smoker info please

[markd]

Hi, just joined and am in the market for a smoker/bbq, I've not done a lot of smoking but have bbq'd for years.
I'm interested in an American style offset, it needs to be a good size as we usually end up with upto 10+ hungry family members friends etc when ever the drums start going and they know the bbq is on, there are 5 in the immediate family to start with so even for a quick cook up we need a decent cooking area.
I've no experiance with an offset but I've researched as much as I can and this is the style I'm after, I presently run a large oval shaped kettle type which I can use to smoke up to a point by indirect heat/smoking.
I've looked at the landmann Tennessee,
http://www.planetbarbecue.co.uk/shoplan ... nessee.htm
Good price but I don't think it looks like a quality item (no disrespect to anybody thats got one intended, not seen one in the flesh just my first impression)

I have also looked at,
http://www.forfoodsmokers.co.uk/acatalo ... n_Pro.html
It's double the price but seems to be quite substantial, is it worth the extra???

Are there any other makes you could suggest that are as good, better, I would love to be able to get one from America there is a much better range to choose from, is this possible anybody got any info please?

Look forward to any information advice you can all give it will be very welcome, thanks.

Mark.

[British BBQ Society]

Hi, my first smoker was a brinkmann smoke and pit, there are two versions one with and one without a fire box on the side, mine didnt have the seperate smoke box but i got fantastic results from it, it fact its what i broke my teeth on (if thats the correct term) the build quality was pretty good. I have only seen the landmann in garden centres and its quite thin, but having said that I owned a chargriller for all of 2 weeks before giving it away, it just could not hold any smoke and foiling around the lid every use was a pain in the butt!

Even if the cooker doesnt have a firebox all you have to remember is indirect cooking, the fire to the left of the pit (opposite side to the chimney) and food to the right.

Hope this helps

Toby

[markd]

Thanks for the reply, hearing about the problems you had with the chargriller it would appear that paying extra possibly doesn't mean better..... in this case.
I have read about modifications some folks do to improve the efficiency/temp control so I was prepared to get stuck in if needed but given that the model I was thinking of buying is double the cost of the Landmann added to that the cost of d.i.y upgrades it soon becomes an expensive prospect considering it should really work efficiently out the box.
I shall keep my eye open for other makes, models etc.
In the interim period please keep as much advice coming as you've got, ta.

Mark.

[JEC]

I live very close to planet barbecue's shop and have considered the landmann unit everytime I go in there, which is quite a lot. The reason I don't own one yet though is right opposite as a 47cm weber smokey mountain, the 2 are like chalk and cheese when it comes to build quality, yes it's twice the price but it feels like twice the product!! The slogan on another weber based forum has the tag line, buy cheap cry twice, buy the best cry once, in this case I agree, I'm off to pick mine up on Saturday after 12 months of quibbling.

If you only want to spend a little money to try it, the grill pro and kingsford units on the site aren't too bad, won't last forever but worth a try if your unsure

[markd]

Thanks for that, I don't mind spending the extra cash for a quality product, I would rather go down the buy once buy right route, my current bbq has been in service for 8+ years it wasn't cheap at the time but it's still doing it's thing, I just want a new offset now to start getting more into the smoking side.

[joker smoker]

as Toby says, keep your eyes peeled for a Brinkkmann smoke'n'pit with a firebox. I'd say they're the best budget offset around

[markd]

as Toby says, keep your eyes peeled for a Brinkkmann smoke'n'pit with a firebox. I'd say they're the best budget offset around

Any stockists you can name, can find some but none in stock, slightly off topic I've read stuff about 'Stoker' temp control units, are these available in the uk or would I have to import.