Masterbuilt® 30-inch Digital Electric Vertical BBQ Smoker with Leg Kit, Side Wood Chip Loader and 710 Cooking Square Inches in Black, Model MB20070421

I have purchased this smoker twice. The first one ran great for 3 years, but finally the heating element burned out. It's now in my garage awaiting warm weather so I can install the replacement element that I ordered online and will serve as a backup when the heating element burns out in my current smoker. The elements will burn out after a time, particularly when you use a smoker as often as I do (3 or 4 times a week year-round).Unboxing and doing the minor assembly required for this smoker is quick and easy. It took me less than 30 minutes.Spending more on an electric smoker with a window is a waste, in my view, because the glass quickly gets fogged with steam and smoke residue. Besides, you should be cooking to internal temperature with a good remote temperature probe instead of opening the door periodically (letting heat and smoke escape) to check on progress.Speaking of not opening the door while cooking, I'm a huge fan of this smoker's external smokewood loading feature that allows you to add wood without opening the door.Pre-heating the smoker is important in cold weather. Up to a 30 minutes may be necessary. Pre-heating is not so necessary during the warm/hot spring/summer/fall months if the outside temperature is above 60̊ F. In fact, there is a good reason to skip pre-heating entirely on really warm days (over 80̊ F.), as explained in the next paragraph.Of course, the Masterbuilt electric smokers rely on a electric heating element for heat. The element automatically turns off when the smoker reaches the target temperature you set. It then turns back on when the temperature in the cabinet drops several degrees below the target temperature. While the Masterbuilt smokers are pretty well insulated, they are affected by the outdoor temperature. You will find that the element stays on much longer during colder weather, so there is hardly ever a problem getting enough smoke in such weather. However, particularly when the outdoor temperature is over 80̊ F. or so, the element will not stay on as much, which can decrease the smoke production. I have two approaches to this problem:(1) In hot weather, I never pre-heat the smoker. I just put the meat in the smoker and start it "cold." This maximizes the initial smoke until the smoker gets to the target temperature, which can takes as little as 10 minutes in really hot weather if you're cooking at, say, 225̊.(2) Every once in a while if not enough smoke is being produced, I open the door for 30 to 60 seconds and let the temperature in the cabinet come down, forcing the heating element to come back on. This hardly ever results in extended cooking time because the temperature recovers pretty quickly, and if not enough smoke is being produced anyway, you're not letting out a lot of smoke.A lot of my meat smoking projects are under 3-4 hours, and I always use the Masterbuilt for those. I'm only tempted to fire up my Weber bullet charcoal smoker for longer smokes such as ribs and brisket.Tips for easier cleanup: Line the bottom tray of the smoker with foil and be sure to poke a hole in the foil to match the hole in the tray. Also, foil the water pan before every use of the smoker, which makes it super easy to clean. Try it just once without foil, and you'll be a dedicated water-pan-foiler thereafter! Also, get a protective heat-resistant mat to go under the smoker and protect your patio or deck because there will be occasional spills of grease no matter how careful you are.The photo shows my smoker in operation on Christmas Day 2020 -- doing a twice-smoked ham. If you look closely, you can see the clean smoke coming out the vent on the top right of the smoker.

I was a little skeptical at first, but this item turned out to be exactly what I was looking for. It arrived on time and in good condition. The quality is solid, and it works just as described. Setup was straightforward, and I’ve had no issues so far. Definitely worth the price. I would recommend this to anyone considering it!

My first smoker, but thanks to it being electric it's so easy to use. Program the temperature & time right on it & forget it except for adding wood every 30 minutes (I only add wood once for light flavoring). For someone brand new at smoking, this was the best one I could have bought. I love it & the food that comes out of it is amazing! Oh, and it makes the porch & immediate area around our house smell great. I love sing people walking past the house start sniffing the air! Cleanup is super easy, too. I use an aluminum pan on the bottom rack to put a little water in & also catch the drippings, so the only thing I have to clean when I'm done is the rack the meat was on. Throw out the aluminum pan & dump the ashes from the wood chips & you're ready to go again.

Update : This unit finally stopped working (would beep when plugged in but control panel was dead) I used it at least twice a month for 2 1/2 years -it worked well despite the design issues mentioned below. Had to fix handle on chip drawer (weld broke) and paint was peeling along the and seals were warped but it smoked well up until the end It was kept in a covered patio. No real complaints.—- But Bought a different brand EAST OAK this time around. This new smoker appears to have better design for drip tray and smoker boxI will review it review after some use.——///OK , first this is an electric smoker so it will have some limitations with respect to the heat range. That said I find the smoker worked well.I have owned charcoal, gas and now this electric smoker so I’ve been around the block a few times.I have used it several times and I have smoked everything from fish to chicken to ribs they all came out well smoked and cooked through.Because of the limited chip tray you will have to replenish the chips regularly likely every 30 minutes. Also because of it being an electric smoker it may take a little longer to smoke the items than you would expect with gas or propane.Unlike others I found that this generated sufficient smoke without the need to modify the unit and move the the chip tray to sit on top of the heating element.I did however find that when smoking a lot of meat for a long period of time the unit will leak from the door I had a significant leak from the corner of the door so if you are going to use the smoker on any surface you do not want to get stained, like a wood deck or concrete patio, it would be best to place a tray or other protective device under the unit to protect from spills. I use a tray from an automotive store designed to place under a car to protect the driveway from spills- I have used it with all the smokers I owned Such as Hopkins 11430 FloTool 25" x 36" Large Drip Tray(on Amazon)One note of. Caution -when removing the water tray after smoking be very careful. It may be full and It has a tendency to tip over and spill its contents so be very careful-the design is poor and because of the long lip tends to be unstable when filled with water if you place it on a flat surface.Other than that, for an electric smoker I think it does the job well.

Bought this smoker as an anniversary gift for my husband. He loves it and has already twice and has already planned on more things.Smoker works great. Easy to use and setup. Would recommend.