<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">However, I have not heard of a happy Smokenator owner either. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>
You have now. I purchased the Smokenator in March, and have used it since then for roughly fifteen cooks--pulled pork, briskets, several whole chickens, tri tips, salmon, sausages, even nuts--and I (and many friends and family) love it.
After the first few cooks, I could dial it in by eye for 225*; bottom vents fully open, top vent about halfway open. What I appreciate about it even more is its flexibility: I can cook at 150* - 160* (for sausages, say) by using fewer initial lit coals and narrowing the vents, or I can run it at a steady 350* for chicken or high-heat brisket by leaving the water pan empty and throwing all the vents wide open. It's well made and seems to me reasonably priced.
None of this is to say that the Smokenator is any better or worse than Jim L.'s device, but I don't have any metal-working experience, so it was the right choice for me. If you search the web, you can find the original Smokenator forums (now largely disused, it seems) for some further info, and there is a brief and positive review on
Amazing Ribs