A pellet cooker is nothing more than a computer controlled wood fired convection oven. It's not a miracle cooker. It's not a do everything cooker. It's an oven. At the higher temps, it might as well be propane fired. Even on the smoke settings, it's only a light smoke. It has some unique advantages and different ways of doing things vs other cookers though.

You have to figure out why you really want or need it. I have one because it does some things easier and in some cases better than any of the 6 other cookers I have, but I could also survive without it.

Anyways he ended up bidding and won it for $775.

He did a tritip at his daughters birthday (reason I was at his house) and it was wonderful. But, I like my tritip lightly smoked. Made me wonder about normal stuff like shoulders and buts etc.

Guess I'll get a WSM first.

I have the DigiQ DX and I just set it and forget it for, literally, 12-14 hours without worrying about temp change.

I guess my reason for wanting the pellet smoker is ease of use... and room. I'm still kicking myself for giving up the 22" WSM for the 18". Maybe I'll just spend the $360 and get another 22". Big one for brisket and massive cooks, small one for personal cooks.

BRILLIANT!!

As for a wsm, they are very capable cookers but not without failings and quirks. I've had an ECB, 2 UDSes, WSM and PBC. Overall I think the PBC (Pit Barrel Cooker) is a better unit though when it comes to verticals. I actually got rid of a wsm and 2 UDSes for pbc because I liked how the pbc worked and found its results to be more along the lines of what I was looking for. No draft controller needed the design airflow is very stable - once you get the air vent set, you never change it and the cooker is incredibly predictable.

All the stuff you see on line in the PBC videos from the company is real. These things really do work just like that.

Also, capacity on the pbc is huge. I can do 8 racks of ribs or 4 chickens or 4 briskets or 6 tri tip on a single cook.

Any info from anyone on the Bradley, or masterbuilt? I have the XL egg,but would like an electric for the convenience also. I guess I was looking in the 4-6 range, hadn't realized they were into the 3k range.

Am I just wasting money on these varieties of electrics?

Sorry MACS, hope u don't mind. If it's any consolation, if the ones I'm looking at are a waste, I'm just gonna add a digiQ to the egg.

1 30-Gallon/18-Gauge Steel Drum/Lid

8 Stainless Steel Hooks

2 Steel Hanging Rods

1 Charcoal Basket

1 Grill Grate

1 Wooden Hook Remover

1 Three-point Barrel stand

1 4.7oz All-Purpose Pit Rub

1 4.7oz Beef & Game Pit Rub

If it's 22 or more, I may just have found my next smoker. Follow up question... would my DigiQ work with the PBC?

18" - it hangs the meat vertically, that's the beauty of it. Big capacity, small footprint. Meat cooks very evenly. You'd think it would burn or overcook at the bottom, but it doesn't. Has to do with the heat trapped at the top and the IR reflection.

No need for the DigiQ. It has a fixed air baffle. You set it based on your altitude, maybe tweak it a bit and after that, it never changes. If you load the coal basket according to directions and light it properly, it will be very repeatable time after time.

http://i.imgur.com/ZmbgGr4.jpg 

http://i.imgur.com/kBQBJvB.jpg 

http://i.imgur.com/qF2j6iO.jpg 

About 3-1/2 hours cook time for 8 racks of BBRs.

If you purchase, I highly recommend the ash catcher accessory. Not mandatory, but makes clean up easier.

Noah, the "inventor" and owner of the company, the guy in the videos, isn't really into heavy wood smoke. The PBC will make smoke on it's own from the drippings hitting the coals, and it will flavor the meat, but not the same way. Like you, I personally prefer some wood smoke. The PBC bottles everything up you have to go very light on the wood or you can easily oversmoke the heck out of the food. I'll put like 2-3 small-medium chunks, maybe at most a fist sized worth.