Cuisinart COS-118 Vertical 18" Charcoal Smoker, Black

My wife got me this smoker for Father's day. I was about concerned as my preference was not use a bullet style smoker but more of a barrel style. Knowing this my first smoker, and as a novice pitmaster ..lol getting into the smoking game. This is a perfect starter smoker to start out with. I started out with smoking a 4.5lbs brisket, and it turned out amazing.Few things I noticed...Assembly: This will take at least an hour to assemble and put together. For some reason the one I received , was not brand new. The box was damaged, and it appeared it was return by another customer (unused) as some parts were assembled, and the screws were taped up. I noticed the lid had a small dent on it after I assembled the smoker. Not a huge deal breaker but not satisfied that I didn't get a brand newSmoker Quality: Starting out it appears the temperature gauge on the lid was not accurate or reliable. I would recommend getting a meat thermometer to check temperatures of the meat you are smoking. The gauge on the smoker would not read temps above 215°F. I'm planning to do a tear down later this week to see how everything held up after the smoke test. I used a charcoal and wood splits (Hickory).The grates on the grill are subpar, but held up. I read other reviews where the had concerns with the grates, paint bubbling.

Esta excelente, no olvides precalentar a 250 grados y poner toda la cama de carbonetas, después de tres horas agregar más para mantener los 250 grados

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

Disappointed that despite the sturdy main components of the smoker, this well-regarded brand chose to use cheap hardware to put it together. The clamps holding the base to the body are very flimsy and don't align well with the brackets on the body. The 15-min assembly is ambitious. Double that, add a small open-ended wrench or pliers (and a glass of wine) and you'll be fine. Thermometer isn't accurate, but a $7 oven thermometer fixes that. On the whole, it's still a good smoker for its price point and should provide many years of good use with proper care (this replaced a Brinkman I had for 27 years, so it can be done). The cover is also available on Amazon and fits very nicely, good insurance against the elements for less than the cost of the decent bottle of wine you drank putting it together.

So far we have only set this smoker up, as it just came yesterday evening. Husband had this set up quickly. Looks great and can’t wait to use it! Need charcoal though and they recommend using a charcoal chimney which is not included!