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(More customer reviews)I am updating my original review and upgrading this product from 2 stars to FOUR STARS. The reason for the change is that I got the right charcoal pan from the manufacturer, and now it works much better.
Below is my original review of the smoker--to summarize, it came without two of the pans it was supposed to have, and it didn't cook very well.
After posting my orignal review, I decided to drill 6 or 8 air holes in the original hole-less charcoal pan, in hopes that the coals would burn better. I wasn't too thrilled with the result.
Now, the manufacturer has sent me the missing charcoal pan and ash pan, and I have used the smoker once more--I cooked a batch of beef that turned out very moist, tender, and tasty. Having the one hole in the middle of the charcoal pan, as the pan they sent me has, seems to be the trick--the coals burned pretty well, keeping the middle rack around 250-270 degrees F with no water pan (Using the water pan seems to keep the temperature down too low). The built-in thermometer reads in error about 50 degrees too cool (I checked it against the portable oven thermometer I normally keep in the electric oven).
With the right charcoal pan, I am happy with my Brinkmann smoker! I hope the company gets these cookers out the door with the correct charcoal pan, because when it is set up correctly, it is exactly what it ought to be-- a versatile, competent, straightforward hot smoker for slow cooking practically any piece of meat to perfection.
-------------------------Original review-------------------------------------------
I bought a large Brinkman charcoal/water smoker the day before the recent holiday weekend. The instructions refer to an 'ash pan' and a 'charcoal pan' and a 'water pan'. My smoker came with what amounts to two water pans, and no charcoal or pan or ash pan.
I think the Brinkman smoker's original design (not what they're now putting in the box) was a tried-and-true design for backyard barbequeing. In fact, 15 years ago I owned a Smokey Joe charcoal/water smoker that could have been the prototype for the Brinkman (large cylindrical smoker with charcoal and water pan and two racks). I wouldn't mind owning another Smokey Joe. Like the Smokey Joe, Brinkman's original design features a couple of porcelain-coated racks sitting above a porcelain-coated pan of water. Then the water pan sits above a porcelain-coated charcoal pan that has a hole in the bottom of it. The hole is important! It lets the rising heat of the charcoal draw fresh air into the fire. The hole also let ash fall out from the charcoal pan into the ash pan, which is waiting there to catch them, just below the charcoal pan. Smokey Joe and Brinkman are nearly identical in all respects of design, or I should say that the Brinkman owner manual describes something very similar to Smokey Joe.
Unfortunately, Brinkman did not give us a charcoal pan with a hole in it. They put a white sticker over the picture of the pan in the manual. Once they decided not to put a hole in the charcoal pan, I guess they decided we wouldn't have much use for an ash pan, either. There is no ash pan in my Brinkman Smoker box.
I faxed a request to Brinkman, asking for the missing pans, and scribbled a sympathetic note on the fax asking if they had supplier problems. They didn't respond after 4 business days (they promise a two-day response time). So, I googled 'Brinkman smoker' and read other owners' comments about the pans that are supposed to, but don't, come with the brinkman. One guy on a blog says he heard that Brinkman had liability issues with the pans because of Brinkman owners' decks catching on fire when owners wisely held their barbeques (on) wooden ground. The coals dropped out of the pan and ignited their decks!
But who knows, maybe the truth is something else, like maybe Brinkman infringed on somebody's patented design for a charcoal/water smoker. Gee, what a rip-off to still be selling the design and not even giving buyers the hardware or the means to make it work.
So anyway, I used the Brinkman Smoker for a meal during Labor Day weekend, It was pretty rough trying to get the coals to burn evenly. I started to drill a big hole or two in the pan, but then recalled the fate of my Smokey Joe--it rusted out. Drilling holes would leave the pan with no protective porcelain around the edge of the holes. Drilling would initiate the rot in the charcoal pan. So I used it as bought, with the Brinkman charcoal/water smoker burning charcoal in a pan with no fresh air inlets under the fire. The charcoal does burns (start it in a charcoal chimney) but does not burn well for long, because the ahses accumulate in the pan and tend to smother the charcoal. I found live coals in the ashes of the charcoal pan two days after I smoked the meal! I almost set my yard on fire by scattering the ash on my wild yard border.
As an owner of this ill-conceived smoker, you can look forward to pulling the hot hot charcoal pan out of the smoker every couple of hours and carefully dumping the coals and ash out, and then re-gathering the red hot coals into the pan with fresh charcoal added. Have some ice handy to sooth any burned skin you get performing this feat.
Yes, smoking food in the Brinkman, without the original pan design, is a big drag. So I called the Brinkman 1-800 number, and listened through their phone menu to where they ask you to send a fax instead of taking time with one of the busy customer service reps on the phone. As requested, I faxed my "Missing Parts" request for an ash pan and a charcoal pan. Brinkman says that will reply in email to Missing Parts faxes, within two business days. I am currently at 4 business days (and two faxes), with no sign that Brinkman intends to live up to their Customer Service promises or to make the charcoal/ash pan problem right.
I think I am probably going to shop around for a better value than the Brinkman. I will return it, used, to the people who sold it to me, since Brinkman apparently isn't even going to respond to my faxes, and I do feel entitled to more value for my money than I got with the Brinkman.
The bottom line is that the smoker heat is very hot for a while, and can be adjusted with the vents to cook in the desired heat range, but then it cools w-a-y down as the ashes and the lack of circulating fresh air eventually suffocate the charcoal. I did make smoked meat from the brinkman, but the results were very embarrassing to me as the cook. The old Smokey Joe did much much better and required only a fraction of the time and effort needed by the Brinkman for the cook to tend the fire, watch the meat, etc.
That's my $.02 worth, hope it helps someone make a good decision and get value if they buy a charcoal/water smoker. Good Luck~!
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