Smoker preference, Top or Front Load?

[Vinny]

I'm thinking about getting the 250 Watt Little Chief. Is there a reason other than volume to get the 400 Watt Big Chief?

It's available in a front load or top load configuration.

What's your preference?

[Gobbaworms]

Volume is a good reason. You can always put a little bit of fish in a big smoker but you can't always put a lot of fish in a little smoker. Also front load is the way to go.
However, I don't think the "Chiefs" get hot enough to do ribs, birds, etc...
I have heard some people complain about the Brinkmann gas smokers, but I have one and have made the best smoked fish ever and you can crank the heat and do ribs and the like. You can also use the base for a crab cooker and turkey fryer. If you can still find them at Home Depot, they're blowin' them out for $69.

Just my two cents.

[nivtup]

I say Top Load Little Chief,

I have had great success on all things I have tried, ribs not included.

I fillet and strip most of my smokin's into smaller finger sized pieces anyway.

As far as volume goes, small batches work great for me. It all disappears immediately, so a bigger batch would just makes the treats go faster.

[Snake9t9]

I use a front loader Big chief. I fixed the "lack of heat" problem by building a plywood cabinet with a small 3" x 6" hole in the top for the smoke to escape, and a front, side hinged door. This insulates the smoker very well and it is possible to overcook stuff if you don't keep an eye on it. The other neat thing about it is that you can cold smoke stuff like cheeses, breads ect. by setting the rack on top on the wooden cabinet and then putting a cardboard box over the rack. Most of the heat stays in the smoker and the cool smoke exiting the top does it's job in the cardboard box.

[Salmonator]

I say don't buy a smoker and use your barbeque. I got sick of having to tend to a little chief for hours and hours. Remove your flare sheild above your burner and replace it with an old cake or cookie pan and fill it with chips. Some grills are too hot even on the low settings, so you just turn the burner on and off a few times to regulate the heat. The grills with the two or three bun warmers work the best as they have more room.

I have owned both top load and front load chiefs and hated them both, mostly due to low capacity. Wrapping the little chiefs with an old sleeping bag or blankets will smoke up your fish much faster and won't dry out your fish as bad.

[love2fish]

I have both, but I prefer the front load. I also hang a couple of extra rack off of the top two racks with un-curled paper clips when I want a bigger batch.

[ampersat]

due to the fact that i can't seem to catch any fish, i've only used my little chief top loader once to make jerky so far so take my advice with a grain of salt or two. i like my top loader because it's easier to rack up all my smoking goodies and cart it to the smoker at once. if you have lots of fish to smoke, i'd say go with the larger one.
for the price, that brinkman gas smoker sounds like one heck of a deal plus you can do up crabs with it. you might not be doing crabs yet, but it's good to have in case you get into it later.

[MoJet Driver]

I have one of those indirect grills with the off-set firebox. I have yet to screw anything up and it makes excellent BBQ too. Made some venison jerky the other day. MMMmmmm GOOD!

[Vinny]

Thanks everyone,

I was thinking of using a "5th-burner" (110 volt) in the base of a gas barbeque grill that I just have happened to removed the burner (burned out).

Salmonator - I like the "cookie sheet and wood chips in the gas grill" idea.

I might even try to make a smaller burner for my barbeque, one that won't get as hot.

I'll let you know.

Thanks again,

Vinny

[Wet_Willy]

Sal,
When you use the bbq on low, how much does that shorten the smoking time on average for you? I think I might give that a try this week and see how it comes out. I too don't like waiting on the big chief all day long...
WW