DGY784BDP 36" Vertical LP Gas Smoker, Black powder coat

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.

REVIEW SUMMARY: Smoker is really bad without modifications. You NEED to modify it to make any decent BBQ. Here's a short list explained in more detail in the full review. REQUIRED mods (Sealing off smoke leaks) Additional cost ~$20 on products on Amazon - BBQ RTV sealant on every hole and panel gaps - BBQ Smoker Gasket Optional mods. (Improving air/smoke flow control) Additional Cost ~Free - Cutting off the vent stopper on the chimney - Stuffing foil to block air coming in the grease trap hole. - Covering one of the vents in foil to seal it off. - Replacing the bolts on the other vent to press the vent down tight to the smoker panel to reduce air leaking in. FULL REVIEW IN DETAIL: Unmodified this is a really terrible smoker. It leaks smoke everywhere. Temperature is near impossible to keep below 300, even with both side vents closed and the top chimney closed "fully", when you add fuel into it especially if it's wood chunks or lump hardwood charcoal. Now this is a great cheap entry level smoker with about 20 dollars of mod which still make this a great budget smoker worth the price. These mods are a must if you want to make anything decent on this smoker. RTV sealant. I used Lavalock BBQ RTV here on Amazon. In my photos you can see the black smear of RTV on the gaps between the panels. I put a bead of RTV on the gaps between panels then used my finger to squeeze it into the gaps and holes and flatten it. I also squeezed RTV into the holes that had bolts that went into the smoker like the side handles, the nuts for the door handle and latches. I also put a large amount in a circle around the thermometer and the chimney holes. Second necessary mod is to get a BBQ Grill/Smoker gasket which you can see in my photos around the doors. You can get whatever brand you want on Amazon. I had to use about 15 feet of smoker gasket to seal off the doors. Other mods I've been testing that I don't think is a REQUIRED MOD but sure does make this a better smoker modifying ways air flow in and out of the smoker. I ended up sealing the vents on the bottom because it's too much air coming into the smoker causing the temps to be too high. I covered the "grease" trap hole on the very bottom with foil because nothing ever gets down there anyways and it just let's air in. I also put foil in between the vent slider and the wall of the smoker to seal off one of the vents completely. The gap between the vent slider and wall of the smoker is too much and it let's air in even if you don't want it to and have it closed completely. I also changed the bolts that you use to attach the vent slider to the side of the smoker. I used a bolt that lets me tighten it down all the way so I can adjust it so it just barely slides but clamps the vent to the side wall to seal off air from leaking in. I push washers to sandwich the slider and panel so it can still slide and I used a lock nut with teeth to bite into the washer so it doesn't become undone by the vent sliding back and forth over time. Lastly I used a oscillating tool to cut off the metal nub that stops the chimney vent from closing more and weirdly there's hole under that basic is another notch you can close the vent to. Before the chimney only closed about 75% shut but after cutting off the stopper I can close down the vent almost 90% shut as seen from my pictures. With those mods alone I completely stopped all the smoke leaking out of the smoker. The last thing I would do is increase the thermal mass inside of the smoker. Some people put bricks inside but what I did was keep the very bottom tray to be a spot for a water pan so it can absorb the heat and regulate it with the humidity it makes in the smoker. If you don't do those mods this smoker isn't worth buying. If you do the mods listed then it's a great entry into smokers and honestly if you're skilled enough people wouldn't be able to tell the difference between BBQ cooked in this 145 dollar smoker with an additional 20 dollars on mods vs a 400 dollar Weber Smokey Mountain.

Great service and communication from the seller. High quality product and easy to assemble although it is leaking smoke around the door but this can be solved with a gasket.

This product was awsome, one person could easily put it together it recommends using a screw driver we used a drill just to speed the process up, once heated it maintains heat well has plenty of racks for smoking jerky and rolls smoke fantastically, it’s a pretty great product for the person using charcoal and wood chips, lots of space to try new stuff you could easily fit a turkey in there, I’ve attatchrd a picture of a full size chicken on a middle rack enjoy!

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.

Facil de armar. Agregando unos empaques para las puertas, paracticamente no hay fuga de humo. Mantiene constante la temperatura. He podido preparar al mismo tiempo un Short Rib de 3.5Kg y 2 picañas de 1.5kg cada una, sin problema. Estoy contento con la compra.

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.