Dyna-Glo DGY784BDP 36" Vertical LP Gas Smoker

I don't write many of these, but thought it needs to be said that this is a great smoker!! Wish it were insulated but knew that it wasn't at the time of purchase, no surprise there. I had many questions about the unit before I jumped in and the folks at (GHP) DayGlow could not have been more helpful X10. There is a lady I think her name was Susan that helped with my 2 problems which did not stop the unit from working out of the box, this was all shipping problems. (I don't know what they are paying her but it is not enough I'm sure) She is most polite and knows her products well, very well. I had a dent in the side from shipping and they replaced the main body it's self, she could not have said "i'm sorry" more than she did. I'm just like you I hate to sit on hold forever, well I can say from experience that over 10-15 calls to them I think the longest hold time I had might have been 7 mins. a couple of times I was asked "can I call you back" and sure enough they do call back very soon after. I have waited to review this Dayglow smoker till now to see how it really worked. I have been smoking meats and even cheese for some 40 yrs. In this Dayglow Smoker unit we have made some of the best BBQ. We have done Brisket, Chickens, Turkey, Pork Ribs, Loins, Butts, Bacon, and Sausage. All has come out perfect! temp is easy to control as is the amount of smoke, that being said I should tell you the gaskets on the doors work as intended, they seal the unit very tight. The only smoke you see is from the vents (4) and the chimney(1) I get a perfect smoke ring every time as well as the food being very moist, that is due to the water pan that sits above the smoke box. (BTW) Both the water pan and chip box are big enough to smoke anything you can put in this monster size unit.!!! Notice I said chips Not CHUNKS, NOT LOGS, Chips!!! This is very important that you use what some might call large chain saw chips. Some say they burn up to fast, that is true if you get to hot and don't wet them. But that i mean put a small amount of water, beer, or wine to the chips. This will slow down the burn and the smoke will become a perfect clear smoke. (not white or back/blue) that smoke will make your food bitter and dry as well. Even commercial outfits use sawdust, been there and seen it in use. That's what changed my way of smoking. The way I see it if I wanted to, I could put 20 racks of whole spare ribs, just buying more rib racks. You should know that all shelve brackets are adjustable by maybe 3 inches per move. I can say safely I have not found a smoker with the flexible options this unit has. You Get 6 shelves 1 rib rack for 5/6 slabs and 8 hooks at the top for sausage or like me I've done bacon as well, now understand the the bacon hooks themselves I bought separate, but you do get 8 hooks to hang them on. In total I am very happy with this unit, I know I can light my cast iron burners put a big pile if chips in and cook some of the best BBQ my wife and I have ever made. Now when your wife who BTW is an Executive Chef says that's some of the best Q. She has had to date. You can get a big head for a job well done, believe me. Hell she even does the dish's after I worked so hard to make perfect BBQ (LOL) For those who are reading this I need tell you I have not been asked to write this by (GHP)/ DayGlow) or anyone. This is my smoker and my experience with it. It works the cost was fair and the company service was way better that most these days. Also I DO NOT WORK for or Have ANY Interest in this Company! I'm just giving them their due for a good product & great service! The only thing I can say if they ever build an insulated model I will be 1st in line. Here in Mi. it gets cold in the winters and we cook on our grill and smoke foods all winter, for now I will build a small covering to keep some heat in during the snowy months. Hope this helps! Enjoy, Wayne.

Good sturdy construction, yet light weight enough to move by myself. Does not need hydro which is perfect for our off grid cottage. Clean up is easy shelves wash right up as does the water tray. Can hold lots of product to smoke. 4 shelves are large and nicely spaced. Door seals are perfect. Water pan is nice and large as is the smoke tray. It is easy to run. It adjust easily with the 3 vents (2 sides and one top) to allow for temperature/smoke control. I have done a pork loin, beef tenderloin and brisket as well as a couple of salmon flanks and pork ribs. All turned out to be a success. I have paired it with the meater plus thermometer and am thoroughly satisfied with the results. I would highly recommend this smoker.

Liked: Holds cooking/smoking temperature @ -20C or +/- 18F with 20,000 BTU; Disliked: Lack of auto temperature control with the gas....this would reduce the amount of attention required. I will have to add one. I am looking at a Robertshaw dial control. I would have 1 burner on a low setting to get the smoking chips at or near 700deg F for best smoke type. Disliked: The unit could have had insulation with internal covering thereby saving gas during cooking; Liked: Easily comfortable can handle full length rib rack flat down on grates and big briskets. Great size of grates; Disliked: Initially liked the shape, size, especially length of the rib rack grate. But when I put the rib on it, the pyramid/triangular design separators, should have been higher by 1.5"-2" and these separators holders should finish on the edges at the top and bottom so that ribs don't flop down. St-Louis style ribs flop down too much. I suspect it will be better with baby back cut ribs. Liked: Generates clean smoke. Note that clearing circular hole in center of chips is necessary for air movement in wood chip pan. Better still would be to make the bottom partially with fine stainless mesh and the top in full fine mesh with metal picture frame. Liked: location of water over the wood chip pan. The fact that no grease/fat gets into the smoker wood chip pan and either falls into the water (this could improve with redirection baffles plate) or off to the sides and outside into 2 mini-pans. All fat should be directed to the outside - this would be a major improvement. Getting the best smoke and deeper smoke ring would require that some charcoal(preferably with the wood chips) be put somewhere with the wood albeit a small amount. In rapid cook sessions---over 325deg. these falling juices on hot chip coals may provide a better flavour spectrum, but not in low and slow cook offs. In all smokers, I dislike opening the door of the smoker to spray the meat with a favorite juice. No smoker I have seen has an externally activated sprayer (must have nozel protection to avoid clogging). I wish there was a way to incorporate this in a future smoker. No: 1 priority would be to have an insulated model No: 2 priority would be to improve the wood chip box as indicated above, albeit maybe on one side of the box and not the other so flame and temperature could be controlled. No: 3 priority would be to fix the design of that rib rack so St-Louis style ribs do not flop at ends and in middle. No: 4 priority would be to get all the falling grease to the outside of the box to minimize cleaning and further reduce risk of fire with excessive rendered fat as in porc bellies. No: 5 priority would be to add a 3-4 speed air circulating fan to minimize hot spots at both sides-left-right. Written by a never happy and not-so-retired product designer.

Upgraded from a bullet-style charcoal smoker to this. WOW. Had so many problems keeping the charcoal smoker at a consistent temperature - with even the slightest wind or chill, forget about it. So based on a recommendation went propane and with this model. Great size for the amateur smoker. Runs very consistently - excellent for long duration. I am averaging about 24-30 hours of smoking (@225f) on a standard 10lb. propane tank. So overall I find that very cost effective. I do find that wood chunks work better than chips - get more out of them - in this smoker.

So far so good. I have a 7 yr old Grillpro that is still working but grates are rusting and I wanted a bigger unit. Also, I've ducted my old unit with 4 inch duct into the side of an old grill so I can smoke a turkey on a spit (I'm a big fan of spit cooking to keep meat moist). As I write I am smoking 4 racks of baby back ribs (mesquite). Unit came with no damage, 2 days as promised. Assembly was a snap - unlike my Grillpro, the box was already assembled so that was nice. Nice to have the nuts welded in to no messing with that. Holes for bolts lined up perfectly. This midsize unit isn't really that heavy, I had no problem lifting it. It is at least twice as large as my old unit, could do 8+ racks at a time if I wanted, so unless you are smoking for a big crowd I wouldn't go for their biggest unit (and there is the extra weight). Even this one is too big for my winter storage shed I keep on my deck so it will have to have it out in the winter (bought the Dyna-Glo cover specified for this unit). I personally don't think "seasoning" is really needed,b ut you do want to crank it up to high heat to burn off any gunk from manufacturing (about 40 min). As with all units of this type, there is a learning curve for controlling temperature. After running at full/both burners to get chips/blocks smoking - I did this with the lower door open to keep temp from spiking, running with one burner at lowest setting (70 deg outside), one lower vent full open, the other fully closed and the top vent fully open, temperature stable at 190 degrees, more or less perfect. Most of the time I suspect those will be the only two settings I use (depending on outside temp and wind). With my single burner/old unit keeping the temp low enough was tricky. A tip for newbies: I use a combination of wood chips and wood blocks. Chips are going to burn up fast and you are going to be adding more almost every 20 minutes. You will be going through them fast. I personally don't like real heavy smoke and that is what you will get if you add a lot of chips. Wood chunks will burn slower and you will only need to add more about every hour. I typically smoke for about 4 hours. My daughter lives in southern New Mexico (I'm in Minnesota) so I collect my own Mesquite when I'm down there. A few more notes: I just noticed a slight dent in one of the doors, hardly noticeable. These units do have flexible seals on outer edges of both doors, no leakage! Lastly imho, soaking wood in water first is utter rubbish.