Smokers - Electric or Charcoal?

Get a Bradley electric. You can't go wrong for the price. (Cabelas)I love mine.

I started with a Brinkmann electric, like the red one in the pic above, and progressed to an upright propane smoker that I like a whole lot more. I appreciate the easy access and the ability to control the temp. (And I can take it places where there's no electricity)

surgetech, being that you are from michigan, an LP is really the best for all year smoking. *Most electrics won't compete with freezing outside temps in the winter.

I like to use a little wood, like some peach tree, cherry tree, mesquite, or something like that. Mix that in with the charcoals or let it burn to create some smoke.

Fred.

I have a Masterbuilt and it does a fine job, cleanly and without monitoring it constantly. Outside of reloading chips every 45 minutes or so 2 or 3 times and wrapping at the proper time, it is hands off.
For my 5er I have this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Brinkmann-SmokeN-Single-Charcoal-Smoker/dp/B008E12C1C/ref=sr_1_58?ie=UTF8&qid=1370549184&sr=8-58&keywords=brinkmann+smoker
I replaced the leg bolts with new SS bolts and wing nuts. I remove the legs and flip the lid upside down and it doesn't take up much room. I also have the electric coil for it so I can do charcoal or electric.

I started off with a propane unit, which i still have but seldom use anymore. I'm using a wood/charcoal burner with the offset fire box now, and enjoy it immensely. Just seems more authentic, although the flavor between the 2 is not that different. The propane worked well too.

I have a Char Broil off set smoker (wood), and I have a Brinkman Gourmet electric bullet smoker. I also use my Weber Gold Kettle to smoke.

Off set is to big and uses to much wood to take camping, but I can smoke large pieces of beef or pork on it, also I can vary the temperature easily.

The bullet smoker works great!! Plug it in and it delivers 250 degrees for as long as I need, cooking area is fairly small (two racks of ribs,maybe three if i use a rack), hard to get consistent smoke,,so I added a "Smoke Daddy"cold smoke generator.. Works great, I have done tri-tip,chicken,ribs and salmon on it and I like it!! Lite and small enough to take camping with us.

Weber kettle works great as a smoker, I bought an indirect coal rack set and I can smoke at 250-300 degrees for two or more hours with out having to add more coals. Kettle is to bulky to take camping but we did buy a "Smokey Joe" to keep in the trailer,,, works good for the two of us...

Depending on your budget will depend on what you purchase, treager makes great electric pellet units that are light enough to take camping,,do some research and attend some bbq compititions and ask around,,, Good luck Happy Smoking!!!

I have used charcol and propane smokers.

I now have the best one that I have ever used,it is easy,clean and does the best job of all of them. It is THE SMOKIN TEX Just set it on the temp you want and walk away,no refilling the wood chips.

It may not be as portable as some but I have taken it along camping.

It does draw a crowd whan you fire it up.

MasterBuilt is the way to go...have been using ours for 5 years. It does a great job. We get tons of compliments on the stuff that comes out of it.

I have an electric MasterBuilt 30" smoker and my parents have the 40" model. It does a fine job of smoking. I set it a 225 degrees and it just runs. can be set between 100 and 275 degrees and is digitally controlled. I dont' want to have to tend to charcoal all day long in a charcoal one. Propane for me is out, more hassle and another bottle to keep around.

I put my Boston Butt's in at around 5-6pm. Load wood chips every hour for the first 3-4 hours, then go to bed for the night. the next morning, it is almost done cooking and i have done hardly any work at all.

I personally cannot taste the difference between stuff cooked on a charcoal, propane, or electric smoker. Just pick one that you like best.