Brinkmann Square Vertical Charcoal Smoker

The door won't stay on. It was bent on arrival. One of the rack holders fell off after lighting the grill. Product was a disappointment.

For the price of the smoker I did not have huge expectations. The smoker has good room in it. The ventilation is great. All in all the salmon turned out great!

I purchased one smoker and it came with a door that would not hang correctly. After much pulling, adjusting and improvising...I was able to make it work. I purchased a SECOND smoker for my dad and the interior ledge where the rack sits was broken and the there were problems with the door. After making holes and modifications to this SECOND smoker...it was ok. It's a great deal for what you get, if you don't mind working with the parts to make the parts 'fit' (or going thru the trouble of returning the product). Ribs and chicken are fabulous once you get it going.

Got this for a birthday present from friends 5 years ago- easy assembly, no problems with door. Locking mechanism fiddly, but usable. Walls are thin, which is bad for heat control. The smoker is a challenge to learn, as it requires you learn fire control. Several hints- rest the fire bowl on the bottom. More room for larger wood chunks. Chips should never be used with this product, as they dry out and burn quickly, leading to difficult to control temperature spikes. I've had excellent results using only wood chunks. no charcoal, no chips. Replace water bowl with one of walmart's 12" diameter gallon capacity stainless steel bowls. (you might have to fiddle about until you find the proper hanging ring that it fits into) I'm tough on my equipment. I cured the smoker and haven't done any maintenance to it except burnouts to clean it, replacing the water bowl, and clearing out the ash. I keep the vents closed against the weather, and that's about it. At 60$, this is a cheap, knockabout, general purpose for someone who likes bbq and is interested in learning technique..once you can learn to handle your fire and cook well in this, you'll be able to smoke in most anything. Most likely won't buy another one, as the size is becoming a bit small for the kind of cooking I like to do, but will use this one until it rusts out, dies, and can't be used for anything but scrap. Would definitely buy one as a gift for a friend or recommend for a first timer

This is my first smoker, I went inexpensive to get my feet wet in the world of smoking. However after about four smokings I am definitely ready for an upgrade. It does smoke, however don't expect to cook anything with this. I think I hit 200 degrees once. So expect to cook in an oven once you are done smoking. So after four hours of smoking it is a little frustrating to still cook your food some more. I did drill holes in the bottom of the coal pan, but it didn't seem to work all that well (maybe I should put more holes in?). The door is also a huge problem. It takes a little manipulation to get it closed. Lots of cracks and open gaps for the smoke to release, so this is also a design flaw.