Americana 2 in 1 Electric Water Smoker that converts into a Lock 'N Go Grill, Satin Black

I'm editing my review (thanks Amazon) less than a year later (about 9 months) to tell you I've already TRASHED this smoker. I have run into the same exact problem other have, namely the dreaded electic element/controller burnout. Don't believe me? Check out Amazon's own page on the replacement element (http://www.amazon.com/Meco-Replacement-Heating-Element-Grills/dp/B0000CGEQX/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1247782625&sr=1-1) which gets a two star review by the way. The reviews on the side of the main Meco 5030 page tell the story, as others mention the power problems.I noticed that the smoker had been having temperature issues and ended up checking the electrode of the heating element. Sure enough, one had cracked completely where it joined the element, and melted (metal) itself so that it wasn't straight anymore. The electic controller had plastic burn marks at the hole and the conductors where burned as well. I even thought about shelling out the $50 bucks to replace these parts, but then noticed that people were having these issues over and over again, even with the replacments!If you buy this smoker, you expose yourself to a systematic defect since there seem to be numerous instances of this. I can't believe this grill didn't last a year. On top of that, the wire grills are rusted out and have lost their coating and the thermostat is broken as well.Planned Obsolescence? Perhaps, but they won't be getting any more of MY money. I'm buying a new smoker: the Old Smokey Electric. So long, Meco. There's a reason why the smoker gets lots of one and two star reviews.DON'T BUY!

Total wast of money. Will not heat up enough to cook anything unless you plan to cook it over the course of three to four days. Because the heating element it soo cheap and the fit of the rest of the smoker is loose - it will not hold even enough heat to generate smoke. The design of having a smoking pan at the bottom that is also the base for the heating element just does not work. It even has a hole in the middle of the smoking pan for ???What??? I dont know. Its a water smoker and has a water pan between the element and the meat - so it cant be for a drip cup. Just an all around aweful thing. I went out to Lowes and bought a Brinkman $89 electric water smoker that does a MUCH better job. Amazon should not even sell these as they really are not fit for use. Total garbage and now in the garbage!

easy to assemble, the electric smoker takes the hassle out of checking the fire box every couple of hours making sure the temperature is good. Very satisficed with the purchase.

CONS:- Some of the instructions were a bit vague. Like it gives you ZERO instruction on whether you should start out with the heat on high then lower? Or keep it at medium?- I'm also not sure how effective the thermostat is as it stayed at the lowest temp yet I had FLAMES shooting off my wood chunks at one point!- They also had a couple of parts that are only used for the charcoal model of the smoker so that was a bit confusing when I was done with setup and things were still left!- If you're using wood chunks loose or in foil clean up is a bit of a hassle- The "drip pan" they provide is just a flimsy aluminum pot pie sized pan that burned up and was useless after two hours of use.PROS:- my very first attempt at smoking - three cherry wood smoked chicken leg quarters and some potatoes - came out amazing!! The smoke flavour was obvious but not overpowering. Just YUM!- looks great- easy to move around- easy to separate the top from bottom by just rotating the top section- lots of room with the two racks- worked well even though it was only about 38 degrees out!I think it'll just take a bit of practice and research on the internet. I ended up ordering a metal box that the wood will go inside and ordered smaller wood pieces for smoking instead of the chunks. This will make it much less likely to burn the wood (and yes, I soaked the wood!) and also make cleanup a lot easier.So all in all, I'm glad I finally have a smoker. This is a good "entry level" one just wish they gave more thorough instructions for complete novices like me! I can't wait to try smoking different types of vegetables, ribs, pork chops, brisket.

The reviews that complained it doesn't get hot enough slowed me down on buying this smoker. After getting it and evaluating it a bit, I'm convinced those people were using an unworthy extension cord to power it. It requires a lot of wattage and a long and/or undersized extension cord will really reduce the heat it can produce.I plugged it directly into a 15 amp circuit and it's working like a champ smoking a batch of king mackerel for fish dip. I had to turn it down to medium to keep the temperature in the middle of "ideal" (which I think is around 240 degrees or so) so it has plenty of power. My wife is chomping at the bit to get some brisket going next!

Great smoker, my first electric. does a nice job smoking. Well built for the price. Easy to move from garage to outdoors and back. Assembly was easy. Was missing the drainage pan, which was sent by the manufacturer fairly quickly, turned out to be a same size as a small aluminum pie or pot pie pan. Easy to clean. I recommend a degree thermometer as the one with the unit, I believe, is faulty and gives an inaccurate temp range. All in all, I do recommend this for the guy who wants to smoke some meat and who doesn't want to keep checking the temp as often as a wood smoker. Chips are easy to add and not expensive. So All Good!

super nice and well made

I can’t get the smoker the heat up past the warm on the temperature gage