Help! I had my smokette all set up for its minimum 4 hours first smoking, and every time I turned up the dial, it tripped the outdoor GFI receptacle. I move the smoker to another GFI, and the same thing happened, each time within about 1 minute of turning it on.

I brought my hair blowdryer outside to check the receptacle, and this 1200-watt appliance kept on running.

Is there something wrong with the electrical system of my smoker? Should I return it to the dealer?

Best thing to do is call Tony at Cookshack's Customer Service. He has a great reputation for helping people. This has come up before, as I remember, and CS solved the problem to the customers satisfaction.

Good luck, you'll love your smokette.. once you solve the problem.

Thanks for the recommendation. However, I've decided to return the Smokette to the dealer I bought it from. I was concerned that it might not be totally new when I bought it (it had some staining on top), and I noticed after I brought it home that it was manufactured over 2 years ago. The dealer was selling it at a supposed discount.

I've since ordered a new Smokette directly from Cookshack which, when U.S. to Canadian exchange, taxes and possible import duties are factored in, will be far less than the supposed discounted price I paid for the defective model.

Great research.. good luck.. I know you'll love it.

Gail, good move. I ordered mine directly from Cookshack and the manufactured date was 9/1/2006, a few days after I ordered it. Works like a charm.

Would you believe that I brought the Smokette back to the restaurant supply store I bought it from, and they would not allow me to return it? I am quite livid. It seems they have a policy that nothing, defective or not, can be returned. They insisted that they would call someone to take a look at it (at my house) and deliver a verdict. IF the smoker was deemed to be defective, I would be ALLOWED to return it, MINUS A RESTOCKING CHARGE OF 25%!!! AND...they would not refund my money, but give me a store credit instead.

What kind of business are they running. Buy something directly from Cookshack and you have a 30-day money-back guarantee. Buy something at a hugely jacked-up price, find that it doesn't work, and you can't return it?

As a culinary professional, I have bought, and would have bought, lots of merchandise from this store. After today's experience, they'll likely never see me again. But, then again, I'm small stuff in comparison to their huge clientele. Think they care?

By the way, the name of this store is Nella Cutlery on Norfinch Drive. Has anyone else had any such experiences with them?

Sorry about the way you were treated. You should tell all your friends about what happend and caution them about spending their money there.

Now for the good news. I bought a store display model 009 for $350 us last month. Never been used with all the accessories and a cover. Manufacture date was oct 2005. Came home got ready to season and it tripped the GFI. Tried 3 more GFIs and the same result. I called cookshack to tell them about my problem and they took care of it for me. Just call cookshack and they will take care of you to.

Gail -- If the Smokette was truely sold as a new unit you may have some recourse with Cookshack. I believe it would be well worth your while and time to give Customer Service a call - if nothing else, to report the way you were treated. Folks at Cookshack are very understanding and easy to talk to.

Good luck in whatever you decide to do.

Thanks, everyone. I've been in contact with the Canadian distributor for Cookshack, who's been really helpful, and he's going to work on it.

If you paid with a credit card they will get your money back for you. Just call customer service. It may take a month or so but they will fix it for you.

Gail,

We all have bad stories like that.

Good news is, even if you bought it from them, CS will step up and help in some way.

Glad the distributor is helping.

FYI, it just sounds like an electrical grounding issue, something that can be solved. Something, somewhere is grounding out the circuit and making it trip. It could be a bad heating element or even a bad cord. You NOT using a small extension cord are you?

Gail,
Sorry to hear about your difficulties. Hopefully the Canadian distributor can help you out. Given the money spent with that !x/?@|#$ dealer, you might want to consider a complaint with your local consumer advocacy group like the Better Business Bureau, if you have one. Clearly, that dealer does not follow Cookshack's model for customer service, which is second to none.