Free Masterbuilt Smokehouse (30) - what to do?

Speaking from experience. I originally bought a Masterbuilt smoker 4 years ago. I used it 4 times before the heating element failed. I went back to Cabelas and they gave me a brand new one. This one lasted 6 uses before it quit. It was at that point that I bought my Cookshack (Smokette). The rest is history. Almost 4 full years of use - summer and Chicago winters - and still working flawlessly. My suggestion would be to throw the Masterbuilt off a cliff - but that's just me.

A buddy of mine bought a Masterbuilt for his 2nd home here in VT a few years back. He's only used it 5-6 times in the last two years but it does a pretty decent job on pork butts and ribs.

Hey...for free...what do you have to lose? My only advice would be to wipe it down once or twice, with a vinegar + warm water solution to remove any degreaser. Once done, fire it up and run it an hour or two.

If and when it goes south, check out the Cookshack smoker line. We'll be happy to help you narrow in a replacement. They're rock solid and are supported by the best customer service in the industry.

Welcome to the forum

Well put Max Q.

Masterbuilt smokers are good entry level smokers, but as Jacksmoker was saying they aren’t built to last the long haul. I went through several cheap charcoal, electric, and gas smokers before buying my first Cookshack roughly 15 years ago. In the long run I would have been money ahead if I would have bit the bullet and bought my Smokette to start with, but we all have to go through what we’ve gone through to get to where we are today.

You really need to make sure you get all of the oven cleaner residue out of the smoker before you use it and as MaxQ suggested a vinegar and water solution is a good choice for cleaning it up. Before you use your smoker put some heavy duty foil on the lid of the smoke box, bottom and water pan. Then spray the grates with Pam. Those two things will go a long way in helping you with cleanup every time you use it. I also would purchase a disposable mortar tub from Menard’s, Home Depot, or whatever home improvement store you have in your area. If you soak your grates in water with some Dawn or other dish soap a couple hours after each use they will clean up quite nicely.

For more help and/or advice on a few quick, easy and cheap mods for your Masterbuilt you might want to check out this site

Okay thanks for the feedback. I will be sure to clean it out with that suggestion MaxQ...thank you.
I doubt it will see much use. I built a UDS many years ago and use it several times a month. It's so efficient and I'm very comfortable using it, so it will stay my "go to" for good BBQ. I can load it up and let it smoke all night (20+ hours actually) without needing any babysitting or adding any coal/wood.

I was just thinking this little machine may work well for jerky, sausage, and small stuff like that where I need to hold a lower temp.

Don’t under estimate your Masterbuilt.
I am building a UDS, and they are fun to play around with.
However; I think you’ll find, with a very short learning curve, the Masterbuilt is very easy to use and can perform quite well with little or no babysitting for those overnight smokes
Good luck. Post a few pictures of what you’re doing