18.5 or 22.5 for a newbie

[SteveA]

I've never heard of anyone who bought a 22 and then said they wish they had bought an 18...

I have...and I ended up buying their 22 at a great reasonable price!

 

[FreddyJ]

I've decided to go with the larger 22" version. I don't have any space contrainsts and the extra cost is not an issue. Plus I love cooking and since I will be doing this on weekends at my campground I'm sort of hoping it attracts attention and big crowds gather, the more the merrier. I can think of nothing better than sitting around a campfire with loads of friends drinking beer and eating some good BBQ. It will give me an opportunity to experiment and practice with larger cuts of meat also, I'll use them as giunea pigs lol.

I think you made a great call. I had the same question before pulling the trigger on my 22. So glad I went big! I alo consider the $399.00 + free ship to be a fair price for quality product.

 

[Mike Leiter]

I looked at some 18s and almost bought one and then got the 22. So glad I did as it will give me extra space when I need it. I also bought a 18" charcoal ring so I can use less charcoal on smaller sessions or food load if needed. You will love the 22 and I used mine yesterday and it spit out some great food on its maiden smoke.

 

[Frank H]

ive been very happy with my 18 so far..

 

[Steve Porter]

It's funny reading the different responses to the size question. Many argue bigger is better, yet it seems making a mini smoker with the Smokie Joe is very popular! I'm thinking there are very good reasons for any of the three common sizes-the mini, the 18.5, or the 22.5. I went with the 18.5 for my first smoker and am interested in maybe making a mini with my Smokie Joe Platinum because I think it would be great for camping. There seems to be a lot of owners out there that have more than 1 smoker, some have 2-18.5s, some 2-22.5s, some 1 of each and then you can throw in the mini into the mix. Only the person using the smoker will really know which size is best for them. Different smokes for different folks!

 

[NeilH]

Seems like the determining factor would be the amount of people you cook for the majority of the time. The 18.5 is working perfect for me. Thanks for the advice everyone.