Weber 18" Smokey Mountain Charcoal Smoker

I really do like this smoker. I do. It just isn’t quite as set it and forget it as a lot of people say. I have been cooking on this since March of 2020. In that time, I’ve done all sorts of meats - salmon, pork butt, bacon, chicken, brisket, beef ribs, and more spare ribs than I can count. I have cooked stuff from 150-300 degrees, and most things have turned out well. Cons: I bought this because I prefer cooking with charcoal. I knew that meant it would have to be maintained a bit more than an electric or even propane smoker. All the reviews said this thing was rock solid and could cook “for 18 hours holding 225 the whole time!” That’s not true. At least not for an 18” smoker. The max burn time I can get is about 12-13 hours at 225-250. I find myself fussing with the vents trying to get everything just right and for the most part I don’t mind. Smoking is as much of a hobby as it is a cooking method. If you don’t mind a little elbow grease, and you don’t mind getting up and making small, almost inconsequential adjustments, then you won’t be disappointed. The water pan. Man does this thing give me a headache. This smoker will work best with a water pan. You’ll see a lot of arguments online about it not being needed. If you want to cook a chicken at 325, by all means take the pan out. Anything low slow? Use it. The water pan is huge, it blocks access to the charcoal chamber, it’s nasty to clean out (pro tip - get a pizza pan that will set on top), and it doesn’t have a flat bottom, so unless you’re filling it in the smoker, it’s gonna roll all over. Why wouldn’t you fill it in the smoker? Well because if you are fighting cold weather, boiled/scalding water will be a huge boon to your temps. I don’t own a stock pan large enough that could fill this thing in a reasonable amount of time, so I set it in my sink and fill it with hot water, and it rolls all over. Did I mention how nasty this thing gets if you don’t cover it and stop all the drippings? My next big gripe could be solved if the water pan were either smaller or higher up in the cook chamber. Access to the charcoal is extremely limited unless you take the whole thing apart. This isn’t ideal when you’re brisket is stalling and your fire has gone out. The access door is just too small to really get in. I primarily use the access door to stir my charcoal when needed. Pros: Once you get it seasoned (or a sealing kit) this thing can cook. It takes me about 30 minutes to get it all set up and up to temp, but once it’s going, it’s going. If temps run away on you, just adjust the vents, and if it really gets out of control, add some cool water to the water pan. I can dial the smoker within 20 degrees of anywhere from 170-300. If temps drop on you, just give the fire a bit more air. Very small changes make big differences so you can really finesse it. I bought the 18” and that is pretty much all the space I need. I’ve done 4 racks of spare ribs, a whole packer brisket (on the smaller side and with an onion in the center to shorten the ends), and chicken halves side by side. If you are going to be making a lot of briskets - get the 22”. Once I got my hands on this, the $330 price tag seemed pretty worth it. Weber makes good stuff. Mods: People go crazy with mods on these things. Mine is pretty much stock with two exceptions: I bought a lid for the water pan that was designed for the Weber. It was probably 2x the price of the a pizza pan that would function in the same manner but I wanted to know it would fit. I also bought a lava lock sealing kit. It made a big difference on the door, but not so much on the barrel mid section top and bottom. I wasn’t losing any smoke from either of these joints once the cooker was seasoned. The door on the other hand, always leaked smoke. Over all I am pretty happy with it.