Piece of Garbage

I used it twice and threw it away--money wasted. The biggest flaw is the absence of any temperature control. Serious barbeque--which is what I bought it for--cooks at 200-225 degrees. This thing roars along at about 375. That might work for poultry, but is way too hot for good beef or pork barbeque. Since there is also no way to control the venilation--Brinkman probably saved themselves 50 cents in manufacturing cost by leaving this off--I drilled holes in the top but that didn't help. Still too hot. I was also disappointed with the lousy construction and the fact that parts were missing from mine. Finally, the instruction book needs to be clearer that the water pan MUST be kept full. I was cooking a pork shoulder and didn't want the extra moisture so I ran it dry. Within a few hours, the accumulated fat ignited and resulted in a pillar of flame about four feet high which burnt the paint off the smoker. It was on my deck at the time and had it caught my house on fire I would have immediately filed a suit against Brinkman.

After throwing this away I bought a Masterbuilt propane smoker. It was only $30 more, much better constructed, and holds the temperature where I wanted it.