Propane or electric? The three questions that settle it
These two cabinet smokers look almost identical and cook very similarly. The decision usually comes down to three things, and none of them is flavor.
- Where will it live? No outlet within reach, or a spot you want to move the smoker to — buy propane. A covered patio with a weatherproof outlet three feet away — either works, and electric is slightly cheaper to run.
- Will you cook poultry? Gas gets hot enough to crisp skin; most electrics top out around 275°F and produce soft skin no matter what you do. If wings and whole chickens are on your list, that is a real point for propane.
- How cold does it get where you live? A gas burner has far more power in reserve than a 800-watt element, so a propane cabinet copes better with winter. See smoking in cold weather for the adjustments either way.
We compare them point by point in propane vs electric smoker if you want the longer version.
Thermostatic control is the feature worth paying for
Most propane smokers have a manual needle valve. You set the flame roughly where you want it, the cabinet settles at some temperature, and then the weather changes and it settles somewhere else. It is not difficult — you nudge the dial twice over a long cook — but it is a small ongoing job.
A thermostatic model such as the ThermoTemp puts a temperature-sensing valve in the gas line, so the burner modulates itself to hold the number you dialed in. That is the difference between a cooker you check and a cooker you set. For a nervous first-timer it removes the last genuinely fiddly part of gas smoking, and it is the reason we single that model out despite the price.
Whichever you buy, do not trust the dial’s printed numbers. Cabinet dials are regularly 20-30°F off, and the reading is taken at the door rather than at the grate where your food is. A leave-in probe thermometer at grate level costs far less than the smoker and tells you the truth — our thermometer picks cover what to buy.
Running a propane smoker: chips, water and the tank
The wood pan sits directly over the burner and it is small. Expect to refill it every 45 to 90 minutes for as long as you want smoke — which, for most cuts, is only the first three to four hours. Meat stops taking on smoke flavor meaningfully well before it is done, so there is no need to keep feeding chips all day. Use chips rather than chunks here; a small pan over a burner does not have the heat to work through a fist-sized chunk. Our chips vs chunks guide explains why.
Fill the water pan. In a gas cabinet the water pan does two useful jobs at once: it adds humidity that keeps the surface of the meat from drying out, and it acts as a thermal buffer that smooths out the burner’s cycling. Our water pan guide covers when to use one and when to leave it dry.
On fuel: a standard 20 lb propane tank will typically carry several long cooks, but a tank that runs dry at hour nine of a brisket is a genuinely miserable experience. Weigh the tank before a long cook or simply keep a spare — a second tank is the cheapest insurance in barbecue. Our cost-to-run guide puts numbers on gas versus electricity versus charcoal.
Wind is the one thing that will beat you
A propane burner is an open flame in a box with vents. A steady crosswind can pull the flame around, cool one side of the cabinet, and in the worst case blow the burner out entirely — which is why every gas smoker has a thermocouple safety that cuts the gas when the flame goes out. That safety works, but a smoker that has quietly shut itself off at hour six is still a ruined cook.
The fix is placement, not equipment. Put the smoker where a fence, a wall or the house blocks the prevailing wind, keep the back of the cabinet toward it, and check the flame when you check the chips. Double-walled models like the Pit Boss cope with this noticeably better than single-skin cabinets, which is part of what you are buying.
Safety, briefly and seriously
Propane smokers are outdoor appliances, full stop — never in a garage, never under an overhang with poor airflow, never on a covered balcony. Check the hose and regulator connection with soapy water when you swap tanks; bubbles mean a leak. Store the tank outdoors and upright. None of this is onerous, and all of it is non-negotiable.
On the food side, the usual rules apply regardless of fuel: keep the cabinet between 225°F and 300°F, use a thermometer rather than a clock, and refrigerate leftovers within two hours. Our smoke times and temps chart has the target numbers for every common cut.
