Dyna-GloDGO1890BDC-D Wide Body Vertical Offset Charcoal Smoker,Black

The smoker arrived and was undamaged. I reviewed the advice for mods and also ordered some silicone sealant and a gasket. I used the silicone during assembly of the firebox to the cooking chamber, but I did not need the gasket. Assembly was straight forward, the parts fit together, no issues.After an overnight dry for the silicone, I fired up the smoker to season it. We used lump charcoal and this was started with a chimney starter. The chimney held about the same volume as the firebox basket. With the vents open and the doors closed, the temp peaked at about 310°. The day was 72°, partially sunny, slight breeze, and the smoker was in the open. I used a remote reading thermometer, with the probe in the center of the cooker chamber. The reading was very close to the unit mounted thermometer.First CookWe did two full racks of ribs. These were trimmed and you could probably fit two of them, with some overlap onto one rack, but I did one rib rack on one grill rack each. I also used a grill rack on the lowest height, with a pan of water. During the cook, I added more fuel, but you need to be careful as to not smother the fire by dumping fuel on top of the fire. You can do this two ways:1. Start a small amount of charcoal in your chimney, then add the burning fuel to the fire, or...2. Carefully move the burning charcoal in the firebox to the front of the box, then add your new fuel in the back.I found that the smoker was very tight and that the temperature maintained very well. I did not have to fiddle with the vents very much, I cooked at around 280° for 5 hours.The remote read thermometer had a second probe for food. So when the rib probe registered around 180°, the vents were shut on the firebox. This is where the unit could have been more airtight, as the fire did not damp down as much as I would like. I've used a Weber for decades and this is one of the Weber's key features, is to be able to close down the fire with the vents.I did take the ribs out and wrap then in foil, then back in the smoker for about two hours.The First Cook ResultThe rib were delicious! I know that they are supposed to have a “bite” and not fall off the bone, these were falling of the bone and I like them like that. They were really, really, good, I was impressed with the results of the first cook.CommentsFor the amount of money I paid for this smoker, it’s a tremendous value. Yes, the metal is thin and the build quality is what you expect from an imported unit like this (which is to say good, not great). I would have liked the unit firebox vent to be more airtight. The grill racks are well made and very large. You could cook a ton of meat with this smoker.The unit is heavy and I would not drag it, as the legs don’t look like they would take much abuse. The other thing are the door latches, the side one is fine, but the bottom one is very difficult to operate. This would be hard to latch in low light situations, plus you have to bend over and underneath to get to it. All that said about the latch, I’m glad they have one there, as once the door is secured, the box is very tight and retains an even, constant internal temp.I have a propane vertical smoker which I like. You just set it and forget it. But I see myself using this new smoker all the time. I would recommend this unit to everyone looking for a charcoal/wood powered smoker.

Update: Almost 3 years later, smoker is still going great! I just took the firebox off and sanded off the surface rust and resprayed with some bbq spray paint. I have no doubts the smoker will last many more years.I did quite a bit of research before buying this smoker, most of the recommendations I found on the internet were either to get a cheap Brinkmann for ~$75 or spend $300 on a Weber Smokey Mountain, with the later being the "gold standard" for introductory smokers. I really did not want to buy a WSM and deal with taking off the barrel every time I needed to check the meat/water pan/charcoal - I'm sure that works fine for many but I much prefer the vertical box configuration, especially with the offset fire box. I found the Dyna-Glo on Amazon and it seemed like a good mid-point between the two, and that is exactly what I got!After using this smoker a few times, I would highly recommend it. It certainly has better build quality than the Brinkmann and is half the price of the WSM with much better usability in my opinion. Assembly was really straightforward and everything was packed nicely. One word of caution, don't stand the smoker on the bottom before putting the legs on - there are small metal rails for the grease tray that I bent doing this, although they were easy enough to bend back.Usability is great, the charcoal box is sturdy and makes tending to the charcoal a breeze. The multi-rack configuration allows you to customize the racks to fit large hunks o meat while still maximizing your smoking capacity. My one complaint is that it was tough to get the screws on the vent set to the right tightness to allow the vent to be adjusted. Prior to smoking, there is no problem, however once the smoker heats up, the metal expands and the vent won't move - this was an easy fix to just loosen the screws, however I wish the screws were a bit longer with a locking nut on them. It's very possible that these were set correctly from the factory (the screws were pre-installed) and I just tightened them during assembly in error.Does the smoker seal up air tight around the doors? No, some smoke leaks out at the top, however given the price point, its well within my expectations. If you want a smoker that is completely sealed up, you're going to have to spend twice as much, or just get some gasket to seal it up (which I plan on doing).The handles and vertical design make this smoker very easy to move around - doable by myself but much easier with two people, specifically due to the bulkiness - its a little unwieldy to get a grip on both handles, but honestly I'm not going to be lugging this thing long distances so I don't really care.Finally, I will say that their (GHP Group) customer service is FANTASTIC! Honestly, I didn't expect much, not knowing the company, but after emailing about a missing screw (found it on the floor, must have fallen out during unpacking), the representative responded within 24 hours, proactively registered my warranty and was just super helpful and nice. She was easily on par or better than Amazon's typical customer service.Overall, 5/5 stars, I highly recommend this smoker.