40-inch Digital Electric Vertical BBQ Smoker with Leg Kit, Side Wood Chip Loader and 970 Cooking Square Inches in Black, Model MB20070122

This is my second purchase of this specific model and two things stick out about its care: 1) Get a good cover to keep, especially rain out of it. After about 4 years, I replaced the heating element and the digital control unit due to the fact that MasterBuilt's own cover was not waterproof (I bought an EVRBUL cover which seems very good so far and has side velcro straps to prevent wind from blowing it away), but the shorted-out electrical wiring was the eventual failure. 2) When cleaning do NOT get the inside walls or bottom very wet. Yes, after a while you should wipe down the insides to prevent any fire, but I overdid my cleaning and got too much water inside the unit which also led to electrical shorts and the eventual replacement of the entire smoker. The smoker itself is very easy to put together and a strong selling point about this model is that it sits on stands that keep (natural) moisture out of the unit from the bottom. It does an excellent job of maintaining temperature, as my experience is the temp will only fluctuate 3+ degrees (I generally smoke in the 215-220 degree range) before the heating element will come on to raise it and then go off when its reached the set temperature. Prior models came with a temperature probe and this one does not. That's not a big issue for me as generally, 9 racks of ribs will do fine at 215 degrees for 7+ hours and a good sized brisket or pork butt will take about 13 hours at the same temperature. I recommend taking advantage of the water pan which only needs filling once even for 12+ hours of smoking. "Wet" smoking always seems to give you more juicy, tender meat (I even will put aluminum foil over my meat) and the pan is a very nice size for holding a lot of water. For the smoking "purists" who question using an electric smoker vs. the old fashioned way, I would put the results of this smoker against any other method used to smoke meats - not to mention the "maintenance" while smoking.is pretty minimal with this guy. I know everyone has their own opinions on how long to add smoke, but I've found out don't be fooled by the small size of the wood chipper. Personally, during the first two hours, I fill up the bin and add more chips to it about every 30 minutes (I soak my chips before adding which really generates smoke). A nice feature of refilling is the loader is on the outside of the smoker and you do not have to open the door, which would lose heat if you had to refill chips inside the smoker. I would say this is a good price for a smoker that doesn't require full-time attention while using it - especially if you are looking at hours and hours of smoking. Since you also set the digital timer, the smoker will go off after time expires. With normal care and not subjecting the smoker to harsh outside elements, you should get years of service from it. And most likely the only two things you might have to replace over time and use are the heating element (~$50) and the control unit (~$25). There are videos on YouTube for replacing the heating element and the control unit is two screws and a plug - both can be done DIY.

Arrived with some dents but overall is a great smoker.

Since it arrived, in late May. I've managed to smoke 3 or 4 briskets. But only after switching to using pellets in stead of wood chips. Pellets burn just hot enough to add to the temperature. With wood chips, and the smoker set to 275 degrees (the maximum this can be set to), it would struggle to get to a temperature above 200. With 3 different ambient temperature probes, all of which were within a few degrees of each other... so I trust them more than the Masterbuilt builtin one. Once did the forbidden thing and tried wood pellets from a pellet smoker, in this one, the temperature managed to get to just above 230 degrees, set at 275. That's JUST barely above normal low and slow temperature of 225 degrees. Two of the briskets turned out very good, the other two? I couldn't get the smoker hot enough to get past the stall point at around 160 degrees fast enough, on wrapped in foil at the stall, the other in butcher paper at the stall. They both turned out extemely dry even spritzing every 15 minutes with apple cider vinegar and water. The temperature control is NON EXISTENT. The two that turned out good, were because I wrapped early, at 140 degrees and bypassed the stall at 160 to 170 altogether. BUT... that meant only around 3 hours of smoke infusion, reducing the already questionable smoke flavor even more. I'm smoking my final brisket on this smoker. Which I don't have one single prayer for. It stalled at 172 degrees, already wrapped, and stayed there for the past hour and half, finally just now rising to 174 degrees. The smoker is set at 275 degrees... and the top vent is closed down all I can close it to, and the ambient temp is only 198 degrees. I can already guarantee it's dry as a bone and tough as nails, but I'll pull the brisket at 175, to try to salvage it. I just can't anymore after this. Briskets cost too much to take the chance on having it ruined by shoddy workmanship. I have ordered a pellet smoker from one of the other brands of vertical smokers. and a smoke tube for pellets to add smoke flavor since pellet smokers are notorious for not producing as much. I can't, in good conscience, recommend this smoker. Absolutely not. And this is the second Masterbuilt I've had. The first one was ok, but it only had that electric skillet temperature dial on the side, and not removable wood chip replacement tube. So you had to open the door, take out the wood chip tray, fill it, and then open the door again to put it back in, losing every bit of heat.sa

Used it several times (20) plus never had problems either it. Hold heat good. Only downside is amount of chips for 10 hours cook must refill every 30 to 45 minutes

First of all, the directions say it takes about 25 minutes to assemble. Don't believe a word of that. The only way it would take 25 minutes is if you have had practiced multiple times and used a few power assistance tools. Using just an adjustable wrench and a Philips screwdriver per the instructions, add about 3 hours. In another words, take your time and assemble carefully per the instructions. As you can see from the photos, it didn't fare undamaged from the shipping aspect. The shippers/FedEx dumps it off on your doorstep and escapes before you can get to the box. I was just hoping the internals had fared better. Once I got the box opened and its contents out, I could see that the backplane took some light damage to where a couple pop rivets 'popped'. For the price, I took the gamble that there wasn't more internal damage and this was just cosmetic. Of course the wife says to send it back after I spent the three hours assembling. I wasn't about to reverse the entire assembly process to do so. Follow the instructions on the initial curing process. My first venture was to do baby back pork ribs. I decided to follow a 2-1-1 hour, 250 degree, recipe process. You basically add more flavored wood every 30 minutes for the first couple of hours. Very simple to do. Oh, you just program your cooking temp and forget. No messing with charcoal/etc. and readjusting the temp. At the end of 4 hours, I had the best ribs I've ever cooked. They were so juicy and smokey. So if you want to venture into smoking foods, this unit is simple to operate, thus a good starter system for a low initial cost. Just pray that it survives the shipping. The box could have used some additional internal protection.

Great smoker. I have 2 other but are smaller ones. All 3 work great. Easy operation

Husband loves. Tall an holds alot of items. Easy to see inside with glass, but wash after each use. Easy to set timer an temp. So we have used this smoker since we got in June or July, an last week it just quit working !! An i can't find where to report. Paid alot for junk..

It was damaged on the back side of it. We didn’t have time to send it back and get another so my husband fixed it. But still l, whek you spend that kind of money it shouldn’t arrive damaged.

Great smoker

Set the temp and load for smoke. You can smell the results Masterbuilt will help you achieve.!

The smoker works great very happy. Unfortunately it showed up with damage. Their is a dent in the top where the electric controls mount. The control box cannot be Installed into the keyway slot provided because of the dent. The box had damage on it like it had been dropped or hit or something. Great product just wish it showed up in mint condition for the price.