Really glad to see someone else has had the idea to sprinkle in wood chunks with the charcoal and has had good results. I think this video helped make up my mind that this is the smoker to buy
Everyday A Friday Thanks for watching. Utilizing chunks in the chute helps on the long cooks to keep from babysitting to make sure you’re getting enough smoke. It’s a great smoker in my opinion and I’m pretty sure you’ll be satisfied with it.
Thanks so much, this will be my first time lighting the fire myself so I was a bit nervous. This was helpful, I would have never thought to put wood in
I was thinking about picking one of these up yesterday (upgrade from my diy that caught on fire and warped), and I was a bit confused with where the wood could go. And it was that simple lol. Thanks for sharing your setup!
Thank you for this! Just did my first pork shoulder on straight briquettes just because I wanted to see how it came out. It was nice, but you showed me how I can use wood.
Beautiful smoke color on that meat... Great idea with the foil in the chute... I'm about to purchase the Masterbuilt 800, making the switch from my pellet smoker...
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff absolutely loving it so far, the ability to add actual wood chunks as far as smoke flavor goes, far surpasses an extra added smoker box in my old pellet smoker
Thanks for watching. I use chips as well especially if I want to get a quick clean smoke, mainly at the end of a cook when I’ve sauced ribs or chicken and want to get some smoke in the sauce.
Good stuff. Been thinking hard on buying one of these and have been curious about the balance of charcoal and wood chunks. Thanks for making the video.
How stable is this item to the elements? Do the electronics do ok? Traeger can run in the rain as it is electrical. I am curious what Cons you have had
Thanks for watching. As far as stability in the elements, I haven’t had anything else outside the norms of a standard charcoal grill occur. It burns more fuel if it’s really cold. There is a large vent that spans the width of the backside of the grill. Some have complained about that when it rains, and there are available mods for that, however I havent had any issues. I run in the rain and even in the snow once. No real issues or temp swings out of the norm of any other grill. As far as my electronic controller goes, I usually just drape my cover over the controller if it is raining. I’ve seen other vids where guys run in the rain and they say it’s fine, but I just don’t want to chance it. As far as cons, I can say that the unit has run better than I expected it to. I was worried about losing temp due to the thinner metal, but it seems to do okay because the lid is double walled. They updated the firmware so my long cooks are a lot better now where I can monitor from the phone in the app. I will say that the paint isn’t the best but I usually touch up and repaint my grills anyway. Outside of that, it runs pretty good for me.
Thank you very much for sharing this. I’m smoking two turkeys for Thanksgiving in my new Masterbuilt and was wondering how I could achieve the best smoke so thank you again. And it seems our parents chose the same first name.
Thanks for watching Geoffrey! It’s always good to come across another G. I love smoked Turkey and I always smoke them to impart some extra flavor and moisture along with the injection. I think that people sometimes think the only way to smoke a Turkey is on a stick burner with logs but you can get some great flavor with just coal and wood chunks as well. Cheers!
I seriously considering getting one of the these smokers and your video just made the decision for me. Have you ever had a grill fire while reloading the hopper while cooking or do you close the dampers before you fill it up?
Thanks for watching! No fire. You may see some flames up top if it’s really low on charcoal. Just hold your bag above it and you will be fine. There is a little flash up when you open the top just because of the extra added oxygen.
I havent done a long cook before. Im thinking about doing a brisket tomorrow. Do you fill the hopper all the way up? And if youve done a brisket before, do you normally have to re load the charcoal during the cook? Or will it make it 5-6 hours or however long it takes for a brisket
I did a few briskets on that smoker. It depends on your fuel. I use B&B briquettes. Slow burning stuff that lasts. I can fill the chute and get a whole packer done. On other brands, you can check every few hours to see where you end up at, but it’s easy to refill. Also be sure and check your ash pan on those long cooks. Cheers!
Issue with Kingsford and Royal Oak and it’s been proven but those 2 burn so much more faster than B&B so you use so much more of their charcoal compared to B&B. I don’t look for smoke from Charcoal. I use chunks and chips to keep a more steady smoke. Think of charcoal just as your heat source and the wood as your flavor/smoke. Going back to the efficiency of B&B but for chicken I only use 1.5 full chimney’s of B&B briquettes as they last so long. This video was still great info and there are more than 1 way to skin a cat.
L J thanks for watching. I agree with you on the issues with Kingsford and Royal Oak. They burn entirely too fast. I’ve never been a fan of Kingsford myself. However I am able to source B&B locally and much cheaper now instead of ordering it online and I find that it’s my primary go to for cooks now. In reference to the smoke from the charcoal, I was referring to the heavy burn off that is seen when starting the MB 560 when using Kingsford/Royal Oak vs using B&B. Virtually no heavy smoke when starting B&B on my cooker. Says a lot to what goes in their product and I tend to agree that it’s a more natural product. Also with B&B I find there is no creosote buildup on the walls of the chute like the others. As for my smoke flavors, I like mixing it up a bit between pecan, hickory, apple and post oak chunks depending on the cook. I used to run a stick burner and I loved it, but for where we live now and the space constraints, this unit works. I do miss my split logs cause I felt better flavor came from it but this smoker does well in the meantime. Happy Holidays and be safe. 👍🏾
Thanks for watching Hector! I find that the chunks in the ash pan help with the initial smoke. The ashes from the charcoal fall down them and cause the wood to smolder and smoke. This helps when first starting the cook because of how I layer charcoal, then wood in the chute, the wood hasn’t started burning yet. The only setback I see to the ash pan is that I don’t really get as much time out of the wood in the ash pan. I have to keep adding more throughout the cook which is why I prefer the chute method which keeps smoke flowing constantly.
Great video... quick question, when you are done with the cook and close the vents to snuff out thr fire. Assuming you didnt use up all the coal for the cook that day, those older coals sitting in the bottom of the hopper light ok the nexf day?.
Lump charcoal, they light up very easily. The older briquettes take a few minutes with the fire starter. You do have to shake the grate and get the ash off the coals that are in lower portion of the chute. I do 100 PERCENT with this grill or any of the new gravity units recommend that you only use the charcoal that you need for the cook. I always found that for a hot and fast steak, 1/3 of a chimney would do the job. Add as you need for longer cooks. It is possible to do. Thanks for watching.
@OutdoorsWithGeoff ok that helps. Yea bought a pitboss850Pro and thrn came across this MB900 (MB800 w/pizza)at Costco. The pitboss is still in the box so definitely leaning returning and buying MB900 as it does Auto Ctrl with Charcoal. And your video def helps here. How long does it take for the coals to smolder off typically when you close off all the vents/doors?
Question if you have time... I've use a regular offset smoker (best taste, must be watched closest and an electric masterbuilt. Good flavor but not the best, more convenient. Was looking at pellet grills, when I found this. This seems to me to be a good choice between the two. My question, how is the "set it and forget it" aspect? temperatures fluctuate a lot?
Thanks for watching. I ran a stick burner for some years as well. I have to say the set it and forget it is on point with this device. I just cooked a brisket starting at 11pm last night, woke up and wrapped it at 4am, and took it off when the app alerted me that it hit 200 degrees after 1pm today. The firmware and the app have had updates to make them less cumbersome and easier for the set it and forget it process. Two quick points. There needs to be some sort of fuel indicator in the app. I make sure to check my charcoal and wood before going to sleep, but that would make it spot on if you could get an alert in the app that charcoal was running low or even just that the temperature dropped due to no fuel. That sounds more feasible and easier to add in a firmware and app update. On the temperature fluctuations, I’ve never had a swing that was above or below 8 degrees. I use Royal Oak and B&B Briquettes. However I will say that I’ve started using both Royal Oak and B&B lump charcoal and that thing stays SPOT on. Maybe two degrees at most but it holds at my set temp. I live in Atlanta where winters are mild. I made up my mind to change to lump especially for the long cooks.
Great video. That is basically my setup as well. How do you go about reloading the hopper while cooking? I just did a 12 hour brisket and had to load it twice all the way. Do you let it totally burn all the fuel before attempting a reload? I tried refilling it with a small amount left in the hopper and it blew thick white smoke for 30 minutes after.
Thanks for watching Mike! I used to have that issue when I first got the grill but after an update it seemed to run fine for me. I was running IOS though. I appreciate your support.
Nice explanation and straightforward. So I might have a stupid question. Could you start with a layer of charcoal and then go straight wood chunks after? Would kind of be like a hybrid stick burner. Trying to chase that stick burner flavor but don't want to buy a nother grill. Lol
Thanks for watching Ripesteel. I’ve heard of folks using straight wood chunks. I haven’t myself. Masterbuilt discourages it on their site and in their instructions. I do know what you mean about chasing the stick burner flavor and I’ll be honest, this grill doesn’t deliver that.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Thanks for your response. I actually own the char griller gravity 980. I'm going to try a dry run this weekend and see how she runs and produces that clean smoke.
Let me know how it turns out. I’ll be honest with you. The 980 I think would do a better job if it was just wood chunks because of that porcelain coated chute. I apologize. I thought you had a MB like I used to cause I get a ton of questions from subscribers on that video and it’s mainly MB users. The chute in the MB was a thin gauge metal that didn’t hold up well at all. I think that’s why they were so adamant on not doing that. I know CG says the same, but I think it definitely will hold up better. Let me know how it goes. 👍🏾🔥
could you scatter a bunch of wood chips in with the first lot of charcoal? ive read that the meat will only take on so much wood flavour so wondering if scattering chips in with the first few hurs worth of charcoal would be best and the most cost effective :)
Thanks for watching. I do recommend wood chips for this smoker but I only use them in the ash pan because they burn up so quickly. I use them a lot if I cook and Sauce my ribs and put them back on for the sauce to tack up. At that point, I use chips in the ash pan to get some smoke on the sauce. But in the hopper, they really wouldn’t last that long in my opinion. Thanks for your support!
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff thanks for the reply. Ive been wanting something with the convenience of a pellet smoker but with real wood taste and it seems like the masterbuilt or the camp chef woodwind pro are the 2 to look at, the masterbuilt is half the price though!! Think ill go with the masterbuilt, thanks!!
Thanks for the video, I think this helped me make up my mind since these are on sale at my local Walmart right now, or at least I hope the sale is still on 🤣 how has it held up over the years?
Sorry for the delay Adam. These comments haven't been showing up lately for some reason. I did a video comparing it to the Char-Griller 980 and the status of the grill after a year of ownership. At the time, I didn't have the grill under a covered patio but I had a grill cover on it. The wear on some parts was disappoint in some aspects, but expected. The metal was thin and I constantly heard it flexing and bowing when I seared steaks due to the heat. However, I had to replace the control unit twice under warranty. Now this is the first iteration of this grill and Im sure they made some changes since then. However, I would still buy it again. It did its job and for the price, it was worth it.
Hi, When you light up the charcoal, its only the bottom that lights up, not the entire chimney. So during the cook doesn't the top charcoal and wood chunks light up and produce dirty smoke?
Hello Amit. The top doesn’t light. The chute is sealed with a gasket at the top that doesn’t allow air in. The charcoal on the bottom burns and turns to ash. The weight of the charcoal on top presses down and pushes the ash through to the ash pan. Hence the term gravity fed. It’s a pretty ingenious method.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, thank you for the reply. I understand the logic of the gravity. What i mean is, when the bottom charcoals turns into ash and the top charcoals are pushed down, they now light up during the cook. If i understand it correctly, dirty smoke is produced when the charcoal and wood first light up. So by that logic, when new charcoal and wood are fed and light up they produce dirty smoke during the cook. I'm sure i am missing something, but not a lot of information about clean smoke in gravity smokers. I recently switched from Traeger Ranger to MB 560 so i don't have much knowledge. But my first cooks i used hickory chunks and the taste wasn't just strong, it was a bit harsh. So i think i probably had dirty smoke on it. But i put the food in after about 30 minutes when i had smoke similar to what you show at the end of the video. Appreciate the help!
I watched your video and you touched on the topic, but I just wanted to ask anyways is it possible to just run this on wood chunks and not use charcoal?
Thanks for watching! In the Masterbuilt you can’t burn all chunks. You can burn a mix. To be honest with you, if you need some really quick smoke at the end of a cook, you can use wood chips or pellets in the ash tray with no issue.
Hi Geoff, hey I am looking at moving up from my offset and want the clean smoke as well. Have you tried adding more wood and less charcoal ratio and if it has any change on smoke flavor? I have heard of someone putting a split in the center of the charcoal chute but not heard much on adding or subtracting wood flavor with amount of wood added. For those who want a strong smoke flavor but don't want the bad smoke and the acrid taste of creosote from smoldering wood. Just wondered if you have found a point that was too much added. Thank you for the videos!
Thanks for watching Brett. I’ve found that medium that you’re talking about varies. To me, when I’m using fruit woods like cherry and apple, which I primarily use on chicken and I want a heavier smoke, I tend to add a larger ratio of wood to the chute and I tend to get a better smoke flavor. I haven’t put any split logs in the chute but I feel like I’ve put enough wood in there to possibly resemble that and it seems to be fine thus far when I want a heavy smoke flavor. One thing that I did pick up from another channel that really seems to work well as a backup and does add some smoke flavor is putting in a cup of wood pellets in the rotation. I know they say not to use them, but I’ve actually gotten some decent flavor off them when I add a little in the chute with some charcoal on shorter cooks and let some smolder in the pan. One thing that seems to help with larger cooks like brisket and pork shoulder is to put wood in the chute, but to avoid that smoldering issue that produces that acrid taste sometimes, I warm the chunks in the cooking chamber on the grate before putting them in the ash pan. Seems to make a difference to me.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to try that and am buying the Masterbuilt 1050 gravity smoker. I appreciate your time and thank you for the information as I will use that method in my smoker when it arrives. Thank you again and looking forward to your next video post!
Geoff, thanks for showing your loading procedure. I've been looking for this. How many layers of wood chunks do you put in per full hopper and do you always use 3 or 4 chunks per layer?
Thanks for watching Derek. I usually use two to three chunks per layer and when I do a full hopper, I usually end up with three layers of wood. If I want to try and go heavier on the smoke like I did on that brisket, I’ll do four layers of wood. I also put a couple of chunks in the ash pan to start it.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Perfect! I'm looking for that thin blue smoke that you get. I currently smoke on a Primo Ceramic and a MAK2. I'm hoping this 560 will be a good addition.
I've been struggling with the temp fluctuating up to 50 degrees. kingsford and couple other lump that i've found at lowes and walmart. I put a screen in the hopper and switched to b&b texas lump and now it stayed rock solid at my set temp. Not sure if it was the screen or charcoal switch, but i'm happy with it.
Jaymobe07 thanks for watching. I found that Kingsford didn’t really work that well for me either. I didn’t really have temp swings to that extent, but I get more consistent temps with Royal Oak Briquettes and definitely with B&B Briquettes. I’m going to do the screen mod as well. Just haven’t found the time to yet. Also after every six of seven cooks when I do my deep clean, I found that I need to clean the temp probe on the inside of the grill near the door by scraping off the buildup with some water, detergent and a Brillo pad. I was seeing temp spikes when compared to my thermometer as high as 75 degrees when I didn’t clean it after so many cooks. It’s back to normal afterward.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, thanks for the video, i was normally using chunks in the ash pan and that gave me good results but now i have done the charcoal grate mod and found that took almost 2 hours for the chunks to fully smoke in the ash pan probably because there were not enough big pieces in the pan. Did you manage to do the mod and did you experience something similar? Thanks
Thanks for watching tomcatRTY. I have done the grate mod using four independent metal skewers. I haven’t experienced what you describe, but I’ve also been burning B&B briquettes and B&B lump as of late. If I had the results you describe I’d try taking out one of the skewers and adjusting the spacing. One thing I will say is that there’s some truth for sure to what you describe because I’m using less fuel (creating less ash) with the mod, even when I use B&B which burns very conservative as compared to the other brands. You may want to try taking a torch to a chunk or two before you put them in as well. I used to warm my logs when I had a stick burner before I put them in the fire. Thanks again for watching.
It tends to add a more smoke. They smoke with the hot ash coming down on them. This really helps on longer cooks like brisket. And you also have the smoke coming from the chunks in the hopper too. Thanks for watching.
Yes I have. I did it using a pack of stainless steel skewers from Walmart for $3 and I have seen a big difference in fuel consumption. I recommend it to anyone that owns this grill. Thanks for watching.
Thanks for watching. I’ve used bluetooth a couple times. Not enough to report any issues. I use WiFi all the time and haven’t had any issues at all. Solid connection. Been out the house in long cooks and everything with the app. I use an IPhone and it seems solid. I’ve heard not so much for Android.
@@melvinmothershed9102 I agree with Geoff on this. I was surprised at how well the app actually works because of all the issues I saw other people reporting. I have successfully changed temp, changed time, monitored the temp all from the app in my house. It still only supports 2.5g wifi connections.
Get real I use tumbleweeds by Royal Oak but honestly they’re not needed. I keep them for convenience. I’ve taken a folded paper towel and put some vegetable oil on it and lit that and it starts up just as fine.
The foil in the chute is genius. Thanks!
Really glad to see someone else has had the idea to sprinkle in wood chunks with the charcoal and has had good results. I think this video helped make up my mind that this is the smoker to buy
Everyday A Friday Thanks for watching. Utilizing chunks in the chute helps on the long cooks to keep from babysitting to make sure you’re getting enough smoke. It’s a great smoker in my opinion and I’m pretty sure you’ll be satisfied with it.
I just bought this grill as a first time smoker and have this video saved for this weekend when I try it out! Thank you!
Thanks for watching and I know you will enjoy the 560! Cheers!
finally a great video on how to load wood into the hopper!! thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching Mike! Much appreciated.
Thank you for posting this! Really helps. Love the foil idea too!
Thanks so much, this will be my first time lighting the fire myself so I was a bit nervous. This was helpful, I would have never thought to put wood in
Thanks Geoff. Short and to the point. Just what we needed.
Thanks for watching!
Good point from you, I got 1050 one month ago still learning
Greetings from Iceland
Thanks for watching! And cheers to some great bbq!
Just got my 1050 for Christmas! Going to give this method a go and I season it.
Congrats! I know you’ll enjoy it!
I just picked one of these up today. Thanks for the helpful video.
I was thinking about picking one of these up yesterday (upgrade from my diy that caught on fire and warped), and I was a bit confused with where the wood could go. And it was that simple lol. Thanks for sharing your setup!
Glad I could help! Thanks for your support!
Thank you for this! Just did my first pork shoulder on straight briquettes just because I wanted to see how it came out. It was nice, but you showed me how I can use wood.
Not a problem! Thanks for watching David. 👍🏾
Beautiful smoke color on that meat... Great idea with the foil in the chute... I'm about to purchase the Masterbuilt 800, making the switch from my pellet smoker...
Hope you enjoy! It's a great cooker!
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff absolutely loving it so far, the ability to add actual wood chunks as far as smoke flavor goes, far surpasses an extra added smoker box in my old pellet smoker
Nice video bro!
When using gravity smoker I believe for better results, put a mixture of chunks & chips!
Thanks for watching. I use chips as well especially if I want to get a quick clean smoke, mainly at the end of a cook when I’ve sauced ribs or chicken and want to get some smoke in the sauce.
Nice Ring man. Just bought one of these.... thanks for the tips. Like the foil trick too!
Thanks for watching bunny268!
Good stuff. Been thinking hard on buying one of these and have been curious about the balance of charcoal and wood chunks. Thanks for making the video.
Thanks for watching! think it’s a great cooker overall.
How stable is this item to the elements? Do the electronics do ok? Traeger can run in the rain as it is electrical. I am curious what Cons you have had
Thanks for watching. As far as stability in the elements, I haven’t had anything else outside the norms of a standard charcoal grill occur. It burns more fuel if it’s really cold. There is a large vent that spans the width of the backside of the grill. Some have complained about that when it rains, and there are available mods for that, however I havent had any issues. I run in the rain and even in the snow once. No real issues or temp swings out of the norm of any other grill. As far as my electronic controller goes, I usually just drape my cover over the controller if it is raining. I’ve seen other vids where guys run in the rain and they say it’s fine, but I just don’t want to chance it.
As far as cons, I can say that the unit has run better than I expected it to. I was worried about losing temp due to the thinner metal, but it seems to do okay because the lid is double walled. They updated the firmware so my long cooks are a lot better now where I can monitor from the phone in the app. I will say that the paint isn’t the best but I usually touch up and repaint my grills anyway. Outside of that, it runs pretty good for me.
Geoff your technique is very informative have I ever get a drop smoker I will have to follow your instructions
Thanks James! Much appreciated.
Thank you very much for sharing this. I’m smoking two turkeys for Thanksgiving in my new Masterbuilt and was wondering how I could achieve the best smoke so thank you again. And it seems our parents chose the same first name.
Thanks for watching Geoffrey! It’s always good to come across another G. I love smoked Turkey and I always smoke them to impart some extra flavor and moisture along with the injection. I think that people sometimes think the only way to smoke a Turkey is on a stick burner with logs but you can get some great flavor with just coal and wood chunks as well. Cheers!
Just got one. Thanks for the tips.
Thanks for watching!
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff welcome. I subscribed.
Much appreciated Chad!
Great video, exactly what I was looking for. Thank you
Thanks for watching!
Great video! Just what I was looking for. You sold me on the grill by adding the wood chunks in the hopper and in the ash been!
Thanks for watching! I find you get the best results that way. It’s a good smoker. Cheers and enjoy!
Which do you prefer doing? Or just put wood in both?
I prefer putting in the hopper so I don’t have to worry about it. For cooks where I want a heavier smoke, I put in both the ash pan and the hopper.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff gotcha thanks man appreciate it!
Good tips! Thank you!
Thanks for watching Brandon!
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff just pick up my 800 Saturday! Try to learn all I can 👍
Nice one my man! I’m sure you’ll love it!
Very helpful video. Thank you!
No problem! Thanks for watching Elliot!
Thank you so much! Great video
Thanks for watching Matt!
You’re awesome man. Good informative video.
Thanks for watching Dan! I appreciate the support.
Great video! Very informative
Thanks for watching Daniel!
I seriously considering getting one of the these smokers and your video just made the decision for me. Have you ever had a grill fire while reloading the hopper while cooking or do you close the dampers before you fill it up?
Thanks for watching! No fire. You may see some flames up top if it’s really low on charcoal. Just hold your bag above it and you will be fine. There is a little flash up when you open the top just because of the extra added oxygen.
Ok, I’ll keep that in mind. Thanks for feedback.
How thick is the charcoal layer between the wood layers. Great video
Maybe six to eight inches at most. Thanks for watching!
I havent done a long cook before. Im thinking about doing a brisket tomorrow. Do you fill the hopper all the way up? And if youve done a brisket before, do you normally have to re load the charcoal during the cook? Or will it make it 5-6 hours or however long it takes for a brisket
I did a few briskets on that smoker. It depends on your fuel. I use B&B briquettes. Slow burning stuff that lasts. I can fill the chute and get a whole packer done. On other brands, you can check every few hours to see where you end up at, but it’s easy to refill. Also be sure and check your ash pan on those long cooks. Cheers!
Thanks for this video. Do you smoke at 275 because it produces cleaner smoke on this cooker?
It's just my average cook temperature. I find that it a good temp to speed up cooks while still getting good smoke. Thanks for your support!
Issue with Kingsford and Royal Oak and it’s been proven but those 2 burn so much more faster than B&B so you use so much more of their charcoal compared to B&B.
I don’t look for smoke from Charcoal. I use chunks and chips to keep a more steady smoke. Think of charcoal just as your heat source and the wood as your flavor/smoke.
Going back to the efficiency of B&B but for chicken I only use 1.5 full chimney’s of B&B briquettes as they last so long.
This video was still great info and there are more than 1 way to skin a cat.
L J thanks for watching. I agree with you on the issues with Kingsford and Royal Oak. They burn entirely too fast. I’ve never been a fan of Kingsford myself. However I am able to source B&B locally and much cheaper now instead of ordering it online and I find that it’s my primary go to for cooks now.
In reference to the smoke from the charcoal, I was referring to the heavy burn off that is seen when starting the MB 560 when using Kingsford/Royal Oak vs using B&B. Virtually no heavy smoke when starting B&B on my cooker. Says a lot to what goes in their product and I tend to agree that it’s a more natural product. Also with B&B I find there is no creosote buildup on the walls of the chute like the others.
As for my smoke flavors, I like mixing it up a bit between pecan, hickory, apple and post oak chunks depending on the cook.
I used to run a stick burner and I loved it, but for where we live now and the space constraints, this unit works. I do miss my split logs cause I felt better flavor came from it but this smoker does well in the meantime.
Happy Holidays and be safe. 👍🏾
very cool video. love your opening.. ill have to for that royal oak...enjoy.
Thanks for the feedback. It’s a good go to everyday brand for me based down here out of Georgia. Thanks for watching.
Great tip with the foil on the lid. Do you place the sheet over the whole opening or just around the seal?
Thanks for watching Steve! I place it so that it covers the hole and the seal.
What do the wood chunks in the ash bucket do to help? Thanks for this video. Answers alot of my questions.
Thanks for watching Hector! I find that the chunks in the ash pan help with the initial smoke. The ashes from the charcoal fall down them and cause the wood to smolder and smoke. This helps when first starting the cook because of how I layer charcoal, then wood in the chute, the wood hasn’t started burning yet. The only setback I see to the ash pan is that I don’t really get as much time out of the wood in the ash pan. I have to keep adding more throughout the cook which is why I prefer the chute method which keeps smoke flowing constantly.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff thank you so much!
Great video... quick question, when you are done with the cook and close the vents to snuff out thr fire. Assuming you didnt use up all the coal for the cook that day, those older coals sitting in the bottom of the hopper light ok the nexf day?.
Lump charcoal, they light up very easily. The older briquettes take a few minutes with the fire starter. You do have to shake the grate and get the ash off the coals that are in lower portion of the chute. I do 100 PERCENT with this grill or any of the new gravity units recommend that you only use the charcoal that you need for the cook. I always found that for a hot and fast steak, 1/3 of a chimney would do the job. Add as you need for longer cooks. It is possible to do. Thanks for watching.
@OutdoorsWithGeoff ok that helps. Yea bought a pitboss850Pro and thrn came across this MB900 (MB800 w/pizza)at Costco. The pitboss is still in the box so definitely leaning returning and buying MB900 as it does Auto Ctrl with Charcoal. And your video def helps here. How long does it take for the coals to smolder off typically when you close off all the vents/doors?
@@nikbadshah it will take some hours to smolder when you put the slides in but it will be cool enough within 90 minutes for you to put your cover on.
@OutdoorsWithGeoff oh really hey. That's a bit longer than i expected. Thanks for answering my questions.
Yall check out used ones, i just copped one for 150 and the door switch wouldnt activate the fan, twisted the wires together and it was good
Question if you have time... I've use a regular offset smoker (best taste, must be watched closest and an electric masterbuilt. Good flavor but not the best, more convenient. Was looking at pellet grills, when I found this. This seems to me to be a good choice between the two. My question, how is the "set it and forget it" aspect? temperatures fluctuate a lot?
Thanks for watching. I ran a stick burner for some years as well. I have to say the set it and forget it is on point with this device. I just cooked a brisket starting at 11pm last night, woke up and wrapped it at 4am, and took it off when the app alerted me that it hit 200 degrees after 1pm today. The firmware and the app have had updates to make them less cumbersome and easier for the set it and forget it process.
Two quick points. There needs to be some sort of fuel indicator in the app. I make sure to check my charcoal and wood before going to sleep, but that would make it spot on if you could get an alert in the app that charcoal was running low or even just that the temperature dropped due to no fuel. That sounds more feasible and easier to add in a firmware and app update.
On the temperature fluctuations, I’ve never had a swing that was above or below 8 degrees. I use Royal Oak and B&B Briquettes. However I will say that I’ve started using both Royal Oak and B&B lump charcoal and that thing stays SPOT on. Maybe two degrees at most but it holds at my set temp. I live in Atlanta where winters are mild. I made up my mind to change to lump especially for the long cooks.
Outdoors With Geoff awesome. Think I’ll pick one up. Thanks for the reply!!!
Thanks perfect very helpful
Thanks for watching! No prob Bill. What kind of smoker do you run?
Great video. That is basically my setup as well. How do you go about reloading the hopper while cooking? I just did a 12 hour brisket and had to load it twice all the way. Do you let it totally burn all the fuel before attempting a reload? I tried refilling it with a small amount left in the hopper and it blew thick white smoke for 30 minutes after.
I have the same smoker and I usually refill when the hopper has a quarter left on large cooks to avoid the thick white smoke
@@Andrew.R686 great advice. Thanks!
Good info, thanks
My biggest problem is my Master built app doesn't connect to my homes wifi :).
Thanks for watching Mike! I used to have that issue when I first got the grill but after an update it seemed to run fine for me. I was running IOS though. I appreciate your support.
Nice explanation and straightforward. So I might have a stupid question. Could you start with a layer of charcoal and then go straight wood chunks after? Would kind of be like a hybrid stick burner. Trying to chase that stick burner flavor but don't want to buy a nother grill. Lol
Thanks for watching Ripesteel. I’ve heard of folks using straight wood chunks. I haven’t myself. Masterbuilt discourages it on their site and in their instructions. I do know what you mean about chasing the stick burner flavor and I’ll be honest, this grill doesn’t deliver that.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Thanks for your response. I actually own the char griller gravity 980. I'm going to try a dry run this weekend and see how she runs and produces that clean smoke.
Let me know how it turns out. I’ll be honest with you. The 980 I think would do a better job if it was just wood chunks because of that porcelain coated chute. I apologize. I thought you had a MB like I used to cause I get a ton of questions from subscribers on that video and it’s mainly MB users. The chute in the MB was a thin gauge metal that didn’t hold up well at all. I think that’s why they were so adamant on not doing that. I know CG says the same, but I think it definitely will hold up better. Let me know how it goes. 👍🏾🔥
could you scatter a bunch of wood chips in with the first lot of charcoal? ive read that the meat will only take on so much wood flavour so wondering if scattering chips in with the first few hurs worth of charcoal would be best and the most cost effective :)
Thanks for watching. I do recommend wood chips for this smoker but I only use them in the ash pan because they burn up so quickly. I use them a lot if I cook and Sauce my ribs and put them back on for the sauce to tack up. At that point, I use chips in the ash pan to get some smoke on the sauce. But in the hopper, they really wouldn’t last that long in my opinion. Thanks for your support!
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff thanks for the reply. Ive been wanting something with the convenience of a pellet smoker but with real wood taste and it seems like the masterbuilt or the camp chef woodwind pro are the 2 to look at, the masterbuilt is half the price though!! Think ill go with the masterbuilt, thanks!!
you sold me on it. Wasn't sure if I could add wood chunks
Glad it was helpful to you and thanks for watching!
great video .. thanks for sharing your tips..
Scottys Back Yard BBQ thanks for watching!
Thanks for the video, I think this helped me make up my mind since these are on sale at my local Walmart right now, or at least I hope the sale is still on 🤣 how has it held up over the years?
Sorry for the delay Adam. These comments haven't been showing up lately for some reason. I did a video comparing it to the Char-Griller 980 and the status of the grill after a year of ownership. At the time, I didn't have the grill under a covered patio but I had a grill cover on it. The wear on some parts was disappoint in some aspects, but expected. The metal was thin and I constantly heard it flexing and bowing when I seared steaks due to the heat. However, I had to replace the control unit twice under warranty. Now this is the first iteration of this grill and Im sure they made some changes since then. However, I would still buy it again. It did its job and for the price, it was worth it.
Hi, When you light up the charcoal, its only the bottom that lights up, not the entire chimney. So during the cook doesn't the top charcoal and wood chunks light up and produce dirty smoke?
Hello Amit. The top doesn’t light. The chute is sealed with a gasket at the top that doesn’t allow air in. The charcoal on the bottom burns and turns to ash. The weight of the charcoal on top presses down and pushes the ash through to the ash pan. Hence the term gravity fed. It’s a pretty ingenious method.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, thank you for the reply. I understand the logic of the gravity.
What i mean is, when the bottom charcoals turns into ash and the top charcoals are pushed down, they now light up during the cook.
If i understand it correctly, dirty smoke is produced when the charcoal and wood first light up. So by that logic, when new charcoal and wood are fed and light up they produce dirty smoke during the cook.
I'm sure i am missing something, but not a lot of information about clean smoke in gravity smokers.
I recently switched from Traeger Ranger to MB 560 so i don't have much knowledge. But my first cooks i used hickory chunks and the taste wasn't just strong, it was a bit harsh. So i think i probably had dirty smoke on it. But i put the food in after about 30 minutes when i had smoke similar to what you show at the end of the video.
Appreciate the help!
I watched your video and you touched on the topic, but I just wanted to ask anyways is it possible to just run this on wood chunks and not use charcoal?
Thanks for watching! In the Masterbuilt you can’t burn all chunks. You can burn a mix. To be honest with you, if you need some really quick smoke at the end of a cook, you can use wood chips or pellets in the ash tray with no issue.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff
Thank you 😊
Hi Geoff, hey I am looking at moving up from my offset and want the clean smoke as well. Have you tried adding more wood and less charcoal ratio and if it has any change on smoke flavor? I have heard of someone putting a split in the center of the charcoal chute but not heard much on adding or subtracting wood flavor with amount of wood added. For those who want a strong smoke flavor but don't want the bad smoke and the acrid taste of creosote from smoldering wood. Just wondered if you have found a point that was too much added. Thank you for the videos!
Thanks for watching Brett. I’ve found that medium that you’re talking about varies. To me, when I’m using fruit woods like cherry and apple, which I primarily use on chicken and I want a heavier smoke, I tend to add a larger ratio of wood to the chute and I tend to get a better smoke flavor. I haven’t put any split logs in the chute but I feel like I’ve put enough wood in there to possibly resemble that and it seems to be fine thus far when I want a heavy smoke flavor.
One thing that I did pick up from another channel that really seems to work well as a backup and does add some smoke flavor is putting in a cup of wood pellets in the rotation. I know they say not to use them, but I’ve actually gotten some decent flavor off them when I add a little in the chute with some charcoal on shorter cooks and let some smolder in the pan. One thing that seems to help with larger cooks like brisket and pork shoulder is to put wood in the chute, but to avoid that smoldering issue that produces that acrid taste sometimes, I warm the chunks in the cooking chamber on the grate before putting them in the ash pan. Seems to make a difference to me.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, Thanks for the quick reply. I am going to try that and am buying the Masterbuilt 1050 gravity smoker. I appreciate your time and thank you for the information as I will use that method in my smoker when it arrives. Thank you again and looking forward to your next video post!
No prob. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Geoff, thanks for showing your loading procedure. I've been looking for this. How many layers of wood chunks do you put in per full hopper and do you always use 3 or 4 chunks per layer?
Thanks for watching Derek. I usually use two to three chunks per layer and when I do a full hopper, I usually end up with three layers of wood. If I want to try and go heavier on the smoke like I did on that brisket, I’ll do four layers of wood. I also put a couple of chunks in the ash pan to start it.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Perfect! I'm looking for that thin blue smoke that you get. I currently smoke on a Primo Ceramic and a MAK2. I'm hoping this 560 will be a good addition.
I've been struggling with the temp fluctuating up to 50 degrees. kingsford and couple other lump that i've found at lowes and walmart. I put a screen in the hopper and switched to b&b texas lump and now it stayed rock solid at my set temp. Not sure if it was the screen or charcoal switch, but i'm happy with it.
Jaymobe07 thanks for watching. I found that Kingsford didn’t really work that well for me either. I didn’t really have temp swings to that extent, but I get more consistent temps with Royal Oak Briquettes and definitely with B&B Briquettes. I’m going to do the screen mod as well. Just haven’t found the time to yet. Also after every six of seven cooks when I do my deep clean, I found that I need to clean the temp probe on the inside of the grill near the door by scraping off the buildup with some water, detergent and a Brillo pad. I was seeing temp spikes when compared to my thermometer as high as 75 degrees when I didn’t clean it after so many cooks. It’s back to normal afterward.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff Hi Geoff, thanks for the video, i was normally using chunks in the ash pan and that gave me good results but now i have done the charcoal grate mod and found that took almost 2 hours for the chunks to fully smoke in the ash pan probably because there were not enough big pieces in the pan. Did you manage to do the mod and did you experience something similar? Thanks
Thanks for watching tomcatRTY. I have done the grate mod using four independent metal skewers. I haven’t experienced what you describe, but I’ve also been burning B&B briquettes and B&B lump as of late.
If I had the results you describe I’d try taking out one of the skewers and adjusting the spacing. One thing I will say is that there’s some truth for sure to what you describe because I’m using less fuel (creating less ash) with the mod, even when I use B&B which burns very conservative as compared to the other brands. You may want to try taking a torch to a chunk or two before you put them in as well. I used to warm my logs when I had a stick burner before I put them in the fire. Thanks again for watching.
A fellow Gurkha man
Love them. 👍🏾
do you soak the chunks/chips?
Thanks for watching Joseph! No, I don’t soak either. Just in the chute or ash pan as is.
never soak wood chips or chunks for any smoker.
Why put wood on the ash tray? Just curious
It tends to add a more smoke. They smoke with the hot ash coming down on them. This really helps on longer cooks like brisket. And you also have the smoke coming from the chunks in the hopper too. Thanks for watching.
How do I ignite the coal?
Thanks for watching Winston. With a firestarter that you put inside the metal slot inside the door. It’s beneath the charcoal.
Good pointers with the tinfoil and chunks into ash collector.
Thanks for watching. And I live by those chunks in the ash pan. 👍🏾
Did you do ash grate mod yet ?
Yes I have. I did it using a pack of stainless steel skewers from Walmart for $3 and I have seen a big difference in fuel consumption. I recommend it to anyone that owns this grill. Thanks for watching.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff yes sir
Have you ever used the Bluetooth,I heard it doesn’t work very well
Thanks for watching. I’ve used bluetooth a couple times. Not enough to report any issues. I use WiFi all the time and haven’t had any issues at all. Solid connection. Been out the house in long cooks and everything with the app. I use an IPhone and it seems solid. I’ve heard not so much for Android.
@@OutdoorsWithGeoff thanks bro
@@melvinmothershed9102 I agree with Geoff on this. I was surprised at how well the app actually works because of all the issues I saw other people reporting. I have successfully changed temp, changed time, monitored the temp all from the app in my house. It still only supports 2.5g wifi connections.
Masterbuilt 560
Thanks for watching!
What fire starter do you use?
Get real I use tumbleweeds by Royal Oak but honestly they’re not needed. I keep them for convenience. I’ve taken a folded paper towel and put some vegetable oil on it and lit that and it starts up just as fine.