What smoker should I get?

[Night goat]

+1 more for the Bradley

Only downside is chips are a little spend

But as mentioned, set and forget.

Kinda nice being able to slap something together after work and Go to bed, and have it done by morning to eat it for dinner

Bradley also has an off set fire box kit so you can do a true cold smoke like a old world butcher would have for doing bacon and cheeses and sausages and stuff

Ive found that most smokers only give you the option to slow cook with smoke, where as you can do a true cold smoke for curing stuff without any heat.... If its 40 deg outside, your food can smoke at 40 deg, or you can crank it all the way up to almost 300 if needed.... Bradleys give you a huge range of temperatures

They offer 2 sizes and standard or digital and programable

[Dtray332]

I have a Rec Tec 680 (Pellet Smoker). It is a model from a few years ago, there are new models now. I like the Rec Tec models, because they hold 40 lbs of pellets and constructed of 304 stainless steel and it is really heavy duty. I also have the additional smoker box on the side which is great for cold smoking. When I grill steak or pork chops, I cold smoke them for about 3 hours first, then turn the heat up on the grill. When what ever you are smoking gets about 30 degrees short of your desired temperature, move whatever you are smoking onto the searing grill. When it reaches 15 degrees short, flip it. It is the best grilled meats I have ever eaten. 

[KFhunter]

the MB doesn't like sunshine, the control panel film peeled off so I don't know what buttons are what, good thing I have the remote.

[GameHunter1959]

Beware when it comes to buying a Bradley. I’ve submitted 3 warranty claims and on my 4th unit in 2.5 years. First unit; heating element caught in fire and burned up my smoker. Second unit; digital box malfunctioned with an “Error” message, which would not go away or reset itself. Third unit; heating element went out the second time I used it. They have amazing customer service and will take care of you, but I question the quality of their units. Most guys buy a second heating element, because they are extremely sensitive units. If it’s cold or windy outside, it will struggle to maintain temperature, resulting in needing to install a second heating element. When they work, they work amazing! But I think the smoker Lowe’s offers for $299 is the most efficient on the market. I still use my Bradley but cross my fingers each use.

[Alchase]

Weird, I have two Bradleys, and have nothing but praise for them.
I am on the Bradley forums fairly regularly, I don't recall hearing of those type issues. Not saying they do not have their issues, but mine have been flawless.
My Non-digital 4-rack (my fish smoker) is now 15 years old and still going strong. My Digital unit is six years old, I use it for everything, but fish,  .

I would be fuming mad if mine malfunctioned like you described that sucks.

[GameHunter1959]

Weird, I have two Bradleys, and have nothing but praise for them.
I am on the Bradley forums fairly regularly, I don't recall hearing of those type issues. Not saying they do not have their issues, but mine have been flawless.
My Non-digital 4-rack (my fish smoker) is now 15 years old and still going strong. My Digital unit is six years old, I use it for everything, but fish,  .

I would be fuming mad if mine malfunctioned like you described that sucks.

After speaking with their Engineers, they openly admitted that the digital 4 rack is a virtually flawless unit compared to the digital 6 rack. They admitted they have a design issue with the 6 rack, which they are working on improving. They told me that probably 80% of their service issues are related to the 6 rack. The issue with the 6 rack is the larger interior space. 1 heating element does not generate enough heat; especially during windy or cold conditions. Because the heating element struggles to reach or maintain internal temps, the user will max out the temp setting in an attempt to raise and maintain their desired temp. This puts too much stress on the heating element and eventually it will 1) Overheat, catch fire, and burn up your smoker. 2) Malfunction and need to be replaced. As a result; Bradley recommends installing a second heating element to be installed towards the top of the smoker to balance and sustain temps, and reduce stressing heating element #1. People like the 6 rack because of larger size To smoke more meat using the same amount of wood pucks. I highly recommend the 4 rack and would stay away from the 6 rack. If I wasn’t so invested in my 6 rack I’d go buy a 4 rack. Id also mention the 6 rack is a high maintenance unit. Because of the internal temp issues the meat needs to be rotated every 15-30 minutes or it will smoke and cook unevenly. The closer the meat is to the heating element the harder it is to achieve consistency throughout the meat.

[weatherbow21]

I really need to get a new smoker, the only suggestion I've seen here that would really work for me is a Bradley, just not sure I want to go that route.

I need to be able to start really low so it needs to be electric. I have a traeger and a big home made smoker thats mostly just for cold smoking. The traeger spikes way to often up above 200 even on smoke, I've ruined several batches of hot dogs and pepperoni sticks due to this, and a few in my home made smoker.

Often times I don't even need or want smoke, just need super consistent heat, no warmer than 150 to start (ideally the 130 range). It does not need to go much above 200, if I do something like a brisket I'll just use my traeger.

Has anyone had any experience with a higher end unit like the Waltons PK100?

[HikerHunter]

I've had a bradley 4 rack non-digital for about 7-8 years now and I love it. No issues with it. I always ask for the pucks as gifts because its easy for people to buy and then I don't have to!

[HikerHunter]

Weird, I have two Bradleys, and have nothing but praise for them.
I am on the Bradley forums fairly regularly, I don't recall hearing of those type issues. Not saying they do not have their issues, but mine have been flawless.
My Non-digital 4-rack (my fish smoker) is now 15 years old and still going strong. My Digital unit is six years old, I use it for everything, but fish,  .

I would be fuming mad if mine malfunctioned like you described that sucks.

A fish smoker and an everything else smoker is a genius idea! Now I'm regretting getting rid of my old smoker...

[IFunk]

Weber Smokey Mountain.  You just can't beat the Weber when it comes to flavor and reliability.  I bought mine from a guy who had gone to the dark side and bought a Traeger, but he admitted the finished product was less desirable.

[HAGEMANIAC]

Kamado Joe!!

https://www.kamadojoe.com/

[ctwiggs1]

the MB doesn't like sunshine, the control panel film peeled off so I don't know what buttons are what, good thing I have the remote.

@KFHunter, I learned that hard lesson as well. Irritated the crap outta me.

Still smokes fine though.