Cuisinart 18” Vertical Charcoal Smoker, Integrated Thermometer, Water Bowl and Dual Vents Perfect for Smoked Brisket, Chrome Plated Grates Smoker Grill for BBQ, Camping, Tailgates

Worthy of the description.Priced to make my day, this item was excellentNot too easy to assemble but it works just fine.

Purchased the Cuisinart 118 nearly four years ago to learn the basics of smoking and to figure out if it was really my jam, before unloading on a more expensive model in a year or two. Smoking is now my jam and this unit is responsible.Pros:- Easy to maintain and set up. Fill the coal grate and ring with a decent amount of charcoal (depending on cook time) and ensure the shape you've created looks more like an ant lion larva's conical sand trap, rather than a pile, keeping the prepped coals in the middle to slowly burn out and down. The chimney takes about 20 minutes to get those hot coals ready. Leave the top cylinder off the base after dumping the prepped coals into the shape you've made for another 20 minutes with the bottom vent wide open. Latch the cylinder in place and allow the unit another 20 minutes get to temp, toss on some wood chunk, tighten up the bottom air intake (I've never needed to open it more than 1/4 of the way) and you're good to go. I've made pork shoulders and been able to keep the smoker going at a 225 grate temp for over 8 hours without needing to add more charcoal, so this thing can go for quite some time when properly used. It just takes time to figure it out and you may use more charcoal than you need early on. Wood chunk coal tends to burn too fast and ash out in an unreasonable amount of time, so save that for quick use cooks like burgers / steaks and use Kingsford briquets for long haul cooking.- Holds up to the elements. Mine sits on an exposed back porch with only the cover to protect it. I keep saying I'm getting that better smoker this summer... but why, when there is nothing wrong with my current rig?Cons:- Kind of thin. On cold, windy days, a barricade is needed to allow the unit to stay up to temp without burning through fuel.Tips and Mods:- That water pan? Meh, I don't fill it. I put a flat sheet of foil over it, like a drum, to keep fats and drippings from burning in the bottom and giving food an off-putting flavor. Put it in before the grates and certainly before attaching it to a hot base...- Use a probe for accurate grate temps. No dial thermometer should really be trusted, especially after you've put the meat on. It will appear cooler than it is.- I added another shelf between the two provided. I didn't like my bottom layer that close to the pan's heat.- The side vent leaks. LEAKS! A gasket for grills and smokers will fix that when applied to where it overlaps the body. For a while, I moved another grill I own against the handle to keep it closed tighter.- Smoking in the winter or in cold temps (20's-40's) can burn through fuel and it's hard to keep the smoker up to temp. I use a cheap welder's blanket wrapped around the unit (but not the base or legs) and 3 heavy duty clips to hold it in place to keep it hot. This uses very little charcoal and you may even need to fully close the bottom vent to keep the heat from running away on you.- Look stuff up! Other people have been doing this a while and have webpages dedicated to ensuring you become an AMAZING cook

The smoker performs really well once you tweak it a bit. Kind of cheap made, but able to over look it. Easy to use. Get a new temp gauge right out the get go. The one it comes with is total trash. Next get some smoker grill gasket. This thing leaks like a sieve. Once you get a new temp gauge and sealed up. The smoker works well. Holds temp for me really nice… now. So far have done quite a few styles of meat and no complaints yet. Not bad for the price.

I've had this smoker for about 2 weeks, and I've used it 5-6 times now. First off, like others have said, the temp gauge is completely useless. You should really invest in a good probe if you get this smoker. The charcoal ring is pretty thin and bendable, but it is not flimsy. The cooking grates are actually about 16½ inches in diameter. The overall outside diameter is 18 inches, so if you are planning on smoking a full rack of ribs, you will have to trim it a bit. Following the manufacturers instuctions, maintaining temps around 250°F is incredibly easy at sea level, ±25°. The charcoal chamber is small, which requires reloading after about an hour & a half or so. The overall construction and fit & finish is to be expected at this price range, but the material is decently thick. You will need approximately 45 minutes, a few metric sockets, and a philips head screwdriver to assemble it. A pair of channel locks won't hurt either.

The quality control is dreadful. No-one at the factory checked to make sure the fasteners were included in the box. I spent over an hour on the phone, before spending the afternoon and many dollars buying all the many sizes of bolts, nuts and washers needed to put it together. If they aren't going to remember to put the fasteners in the box, the least they could do is to make them all the same size so you don't have to buy so many different sizes.The temp guage is off by about 50 degrees, so you will have to get one of those too. Get it while you are at the hardware store so you don't have to make two trips.The door leaks. The top rack gets very little smoke since it all leaks out before it gets there. You will have to get on Amazon and buy something to seal the door with.The door is also slightly too big at the bottom. It only opens a couple of inches before it hangs up. You will have to trim a bit off with you angle grinder to make it work.The clamps holding the top and bottom together are very cheap and nasty. Plan on getting something to replace those to.The lid fits perfectly when it's cold. When you light a fire and the barrel expands, the lid no longer fits. You will have to tap the rim out a bit all around with a hammer to make it fit when it's hot. This will chip the enamel if you are not careful.You get what you pay for, unsurprisingly. It is cheap in price and cheap in quality.

There are YouTubes you can watch to help you learn how to smoke with charcoal. Its very helpful. Use 1/2 a gallon of water for most smokes. Will do a brisket or a chicken or ribs very well. With charcoal you will have to mind the unit at least every 2 hours. A chicken takes 2.5 hours approximately. Ribs take 6.Compact and light. Easily stored and cleaned. You need to dump the ash every smoke so you don't rust out the lower vent. The analog thermometer close to correct. I always use a digital prob through the top vent.