Masterbuilt 20051311 GS30D 2-Door Propane Smoker

Like many others, I did a LOT of reading before I chose this smoker. I was somewhat leery when I read a few of the negative comments but overall this appeared to be just what I needed. I was prepared to make the simple modifications (cast iron skillet, different water pan, door seal, and thermometer) to make this a top-notch smoker.The first thing I did when I received delivery was to test the door thermometer. I live at 675' above sea level, so my water boils at 211°F. My thermometer gave a reading of 205°F when I tested it, but bearing in mind that only the tip of the probe was submerged I tend to believe that the thermometer was VERY close to being dead on. The 6°F difference was certainly something that I could live with. Let me say that I also purchased a probe thermometer to measure the internal temperature of the meat and have another probe thermometer ordered to use to check the temp of different parts of the smoker and to use as a backup or in additional meat cuts. The thermometer in the door is certainly not an issue for me.Since some folks have commented about the doors leaking a LOT of smoke I researched different products to seal the smoker doors, but it turns out that I need not have worried about that aspect of this smoker. Indeed, my two-door smoker did leak a VERY SMALL amount of smoke during the curing process, but when I noticed that the latches are adjustable I simply tightened them up a couple of turns and I barely get a wisp of smoke out of them now. This was a very pleasant surprise.I purchased a small 8" cast iron skillet for wood chips and simply placed it over the existing wood chip tray and covered the chips with aluminum foil that I had punched holes in with my phillips head screwdriver. These holes turned out to be a very workable size. I did not pre-soak my wood chips and they gave off good smoke, but I may change over to wood CHUNKS in order to have a longer smoking time between changes. I think that the cast iron skillet will help keep the smoker burner cleaner as there are no slots that will allow ashes to fall down on the burner. It only takes a few minutes to get the small cast iron skillet up to heat and that is no problem since I preheat my smoker anyway.About the water tray... this was a concern since many said that they needed a larger tray and/or they had to constantly refill the tray with water. I was considering several options (steam table tray, casserole trays, cake pans, etc.) but when I saw the water tray that came with my new smoker my first thought was that it is pretty large. Maybe they changed the design and went to a larger tray, because when I smoked a large bone-in turkey breast for just under 5 hours, I still had a little bit of water left in the bottom of the water tray. I smoked the turkey breast at 235° and may have had to refill the tray once during the smoke had I been smoking at a higher temp. The tray also was large enough that it caught almost all, if not all, of the drippings. Of course I was only smoking a single breast. So far I see no reason to make any changes in the water tray. I love the sliding grate that the water tray sits in... it makes refilling and cleaning it a breeze.I got the two-door model and I really do like having the second door for easy access to the burner, wood, and water. I found that opening the large upper door resulted in a temp drop of over 20°F and took some minutes to build back up, whereas opening the bottom door only resulted in a drop of about 5°F. These temp drops would both be higher is either door was left open for an extended period, but I am talking about opening the doors for about 30 seconds, which really is long enough for anyone to do what they need to do. Having this lower door really helps me keep the food at a stable temp and this is one of the main reasons I opted for the 30" model. It is a great feature that is usually only found in high-dollar smokers.About the heat control... again, I heard comments about how this might be a problem so I researched other regulators and was prepared to order a Bayou Classic 10 psi regulator if necessary, but I doubt that I will need to order one. When I was curing the smoker I had no problem getting the smoker up to the required 400°F mark. It took a few minutes but was very doable. I also tested with the control on the "Low" setting and found that the smoker stays at about 200°F. This was on a 70°F afternoon. This is a temperature that I am happy with since I have no plans to make jerky or to smoke any other products that call for a temperature lower than 200°F. I will probably mostly be smoking pork with the occasional beef roast or brisket and these temps are well within the range I will need. I did find that the gas control is very sensitive to change and only requires the very smallest of movement when a temperature adjustment is being made. I got the hang of it after moving the knob a few times and am sure that it will be no problem as long as I make the knob movements very small. The ideal setting on my smoker turned out to be about the 28-29 second mark if you view the knob as a clock or watch with a second hand. Your smoker or desired temp may vary but I offer this as a possible starting point. You will quickly find the best setting for your smoker.NOTE: So far I have kept the vent on the top rear of the smoker in the "CLOSED" position, since it is not completely airtight and seems to allow just the right amount of air and smoke out. I just don't think I could set it any better even if the vent was airtight and I needed to make adjustments. I think I could probably make it a little bit tighter by tightening the single phillips head screw that holds it together, but it is perfect right now and I think I will just leave it as is. There is an opening (hole) in the vent that is perfect for slipping a thermometer probe through, even when the vent is closed. I found this to be very handy.My smoker did not come with wheels and I am not sure if others have wheels but I have read where some have added wheels to their smoker. I use my smoker in my back yard and do not need to move it around so I am really glad it came without wheels. That would just be one more thing to worry about and I doubt it would stand in place quite as well if it had wheels. Also, I have read where some are questioning the strength and durability of the legs. My opinion is that the legs are very sturdy... in fact, after reading a few of the negative comments about them, I was surprised at how sturdy they actually are. I see absolutely no problem with the design of the legs. After I assembled my smoker I needed to move it about 20' to it's place in the yard and it was very easy to "walk" it using the rear legs. This may sound funny but it worked and the rear legs showed me just how strong they really are when I did this.ASSEMBLY was very simple and took me about 45 minutes, but during that time I was talking with my wife about this and that and we were also enjoying watching the dog and the cat play around in the yard, so I probably could have assembled it easily in less than 30 minutes had I been in a rush.A couple of comments about the assembly: The only tool you will need is a phillips head screwdriver because some of the smoker comes pre-assembled. You may need a small wrench or an adjustable wrench if you wish to tighten the door latches, but that is a very simple operation also. When you begin the assembly you will be putting the legs on first. Make sure that you put the legs with the extra holes (to mount the control panel) on the front of the smoker and the others on the rear of the smoker. You can tighten the rear legs but DO NOT TIGHTEN the front legs until you have loosely mounted the Burner Box to the main body and the Control Panel to the front legs. Then when you tighten the control panel, the burner box, and the front legs you will have a nice proper fit. I was really happy to see that the gas line came pre-mounted to the control panel. All I had to do was to make sure that the orifice from the burner was centered into the metal gas line tube. It is really a nice simple assembly.A lot has been said about a COVER for this model of smoker. My plan was to just use a large black plastic trash bag on mine until I found one that fit and was of decent quality. My wife has some Industrial Strength Black Plastic Trash Bags that she uses for bagging aluminum cans and she gave me on to use until I could find a good one. Guess what? It slipped over the smoker and was a PERFECT fit! I love it and am going to stick with it. It slides right over the handles of the smoker and is a good snug fit. The length is perfect as it covers the Control Panel with a couple of inches to spare. It does not reach quite to the ground and there are a few inches where air can get in from the bottom, but I like this because I do not want to see any moisture get trapped inside the smoker. I only wish my wife could remember the exact brand but she threw away the box. She only remembers that she got the bags from the Do-It-Best hardware store. If we get a chance we may drop by and see if we can get an exact size and brand of this bag for the rest of you. It is perfect and is very heavy duty.Overall, I think this is a fantastic smoker and would be a bargain even if it were at a higher price. I have read absolutely no complaints from anyone about the quality of the finished food made using this smoker, and the purchase of a cast iron skillet was not really what I would call a mod. I am thrilled that I chose this smoker over some of the others I looked at. I doubt that I could have found a smoker that better meets my needs had I spent triple the price of what I paid for this one. I wholeheartedly recommend this smoker for the person who wants a fantastic bargain on a nice family-sized smoker.Update: The plastic bags that my wife bought at the hardware store are "42-gallon Contractor Bags." They measure 33"x48" and are the perfect size to use as a cover for the 30" Masterbuilt Smoker. The hardware store had three different brands of these bags, all of them the same size, and the ones she bought were $9.99 for a box of them. We are still using the first bag and since these are pretty strong bags, I expect it to last for quite a bit longer. If I were to get someone to make me a custom-made vinyl cover for my smoker I would ask them to make it to these exact dimensions. The bag fits like it was made for this smoker.

This review is based on the 30 inch model (20051311 GS30D).With one smoking session in I am so far pleased with the quality of the smoker. Assembly was pretty quick and easy, to my delight everything seems quite sturdy. All the pieces fit and the unit assembled perfectly. Prior to arrival I was concerned that the legs would not be very solid based on some other reviews, they seem to hold solid.I purchased this smoker with the expectation that it will need some easy modifications to operate at its best.Modifications/Improvements:Mobility: I will not leave the smoker outdoors and although the distance from storage to area of use is not far I certainly don’t want to have to always carry it. Initially I was planning on installing casters to the legs like many others do. I ended up deciding to not drill any holes into the legs but rather build a small cart for it to roll on. This way I don’t potentially damage any components on the smoker and now I also have a small little cart that I may be able to use for moving other bulky/heavier items. The cart is equipped with 3 inch rubber casters, the front 2 being locking. It rolls smooth and allows for easy transport.Gas Control: I purchased a needle valve from Amazon to fine tune gas flow. It ended up not being the correct size so I returned it. However, after I tested the gas control during the seasoning process and was optimistic that I could maintain satisfactory temperatures I have so far opted to not purchased another needle valve. With one smoking session under my belt I was easily able to maintain low 200’s when smoking ribs.Water/Drip Pan & Wood Tray: I had larger foil pans on hand that I used as the water/drip tray. It slide into the normal rack slides with ease and covered sufficient space to catch most drippings. As to not put my smoking wood in direct contact with the flames I put my smoking wood the provided water tray on top of the wood tray. Others have referenced using a cast iron pan or putting lava rock in the wood tray. I may experiment with those ideas as well but for the first smoking using the provided water tray as a wood holder placed on top of the intended wood tray worked fine.Cover/Protection: I purchased the larger grill cover, bigger than the one that Amazon had as a bundled option with the smoker. (I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004UQQP4K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o02_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1) I purchased the larger one because I was concerned the smaller one would not fully cover the smoker (including the control panel). This cover fully covers the unit, it may be a little bit large but there are cinches that can be tightened for a snug fit, in addition to clips. The cover also seems to be high quality. It’s not 100% necessary for me as I do not intend to leave the smoker outside permanently but for occasional times it will certainly work and will help keep the unit dust free in the garage.First Impressions:Gas Control - Satisfied. As mentioned I may not even bother with a needle valve for fine tuning gas flow. I was able to maintain low 200’s with ease when doing ribs for my first smoke. This left me very satisfied as I was expecting it to be difficult to achieve lower temperatures based on others reviews.Thermometer - Satisfied, but pointless. I am satisfied that the thermometer makes an accurate reading based on where it is located. That is not to be confused with it being the same temperature as where your meat is placed. While I had a digital thermometer similarly located to the door thermometer they had matching readings. HOWEVER, it was a significant difference from where I had my meat located. To achieve proper cooking temperatures a digital thermometer should be placed near the meats location in the smoker.Size - Okay for beginners/moderate use. My first smoke was ribs and as expected I had to cut the racks in half. That’s not a big deal but there is something wonderful about an intact, beautifully cooked full rack of ribs! I expect that if people are taking smoking serious that they will opt for a larger size (and also probably be using charcoal if they are serious smokers).Propane vs. Charcoal - Satisfied. I love cooking on my charcoal Weber grill, I have never owned a propane grill before. When looking at smokers I initially looked at the Weber Smokey Mountain. However, having no experience with true smoking (other than dabbling minorly on my kettle and not being satisfied with my temperature control, etc.) I thought it would be nice to start with something a bit easier. As lazy as it may be I honestly did not want to invest any time/effort/practice in temperature control and maintaining a temperature for a long period. I thought propane was a happy medium between electric and charcoal, knowing I did not want electric. After my first smoke I am very happy at the ease of control on the unit, especially since I could maintain lower temperatures with ease. Additionally, what I realized I loved about this after purchasing is that when done smoking you can just crank up the heat to burn out some of the ‘crap’ and scrap the grates off. Often times smokers can get funky because they don’t get extremely hot to burned off the ‘crap’ and easily scrape the grates. So, I found that to be a ‘perk.’At this time I do not have any immediate dislikes about the unit. I purchased it for a very fair price (~$160) so I’m not expecting a ‘Rolls Royce’ of smokers. For the price it seems to be a perfectly capable and well built smoker for light to moderate home use. I’m confident that it will do all the things that I need it to. If I come across any issues or realize there is something I do not like about the unit I will update my review.