I purchased the 18" Weber Smoky Mountain (WSM) smoker July3, 2026, based on the high ratings it had been given by people who had purchased it. I have owned a Weber Genesis II gas grill for six years and have been very satisfied with it's performance and excellent built quality. I excepted the same for the WSM smoker, however, that was not the case. Although the construction of the porcelain coated steel body appears to be sturdy and well made, many of the components such are of inferior quality and below expected performance. To begin, the lid has no hinge, so when ever you need to move food in/out of the smoker you need to find a safe place to place a greasy and hot lid down. The four vents are made from thin aluminum sheeting that easily deforms. The vents also get expectantly hot and because they do not have a non heat-transmitting handle/knob, they get very hot making it difficult to operate. As such I have had to purchase after-market tumb-handles in order to safely operate them. In addition the thermometer is very small and of inferior quality allowing moisture to accumulate inside the glass. This too was replace by an after-market thermometer. The aluminum legs are flimsy, and because they are independent of each other, when ever the smoker is moved to protect against inclement weather, the legs rattle badly. As such, I have had to build a platform that secures all three legs together, and added casters under the platform so that the unit can be moved easily. As for the side access planel, I can only say "SHAME ON YOU WEBER!" this panel is poorly made of flimsy aluminum sheeting that easily bends. and because this panel does not have any perimeter insulating a lot of smoke/heat escapes around the edges. There is a reason why the internet has so many after-market modifications for this smoker, and most of them are not inexpensive. When I started my search for the purchase of a smoker, I discover that there were "endless" choices. In the end, I decided to go with a Weber thinking that their product would be comparable with the Weber gas grill that I own. And for $440, which is what I paid for the basic unit, I expected nothing less. However, the overall quality of this unit have been very disappointing. So far I have spent over $150 in needed modifications just to make the unit safe and easy to operate. That brings the overall cost to approx. $590, and that is an absurd price for what this unit. Sorry Weber, you get a los "D" for this unit. Hope someone in the production/design Dept. revisits the current design of this unit and make the necessary modifications without making the final cost of this unit unaffordable.

first time owning a smoker and it worked perfectly

I've owned this smoker for 3 years now and it has been perfect for my use as an amateur smoker. Webber really nailed it in designing a smoker that holds temps so well. When I say it holds temps well, I mean that once dialed in at the beginning of the cook it will maintain temps for 8-10 hrs reliably. What this means for you....Set that Brisket and pulled pork on the smoker at 10pm and wake up between 6 and 7 to give it a spritz. This really makes it easy for the average joe. Took me about 3 cooks to get the temperature dialed in. Can't say enough good things Pro Tip: When you place your wood chunks on the coal use fist sized pieces and let it get passed the initial dirty smoke phase before placing your meat on. Charcoal of Choice: Royal Oak Clump Charcoal.