( 16 reviews )
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( 1 of 1 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jan 28 2008
I've been through two prior Brinkmann smokers, a Gourmet Electric (converted to charcoal) and an El Cheapo Brinkmann ("ECB"). The bottom of the Gourmet rotted out quickly, and each would wander the neighborhood when things got windy. Not entirely a waste of money, because I learned about Brinkmann designs, and how tedious and distracting it is to smoke things with charcoal. With the ECB, I experienced the shock of seeing large flames consume most of the paint, like one other reviewer said. The smokers have thin metal, so they do not retain heat anything like a Weber. There must be something about these crude smokers that brings me back. Maybe it's the low price, maybe its because making them work can be challenging. The All In One is a grin inducing collection of assorted Brinkmann parts; an uncharacteristically well built propane burner, a Gourmet style charcoal pan on top, and an ECB on top of that. The propane burner's high output negates the poor heat retention of the ECB while wasting energy. The burner is heavy, and is not about to blow around the neighborhood. Unlike the Gourmets, there is no flimsy sheet metal pan on the ground rusting away; the burner's legs are made out of thick steel, the charcoal pan is high off the ground. The ECB part is characteristically cheesy and lightweight, and wind will blow it away unless it is held to the base somehow (I just use a smoker cover, the whole thing falls over, but stays put). Just like other Brinkmanns, the ECB and Gourmet charcoal pan designs are not designed to keep rain out, so a cover is a must. The aluminized charcoal pan started rusting immediately after use. I started wiping it with oil after each use to slow the rusting. I also recommend putting the lava rocks in a ziplock bag after each use, to avoid scratches when the wind blows it over and the rocks spread out in the cover. Brinkmann warns that the paint will catch fire unless you follow directions and are (very) careful. It's surprising they would knowingly create and sell something with that problem, obviously there are baked enamels that don't do that (look at Weber). The metal is thin, I'm not surprised to hear somebody had a burn through. You are supposed to season it with oil, and be careful with heat. It is easy to set the paint on fire with charcoal (oiled or not), but it should be easy to avoid that with propane; you have a lot of control with propane, and there's a charcoal pan and lava rocks between the flame and the ECB. Considering the cost and the risk, stick to the propane when smoking. The "bubble test" mentioned by another user adds more excitement; it suggests that Brinkmann does not trust their burner hose. In fact the hose has a cheap, shiny, solid plastic look. Then, there's no automatic shut off if the flame goes out. Do not set it and forget it! Check it constantly. If you need something idiot proof, this is the opposite. If you are reasonably mechanical and careful, you get a lot of outdoor cooking capabilities for a low price. Bass Pros sells this for $99 with a two gallon frying pot and strainer. Outstanding deal. At that price, you won't feel nearly as bad when the paint ignites.
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Posted: Jan 1 2008
we ordered this as Christmas gift on a monday, it came in on thursday with all of the parts and no damage to the box.
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Posted: Nov 17 2007
This is a great grill, takes a while to heat the lava rock for grilling with propane. I rated it 4 star because of its low price and pretty simple assembly, however I think the company needs more quality control in their shipping division. It was poorly packaged and parts were bent and the cover was mising, I called Brinkman and I had to fax original invoice and they will send lid. The lavarock bag was torn because of poor packaging and put the red dust on everything in the box. the drip pan does not fit well under the legs, to small??? All in all, for an inexpensive all around grill that takes up very little space, this is the I would buy again. Andy Z
