Side by Side Comparison of: Camp Chef vs Masterbuilt

This is the best little Smoker on the market. Love the remote to watch the temperature away from the patio. Works perfect for ribs, just awesome, smoker holds temp within five degrees, easy to load wood chips on the side. Clean-up is a bit of a chore, but still easy. made in China, but for the price is a excellent purchase. I will get the bigger one for our other home, to be able to put a full rack of ribs in, this one I need to cut them in half as not wide enough for a full rack, but does not matter, as it make smoked ribs, chicken excellent and easy.

Wanted a smoker and did a lot of research. I didn't want something that would be difficult to use but still gave a good end result. THIS WAS IT! I've used it a bunch of times for ribs, pulled pork, and chicken. Perfect results every time. Friends, family, neighbors all have said the food was as good as any they have ever had. Had to be true since they went back for seconds and thirds. Wish I had bought this a long time ago. Hate to admit to how many racks of ribs I ruined on the grill. Worth every penny.

We cannot say enough great things about this product. My wife is a gourmet cook and she has so much fun with this unit.

However, since Amazon cheaped out on shipping, the service has suffered. I found this unit on my front porch with a 4 inch gash on the bottom corner. It had been dropped and the side of the gash split. The unit itself was exposed through the gash and the housing was bent. Fortunately I could a assemble the unit and it's interior was not damaged.

This is a fantastic smoker! It arrived 3 weeks ago and I have smoked, ribs, brisket, butt, shoulder, duck, sausage, pork loin and pork belly and they all were wonderful. It is easy to use and easy to clean. The temperature stays on point, the wood chips are easy to load and the rack hold a lot of whatever you are smoking!

I highly recommend - in fact a great friend of mine ordered one the day after i did and loves it too! Your smoker friends will give you grief because it is not "real" smoking and all I have to say is I am not staying up all night trying to maintain the temp and load wood and when it's time to eat all I hear is compliments.

I bought this for my mom, as she was not so subtley dropping hints this was what she wanted at Christmas time. I surprised her with it as she came home. She immediately went out and bought meat and wood and has smoked something in it every Sunday since she got it. It is VERY easy to use and understand. It is a great size for a small family. She's a single mother so she cooks a whole weeks worth of food in there at one time. I'm considering getting my boyfriend and I one as he is EXTREMELY jealous when I get some of her cooking and he doesn't, it's just that good. She has it down pack and the meat just melts in your mouth.

A friend told us that you only use fruit woods, and stick an open can of beer in there for the moisture. It has worked every time!

Love this! Smoking meat is so easy this way. Chicken and brisket are my favorite tonsmoke in this (will need to cut the brisket in half)!

I'm pretty happy with this smoker, with a couple of exceptions (mentioned later). But first, I will say that this thing is really easy to use. The setup was easy and I have smoked some great food so far. I have never used a smoker before, and this makes the process very easy. (FYI: I also joined a great Masterbuilt electric smoker group on Facebook, and reading through the posts there has been incredibly helpful when deciding on recipes, cooking temps, etc.) My family loves it when I make dinner, and we've had great turkey, pulled pork, and chicken. This thing makes GREAT food!

I learned the hard way, however, that my temperature sensor is not correct. (Not a meat probe, but the cooking temperature. This model doesn't come with a meat probe). I purchased a digital thermometer and meat probe unit so that I can monitor the meat temperature and the cooking temperature. The smoker temp is routinely off by about 30 degrees. For example, if I set the smoker at 225, the actual temp is 195. I first noticed this because my digital thermometer read a cooler temp than the smoker readout. I purchased an oven thermometer so that I would have one more source for comparison. The oven thermometer and the digital thermometer matched, and both were 30 degrees colder than the smoker temp readout. I have not contacted Masterbuilt about this yet, but I'm hoping that they will have a solution. In the meantime, I know to follow the temp reading on my digital thermometer instead.

This isn't a complaint against the smoker, but want to mention it. I purchased a smoker stand that is for "Masterbuilt 30" smokers", which was recommended as an attachment for this product. Although I made it work, the stand that was recommended didn't actually fit my smoker. The holes on the stand don't match the feet on my smoker. I was able to get two of them to match up, so it works well enough. So if you buy a stand, make sure it fits your model.

This isn't a complaint agains the smoker, either. But now that I have used this 30" smoker a few times, I think I wish I had gotten the 40". This one isn't small. It can certainly hold most of what you want to smoke. But now that I have the smoking bug, I can see that I might want a bigger space inside. I smoked a 10 pound turkey at Christmas and it fit just fine. I'm not sure a 13+ pound would fit, though.

All in all, I'm loving this smoker and the food I can make with it.

I would consider myself a beginner to intermediate when it comes to smoking. I've owned Brinkmann water smokers in the past and they are OK for small loads of meat. I wanted an insulated electric smoker so that I could still smoke meats during an Iowa winter. This unit satisfies that need.

When it arrived very little assembly was required, I had it up and ready for seasoning in 15 minutes.

The first thing I smoked was a 12 pound pork butt. It was a snowy day, but the smoker got up to temp inside of 20 minutes. At 12 pounds this roast was huge as a first try on a new smoker, but it was what i had. It took over 14 hours for the roast to hit 200+ degrees. Given the humidity and the size of the roast I'm not surprised.

The first butt was a success as were both of the next roasts that I've smoked. While the smoker can handle almost any size, I prefer to keep the starting weight at around 7 to 9 pounds in order to keep the cooking time reasonable.

The smoker's digital thermostat isn't particularly accurate since it is located at the top of the box rather than beside the smoking rack. I found it to be reading about 12 to 15 degrees high compared to a digital thermometer probe right of the rack. I strongly recommend a remote digital like the Maverick ET-733 ( https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P2RDIFK/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 ).

I also purchased the smoker stand to get the unit up off the ground and at a more convenient height.

I've only used it once so far, but the results have been excellent. The cooking and flavor is up to you, so I'll just review the hardware.

It's lighter than I expected, but certainly durable. You can adjust to seal the door tighter if you like. It didn't get as hot to the touch on the outside as I thought it would. So, accidental burns shouldn't be a worry from the outside. Read the safety precautions and instructions. They are very clear on what you should and should not do. (Especially on how to set time and temp because you must do both at the same time.)

The racks and internal stuff are a bit thinner/more lightweight than I expected, but not flimsy. It's still durable, but light enough to help with the overall weight of the unit.

Cleaning is a bit dirty, but it is what it is. Don't hose the unit, but you can take the drip pans and stuff out and hose that off.

Honestly, the biggest negative is the digital display is super hard to read in daylight. You have to block the sun to read it. It's certainly not a deal breaker, but it is what makes this unit only 4 out of 5 stars.

I find it regulates temp well. It'll go high and low depending on opening and steaming, etc. But, it recovers just fine. It takes 20-30 mins to preheat.

I cooked 2 different meats on it on one day and I am very satisfied. I have only used it once, so take this review for what it's worth.

Let me tell you a little about this electric smoker. Ours is over a year old now, so it has some use behind it.It only needs minor assembly out of the box. - attaching handle, feet, etc. It does have wheels, so you can move it around a bit. They are small plastic coaster type wheels, so don't expect to be rolling it over rough areas or for long distances. The door has an adjustable latch on it, so as the seal gets squished a bit, you can make the latch tighter. I like having the glass door on the front, but I do have to admit that once you get some smoke rolling, and if you have moisture in there (from the meat or if you add it in the pan), the door is going to smoke and steam up pretty quickly and you won't be able to see inside for long. There is a light, but it is on the outside, and just reflects off the glass when the door is closed.The racks inside are adjustable. I recommend taking the ones you aren't using out, so you don't have to clean them after using them. They scrub up pretty easily with soapy water.I had quite a mess inside after the first few uses. Then I figured out how to make clean up easier. If possible, put your items in a disposable aluminum pan. I was worried it would keep the meat from getting smoky enough, but it wasn't a problem at all. You can also add liquid right to your pan if you want. (For instance I put apple juice in the pan with turkey breast to keep it moist.) The pan contains all the drippings and makes clean up a breeze. Also, wrap the drip deflector, water pan, and grease pan in foil! This is a huge help. Then instead of scrubbing after use, just toss the foil. I do not clean the walls of the smoker, as you want them seasoned. To easily clean the glass, use Weber's grill cleaner and rinse after with water. It makes clean up easy!There is a built in meat thermometer that works very accurately. With the included remote, you can check on your meat temps without ever leaving your chair. We've had no problems with the remote.After a year of moderate use, the temperature set button is not working on our front panel. They do sell replacement panels for the front, but the problem is easily remedied by simply using the remote to set the temp.The wood chip tray works pretty easily. It does not hold a very large quantity at a time. So you do have to tend to your wood chips during your smoking. They will burn up within the first 30-45 mins if you are using dry chips. You can make them last longer by soaking them in water first. We usually keep the chips burning steady for the first part of cooking to add lots of smoke, and then let them die down near the end.Masterbuilt does sell a lot of replacement parts for the unit. They sell a replacement heating element and it isn't very expensive. I've heard that is one of the first things to go. We bought an extra one with ours, but haven't had any issues with ours. It seems to hold the heat pretty well. Don't forget you will get fluctuations because there is air coming in from the chip tray and exiting out your vent. I've used it in temps of 30 degrees outside and it still worked well.And the finished smoked product? EXCELLENT! We have not made a meal in this smoker that we did not love! There was not one piece of turkey left over on Thanksgiving day. We have mainly used it for meats, but have also smoked veggies in there as well. I've done some cheating as well. Take one of those rotisserie chickens from your local grocery and warm it up in the smoker, add some smoke, and get good smoked chicken in the time it takes you to warm it up.I think the smoker has held up nicely. I like that replacement parts are available when something does go wrong. AND...the food tastes great! Beware, smoking your meats can become very addictive.

So I know there are durability questions about this smoker, I cannot address that yet as I first used it this last weekend. What I can say is that it smoked some amazing ribs with almost no trouble. I don't get ribs this good at any local place. Putting wood chips in the housing is a little tedious. They have to fit all the way in so that compartment will close fully. Adding chips is easy. The temp is pretty close on the digital LED compared to my calibrated thermometer. Heat is fairly consistent top to bottom. Lined the bottom drip pan with foil and it cleaned right up. Water pan stayed full with drippings and water for the 6 hours at 220 I used for the ribs. Made lots of smoke with just a few chips. Don't soak them. If it lasts I will use this smoker a lot since it is so easy.

In general the smoker works well. I've smoke ribs, brisket, and chicken so far. The design for loading wood chips is excellent. It comes up to temperature quickly and holds it real well. The window, light, and meat thermometer are nice features but if I were to buy another unit I'd look at just the basic design, including the analog temp control. The digital control and remote were very "temperamental" right out of the box. The digital control constantly shuts off if you do things like toggle the temperature up/down to fast, try to view the heat thermometer, or turn the light on/off. Its good once you final get the temp and time set but its frustrating to unplug and plug it back in several times before you get there. I have it plugged directly into a 15amp GFI. The GFI never trips, its the controller that shorts. Its to bad the digital control real sucks because the units pretty good.

I followed up masterbuilt customer service and they were very helpful. They said the problem I was experiencing was not the controller but a wiring problem and offered to replace the unit since it was still under warranty. The customer service rep (Tiffany) did a great job handling my problem. I'll buy another from them just because of the customer service experience.

Disappointed! Not only did the item take longer than advertised to arrive (even as a Prime member) when the smoker did finally arrive, the box showed signs of significant damage. Didn't see any damage to the actual box, but after plugging it in, the display didn't display the temp correctly. It appears that "some" of the numbers are missing sections. Overall, I like the smoker but I am disappointed with the quality controls at the company.

I've had this smoker for 2 years, it worked great up until this year in which it kept shorting out. Unforunately it seems it happens to many others who have used this model. It seems to be a problem with the heating element causing it to short and tripping the fuse. I am already out of the warranty period as I am told (1 year) so I will be looking at moving on from an electrical smoker to a more manual charcoal smoker.

I wish I had known then what I know now. Be VERY careful if you order one of these. Unpack it and check it THOROUGHLY... IMMEDIATELY. I let mine sit a few weeks and then unpacked it. I immediately smoked some pork butts, some trays of chicken wings, some ribs, some salmon... all done to perfection.

HOWEVER... the first two times, there was a small ring of residue around one of the feet. I wiped it up and thought "I must have slopped some dirty water out when I was wiping the inside down". The third time... I knew I hadn't - and the ring was more pronounced. So I elevated the unit and looked at the bottom. It appears the leg got slightly bent in transit - and leaks a little. It also does not turn (I would have realized that if the unit had come out of whack... but it was so perfectly level I didn't have to mess with the feet). So I went back to Amazon - and the unit was only covered for 30 days. Now I have to go back to the manufacturer... and most likely that will require me shipping the unit back and forth. The cost of that will wipe out the savings I got by ordering it from Amazon. I should have bought this locally so I had a local dealer to work with on the issue.

So - my rating would be a 4 or a 5 (probably should have gone propane... but that is my fault) for the smoker itself, but as is - when you average in the negative aspect of the vendor experience (although to be honest - only my second issue ever with Amazon fulfillment... and I have ordered HUNDREDS of things from them... so still not a bad track record) - I will give it a 3.

The three stars are because the unit only lasted three years before failing to report for duty this morning in time for a big family gathering. Further, the firebox is rusted out. I found the racks too narrow for full ribs. It should be about four inches wider. Other than that, with just occasional use, it worked okay. I liked the digital controls, set it and forget it. I will upgrade to a larger and sturdier unit after shopping for the next week.

I've been smoking with this model for about two years now and finally decided to post a review. For the money, it's been great. It keeps a pretty steady temp and I've not had any problems with it** (see update below). There is just one drawback - there is an area in the back right corner of all of the racks where you can't put anything or it gets turned to charcoal. The smoker box is in the bottom right and the smoke vent in the top right. I am guessing the smoke travels this path and is what's causing this phenomenon. It's unfortunate because about 1/4 of your rack space is unusable. I had never smoked anything before buying this smoker so it was a low cost way for me to experiment and dial in recipes and technique. I've outgrown this little guy and will start looking for a larger and more sophisticated smoker, but this was a great starter box.

****Update literally 30 minutes after I wrote the original review*****
I had jerky in marinade which made me think to write the review in the first place. I'll be danged if I didn't go out to turn the smoker on and it wouldn't turn on. It kept blowing the GFI. I checked all the obvious/easy things (plug, cord, control box) for exposed/shorted wires and no such luck. I looked online and have found it's pretty common for the wires inside to corrode over time. Unfortunately, my afternoon plans just became very different. The back is riveted on, so the only way to remove it is to drill the rivets out and track down the shorted wires. Reduced my review by a star.

I have had this for four years and two months, worked very well. I found that the stainless steel drip pan was a poor quality stainless, it developed a rust hole in it within six months. To me that wasn't a big deal. It worked very well for another three and half years. On thanksgiving it was exactly four wears old I was smoking a turkey. I checked on it a few times and after about an hour into smoking I noticed the temperature went way over what I had set it. I also found that I could not turn it off or reset it, I opened the door and the turkey was burned up on the outer part.

I found out the part that went out is in the bottom on the smoker and is not replaceable. This is a shame, mechanically it's well built but I can't believe they put the hart of the thing in the bottom and filled it with glue so it can't be replaced.

This is the second of their products I've owned, and they all share the same problem. Their electronics just are not made for being outside.

The rubber cover the use over the buttons will shrink and in the first weather simply detach and blow away. A cover just slows the eventual failure. Heat shrinks it, I don't store my grills in an A/C space.

Considering this is supposed to be the product for "lazy smokers" (I gladly admit I wanted a buy, use, and forget product) it's just not worth the trouble. I'm now looking at the much simpler products that use fifty year old thermostat technology and you can buy a probe to go with it.

With today's smartphones why bother with something that takes five steps to pairs on wifi and forgets every third use. Why two stars instead of one? Because the product is fine if you put it in a completely enclosed area with screened wind walls. But if you are in that world you're not buying something like this to begin with, and you still get the same benefit just setting your smartphone timer to remind you when to change the chips.

"Siri set timer to 45 minutes". Done.

Replacement policy is you go outside and write down serial numbers, call in to some very young men, and they waste the next thirty minutes of your time explaining why you cannot just order a replacement electronic monitor. This is the most insulting part. The monitor is completed bolted on, you connect the sensor threw a standard hole in the wall. Making me call a teenager when I just wanted a replacement unit is absurd, and don't pretend your bolt-on unit is unique from month to month. The one on my 40" was exactly the same shape and fit as the same device on my 30" I bought years ago.

Won't get fooled again. So much for buying American. By the way, not manufactured in America.

It's pretty crazy that a device that needs to be used outdoors tells you that it can't get wet! You can buy a custom cover for it, but after a local shower I found water on top of the smoker under the cover!

The nicest thing about the smoker is the insulation, so I can cook in chilly weather. The insulation has a downside though; once up to temperature the heating element doesn't run much. The element only generates smoke from wood chips when it's running for reasonable periods.

I also like the thermostatic control. On the other hand, it's real work to clean this thing. Overall, my old Brinkman cylinder smoker worked just as well.

First of let me say that say that when it works its great. With that said, I did contact masterbuilt about 40ish days after i received the item. The smoker was two major flaws. One the built in temperature sensor is completely wrong (which is what I contacted masterbuilt regarding). When I set the Smoker at 220, my first smoke was done very quickly (over cooked) I then went out and purchased a Maverick ET-733 and also used my buddies to ensure the heat readings on both were accurate. At 220 on the MES my and my buddies ET-733 where at 256 and 259 respectively. Way to hot for smoking low and slow.

The second major issue that I have is my unit powers on and off at times (usually right when I plug it in), I store it in my attached garage out of the weather, with a cover (though I don't need the cover), I have had it turn off in the middle of two smokes, luckily there were both small cuts of meat/appetizers and I was able to unplug and plug it back in. Like I said I have most issues when I first plug it in. It flickers on and off and then I have to unplug it usually 2-3 times and its good after that. I've had it less than a year and I am not 100% happy at all, hopefully I just had a defective unit, but the customer support rep I spoke to was not very helpful either. When it totally breaks and im sure it will I dont know if I will purchase another Masterbuilt, even though it has pretty solid reviews I would like to stay away from a second unit with issues.

The bad:
The product turned on and off on its own. Even when plugged directly into an outlet.
The temperature button stopped working within the 4th time smoking.
It took over an hour to get on with customer service.

The good:
The built in meat thermometer was accurate (according to 2nd device).
The MES 40 (when it stayed on) actually kept its temperature.
The customer service was pretty helpful.

Overall, these smokers are hit and miss. Of the reviews I have read, if they work then they are pretty good...but when they don't they are nothing but problems.

When I am on the market again would be more likely to get a smoker with less bells and whistles (i.e. electronics) and buy a dual thermometer and a simple gas or electric smoker. Less things to go wrong and easier to fix.

Last time I'll buy a Masterbuilt. They changed the warranty from 12 months to 90 days, and wouldn't you know it, it crapped out after 9 months.
Electric component shorted out and kicks the circuit breaker every time I try to turn it on.

This smoker has not fully functioned properly. I bought for a bday gift for my husband at the end of October and then we got busy with the holidays. We should have returned it sooner but with the warranty only being 90 days and its not something you use often we found out to late. Really disheartening when you buy a product that is shotty from the first use. It shuts off randomly and there are a ton of complaints of this same issue around the web. I wouldn't recommend it to friends or family.

Stopped working after about 10 uses. Bought Dec 22, 2014 it is now Sep 21, 2015. It keeps tripping the GFI breaker. Tried other outlets and it kept doing the same thing. Also kept under patio out of weather. DO NOT BUY.

Brand new out of box defective popped circuit breakers everytime i plugged it in. This seems to be a very common problem with this model once i search internet. Wish i had not have used reviews on amazon before purchase or i would not have bought this product. I am giving this product a second chance as i am exchanging for another one. If the second one is bad i will ask for refund. Factory that manufacturers this should plug units in prior to boxing and shipping out.

Update: Well like so many others here, my smoker stopped working last weekend after only 17 months. From reading other reviews here, I'd say it's the wiring that has burnt out as the control unit still works. Also before it died completely it was tripping the GFI outlet just as described by others here. Doesn't sound like it's worth repairing either as it will just burn out again due to poor design and construction. So disappointed as when it worked, I was able to produce some amazing product out of it. I was so happy with this smoker! I have had it since March 2012 & used it on a frequent basis and always stored it indoors when not in use. Everything that I have smoked in it has turned out amazing. It is extremely easy to use & consistent in it's results. Like wise, ribs are very easy to get perfect, as is pork shoulder.