Side by Side Comparison of: Weber vs Classic Accessories vs imusti

The KING of all economy-priced smokers. I own 5 grills in total, including an 18.5" WSM, but I wanted to get the larger WSM to cook bigger briskets and for just more space in general when I have a lot of company coming over. I debated getting this bigger WSM, or buying a ceramic grill. Ultimately, I chose this 22" WSM because of the price and because, with the two levels, it has much more cooking space than a 22" ceramic .This smoker is absolutely perfect. I seasoned it the way Harry Soo recommended, and the first thing I cooked on here was about 12 pounds of beef short ribs. It works GREAT, exactly as advertised and I had more than enough room to spread out the 12 pounds of beef short ribs. The ribs came out perfect, tender and juicy with a nice smoke ring.

"Holy Smokes Batman" This is incredible! Never thought I'd be getting this kind of smoked meat at homeGet the "Meathead - Science to Smoking" book with it - it's a must read

I will keep this short, because I know youve already read all about this thing. Are you wondering if you should get the 18.5 or 22? GET THE 22, yeah its a bit hungrier for fuel. But you get so much more room. No more fighting with ribs, cutting up the pork shoulder, or hacking up the brisket. This thing has the real estate to smoke just about anything. Its well worth the extra 100.00

Fantastic cooker I love it. This is my first smoker and I'm able to make some really good food. Haven't mastered ribs yet, they always turn out dry and don't pull away from the bone like when I cook them in the oven and finish on the grill.Works great for pork butt and turkey and brisket, though! I place a large rock in the middle of the charcoal grate and another next to it, then arrange charcoal all around the outside of the charcoal grate in the shape of a C. This provides nice slow, steady heat and you can place your wood chunks around the edge so you get consistent smoke throughout the burn. I've gotten a good 10 hour smoke out of it this way with Kingsford Blue and some nice Mesquite chunks.The door could use some enhancement - maybe a heat-proof seal to help hold the smoke in.NTK PAMPA 3.7x3.7 Cabana Portable Privacy/Changing Shelter Orange/Silver - this tent works perfectly to shield the smoker from the elements. High winds... rain... snow... freezing rain... whatever the weather, this tent is the perfect size (and price) to keep the elements away from the smoker and lets it maintain temperature without using excessive amounts of charcoal.

First off after reading all the reviews I was convinced to go with the 22inch version and call it a day. That would have been a big mistake - that is the problem with buying products online, you don't get a sense of the product. Fortunately I have a bbq shop near my home that stocks the 22 & I can tell you it is huge (like a New York style round trashcan) and heavy (50-60 pounds?) Looks like more for commercial purposes than home cooking.Once I saw that monstrosity, I realized my choice was between the 18&14 inch size. After much research and measuring, I realized the 18 inch version was too big as well (& must be equally heavy) - the 18 inch seems like the right size for someone who entertains for 40+ people regularly - overkill for someone wanting to invite his family over or cook for his own family. To put it in perspective, you can fit two pork butts on the 14 and 4 butts on the 18 - I recently did one butt and had enough pulled pork for 6 adults and 6 kids, and there were left overs that could have fed at least one more family (2 adults and 2 kids) - this means I can feed 12-16 with one butt and 24-32 with 2 on the 14 - more than enough. There is a reason Weber started making the 14" again - it is perfect for a small gathering.Also, the 14 uses less fuel and will cost less per use in the long run (for example if you smoke 2 butts in the 18 (versus its capacity of 4) u need to use more fuel because of the bigger space to heat up. Remember the unit is engineered/designed for use of Both racks (which makes the 18 more efficient for 4 pork butts versus the 22 for example).Another bonus is the 14 kept the temperature very consistent and did not overheat like some have noticed with the bigger models (must be all that charcoal) Finally the 14 is portable (and used around the world by bbq teams that compete) and easier to clean given its smaller footprint.My 14 had enough room for us to cook a slab of 5 pound brisket bought at our local warehouse club and an entire slab of baby back ribs cut up into 3 parts. The ribs were perfect and moist - the brisket was perfectly smoked and tender. I did this for my family and we could have easily fed another 8 people. Using the minion method of heating coal (in middle area) there is was enough fuel for an overnight cook 13+ hours at 200-210. I couldn't be happier with the 14inch size and am convinced it was the right call as it is efficient and portable. As a bonus cleaning it was easy as well. If you are on the fence, go with the 14" and use the 100 bucks saved on accessories and food. You will thank me as the others are overkill unless you have a business or cook regularly for 40 (18") or 70 people (22"). Happy smoking!

My BBQ team Slap Yo Daddy BBQ from Diamond Bar, California, has been competing using these smokers which I bought off Amazon with free Prime shipping. They work flawlessly and are easy to use and clean up. Our WSMs regularly allow us to win Grand Championships even when we go up against other smokers costing over $15,000.The key step once your smoker arrives is to ensure you season it properly. New WSMs will tend to overheat until you are able to get grease and gunk on the inside and around the rim where the lid sits to ensure an air tight seal. The fastest way to season is to do the following: Phase One - cover the water pan completely with aluminum foil and run a full load of lit Kingsford briquettes and let it run as hot as it can with no water in the pan (over 350 degrees) to burn off any manufacturing residue. Clean out the ash and proceed to phase two.Phase Two - fill the charcoal basket 1/2 full of unlit briquettes. Then put in a 1/2 chimney of lit Kingsford briquettes in the middle. This will allow a slow burn for 3-5 hours at 72 degrees outside temperature. Adjust the vents to get 275 degrees on the dome thermometer. Put bacon strips, chicken parts, pork fat, or any other scrap meat you don't plan to eat. The key is to get fatty meats to generate lots of grease. Toss in a couple of tennis-sized wood chunks to generate smoke. Repeat Phase Two at least twice before you cook meat that you want to eat.Phase Three - When you cook meat you plan to eat, take a tip from me and don't use any water in the pan. When I cook, I just cover the water pan with foil top and bottom. I foil it twice so I can remove the second layer after the cook and refoil it. That way, I don't have to clean my pan. It works just as well, AFTER YOU SEASON YOUR WSM, when you cook without water in the pan. Dry heat allows the crust to form faster on the meat (called the bark). Once the crust forms on the meat, you can introduce moisture. I just spray water with a regular spray bottle to encourage bark formation after the initial crusting (Maillard reaction) has begun. To test for properly formed bark, use your finger nail and scrape the meat surface. If the crust has formed, it will not come off when you gently scrape it with your fingernail. If the crust comes off, the bark has not set (still wet) so don't spray until it sets. Let it cook longer and check back in 15 mins. You'll get much better results this way. We've won many awards with this technique.When it comes to cleaning your WSM, never wash the insides. Get a good grill brush and scrape down the insides and dome. You need the "aroma" which takes several years to build up. I NEVER mix my meat WSMs from my seafood and hotdog WSMs. Nothing destroys the aroma faster than cooking fish/seafood/hotdogs in a WSM used to cook chicken, ribs, pork, brisket, and tri tip. That's why you should buy a pair if you plan to cook seafood/fish/hotdogs. Better yet, get a Weber Kettle for those meats. Remember to always empty the ash from the bottom and grease on the foiled water pan to avoid fires and any rancid old oil smell before you cook. When you need to clean the grates, put the grates in a big plastic trash bag, put on gloves, and spray oven cleaner on the grates while in the bag and let sit for 1/2 hour. Hose off the grates. It's as easy as that. To clean the outsides, I use Simple Green spray.Enjoy your WSMs. They are awesome and built to last.--------------------------------------------------------------Updated March 18, 2014 - in response to questions on fire and temp management on the WSM-18, I added a link with more tips [...]OK. A reader notified me that Amazon deleted my link to my bbq team website where I feature easy recipes of the backyard cook.No worries, you can find it if you Google my team name. It's got pics and such. For the words, I cut and pasted the info for you as follows:Fire ControlBefore I describe how to season your new WSM, I want to explain the basics of fire control in a barbecue pit. Regardless of the pit you're using, they all have three major components that you'll need to learn to control to maintain proper cooking temperatures: 1) the air intake, 2) fuel you're using, and 3) the exhaust vent/chimney. I use Kingsford Blue briquettes so my description assumes you use the same fuel. If you use something else, your mileage will vary.I've used KF Blue since I started competing in 2008 and with over two dozen Grand Championships and 80+ first places including a first place USA in chicken in the Kansas City Barbecue Society Team of the Year 2012; I know KF Blue works well. Besides, I buy them on sale in the summer months for half price and stockpile them for my classes and contest year where I use over a hundred 20-lb bags annually. Yes, I do use other types of fuel like lump charcoal and pellets but I like to compete using KF Blue (no, they are not my sponsor) because I can fly into any city in America and drive my rental car to Walmart to pick up one bag of KF Blue and win a Grand Championship.In the WSM, there are three circular intake damper vents at the bottom that can be opened or closed as needed to allow more or less air to enter the pit. More air and the temperature goes up and less air causes the pit temperature to go down. The circular fire steel fire ring holds your charcoal and you can adjust the amount of charcoal depending on how long you need to run the pit.If you run it for chicken (2 hours), you only need to fill the ring about 1/3 way. If you want to cook ribs (6 hours), you will fill it about 2/3 way. If you're cooking brisket and pork butt (> 12 hours), you want to fill it all the way going past the top of the charcoal ring until it is overflowing. Be sure to remove the excess briquettes that have fallen over the side of the charcoal ring. Do a bit of Jenga and create a volcano shaped crater at in the middle of the overflowing mound of charcoal by removing excess briquettes and returning them to the charcoal bag. When you're ready to start cooking, carefully dump a half charcoal chimney of lit briquettes into the crater. Over the next 12-16 hours, the briquettes will burn gradually outwards as the temperature stays constant. I cook my long haul meats at 250F and everything else (chicken, ribs, tri tip, beef ribs, etc) at 275F.If you are using a full overflowing load of briquettes for a 12+ hour cook, the standard deep WSM water pan won't work because it sits too low and will bump up against the top of your briquettes. No worries. Just remove the deep water pan and use the silver aluminum heat shield instead. You need to unsnap the heat shield and wrap it in double layer of aluminum foil and use that ultra-light pan in place of the deep water pan. If you have access to a WSM circa 2008 and earlier, those older WSMs come with a shallow water pan that does not bump into the briquettes. Alternatively, you can go to Home Depot and get yourself a terra cotta planter base that's the same diameter as the WSM water pan. I don't like the terra cotta approach as it's added weight I have to carry when I transport my WSMs which have already accumulated over 100,000 miles of travel all over the US.Of the three components I mentioned: intake, fuel choice and amount, and the exhaust, the most effective component to maintain constant temperature is not the intake nor the fuel. It's the exhaust. Many beginners I come across are not aware of that. All seasoned pitmasters know how to intuitively draft their pit using "clean" smoke to color and flavor their barbecue meats. The draft refers to the vacuum effect when you open or close the exhaust vent of your pit.When you open the exhaust vent on the WSM, you allow hot air to leave the pit and this creates a vacuum suction to draw air in from the bottom intakes. Thus, by skillfully manipulating the top vent, you can control your WSM like a pro. Many beginners constantly fiddle with their intake dampers in hopes to maintain a constant temperature with less success than leaving the bottom vents untouched and fiddling with the top vent to control the draft within their WSM. In future articles, I'll address the mechanics of damper control on the WSM (e.g., old school versus automated blower systems) and the science on dirty smoke, white smoke, clean smoke, blue smoke, sour smoke, etc. For now, just give my technique a try and see if it works for you.Once you have seasoned your WSM using the steps below, follow my technique to light your pit and leave one bottom vent open and the top vent half open. Allow your pit to come slowly up to temp (it may take 30-45 minutes). If the pit starts to over temp, gradually shut down the top vent and it will calm down. New WSMs invariably overheat until after half a dozen cooks so be prepared to cook with top and bottom vents all completely closed in your first few cooks. If you have the top vent completely open and one bottom vent completely open and your pit does not come up in temp, you can open a second bottom vent, followed by a third. Usually when you open the second or third, it means you're out of fuel. You can toss 20 briquettes through the fire door and be careful not to snuff out the fire. If your fire is already out, you have to light your briquettes before you toss them into the WSM.Here's are a couple of tips if you need ramp up temps quickly. You can prop a ½ inch piece of wood to keep the WSM dome lid ajar. Alternatively, you can open the WSM fire door and let air in to crank up the temps. With both of these quick fix approaches, do not leave your WSM unattended as the temps could rise fast and you'll burn your meats.

I got a smoker. I watched all the videos on how to use it. They are started with "Git your fire going and then...." And, in the videos, they had already got their fire going. O.K. How do I do that? I kept watching and eventually saw some that had this crazy coffee-can looking thing full of burning charcoal that they'd dump in the firebox of the smoker. And then I went to the internet with some key word searches and to Amazon when I figured out what to call it. This version got the highest ratings for the best price. I've used it on several occasions now and can say that it works wonderfully. There are actually videos showing how to use it. So you can get it right the first time. This one has two features that I think are very important. The handle is heat resistant silicone. And there is a second stabilizing wire handle (gloves needed) that helps to when pouring the coals into the grill or the firebox of a smoker.

I bought this for my hubby for Christmas. He has had one for a few years but his dad liked it so much that he ended up with it. So I needed to get my husband one that he could keep. Some might think, Why do you need a charcoal starter? I thought that at first. But he uses it all the time, especially when he is using the dutch ovens instead of the grill. He doesn't want to start the charcoal and then try to move it. So this is perfect. It also starts the charcoal and has it ready much quicker than in the grill, even if you are grilling. So, we use it all the time. The Weber brand is one that we trust and they didn't disappoint. As I said we had one for years and gave it away to my father in law, so we got another one. Same brand. We love it.

I discovered the Weber chimneys a few years ago after living dangerously for more than half a century. I admit a certain thrill from flinging lit matches onto liquid starter, and squirting more starter onto fires that weren't really taking off. Years of graduate school notwithstanding, I'm clearly an idiot.When I saw a video of someone lighting charcoal with only a chimney, some newspaper, and a long Bic lighter, I new it was time to stop tempting fate. I have a big smoker that I use at least once a week for brisket, pulled pork, etc., and also a Weber kettle grill we use for basic grilling. This chimney is the only way to go. I light it and don't have to stand around fussing over it and spraying highly flammable liquids onto it. I use that time to assemble the rest of the gear and food so I can get down to business with my cooking.I like this so much, I bought a second to have around when I need to light an extra large batch of charcoal.

I'm upset I didn't get this thing years ago. I wasted so much time messing with lighter fluid, relighting coals, etc. This thing is idiot proof, and produces red hot coals in 20 minutes. Put the charcoal in, put some paper or cardboard underneath, light it. 20 minutes later you're good to go.

Old me:Tell me if this sounds familiar, I stack a mountain of charcoal over a napkin in a shape of a pyramid. I then douse lighter fluid from the top. I let it rest for a few minutes and then light the napkin. After the initial smoke is gone, I get a large piece of cardboard to fan the pyramid until the top briquette catches fire. Process takes 20 minutes. When I flatten out the briquettes so I can put my grate on, not all the briquettes are burned uniformly so I wait another few minutes for the top large pieces to burn to gray, because I don't want cancer.New me:No lighter fluid.No fanning for 20 minutes. The chimney forces air up. I go drink a soda (hate beer) and come back in 20 minutes.No problems with uniformity. When I dump the coals, they are all equally gray. Every "spot" in my weber is burning equally hot.Verdict: Weber is known to be the best mainstream brand there is to bbqing. They did not disappoint on their Chimney quality. This will actually save you money because you burn away way fewer briquettes to get a good fire. And you don't ever need fluid again.

We were pleasantly surprised with this chimney starter not knowing what to expect when we used it the first time. It was ready to go in about 10 minutes. We only filled it halfway the first time and used a brown paper sack as starter. It only took one match to get it all started. I've attached user photos for this. It smokes quite a bit to begin with, then some ash floats around. It truly is a chimney as it superheats the charcoals and sends up smoke and intense flame. Be sure to treat with caution and have a heavy duty oven mitt handy. It poured easily onto the grill grate and we were immediately ready to grill. Note the discoloration on the side in one of the photos from the intense heat. It doesn't affect the performance of the chimney but does remind you how hot it can get. We love it! Can't wait to use it again.

I know this got great reviews, but most people were likely reviewing the 18 inch model. Being a single person, I went for the 14 inch version. It's okay, but harder to load and keep the coals at the desired temperature because there is simply not enough space in the bottom to have a big, hot coal bed.I am also sure that as I run around with guests and Thanksgiving dinner in the smoker, I am going to regret having to stoke this more often to keep at the right temperature -- and every time you add coals, you lose a ton of heat, so bigger is better there, too. Somewhat regretting not getting one of those easy electric models...... but the food coming out if this has been wonderful.

Love it, works great. Only 4 star is due to it being too smal, even for small family servings. Hard to keep the temp high enough due to small internal volume while smoking only 2 racks of pork ribs, and 4 chicken legs. I ended up buying the 18". Now I'm stuck with both.

Great smoker,Can fit an 8 lb pork butt on each grate. Can fit a spatchcocked 10lb chicken on each grate.Filling the charcoal basket to the brim will give you enough fuel for a 13 HR smoke (pending ambient temp and what you are cooking)The only detractor to this is the door and the seals. Using Lavalock to seal the joints in the body as well as the door. Got a southco door latch to make it all work. Also the included thermometer is really inaccurate. Buy yourself a cheap digital thermometer to stick through the built in grommet.

Works and smokes like a charm! I got this as a present for my boyfriend and so far it has been a present for me, our friends, and our families just as much as him! Set up and initial seasoning was super easy, though you have to do your homework if you're new and serious about smoking (I suggest using the AmazingRibs website). The only thing that kept this from being a 5 star review was the door. It is super loose and lets a ton of smoke out. Fortunately my boyfriend likes projects, so he was able to seal it up tight and it no longer leaks smoke. A pretty easy fix, but for what it cost, I was disappointed about that imperfection. Overall if you like grilling, cooking, projects, and watching the looks of pure joy on people's faces, this product is for you!

I have had so much fun with this smoker over the past few months. For a family of two, it cooks plenty and uses very little charcoal while doing it. I have made brisket, ribs, pork butt roast, chicken, pork tenderloin.The only thing about it is that you can't cook a very long item, but that's the nature of the beast. It will fit a typical 6 lb brisket on a rack. If you have a 12 lb brisket, you'll have to cut it in half. For ribs, you'll need to cut them in half or tie them. I use a Weber rib rack.

The screw was missing on the handle assembly out of box. Weber seems to have an issue shipping with parts missing based on online reviews I read. A quick email to Weber resolved problem very quickly as they shipped me a new handle right away with little hassle.This smoker is well thought out and designed but, the aluminum door is flimsy. I suspect it is that way so it won't get too hot and/or will cool off quickly when removed in case you have to add more fuel/water. However, the rest of the smoker is solid and definitely built to last. The water/drip pan makes keeping the temperature low and constant easy. I am still experimenting with how much charcoal, wood and heat to use as too much will definitely "over smoke." There is plenty of real estate inside and overall this smoker is definitely a great choice.

I should have looked at the dimensions. It is much larger than I had imagined, giggty. I bought it to go with a small CharBroil smoker I had bought at the same time. The grill was 30 inches long, with a smoker maybe 10x8" so using this was kind of over kill. Luckily I happen to have an older smoker/grill that is about 70" square. with a smoker thats 12x15. So this will work perfectly for that particular grill.Cooks the coals evenly, and a little quicker than just making a pile in the grill. Also it has a nice pocket below where the coals sit, where you have place paper to help start the coals. The holes along the side of the coal chimney help it breath through a thick layer of coals.

Excellent. Nearly set the bloody house on fire, but aside from it's extraordinary capacity for enhancing a fire, it does exactly what it's suppose to do. Mind you -- I used it on my deck -- which is where everyone in my development puts their BBQ. But the slight breeze had the licks of flames getting too-close for my comfort to my siding. I wont be using it again --but I can assure any bbq-bravehearts that this gadget will hasten their coals !

I've been using these chimney starters for the last 10 years and have been very happy with them. I personally use the chimney starter in conjunction with the gas ignition portion on my Performer. I will say that they do wear out after a couple of years and need to be replaced. This is despite the fact that I keep mine out of the elements. At this price, however, it's not a big deal to replace.

Having used a chimney starter before, I was anxious to get one before the BBQ season really began. This one seemed to be about the "right size" based on amount of charcoal it was intended to hold. (Intended for use in a basic sized kettle BBQ.)And then...it arrived in the mail, and it was more than twice the size of the small one I'd used previously. I was honestly expecting something about three-quarters of the size.However, it fired up the coals perfectly even when half-full, and upon reflection I most likely need the size for any extended BBQing. Half-full did perfectly for a steak dinner for the family.I've removed one star for the absolute lack of size comparison in any of the photos, and also for the shiny finish that all but evaporates the minute you use it. (What's the point in that?)

This chimney starter is great! It's big, the handle to hold the chimney starter is big, and the entire starter feels like solid construction that won't break, bend, rust, or damage easily, which is sometihng I really appreciate.The plastic around the handle is heavy duty, and resistant to heat, I was handling the chimney starter without barbecue gloves (not recommended), by holding the plastic handle, and I couldn't feel any heat on my hand which was great!i just crumpled up a few sheets of ad-papers I got in the mail, and in about 20-30 minutes, my coals were burning hot and ready! I was initially worried, because as soon as I set the papers on fire, they burned up and disappeared within a minute or two, so I stuffed more paper below the starter, thinking I would need to light more paper on fire, but what I didnt realize was how efficiently this starter disperses heat and continues to disperse it, even when you can't see any flame. As soon as I put newspapers below the chimney starter, despite there not being any visible fire, the starter was producing so much heat that it immediately set the new newspapers on fire.BUT it is a little deceptive, the description says that it holds enough briquettes for a 22.5 inch grill, but after filling up the chimney starter, I found that my grill did not fill up sufficiently. I'd say it's perfect for something closer to 20 inches, but it's a tad small for 22.5, but this isn't too much of a problem. I simply put some unheated coals at the bottom of my grill and pour my hot coals on top of them, by the time my grilling grate heats up hot enough for me to scrape it clean with my grill brush, the unheated coals have heated sufficiently and I can start grilling!This is a GREAT chimney starter, and I'd highly recommend you purchase it, especially for it's pricepoint. I must confess I have no idea why the Weber 87886 Chimney Starter is almost double the price of this chimney starter. I'd reccommend this one wholeheartedly! For $15, I'm not sure you can beat this!

Like most modern products from Weber, the quality leaves much to be desired. While their products work well, I question their longevity. This is no exception. I swear if you just look at it wrong it'll crumble like a soda can.Having said that, the thing works great. Crumble up a couple of sheets of newspaper, tuck them under the bottom, fill it with coals, add fire, and, voila, heat! It seems like nothing is happening at first. You get a bunch of white smoke for a couple of minutes, then it catches - first time every time.The handle doesn't get all that hot, but I use a leather gardening glove anyway. The wire bail is useless as charcoal is light and you don't need two hands to dump the thing.Except for materials and build quality it would be worth five stars. The jury is still out on that fifth star.Update - Still 4 stars, but it's worked perfectly all season. I removed the bail because it got in the way. Still seems cheaply made, but it's doing the job.

It's basically as advertised. But it's tiny. I put two racks of ribs on it and a pork shoulder butt - barely. Basically maxed it out, if that gives you any idea. The silver hatch is small. In theory you can add water or charcoal through this tiny hatch - but not really. You end up heaving up the entire middle and top of the thing, interrupting your cooking, and adding a huge chore to the cooking. I'd recommend one of the larger ones, if you buy Weber.

Grill is way to small to smoke any type of meat.

It takes a long time to get hot. Takes a very long time to cook. We had to bring the meat inside and finish it in the oven.

Very heavy, well made product. Only complaint is you have to do a 'rig' to grill steaks at the top. The cheapee they used to make, was easy to grill, smoke etc.. This one you have to work a bit. The thickness makes if function more like a green egg - for a tenth of the cost. Also the old cheapee side door opened horizontally this ones opens vertically which means you can't use it to adjust temp. So as a smoker ... great. As a grill - not so great.

What this is: better than a BBQ, it's a water smoker. It has 3 main parts; the bottom is the fire bowl with a containment ring and grate. The middle holds a bowl of water at the bottom, a rack directly at the top of the bowl in the middle, and a second cooking rack across the top. The top is a dome-lid, with temp gauge, vent, and handle. FIRE: I mix charcoal and large lumps of wood. We have plenty of hickory, oak, and fruit wood around here.Pros: You can do excellent work with these smokers if you've ever used a "bullet" or "R2D2" smoker before. Great capacity (turkey sized), and good fire control.Cons: There are three weak spots - the door/handle, poor drainage between the cooking "capsule" and the top / bottom. The door comes completely off, so it's more easily damaged than it would be if it were connected or more solid metal. It doesn't seal 100%, some foil "snakes" can remedy that. Handle: is plastic, and from heat/cool cycles, the handle didn't make it to it's third year.Lips / Seals: the lip on the lid fits inside the lip on the cooking chamber, the bottom lip on the chamber fits inside the lip of the fire bowl. Rain water and condensation run down into the fire chamber. If you're using the smoker and it's raining or snowing, it's wise to make a seal out of foil to keep the rain water from the lid out of the fire. I'm not sure what to do about drainage of the bottom lip / fire bowl interface.Most of the problems above can be worked-around with a judicious use of foil. Once you get used to it, it's a very good smoker, but it's not a very good smoker out of the box, it's just good.Update: It's now Jan 2017, I've had this smoker several years now. I've replaced the grills and the door (very available on Amazon, etc.), and I still use this smoker. I've smoked turkeys, home-made bacon and pastrami, beef and lamb roasts, etc. Having worked around the various drawbacks, this smoker is easy to set up, use, and enjoy. It's not so easy to move, you need to move it in pieces, or use very tight bungees to hold it together.

I have just received the item this morning. Upon unpacking, found that one of the metal vent opener was severely bent due to poor packing. I am very dissapointed as this is suppose to be a gift for my husband and had spent so much having it flown all the way to Brunei.

I light my charcoal with this every time, it is such an essential tool. I burn paper in the bottom and let the charcoal heat up. With the double handle it is easy to pour the coals how you want them.Unfortunately, I let the coals get too hot once and the finish on the outside got all messed up. Pretty disappointing for a tool that's made for hot coals.

it does make a lot of smoke, and my neighbor tells me if you use color newspaper or old magazine pages it make a LOT more smoke. But it does work like advertised

Large capacity was nice but the handle melted when I used it the first time. Also that handle isn't heat proof at all to the touch. My old one was heat proof. Wooden. This one melted to my hand and to my oven mitt that I ended up needing to use. I'll try it one more time and if I hate it I'll return it.

This would be great IF there was a lever that would have the bottom drop out instead of having to pour it!!

Works as intended, but doesn't hold enough coals to start a fire for indirect cooking on two sides of the Weber kettle. As such, I've been dumping all coals to one side and cooking on the other which doesn't produce the same type of indirect cooking as having coals on two sides of the kettle.

I've never had success with charcoal chimneys, but this one does ok. I use charcoal as the base for starting wood in my smoker, and this is about 50 or 66% of the size I need. And I generally fill it overflowing, which I know you're not supposed to do. But I do and I end up having to give it a couple of 20 second shots with my propane torch to get it going. And then it takes like 30 minutes before it's ready. If I'm just grilling on my smaller pit, I don't fill so full and it does start easier, but still takes 20-25 minutes.

I just purchased the 18 Inch Smokey Mountain Cooker. Used it for the first time this past weekend and discovered that the thermometer is reading 45 degrees low. Five or ten degrees would not be a big deal but 45!! Not acceptable!

Do not buy the 14.5 inch smoker with the optional cover! The cover they send would fit a grill twice as large!

Need improvements, construction and material.

Let me start by saying I have 35 years experience in manufacturing. I just received the smoker yesterday and assembled it last night. The dome lid and main body were both out of round by 3/4 of an inch. Obviously the dome lid would not fit the body. Pretty disappointed after spending a half hour assembling this thing. I had to flex both pieces to get them close to round and you can imagine what that does to the ceramic type coating as you could hear all the micro cracking of that material. Never could get it perfectly round nor should it have been my responsibility in the first place. The lid fit terribly. My only hope is that after some heat cycles it will relax to a better fit. This is one of those types of items that due to size and the amount of time to assemble that you have to debate if it is worth disassembly to get back in the box to ship back. Also the shipping box was not damaged at all so this was definitely a manufacturing issue. Basically they have no quality control. On another note the door absolutely sucks as everyone has said. Good luck trying to form that as well. You can form it better but it will not be perfect by any means. I really thought Weber used to be a great manufacturer but this is my last one.

Came missing some parts and I returned it after unpacking and spending a lot of time trying to assemble it before I realized it was missing a very important part.

I bought this as my first smoker. I went for the Weber because I had read good things about this smoker. Unfortunately I was a bit dissatisfied on two points:1. The temperature gauge did not work correctly. I was unable to get the temperature to reach 180 during a 3 hour cook according to gauge, however my meats we're medium well after 3 hours.2. Assembly instructions were tricky. I thought I had found the instructions in the front with a detailed diagram, only to find a different order for certain washers later in the booklet. This resulted in me cracking the porcelain around the base.

So how about being able to remove the bottom so you can set it on the grill while it heats up and then just lift up to release the coals and have the coals stay in place?? Instead you have to clumsily pour them out of the starter when they're heated up and smoke and sparks fly all over from the hot coals falling onto the grill??? Maybe it's because I'm new to charcoal grilling but this just seems dumb to me.It works great as a starter but just seems like it should be a little smarter.

This is a very large container, not what it appears to be

My husband said it is a waste of charcoal.

I have used homemade versions of this kind of charcoal chimney device and this one is very nicely built. I do have a problem with the instructions which say to use 3 sheets of newspaper to ignite the coals. That produces a lot of smoke and that smoke blows right into my neighbors houses/yards. I use lighter fluid instead which does the job without the clouds of smoke. The people who think that newspaper is somehow better than lighter fluid as far as health reasons go are way off base. Newspaper has a lot of ink in it, petroleum based ink which also contains VOCs. Ink doesn't have to pass any FDA tests either.

PAIN TO USE SLOW TO FIRE UP CAN BURN YOURSELF REAL EASY

Way to big for storing in our RV .Have to go back to a gallon can with holes punched in it.

For the money spent, I would have at least expected the pices to interlock. ..instead it just all stacks together and easily falls apart, forget about carrying it around

I own 4 different weber grills/smokers and I love them. The last 2 either came damaged or missing parts. Weber is slow to respond and is making me jump through too many hoops than it's worth to make things right. I'm done playing their games so I'll just leave a star.

This is not the 18' Model 2013-Present. This is the old 18.5' Model 2009-2012. Very misleading Amazon. Glad I spent my money on an old version. One star for Amazon. 5 stars for Weber. Great smoker for beginners with great results.

not happy with this smoker.Used it four times since I bought it and each time it got too hot and then too cold.Asked what I was doing wrong and got no answer for Weber.Charcoal never lasted long enough for the smoker to cook food right.Still don't know what I'm doing wrong.Thanks Weber for the help.Had your grills for over 40 years,but never your smokers again. reniejohn@roadrunner.com

I'd give it zero if I could. After 8 cooks, the charcoal/wood door and latch are broken and never fully sealed the smoker in the first place. The hood also sticks to the base during and between cooks, making it difficult to use; I have to keep a pice of tin foil there to keep it from sticking.I'm quite shocked at how poorly made this is. I'm usually a Weber fan but this piece falls well below any reasonable expectations. Seeing that so many people love their smoky mountain, I must fit a category of users that had higher expectations or I got a dud (I doubt the latter since the construction is so flimsy).For anyone who is serious about BBQ or doesn't like a stressful cook- look elsewhere and spend a little more- I've wasted a lot of time and money with mine.

Damaged! This is the 2nd weber grill received in a week and both were damaged.

It is great for the girl

Discoloration after 2nd use

I bought this for my husband for fathers day. He just used for the first time this past weekend and the plastic handle went up in flames and burnt off completely while he was cooking. I am unable to contact the seller and am not given the option to return this chimney starter! Very unhappy with this product and the seller!!!

the plastic handle melted during the third use, which was executed exactly according to instructions. better have a fireproof glove on when you pick this baby up. my glove ignited when i grabbed the (partially liquefied) handle. ah, such a lovely day of BBQing. good luck.

Doesn't stay stuck to the tub floor. So our kids slip and slide like I was tryin to prevent with this item. Very disappointed.

Had the older larger chimney - loved it but it finally rusted away. I bought a new one on Amazon, thought it was the regular size, no, it's the mini. I can't get it to light no matter what I do, one sheet of paper, one and a half, two... lightly crumbled, tightly crumbled, etc. There is simply not enough room in the bottom for the paper to light and stay lit. I have found, though, that if you fill the bottom of your grill with a LOT of newspaper and light it with the chimney in the middle. it will eventually catch fire. Lousy accessory, wish I could get my money back.UPDATE 09/2016 spent the summer trying to get it to work, one sheet, two sheets, one and one half sheets, two sheets under the darn thing..... absolutely useless...... the only good thing about this is that I have been able to use up most of my lighter fluid over the summer. Piece of trash.