Hi everyone,
I'm thinking about getting a 4 rack digital to augment my Weber Smokey Mountain (WSM) smoker. I have a few concerns/questions though.
One of the reasons I want a BS is because its impossible to start a casual smoke session without the investment of a few hours of prep time. As it stands now I must clean the WSM, start some lump in the chimney, load up with additional lump (minion method), foil and fill the water bowl, plug in and set the guru, wait for the temps to come up, add the wood chunks and finally put the ribs on. Overall this process takes about two hours. The idea of doing a simple smoked meatloaf is out of the question because there is so much lead time required. My question is, how long does it take from the time you decide to do a cook, to you actually put the meat in.
Another question I have is about the steadiness of temps during long cooks. I am looking to do brisket/butt overnight cooks and i'm wondering if the temps will hold in the 235 degree range for 12-18 hours.
I'm also wondering about maintenance and cleanup of the BS, and also about storage. Is it feasable to carry the unit in after cleaning it and storing it in the basement or is it too bulky/heavy/dirty to even consider that.
As far as cooking, can anyone let me know the size of the racks, and if its possible to use a rib rack inside of it for cooking 4 or 5 racks at a time.
If the unit is outside and it rains on it is there any danger of damage to the BS, and will the temps drop drastically.
Has anyone out there done some butts overnight then added ribs near the end of the cook, any good/bad experiences with this (temp spikes dips etc...), can smoke discs be added at any time or only at the beginning.
Is the 6 rack model worth the extra $100 ? at most I would do a butt/brisket and a few racks at a time.
Sorry for all the stupid questions but electric smokers are new to me i've been smoking for years though using charcoal.
Thanks everyone for your help, and if anyone can add any tips i'd greatly appreciate it.
Norm