Americana Stainless Steel Electric Water Smoker

I received this smoker today, that I ordered last weekend. I purchased one that had been repackaged for $149.99 from Amazon Warehouse Sales.This is the second electric water smoker I've purchased - the first was an orange enameled one as a gift for my youngest son back in 2008. This one was easier to assemble and all of the parts fit nicely together. I read a couple of reviews that complained about excess smoke loss around the doors - the reality is, this smoker may be too well sealed for smoke ... You want to keep fresh smoke flowing so that the smoke doesn't get stale and affect the flavor of the smokee!! It took me all of about an hour to assemble - partly because I washed the sticky oil off the brackets and legs in hot, soapy water before installing them!!I wanted SS for the longevity of life, and this smoker did NOT disappoint at all!! The only parts that a aren't SS are the wood handles, heating element and electrical controls and wire!!The way this is designed, the floor pan rests on the legs and will not hold water if left out in the rain!! All of the parts and brackets fit as they should for easy assembly and the body seam was perfect - they even designed it so that two of the hanger brackets and one leg fasted at the seam, camouflaging their presence with the side rivets - VERY well designed!! At first glance, it looked as if the body was bent like a teardrop on the bottom end - the leg that attaches on the seam, actually results in pulling the bottom end round!!One thing that surprised me - this smoker has a heat control, which is something I was going to add as a modification because I hadn't seen anything about it having an adjustable heat control.The list price on the smoker is something like $285, but it can easily be found for $199.99, and with the fit, finish, design, style, ease of assembly and temp control, this is a high end smoker and worth the price of admission!! I highly recommend THIS smoker in stainless steel at least, as a first class smoker!!One word of warning though - if you buy one, DO NOT connect it to an extension cord that IS NOT at least of the same gauge cord as the cord on the smoker - using a light weight extension (as most people usually do) WILL CAUSE overheating of the temp control unit - and that will cause it to melt or otherwise malfunction!!!!

This is the worst smoker I have ever had. The temp never gets above warm and just takes forever to cook anything. I assume it has to do with the lid not fitting. Do not buy this product.

I smoked my first rack of ribs today on my electric water smoker. Read the directions as they have some very good suggestions. I followed the directions exactly, and my ribs turned out nearly perfect. They would have perhaps been a little better if I had taken them off an hour sooner, but were still very good. I was skeptical that 2-3 chunks of wood wood be enough to add a nice smoky flavor to the meat, but it was plenty. I started with 3 chunks, and added two more 1 1/2 hours later. I added water and 1 cup of apple juice to the water pan, and the ribs were moist and fell off the bone. I was also surprised that the ribs had a nice dark bark to them as well, since I read that this wouldn't happen with an electric smoker. So far I am very pleased with my purchase, and look forward to serving many more smoked meats to friends and family this summer!

I purchased the cheaper version of this 5 years ago and smoked a lot of meat with it. It was poorly constructed. When we moved into a new home, I spotted this stainless steel version thinking it would be better built. I have not been disappointed. After years of charcoal smoking this electric smoker is almost idiot proof. Fill the water pan, put your chunks of wood at the bottom and go.

The lid does not fit inside the base section. There are even stops build to support the lid. I DID get the lid inside the base, but it took all my strength to get it off again. Definitely would not work if food was in it. The inside diameter of the base and the outside of the lid measured exactly the same.

It was pretty clear this was a return item as it was not in its original packaging. That said, it all seemed fine. However, I have used it 4 times now. The worst part it the way the top fits. When you fit it inside the main section, it is very very difficult to remove. since it is good to check on the progress of the cooking, and things are hot by then, it is a little dangerous prying the top off to see inside. I have an older Mecco, better made, but to old to replace the heating element. I never had a problem with removing the top, and yet is sealed well keeping the smoke in. Otherwise, for the 4 times I have used this newer unit, it seems to do what it is supposed to do.

top does not fit exact but it still works well

Pros: StainlessCons: Took extremely long to receive it.Flimsy BoxBody bent on both the original and replacements.Loss parts in a sack. This caused damages to water pans.Instruction Manual is awful. Can't clearly see parts and were they go on.Instructions are unclear.Manual has two different models in it making it confusing.Parts were damaged.The electric cord is very loose that plugs into the smoker. Needs two screws not one.Replacement parts took a long time getting to me. From Meco.All-in-All it is not worth the trouble or the money spent.