I have one and have had good luck with it. Google some mods for it though, you definitely need to vent the charcoal bowl if you do nothing else.

They definitely aren't great, but for that purpose it should do the job.

I had one like that... I found it hard to keep the temp low. Always said I was smoking/grilling the ribs. For some things, that isn't bad though.

I just bought a side fire box smoker (Chargriller) which I smoked up some baby back ribs yesterday with some Apple/Cherry/Hickory wood. Mmmm.. good.

I have a 18" weber smokey mountain I'll sell for $100. It's a little on the dirty side, but I'll clean it up for ya if you want to buy it.

Where do you live?

Chillicothe

WSM is the best on the market. Holds 225 to 250 for a solid 8 or 9 hours. I'd jump on that deal but I already have the 22inch model

I love it, but I use my 22" more now. I have to thin the heard of smokers and grills. i currently have 6 (just gave away my Chargriller with offset firebox). I use the 22" smokey mountain, 22" regular weber grill, and my green mountain pellet smoker so all the others gotta go.

Yeah, Ive read that you need to in order for the ash to fall out. What i'm worried about though is that the charcoal will burn that much faster and hotter. I'm having trouble keeping the temp down already.

I used the Red Stone Smoker from Tractor Supply today for the first time on some ribs and a pot of beans.

I started with a charcoal stacker full of Kingsford, then added Royal Lump Charcoal and some damp chunks of hickory. Let the coals get hot for about an hour before filling the water bowl (50-50 mix water and apple juice).

The smoker did a pretty nice job. I drilled some holes in the charcoal bowl in the bottom to help with air flow. Let the ribs smoke for three hours, then wrapped them up in foil and put them in the oven for another two hours at 265. Smoked beans were outstanding.

Heat in the smoker was around 225 to 250. The door does not seal too well, and the body leaks a little smoke, but not too bad. For $65, it did a damn fine job, and cleanup wasn't bad.

Here's the rig in my back yard by my tin roof rusted garden shack in the back yard. It was nice and cool late morning, ribs were done before it got hot in the afternoon. Worked out perfect. Going to try pork chops and chicken next time.

http://i46.tinypic.com/2zy9c95.jpg

Just curious, why did you start with the Kingsford instead of going straight to the lump charcoal?

My pal Mr. Doggity (the BBQ guy) said Kingsford makes the best base, because it lights in a charcoal stacker quicker than lump, and burns more evenly. He does a stacker (or two, depending on the size grill he's using) as the base, then puts in the lump charcoal and smoker chips second. Gets the fire started quicker. Plus lump charcoal is usually a bit more expensive than Kingsford, so doing this method conserves on the more expensive charcoal.

I ended up using about 1/3rd of a bag of Kingsford to get started, then most of a bag of Royal Oak lump to keep the fire going for 4 hours.

The Red Stone smoker is not nearly as efficient as the Weber Smokey Mountain, but for $65 I thought it did a good job. It certainly wouldn't last long if you used it a lot, like every weekend. But for occasional stuff, should last 3 or 4 years.

Huh, the small broken up pieces in a bag of lump seem to light fairly quickly. I can definitely see an advantage cost-wise though.

And yeah, I just want something to mess around with once in a while. If I want serious Q I'll go to the smokehouse down the street.

I feel the same way. Smoking ribs is an half-day commitment. By the time you buy the meat, the charcoal, the wood chips, the apple juice, and spend time with the cleanup, you can buy a slab or two of ribs from any of the BBQ joints in KC for about the same money and without burning a half day labor. It's about the journey, really. My ribs turned out great, and although they probably won't win any contests, I was very happy with the results.

That's why I do it. I don't need trophys, I just want my friends and family to enjoy my food and have a good time.