Trying to decide what to do!

W

Wph

New member
Just a quick question to all you folks out there. I currently have a Bradley Original. Worked great for four years, only used it about a dozen times total. Did two butts recently and the door hinges broke, cheaply made and will cost around 80$ to fix. Not very happy. Come across this brand but as you can imagine I'm a little gun shy about crappy door hinges. How is the quality overall and especially the door hinge? Thanks

Alright, took the plunge! #2 on the way, thanks again to everyone who replied! Can't wait to get smokin!

 
Hi Wph, I have had the SI#1 for a little over 2 months and use it about 3 times a week and couldn't be happier with with my decision to purchase this smoker. The stainless steel construction makes for a durable and easy to maintain unit. It uses compression to seal and the hinges and latch assembly are constructed with heavy gauge stainless and seem more than adequate to handle the rigors of this approach. The smoker is well insulated and I have seen no signs of smoke leaking from the unit. Packaging for shipment was very good and my smoker arrived with no damage.  Based on my experiences with
Smokin-it /Steve the company is a class act and I have no reservations in recommending them and their products
 
Bought a number 2 in May. I've run 20-25 smokes this summer and it only gets better. Don't think twice great smoker.
 
Bulletproof comes to mind. Built like a tank. These are cliches but they apply when speaking of the build quality of this smoker. I have no doubt I will pass my #3 on to someone else who will enjoy it for many years also. There is no comparable smoker at this price point with this build quality. My name is Dale and I approved this message. ;)
 
Built like a tank!

There is really not much to go wrong with these smokers. If taken care of, they would last 10-20+ years.
 
Wph- As others have stated the SI smoker is built like a tank and bullet proof. The difficult decision is not whether to buy a SI smoker but which size to purchase. Good luck.
 
Hey Wph, I have both #1 & #3 smokers. The #1 is a few months old. And the #3 I purchased from another member that was going into competition smoking. Both are very well built and as others have said very sturdy. Since you asked about the hinges will describe them to you. They are made of stainless steal, the bolt of the hinge is about 1/4 inch thick, the part that attaches to the smoker is about 1/16" thick, the part that attaches to the door is really two parts, one is about 1/4" thick and sandwiched with 1/16" thick. I would venture to say they would last probably 20 years and still work the same as the day they left the factory. Would I recommend them yes, but make sure which ever unit you purchase that you get a cart. This will make life a lot easier.
 
Wow, how wonderful. Thank you all. I'm struggling also with the size/price difference between 1&2.
 
Wph, I have a #2 and love it. It all depends on how much food you plan to smoke at one time. My advice is if you can afford it go with the #2. You can always put less in #2 but you can't make the #1 any bigger.  ::)
 
make sure you factor in the power into your decision.  it was a big factor for me.
#1 has 400W element, while #2 has 800W.


I chose the #3 so I wouldn't have to cut a rack of ribs or a brisket to fit.
I hardly ever fill the thing up.
Once, I thought I invited enough heads to fill it with 12 racks of ribs.
Could've bought another rack and got 15 in there.
There were 4 racks (out of the 12) left over.
 
Some added pics of the hinge/latch for those on the fence.

Hope that helps, I'll post this separate for anyone new to find.





 

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If one doesn't purchase wood from the company, does anyone have any suggestions. And also how much to use?
 
Welcome, and congrats, Paul!

You won't regret your decision; no comparison to what you have been used to!

As far as wood, I'm a huge fan of Smokinlicious.com wood.  It has the right moisture content for smoking, and is very clean heart wood (no bark).  Here's a guide that will help you with amounts:

Guide to Smoking Times, Temperatures and Woods

Also, be sure to check out the guides for beginners, under the User Guidelines and Instructions section (the first 2 topics - What to Do When it Arrives, and Basics for a Beginner). 

Let us know how we can help, and we look forward to seeing your successes!
 
Hey Paul, you will be very happy with the #2. In fact on my order of the #1 after I slept on it. I called Steve the next morning to change my order and it had already shipped. As was going to change it to a #2. But, all worked out just fine. I see a great many smoked meals heading your way. Also +1 on Tony's post.
 
Second option for different wood

http://www.mainegrillingwoods.com

Between the two you will be happy.  Don't buy a ton of wood, an order goes a long way.


Keep us posted and updated.

Enjoy!



 
I still have a ton of wood I ordered from Steve, it seems to be pretty good. But, think I will go with http://www.smokinlicious.com/ on my next order, which will be oak, maple and hickory. I do use cherry but only on pork and with oak. Funny today was at RD and they were completely out of BB. So picked up a package of St. Louis ribs, did not have full slabs. And a 12# brisket grade choice. It looked really good and called my name as I went by.  ??? Actually just order some hickory and red oak from smokinlicious. I do not think they sleep over there. As on my e-mail the reply was sent at 3:45am.
 
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