FWIW..... I built a 5 tray (25"x28") gravity fed charcoal smoker a year & a half ago. It weighs about 1,200 lbs, walls are all 2" thick, fully insulated with rock wool insulation, and it burns 1-2 lbs. of charcoal per hour. The door alone weighs a couple of hundred lbs, and I can open & close it with the small finger on either hand. Even at -6 F, it doesn't radiate enough heat out the bottom to melt snow underneath. Temperature range is from 175-200 F at the low end, it'll easily go up to 400 F, and probably higher (at the risk of warping the door.) It does take quite a while to come up to smoking temps. I have a HeaterMeter (thanks, Chris, for hosting the HM subforum!) for it, it'll maintain cook chamber temps to +/- 1 F, with 3 food probes, and capable threshold alerting and control.
For me, this is just about the perfect smoker. I have a charcoal grill for direct hot cooking. The smoker will take just about anything I throw it it. I've smoked 2 full packer briskets, 4 pork butts and 4 quartered chickens at the same time. It's big enough that I should be able to smoke 10 packer briskets, 8 for sure.
The Masterbuilt is probably the most economically priced GF that I've ever seen. As I noted earlier, Masterbuilt equipment is IMO very cheaply built. I have no doubt that it'll make good food at least for the short term, I do question just how long it will last. There are quite a few other GF smokers available on the market, most for substantially more (the Masterbuilt price might cover the sales tax.....)
I have to suspect that the Weber pellet grills will have a similar fit & finish to the kettles & gas grills. That alone is worth quite a lot.
For me, this is just about the perfect smoker. I have a charcoal grill for direct hot cooking. The smoker will take just about anything I throw it it. I've smoked 2 full packer briskets, 4 pork butts and 4 quartered chickens at the same time. It's big enough that I should be able to smoke 10 packer briskets, 8 for sure.
The Masterbuilt is probably the most economically priced GF that I've ever seen. As I noted earlier, Masterbuilt equipment is IMO very cheaply built. I have no doubt that it'll make good food at least for the short term, I do question just how long it will last. There are quite a few other GF smokers available on the market, most for substantially more (the Masterbuilt price might cover the sales tax.....)
I have to suspect that the Weber pellet grills will have a similar fit & finish to the kettles & gas grills. That alone is worth quite a lot.
