Own a WSM, but cooking on a Master Forge


 
M

Michael D

New member
Hi all -

I love my WSM and have really gotten hooked on using it! So much so, I'm entering my first BBQ competition. Unfortunately, I'll be using event provided equipment and not my beloved WSM. I was curious if anyone could tell me what the differences between the WSM (I have the larger one) and the green Master Forge smokers stocked at Lowes? I'm including a link to the smoker I believe it to be. Anyone have any experience with it?

Thanks! I only know the operation of my own WSM. I love that thing!

http://m.lowes.com/mt/www.lowes.com...gId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
 
Looks like a department store pile of crap. Id bring my weber, and an axe. Keep punching holes in the side of it till they let you use the wsm. just dont let anyone see you all they need to know is its defective.
 
Grant W said:
Looks like a department store pile of crap. Id bring my weber, and an axe. Keep punching holes in the side of it till they let you use the wsm. just dont let anyone see you all they need to know is its defective.
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I know it's surely low cost; no clue about anything as far as performance though. I wish I could just transport my WSM, but rules state I have to use the supplied equipment. Heck, I'd consider buying a second WSM, just to use it! That thing is rock solid!
 
Michael,

You may be in luck. Clicked on your supplied link and it said "This item is no longer available on Lowes.com." :D
 
There are a few videos on youtube of this cooker. The ones I watched last evening dealt with modifications. Might give you some insight into the shortcomings and what to expect.
 
I think that is going to be quite the adventure after getting used to your WSM. Maybe I am missing something but I don't see anyway to control the air flow either in or out. I guess you could open and close the door but since there are no visible air dampers I bet this thing is an air leaking mess. Might want to bring some sort of wind break in case it is windy that day. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
 
Marty W said:
I think that is going to be quite the adventure after getting used to your WSM. Maybe I am missing something but I don't see anyway to control the air flow either in or out. I guess you could open and close the door but since there are no visible air dampers I bet this thing is an air leaking mess. Might want to bring some sort of wind break in case it is windy that day. Good luck and let us know how it goes.
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Yeah, that's my biggest concern. I'm very spoiled with the Weber and I'm fairly comfortable with it and the flame controls. This guy? Not so much. I have been known to open the door to my Weber now and again to really get the fire burning, but that's been in the case of very long runs, where I'm late adding additional charcoal and want to be sure the flame isn't extinguished. We'll see how it goes!
 
Take a look at reply #8 in this thread at a different forum. HERE Guy talks about smoking with this unit. He noted the lack of air vent on top and non-adjustable air vent on bottom. He said he got a temp spike to 300F then dropped and held at 250F using the Minion method. Sounds like it is a useable unit. Note, later in the thread he talks about giving it to a friend and buying a WSM.
 
Good info! Seems similar in concerns to me. I can deal with it running a little low the whole time, or a little high, but I have no clue what a consistent 300 would do to my food! :/
 
Mike Cosgrove said:
Why anyone would buy garbage like that is beyond me, spend a few extra dollars and get a made in USA Weber.
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Well, like I said, it's for a competition. This is a fund raising even, so every dollar spent on the equipment, setup, venue, etc is a dollar taken away from the end cause, so I get why they picked this smoker. Honestly, I would have happily donated a WSM, if I could break it in first! ;)
 
You know here is an idea maybe for next year. Instead of buying the cheap smokers they could go ahead and purchase the WSMs and then once the cook off is over they could turn around and auction off the "Used Once" WSMs. That way they could recover most if not all the cost of the smokers. Maybe they are planning on doing that for these but I would think the Webers would bring more money in the auction.
 
Michael D said:
Well, like I said, it's for a competition. This is a fund raising even, so every dollar spent on the equipment, setup, venue, etc is a dollar taken away from the end cause, so I get why they picked this smoker. Honestly, I would have happily donated a WSM, if I could break it in first! ;)
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I know Michael, I wasnt rippin on you, its for a good cause thats good, I just think people are misinformed, Webers are some of the best for not a whole lot more.
 
I know. Didn't take it personally! :)

About to start my brisket. It's about 15lbs. Figuring about 12 hours of smoke for it. We'll see how it goes!

I also got another curveball when the chicken, which I thought was whole, is now thighs only.
 
Bob Bass said:
Michael,
After you rested up, let us know how things went.
Best of luck to you

Bob
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Thanks Bob!

We did pretty well! I (incorrectly) thought that this was going to be more of a community event, but there were a few professional teams that came. The pros pretty much swept the awards. With that said, it seems that my food was consistently in the mid to high 80's in scoring and just in back of the pros, which isn't anything I'm going to feel bad about! There were folks there who had much less than my whopping four months of smoking experience, but being able to hang around with people who do this professionally is a victory I'll take!

I won't blame anything on the Master Forge; they all had to use them too. It wasn't a horrible piece of equipment, but I did see some teams literally had at least 20% of the green paint chipped and peeled off. Temperature control was nearly non-existant. I used heavy foil under the charcoal pan to reduce airflow and also had bricks that I bought to elevate the smoker, in case I needed higher heat. I figured those two "mods" (I wasn't allowed to do anything to the smoker that would be permanent) would help me meet any situation I may find. In a bizarre twist, for a while I had trouble keeping my smoker with my brisket under 300, then later had trouble keeping it over 200! I much rather deal the the latter of the two.

Overall, we had a great time! We would have loved to have pulled off a trophy (I've heard we were within a point on brisket), but we didn't lose track of why we were there. I lent some advice and tips from my limited experience to some folks that seemed like they could use it. All about making great food and having fun! :)
 
Congratulations Michael. !!!

Michael D said:
Overall, we had a great time! We would have loved to have pulled off a trophy (I've heard we were within a point on brisket), but we didn't lose track of why we were there. I lent some advice and tips from my limited experience to some folks that seemed like they could use it. All about making great food and having fun! :)
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And this is truly what it's all about :wsm:

My hats off to you. You did Very Well indeed.

Bob
 
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Sorry I am just seeing this post now. I bought a Master Forge smoker first before upgrading to the WSM. My first smoke was a shoulder. I had everything planned out. I would put it on around 330am and catnap for 30 minutes between checking and spritzing it. WRONG! The lack of venting on this thing caused me to stay on it pretty much the whole 13 hours. No ventilation caused 50-75 temp jumps and drops. I had to stoke the coals a lot. My shoulder came out great but I was so tired by the time it was ready to eat that I didnt enjoy it. Modifications can be done to make it a decent smoker but under your circumstances you had to work with what they gave you.
 
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