Weber 2820 Smokey Mountain Cooker/Smoker

Received product quickly. Bottom section was out of round, but was replaced by customer service with a simple phone call. Have not made a bad meal on this smoker and would definately recommend to any new or experienced smoker. Love the web site devoted to this smoker. Great recipes and cooking advise.

A little under a year ago I bought this smoker. There has only been a couple weekends pass that I did not have smoke rolling out of the lid. This lil machine has givin me the BBQ bug. A passion. If your even considering buying this unit, do it. NOW! ;) And if your looking for a little advice on what to do with it visit http://www.thevirtualweberbullet.com.

Brandon

Has anyone at Weber ever actually used one of these? For the money I spent, I was disappointed with what I got. There are so many basic, small "tweaks" they could make to this product to make it truly outstanding, and truly worth the money. My biggest three:

1. How do you not include a temperature gauge in the lid??? For the money you charge??? Please... I had to install my own.

2. It's WAY TOO LOOSE. Smoke leaks out between the base, the center ring, the lid, and the door. It would be such an easy matter for Weber to put fiber o-rings around the base and lid to prevent this, and also find a less cheesy, chintzy way for the door to fasten, that would prevent smoke getting out and air getting in!!! It would make temperature control so much more precise and not require constant monitoring.

3. The way the body rings overlap is backwards from what it should be - and so, when it rains, the rain flows down the lid and sides, and INTO THE UNIT!!! Such that the base becomes filled with water and extinguishes the fire!!! Why would they make these in the reverse way as they make their grills (e.g., on their grills, the lid overlaps the base around the edges not the other way around)??? It's idiotic, thus leading to my question above - has anyone at Weber ever actually used one of these?

Overall - It works fine, once you jury rig a thermometer and pay constant attention to it, and keep it out of the rain, but for the money I spent I expected a lot more. If I wanted a unit that leaked smoke and let in air all over the place, and filled up with water every time it happens to storm during the 12 - 18 hour periods over which I like to smoke, and didn't have a temperature gauge, and has to be constantly monitored for temperature, I could have spent half what I spent on this unit and gotten the same result. Steer clear of these until Weber fixes the fundamental design flaws.

I've used the smoker about 5 times now. I am still getting the hang of it. My chicken comes out wonderful, tender with a great smokey flavor. I haven't had much luck with other meats. They have the smokey flavor I am looking for, but they tend to come out dry. I've even use a meat thermometer so that I don't have to open the lid, but the temperature in the cooker fluctuates enough that the meat temp fluctuates. The cooker is very handy in that it can be used as a bbq pit also.

I have several BBQ's and this one tops them all when it comes to control and burn time. A real no brainer when it comes to controling the temp. Long burn times (10-14 hours) with a full load of lump charcoal and wood. All you do is turn down the 3 bottom vents to get the temperture that you want. Great for Briskets and pork butts, okay for ribs (I hate to curl them to make them fit). Only problem no thermometer, but you can fix that pretty quick if your handy with a drill.