Are there any advantages to having a glass door vs no glass?
Seems like a waste of money IMO.
$177.64


$198.00

Electric smokers produce so much smoke I wouldn't bother. Trust your thermometer, trust your meat.

It is a waste of money. The disadvantage to a glass insert in the door is that it will get smoked up pretty quick and its probably going to be a royal pain in the ass to clean. Mine doesn't have any glass, Its not necessary.

waste of money is right,


pain to clean hows it any different than a fireplace?? windex and newspaper

If your fireplace smokes as much as a smoker you have some fucking problems. That glass in the smoker will look like shit in short order prompting a cleaning more frequently, therefore a pain in the ass.

I kinda thought it would be a waste.
Looks purdy in the store when it's all clean, though.

I'm getting close to purchase time.

Do my smoking on a kamado charcoal grill, no windows I think Dan is spot on, no window needed. Just trust your thermometer and let the grill and meat temp be your guide. No need to peek through a window or otherwise.

Good luck with the purchase and happy smoking.

We are trying to decide here for tomorrow between chili con carne in the kitchen or beef back ribs smoking on the grill.

If you're looking, you ain't cooking!

Tomorrow is pork chops in the rec-tec and mozzarella in the bradley!

When I was younger I trusted it to get me in trouble. As I got older it started letting me down

A window on a smoker is like a 150 MPH speedometer in a Geo Metro-------totally worthless. The only time you'll be able to see through it is when you take it out of the box. Most instructions say to "season" your smoker by running at a high temp with or without wood in the pan. Even without wood enough manufacturing "product" burns off to coat the glass.

A word of caution with most smokers that include meat probes with digital thermometers, they may or may not stay accurate. Do yourself a favor and add a Maverick two probe wireless thermometer to your "kit".

If you only have one piece of meat in the smoker the second probe works great as a temperature monitor. If two pieces of unequal size, probe both so you can "rescue" the smaller piece of meat before it's cremated.

The wireless thermometer is a better investment than a glass door.

Electric? Wut in tarnation?? Hahah, I went charcoal myself, but I don't see any need for a window. A thermometer on the door, and a timer will tell you when your food is done. Smoked food tends to "look" just like it's done for up to an hour before you actually want to pull it out

This is what I use. And you could get 2 of them for the prices you're looking at.

http://www.hayneedle.com/product/char-b ... d=CHB105-1

Links to pictured smokers?

Ever used one of these offset firebox units for an all day smoke?

I have one and it's an all day task keeping it fired up properly so the temperature doesn't swing from ambient to 350 degrees during the cook/smoke.


The ones the OP is looking at are electric and do a fantastic job of temperature control. If you don't need a ton of moisture in the cabinet just fill the water pan with play sand and the temp regulation is even better.

I now just use my offset firebox cooker for meats that don't take all day to cook. I also use a mix of lump charcoal and wood (whatever flavor I like that day)

No glass.