Weber 2820 Smokey Mountain Cooker Smoker
Futures
Measures 41 by 19 by 19 inches; comes with Weber cookbook, heavy-duty vinyl cover, and 10-year limited warranty;Outdoor charcoal smoker; offers ample room; smoke a turkey and a ham at same time;Bowl and lid made of premium-grade steel; coated with porcelain enamel; won't rust or fade;2 triple-nickel-plated, 18-1/2-inch-diameter cooking grates; rust-resistant aluminum vents and fuel door;Glass-reinforced nylon handle; porcelain-enameled water pan creates steam to keep meats moist;
Customer Review:
Great smoker but no thermometer
I tried my new smoker over the weekend, it worked great, but I had to add my own thermometers. Weber states that they will never put a thermometer in their smoker, but gave me a web sight that showed me the installation process. If your going to cook low and slow, you ought have an idea what temperature your cooking at! Can't wait to use it again, nor can the people that came over to sample my trial experiment.
Excellent slow cooker
I am very satisfied with the Smokey Mountain cooker. It holds temperature nicely and the user's learning curve is expedited by the Cooker web site: http://www.virtualweberbullet.com/ I have found that I seem to need a bit more airflow (vents more open) than the instructions on the web site say.
This is the first smoker I've had that I can confidently leave for a few hours and know it will hold its temperature. I'd give it 5 stars except for a couple things.
1. Weber should equip the cooker with a good thermometer and handles on the side of the main cooker body to ease fire maintenance. The web site gives good tips for doing this yourself. Don't know why they don't put a thermometer on there, but the handles were probably nixed by lawyers who don't want customers handling a hot vessel.
2. Haven't done a real long cook yet(12 plus hours)to evaluate how much fire maintenance is needed to keep temperatures steady. Minimal fire maintenance for 5 - 8 hours cooking time.
Poor Quality Control
Well, I did my research and found out four things about the Weber Smokey Mountain Cooker...1) It's one of the best home, and even competition, smokers out there and can help cue-heads like myself make some great food, 2) It's pricey - probably with a healthy mark-up, 3) the materials used to make the smoker are of decent to high quality, and 4) the initial quality of construction or packing at the factory can often be "spotty" and/or inconsistent...with all in mind I ordered a WSM from Amazon...
The box arrived unhurt indicating smooth shipping...I opened the package and found a damaged charcoal bowl...severe chipping, a flat spot, and way out of round...this was frustrating so I called Weber Customer Service who would replace the bowl BUT they didn't have an estimate as to when a bowl would ship and to call back in a week to see IF there would be an estimate...given that I ordered the smoker as a present for father's day and the weekend I said "no" to placing my name on the waiting list and called Amazon...to their credit they shipped me a new one and picked up the damaged WSM...
The second smoker arrived showing an unhurt box...I opened the box and saw no chipping but then I noticed that one of the rivets on the charcoal bowl holding a heat vent was poorly installed with the vent swinging freely with no resistance (it opened and closed on its own)...I explored further and found the charcoal bowl over 1/2" out of round...I am sending back the second WSM for a refund...looks like I'm out of luck for father's day...
In both cases these problems should have been caught at Weber's factory and I'm finding that even on the pro-WSM discussion boards there are lots of discussions centered upon a recent lack of quality control. I am going to get a WSM BUT I'm going to find one locally so that I can deal with any issues quicker and review the initial quality of the smoker BUT I'll pay more for this privilege in my area...so, in other words, due to Weber's inability to maintain quality control at their factory I'll have to spend even more $$...if the potential of this smoker wasn't so great I'd have given up on it...
My advice for new buyers of the WSM given my experience and research is this...it's got a long distinguished history and many folks today get their WSM in fine shape...on the other hand...BUYER BEWARE...things at Weber seem to be slipping a bit during the manufacturing process BUT their customer service is usually very good...(they should get it right the first time though!)...look over the contents of your package very carefully...look for out of round bowls, chipping, missing parts, and so on...you're paying not to put up with even minor issues...Good Luck!
Keywords: Apartment Patio;
Outdoor Cooking;
Smokers;
Barbecue;
(BBQ);
(Barbeque);
Home;
Grilling;
