So I'm thinking about picking one of these up. Anybody here have one and care to comment?

Reason for: I love the gravity feed charcoal concept and I love how this grill can smoke, sear, griddle and rotisserie (rotisserie sold separately lol). I know individual units (smoker, griddle and charcoal grill) would be better than an "all in one" option but I don't have the space (well I do but I don't want the clutter of multiple grills on my lower deck) and I don't grill or smoke often enough to justify the space/cost.

Reason against: I know Masterbuilt is anything but "master built". I was hoping Weber would come out with something similar (not that they are top of the line either but I trust them more) but doesn't look like that's going to happen? The other concern is this whole grill depends on it's electronics to function and I know when you add electronics into the mix, it's not a matter of "will it fail", more of a "when will it fail" especially on something low end like this that will live outdoors.

I know Chargriller has a similar option but looking at the both, I think the MB 800 is better for my needs/wants. I know there are dedicated gravity feed smokers (like the Stump's) but they are pricey and only smoke. I have a Weber Kettle (Performer series) but never had much luck with it as a smoker and I have no interest in any type of pellet grill. The MB would replace my Weber Performer. I also have a Weber gas grill and a Weber Jumbo Joe for traveling/picnics, etc. that I personally prefer over the performer so the performer won't be missed.

I have looked and them and like the features, but I havent found much feedback other than the typical youtube videos.

I was a dealer for them for a while.  Other than being a total pain in the ass to put together, they're pretty nice.

I just saw one at Costco for $700.  Buy it there and you essentially have a lifetime warranty.

I pulled the trigger on a MB1050 today at Home Depot.  I pick it up tomorrow.  I was going to get the 800, but the 1050 is the same price.  Unfortunately it doesn't come with a griddle like the 800.  That will be a seperate purchase later on.

That and the fact that I don't need the extra space of the 1050 is why I'm leaning towards the 800

I’ve had every grill imaginable, and I love the 800.

Gets to 700° in a little over 10 minutes, holds steady temps down to 200°, great for reverse sear- goes from 250-700 in 4 minutes.

Runs great on lump or briquettes. Lots of people out there running them on straight wood splits too. I usually layer briquettes and splits.

Smoke flavor is SO much better than pellet. And you can get it at higher temps. Running ribs or chicken at 325° still produces good smoke, which you won’t get from pellets.

I sold my Grilla Silverbac 3 weeks after getting the Masterbuilt.

It does like fuel. That’s about my only complaint. Build quality could be better, but it should last 10 years or so.

Thanks for the feedback!

I’ve got the MB 560 and use it all the time. I wish I could’ve gotten either of the larger ones for the space. I have done 2 racks of ribs on the 560 and I have to rotate them from the top rack to the bottom and vice versa simply because there isn’t enough room on the bottom for both ribs.

I was putting a little bit of wood in with the charcoal per the user manual and what videos I had watched about them. Then Quigonomics (sp?) said in his thread he uses a pvc tube in the firebox full of wood, surrounds that with charcoal, pulls the pvc out and has continuous smoke. I’ve been adding more and more wood to the firebox.

My wife and kids don’t like a lot of smoke and the MB doesn’t do that. This thing is so easy to use, anyone can put out a good meal without much effort.

I'm liking the feedback I seeing

My .02, just stay away from Masterbuilt products, period.

You are overwhelming me with all the details man lol

This guy does reviews on it. Seems he likes them.

My friend and I both had the electric chip smokers.   Worked fine for 2 yrs each, both just ‘suddenly died’ within a few weeks of each other around the 2 yr mark.  Opened it up to figure out the problem/ replace parts.  Got it kind of working again.  But what I saw on the insides….

They used the cheapest possible materials, along with cheapest construction.  

I will never own a Masterbuilt product again.

< has used a recteq for over two years now, cant recommend enough.

This is a charcoal unit, not electric chip.  It has to handle temperatures MUCH hotter temperatures and is much larger.

Besides having the same name on them, there is nothing about the two units that would be comparable.

10/10 recommend

Got mine for Father's day last year, have used it weekly if not more since. Easy, great smoke flavor, remote operation and super easy to clean.

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I like my 1050 so far.   The 800 probably would’ve been fine…   It does go through a lot of charcoal through.  I haven’t tried wood yet.  

I run the CharGriller Gravity 980, 2 of them in fact, for competition, plus I have one on my deck. It's been flawless.

I have heard of plenty controller issues with the MB, and their customer service is terrible while CharGriller's is top notch. Only flaw with the CharGriller is the position of the fan which is susceptible to getting an ember in it causing it to melt and fail, easily remedied with the LSS Mods spacer.

Interesting feedback. When I first started looking at them, I was leaning towards the CG because comparing them both in person, the CG does seem to be a little better built but the MB won me over, in large part because of the option to have a rotisserie (which is something I've used often on other grills and love having)

You can add a rotisserie to the CG.

Walmart clearanced them out for $350 last year. If they had gotten much cheaper I was going to buy a spare.

So I like it.

I've done a few cooks now on my Char-Griller 980, loving it so far.  Needed to seal things up better to get the charcoal to actually snuf out and have a couple other tweaks to do (fan spacer, replacing the flap, and upgrading the seal on the ash bin door) but considering its ease of use and the results I've gotten from it so far I'm a pretty happy camper.

@airgunner

Which smoker did you wind up with?

I looked at these gravity cookers and just couldn’t pull the trigger.  Picked up a Venom and couldn’t be happier.  Goes on the bottom of a kettle and controls the temps.  With a Slow and Sear I can get about 11-12 hour cook times with the unit controlling the temps.  Checked it with another temperature probe and it was spot on.  





It gives you the easy set it and forget it of a pellet grill with actual smoke flavor.

Okay, holy shit, that solves my biggest gripe with smoking on a charcoal cooker -- I had to fuck with the vents every hour or so to adjust temps.

So now that I might revisit this, anyone know of a decent attachment like the Cajun Bandit? They don't seem to be made anymore. I found one knockoff on Amazon which looks like typical Chinese quality.

Wait, what?  Need a link or info

Google is your friend.

https://www.spidergrills.com/products/venom

Not familiar with that unit, but here's another option I'm very familiar with (and works great.)

Http://www.flameboss.com

It’s a spider grills venom.   Had one of the probes break, my fault, pulled it by the cord.   I emailed them last night and by 10am this morning they were sending me a new one.  Great customer service.  

I like it because I do t have to drill the kettle.  Just remove the ash catcher and put it on.  Nothing permanent.  

It works fantastic.

Super easy to set up.  Set it up like normal in the slow n sear and let it lock in temp.  Held a solid 375 with no issues.

I would love to see one in operation.  I mean, like drink beers and watch it do it's thing.

For the image post challenged:

This post makes me really want one.  I still need to see one in operation.  I guess I will hit the toobs videos. I really want to see how the briquettes are fed and fired. I have played an engineer on TV too many times.

I don't plan to ever be without a pellet grill, but will this Masterbuilt make me hate mine?