made of heavy duty steel. If feels sturdy wheeling it around to my back yard. I sealed it up with red RTV and lava lock just to make sure I had a good seal with no leaks. I’ve used it 5 times since I bought it. Temps are easy to maintain if you know what you’re doing. Easy to move around the yard because it has wheels. It was difficult to fit large racks of ribs on the grates, which requires my to trim a bone or three off my baby back prior to smoking them. The only recommendation I have for somebody looking into this is to purchase a digital thermometer with two probes. One probe reads the ambient temperature inside the smoker and the other can be used as the meat probe. The temperature gage that came with the smoker wasn’t accurate but it was better than nothing.

Solid Multi-Purpose Smoker

I have had this smoker for about two months. In that time I have done 4 full packer briskets, ribs and whole pork tenderloins. During assembly I sealed around areas that I was concerned about leakage. Then I added gaskets to all the doors. I then oiled down the inside very well and burned 3 fires in the smoker before use. It does maintain a steady temp to some degree but does need to be baby sat a little bit. Everything I have made has been top notch out of this smoker. Overall for the price it is a good multi-purpose unit in my opinion. This weekend I used it in my first bbq competition and placed 3rd for brisket against 26 other teams which was comprised of amateur and professional/commercial outfits but my team was all amateur. This unit weighs around 100 lbs and while the steel isn't real thick it is not thin either. The construction of it is solid and I believe it should last for a good long time if taken care. Covers are available for this smoker as well. For the price it is worth it if you are on the fence about buying it like I was. I'm glad and very satisfied that I made the purchase.

Great smoker. Very happy

Very good smoker, especially considering the price friends have paid for theirs that are poorer quality. A lot of total area for more meat. The other day I smoked 10 racks of baby back ribs at once (cut in half, with some room to spare). Week before that I had 4 large tri-tips, 4 ribeye steaks, 16 burgers, and 3 lbs of chicken breast. Fairly easy assembly, with one bolt not lining up perfectly, but a little muscle is all it needed. I read about areas not sealing, but it’s a small percentage of smoke escaping. I didn’t find the need for any sealant or high temp tape. The best part is the smaller footprint it has in my backyard. It takes up half the space of a horizontal smoker.

Great Design and Low Cost

After much research, I decided I wanted an off-set vertical smoker. Being "off-set", there would be no direct or carry-over heat to the food allowing me to cook with just the heat from the smoke. Being "vertical", the food items would not have a "hot" side and a "cold" side causing me to turn the meat during the cooking process. Also, the "horizontals" (even with reverse air flow) generate hot and cold spots simply because smoke and heat raise, not flow from side to side. I was hoping for other features like a hanging rack, portability, pull-out fire tray and grilling capability. This product has that excellent design and all those features at a very low price point. The drawback to this unit (and the only way to offer at this low price point) is the thin steel construction. My first concern is how long it will last. Since the firebox tray or other parts are replaceable, and, even if I have to buy a new unit every few years, its still cheaper than buying a 1/4" steel version that will last a couple of decades. The larger issue with the thin steel construction is heat retention. If you add wood to bring the heat up, the temperature will quickly spike, and as the wood burns down, the unit will lose heat just as fast. That makes it tricky to maintain a steady temperature. I found that using fist-sized pieces of quality wood on a short refresh rate (every 15 to 45 minutes), I can maintain a temperature of +/- 25 degrees with blue smoke. And, for a neophyte like myself, I think that is pretty good. Assembly notes: I needed three tools for the assembly - fat-head Phillips screwdriver, Crescent wrench and (for two screws placed in a weird spot) and ratchet with a fat-head Phillips screwdriver head. I put LockTite on all the screws (I don't know if that is necessary, but its what my dad taught me years ago and I don't want him giving me a hard-time). It took about 2 hours to go from completely boxed to starting the fire. I put on high-temp sealant tape on the smoker door and I might add it to the firebox door as well if I get really picky. Finally, I've been told to not trust the cheap temp gauges included with smokers, so I replaced it with a high-end gauge (Tel-Tru) and added a second one at the lower part of the door (drilled a hole for it) to monitor temperature from bottom to top. Overall, there are better smokers on the market with higher quality materials. But, for the money, I thought this was the best value available with a great design. With a little extra assembly work and careful temperature management, I've been able to produce some pretty fantastic BBQ. So, it gets 5 stars.

Bark me Bad

From an arrival perspective, yeah, I had to bang out some dents just like the other reviews. If you think a smoker is a set and forget, you’re delusional. There are other products that you can set and forget, but they are not true smokers. I purchased the lava felt and the grill caulk...not a single leak. Just smoked 16lbs of butt and nothing butt beautiful. As long as this can hold to weather, I’m all in on this smoker.

Great unit that can cook some serious food!

This smoker exceeded my expectations! I used the lava lock gasket tape to seal the door and it can maintain a temperature fairly well without being babysat too closely. Then I ran 2 fires through the unit to burn off any shipping oil and whatnot, and then was ready to go! My first cookout was last Sunday, I smoked 3 racks of ribs and a pork butt. Everything was a smashing success and the food all received plenty of praise. I used charcoal and threw some applewood chunks in there every 20 minutes or so and was able to hold a consistent temp. The thermometer sucks, so you'll have to buy a digital read, and the door was missing the bolt on the top latch, but even without that top bolt it still sealed very well (thanks to the lava lock). I did buy a replacement bolt and 2 nuts to replace the missing parts, but my first cookout was still a success without that top one in place. Very good and solid unit for the price. A few words on assembly- Definitely a two person job and takes about 2 hours. I read some reviews by others who've purchased this unit and some said that the holes didn't line up...? Well if you tighten the screws all the way one at a time then yes, you may have problems. But that goes for anything that you're assembling. If you get all the screws loosely in place on the piece your are connecting, and then tighten them, you won't have that issue. My only complaint is that the racks at 5" apart make it difficult to load up the tray fully. For example, my second smoke on Tuesday was about 50 chicken wings, and getting them into the back of the unit took some effort. I suppose I could have removed the unused racks (and maybe I'll do that next time). All in all, this is a solid unit that can handle some serious food output for large groups of people. Maintains a pretty even temperature top to bottom (a bit hotter near the smoke box on the bottom rack but what can you do). I would definitely recommend to friends, and I would wager one or two may even buy one for themselves after seeing the unit perform.

This was a great buy

I was not in the market for a smoker. I have a Char-griller Outlaw that is a fantastic grill but requires a lot of attention when doing long smokes. I have an Egg that is good for long smokes but does not hold a lot of food for smoking. This smoker is the best of both worlds. It took a couple of hours to put it together and install the Lava lock around the door, the back door and the fire box. Now there are no smoke leaks. I wiped it down with cooking oil and burned it in twice adding a piece of hickory to make sure it was well seasoned. My first smoking was large turkey drumsticks. It took 3.5 hours and they were perfect. They came out juicy AND when I checked the temp of the meat the temp was the same on all 3 shelves. Next I cooked chicken wings and thighs. I cooked a lot of chicken and it filled 4 shelves. The wings were all done at the same time. The wings were juicy. Again it was a great smoke. I have a reputation as a very good cook. The Dyna-glo is the perfect smoker for me.

Works great! Well built!

This smoker works great! I installed lava lock gaskets around the fire box and main smoker door before I seasoned it. It doesn't leak at all. It's also really easy to maintain a good temperature. I took out the grates that were in the fire box so I have more room for charcoal and wood. It comes with five grates for the main smoker box, I only use three or so for the amount of meat I smoke. This smoker it built well. I've had no issues with paint flaking and burning off. Overall it's a great smoker and I would recommend to anyone looking for a good backyard smoker. I'm very happy with this. Dyna-Glo has done good. Update: After one year and some change, this smoker is still doing great. I use it all the time and have learned how to use it more efficiently. The paint still hasn’t flaked or worn. The bolts on the door are the only thing that has shown signs of wear and tear, and you can replace those pretty easy. So after a year, I still highly recommend this to anyone on the fence about this unit.

Great product, I have no regrets on purchasing this ...

Great product, I have no regrets on purchasing this smoker. I did use it the first weekend after receiving it, real easy to control heat and smoke.. Very simple to put together "only a 2 adult beverage project"... Recommend to anyone interested....

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