Lightweight · $199–$400

Grills, Smokers, and Pizza showdown

The Best Electric Smokers of 2026: The East Oak That Runs Four Hours on a Load of Chips, the Masterbuilt Its Maker Stopped Selling, and the 40-Inch Nobody Tested

By The Smith Family, reviewed by Brad Smith · Independent, no paid placement · Updated October 3, 2026Prices checked October 2026

Some links here are affiliate links — if you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you (sometimes with a discount for you). It never changes which products we recommend — and we name the SKIPs to prove it.

An electric smoker sells one promise: plug it in, set 225, walk away. The question is which one keeps that promise past the first summer, which one smokes rather than steams, and what the maker will do when the element or the controller dies, because on this kind of smoker that is what dies.

We read five electric smokers on their own Amazon listings on 3 October 2026, signed in, with the ten most recent critical reviews for each. We read the three makers’ warranty documents, spec pages and store status the same day, and we read every credentialed review we could reach to see which model each outlet actually had on its bench. Two of the most-cited picks on page one turn out to be a model the maker no longer sells and a sibling of the one the roundups tested.

How they compare

Model	Best for	Temperature	Element	Cooking area	Chip loading	Warranty	Owner rating	Price
East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker with Glass Door	Best overall	100–275°F, digital (East Oak)	800 W (East Oak)	725 sq in, 4 racks	Side loader, 4–6 hours a load (East Oak); about 4 hours at 250°F in Smoked BBQ Source’s test	1 year; 3 years if registered within 90 days — East Oak Official Stores only (Amazon, Shopify, Walmart)	4.7★ / 1,185	Check price →
East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker Basic	Best value	Up to 275°F, digital (listing)	800 W (listing)	725 sq in, 4 racks	Side loader, 2–3 hours a load (listing)	1 year; 3 years if registered within 90 days — East Oak Official Stores only (Amazon, Shopify, Walmart)	4.7★ / 767	Check price →
Masterbuilt 30 in Digital Electric Smoker (MB20071117)	Deepest owner base	100–275°F, digital (Masterbuilt)	800 W (Masterbuilt’s element kit 9907120011 lists this model)	710 sq in, 4 racks	Side loader; Smoked BBQ Source added chips every hour or so at 275°F	1 year, proof of purchase; rust not covered; an unauthorized dealer voids it	4.4★ / 11,205	Check price →
Smokehouse Big Chief Front Load Electric Smoker	Jerky & fish pick	Fixed, about 165°F — no controls	450 W (Smokehouse’s product page; its repair kit page says 400 W)	Not published — 5 racks, up to 50 lb	Front chip pan, removable without opening the door	2 years, parts defective in material or workmanship, original owner (Smokehouse)	4.4★ / 1,133	Check price →
Masterbuilt 40 in Digital Electric Smoker with Window and Legs (MB20070122)	SKIP	100–275°F, digital (Masterbuilt)	Not published for this model	970 sq in, 4 racks	Side loader	1 year, proof of purchase; rust not covered; an unauthorized dealer voids it	3.9★ / 493	Check price →

Prices move constantly — any Amazon price shown is as of the date noted and subject to change; tap through for today's number.

How to read the ratings on this page. Every rating is an Amazon base we read ourselves, signed in, on 3 October 2026, with its ten most recent critical reviews. No visible review card on any of the five listings came from the Vine programme. The East Oak with glass door pools one rating across two colours of the same cabinet (we opened both and they return the same count and star split); the Masterbuilt 30 Digital and its analog sibling share a selector but not a rating. The East Oak Basic and the Big Chief show only US reviews; the other three include reviews from outside the US and are flagged global on their cards.

The warranty that pays when the element dies

On an electric smoker the parts that fail are the heating element and the controller, and the owner tail on every card below says so. So we read each maker’s warranty document rather than the number on the box:

Two things on that table are worth slowing down for. East Oak’s own product pages print “Warranty Term 3 Years” and “3 Years Warranty”, while its warranty policy says one year, three only if you register inside 90 days; the policy is the operative document, so register the day it arrives. And East Oak’s warranty is limited to its official stores: a smoker bought from a reseller, or second-hand, is outside it.

What softens a one-year term is a maker that sells the parts. Masterbuilt sells the 800-watt element for its 30-inch smokers and the 30-inch Digital’s power board for $24.99 each on its own store, and Smokehouse sells the Big Chief’s element, cord and racks. East Oak lists a control panel and other parts for its smokers, but every one of them read unavailable on its store when we checked, and it lists no element.

275°F is the ceiling

All four adjustable smokers on this page top out at 275°F by their makers’ own figures, and owners of both East Oaks and the Masterbuilt 40 report units that stall at 230 to 240°F with meat inside. That is enough for ribs, pork shoulder and brisket at 225 to 250°F. It is not enough for crisp poultry skin, which wants 300°F or more, so plan to finish chicken in the oven or on a grill.

The heating elements are small. East Oak rates its 30-inch cabinets at 800 watts, and Masterbuilt’s own 800-watt element kit lists the 30-inch Digital among the models it fits. Spread over 725 and 710 square inches of rack, that is about 1.1 watts a square inch for both: enough to hold 225 on a mild day, and the reason a cold, windy evening slows them down. Masterbuilt does not publish the 40’s wattage. The Big Chief runs a 450-watt element (Smokehouse’s product page; its repair-kit page says 400) to hold a fixed 165°F.

None of them will give you a smoke ring. Greg Blonder’s measurements of nitric oxide in the exhaust, the gas that turns the outer meat pink, put an electric smoker with wood at under 2 ppm against 25 to 50 ppm in a pellet smoker: “Even when you add wood to an electric smoker- the combustion temperature and oxygen supply is simply too low to synthesize NO.” The ring is colour, not flavour, but it is the plainest measure of how gentle electric smoke is — and why owners chasing more smoke on the cards below keep reaching for the chip box.

Which Masterbuilt the roundups tested

The Masterbuilt 40 is page one’s consensus electric smoker. Serious Eats, Food & Wine and The Spruce Eats all name the MB20072918, and on Amazon that listing reads 3.8★ across 607 with 19% one-star on the same day we read it. Serious Eats and Food & Wine also link a different smoker on the same pages, the MB20070122 with window and legs, which is the 40-inch most shoppers land on and the one we skip below. No outlet we found has tested it.

The Masterbuilt 30-inch Digital most rivals praise is a sibling too: Serious Eats, Food & Wine and Outdoor Life tested the MB20070421 with window and legs, which masterbuilt.com lists as unavailable. The classic 30-inch Digital we card, MB20071117, was tested by Smoked BBQ Source — and masterbuilt.com lists it as out of stock, selling the 30-inch with a window (MB20071322) instead. Amazon still sells and ships it.

Recalls

No recall covers any smoker on this page. We queried the CPSC recall database for each maker and for “electric smoker” on 3 October 2026. Masterbuilt has two old electric-smoker recalls, and both were wood-chip fires: in 2013 (recall 13241, models 20070312 and 20070512) the chip tray could fail to seat and “the wood to combust and the smoker’s cabinet door to blow open”, and in 2006 (06173, ESQ30B and ESQ30S) smouldering chips could flare when the door was opened. Neither names a model we card. East Oak and Smokehouse return none. The lesson travels to every smoker here: keep the chip tray fully seated, and open the door slowly.

Best overall: East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker with Glass Door

Winner

Our top pick

East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker with Glass Door

Best overall · A 30-inch digital cabinet smoker: 725 sq in on four racks, an 800 W element set from 100 to 275°F, a built-in meat probe and a side chip loader East Oak rates at 4 to 6 hours a load. 4.7★ across 1,185, sold by East Oak’s own Amazon storefront.

Your pick if you want a set-it-and-walk-away smoker for ribs, chicken and pork shoulder — 4.7★ across 1,185 owners, a built-in meat probe, and a side chip box a pitmaster ran about four hours at 250°F on one load — and you will register it inside 90 days, because unregistered it carries one year.

4.7 · 1,185 owner ratingsacross Amazon · October 2026 · listing-wide base · global base

Check price at Amazon →

Sold and shipped by EOdirect · 30-day refund/replacement · read 2026-10-08

Picked before we checked what this link pays us.

Verified owner · Amazon

“This was my first smoker and far exceeded my expectations. It was very easy to use and provides plenty of smoke with the large wood chip box.”

Pro review Smoked BBQ Source7.6/10

“At a cooking temperature of 250°F, a full load of chips burned for about four hours, which means you won’t need to reload unless you’re cooking something longer like a brisket.”

Hands-on review of this glass-door model; East Oak supplied the unit

East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker with Glass Door

Best overall

Your pick if you want a set-it-and-walk-away smoker for ribs, chicken and pork shoulder — 4.7★ across 1,185 owners, a built-in meat probe, and a side chip box a pitmaster ran about four hours at 250°F on one load — and you will register it inside 90 days, because unregistered it carries one year.

4.7 · 1,185 owner ratingsAmazon · October 2026 · listing-wide base · global base

“This was my first smoker and far exceeded my expectations. It was very easy to use and provides plenty of smoke with the large wood chip box.”— Tim F, Amazon · Verified owner

Pro review “At a cooking temperature of 250°F, a full load of chips burned for about four hours, which means you won’t need to reload unless you’re cooking something longer like a brisket.”Hands-on review of this glass-door model; East Oak supplied the unit— Breanna Stark, Smoked BBQ Source

Pros

• 4.7★ across 1,185 — one smoker in two colours on one rating base, every visible review a verified purchase and none from the Vine programme
• A built-in meat probe and a side chip box East Oak rates at 4 to 6 hours a load; a pitmaster testing it for Smoked BBQ Source got about four hours at 250°F
• Sold by East Oak’s own Amazon storefront, and Amazon is one of the three stores East Oak’s warranty names
• One- and two-star reviews are 3% of the base

Cons

• Weak smoke at low settings: owners smoking around 190°F report chips that blacken without smoking, and Smoked BBQ Source’s tester wrote that the ribs were more like oven-baked ribs with a subtle touch of smoke
• Capped at 275°F, and one owner could not get past 240°F on an 80°F day with meat inside — crisp poultry skin is not on the menu
• The chip box’s latch gets too hot to touch and sits in a space too tight for a glove, two recent critical reviews say
• The racks have no stop: pulled out loaded, owners say they drop
• One year of warranty unless you register within 90 days, and only when bought from Amazon, East Oak’s own store or Walmart

What owners complain aboutCapability limit

Smoke and heat at the margins, and a fiddly chip box. "Does not produce smoke at low and slow temperatures… the wood chips do not burn away, they just blacken"; "in 80F ambient temp the smoker cannot reach higher than 240 inside with 4lbs of meat"; "The trigger on the wood chip holder is so hot you can’t put you finger on it, yet the area is too small to wear a glove"; racks that fall when pulled out loaded ("with the competitor’s I could pull the shelf partly out and the shelf was still supported --- not this one").

41 critical written reviews on 2026-10-03; the ten most recent read (Jun 14 – Sep 28, 2026), 10/10 Verified Purchase: weak or no smoke at low settings 2, hot chip-loader latch 2, racks with no stop 2, short of temperature 1, dented on arrival 1, hard to clean 1, would not turn on 1. One- and two-star are 3% of 1,185. · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

Sold and shipped by EOdirect · 30-day refund/replacement · read 2026-10-08

✓ Safety: no active recallCPSC recall API checked 2026-10-03: RecallTitle=electric smoker → 4 (Char-Broil 24116, Masterbuilt 13241 and 06173, an unbranded 2006 recall 06074); control RecallTitle=Peloton → 5. RecallTitle=East Oak → 0; Health Canada search "east oak" → no smoker recall. No East Oak recall.

The best-rated electric smoker we read and the one with the cleanest tail: 4.7 stars across 1,185 owners, one cabinet sold in two colours on one base, every visible review a verified purchase and none from the Vine programme, and one- and two-star reviews are just 3% of the base. It is a 30-inch digital cabinet with 725 square inches on four racks, an 800-watt element set from 100 to 275°F, a built-in meat probe, and a side chip box East Oak rates at four to six hours a load. Smoked BBQ Source’s Breanna Stark, a competition pitmaster, got about four hours of smoke from a full load at 250°F. It is sold by East Oak’s own Amazon storefront, and Amazon is one of the three stores its warranty names.

Several owners came to it from a Masterbuilt and say the build is better; a first-time owner sums up the rest: “This was my first smoker and far exceeded my expectations. It was very easy to use and provides plenty of smoke with the large wood chip box,” wrote one this July.

Not for you if: you want heavy smoke at low settings, or you will not register it. The ten most recent critical reviews (June to September 2026) are a weak-smoke complaint at around 190°F (“the wood chips do not burn away, they just blacken”), a chip-box latch “so hot you can’t put you finger on it, yet the area is too small to wear a glove”, racks that drop when pulled out loaded, and one owner who could not get past 240°F on an 80°F day. Stark’s own ribs “reminded me more of oven-baked ribs with a subtle touch of smoke.” And it carries one year of warranty unless you register within 90 days.

Best value: East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker Basic

East Oak 30 in Electric Smoker Basic

Best value

Your pick if you want East Oak’s 30-inch cabinet without the window or the meat probe — 4.7★ across 767 owners, sold and shipped by Amazon — and you cook ribs and pork shoulder at 225°F and up, because owners smoking sausage sticks at lower settings report big swings.

4.7 · 767 owner ratingsAmazon · October 2026

“The East Oak smoker is easy to use and the perfect size for our family.”— Melissa, Amazon · Verified owner

Pros

• 4.7★ across 767 on a single listing, every visible review a verified purchase from a US buyer, none from the Vine programme
• The same 725 sq in, four racks and 800 W element as East Oak’s glass-door model, without the window to keep clean
• Sold and shipped by Amazon, one of the three stores East Oak’s warranty names
• Owners in the critical tail report East Oak sending replacement units without a return

Cons

• The critical tail is mostly heat: owners report it stalling at 230°F, "more of a steamer than a smoker", and a 40-degree swing at sausage-stick temperatures
• No window and no meat probe, and East Oak’s own listing gives 2 to 3 hours a chip load, against 4 to 6 on the glass-door model
• The racks pull straight out with no stop, two owners say
• Out of stock on East Oak’s own store when we read it; Amazon had it
• One year of warranty unless you register within 90 days

What owners complain aboutCapability limit

Heat and smoke. "Will not get above 230 degrees"; "This is more of a steamer than a smoker… it steams the meat more than it smokes it"; "the 40 degree variance in heat when smoking at low temps"; then racks: "Pulled out to see if done and nothing stopped the tray and it hit the ground." Two owners in the tail credit East Oak’s service ("Upgraded @ no cost and didn’t require a return").

25 critical written reviews on 2026-10-03; the ten most recent read (Jan 29, 2025 – Jul 22, 2026), 9/10 Verified Purchase: not hot enough or little smoke 5, thermostat reading off 1, racks with no stop 2, stopped working 1, smaller than expected 1. One- and two-star are 3% of 767. · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

✓ Safety: no active recallCPSC recall API checked 2026-10-03: RecallTitle=electric smoker → 4 (Char-Broil 24116, Masterbuilt 13241 and 06173, an unbranded 2006 recall 06074); control RecallTitle=Peloton → 5. RecallTitle=East Oak → 0; Health Canada search "east oak" → no smoker recall. No East Oak recall.

East Oak’s 30-inch cabinet without the window or the meat probe: the same 725 square inches on four racks, the same 800-watt element and 275°F ceiling, 4.7 stars across 767 on its own listing, every visible review a verified purchase from a US buyer. Amazon sells and ships it at about $230, and it was out of stock on East Oak’s own store when we read it. Owners who bought it after Masterbuilts like the build: “The East Oak smoker is easy to use and the perfect size for our family.”

What you give up is more than glass. East Oak’s own listing gives this smoker’s chip box two to three hours a load, against four to six on the glass-door model, and no credentialed outlet has tested it.

Not for you if: you smoke sausage sticks or jerky at low settings. The critical tail is heat: owners report it stalling at 230°F, “more of a steamer than a smoker”, and “the 40 degree variance in heat when smoking at low temps”. Two owners in the tail also credit East Oak for sending a replacement without a return. One- and two-star reviews are 3% of the base.

Deepest owner base: Masterbuilt 30 in Digital Electric Smoker

Masterbuilt 30 in Digital Electric Smoker (MB20071117)

Deepest owner base

The listing's size menu spans 6 models (30–40 in) — this card is the 30-inch Digital. Check the size before you add to cart.

Your pick if you want the electric smoker the most owners have lived with — 11,205 ratings at 4.4★ — for about $219 from Amazon, and you accept that Masterbuilt’s own store no longer sells it and that the controller is the part owners most often report failing.

4.4 · 11,205 owner ratingsAmazon · October 2026 · global base

“Made some awesome smoked walleye. Only had it for a year so far but it’s working well.”— Greg Bussey, Amazon · Verified owner

Pro review “there was up to a 20°F difference from the top rack to the bottom rack with the top rack running cooler.”Hands-on review naming MB20071117; published October 2021, updated May 2025— Mike Sessler, Smoked BBQ Source

Pros

• 11,205 owner ratings at 4.4★ — the deepest base on this page, every visible review a verified purchase, none from the Vine programme
• A side chip loader, four racks and 710 sq in, and Masterbuilt sells the element ($24.99) and the power board ($24.99) for this model on its own store
• Tested hands-on by Smoked BBQ Source, which held 275°F with chips added about hourly
• Sold and shipped by Amazon

Cons

• Masterbuilt’s own store no longer sells it: masterbuilt.com lists MB20071117 as out of stock and sells the 30-inch with a window (MB20071322) instead
• The controller is the recurring failure: four of the ten latest critical reviews are a dead control panel, power board or thermostat, one twice inside the warranty
• Uneven heat: Smoked BBQ Source measured up to 20°F between the top and bottom racks, and an owner reports swings of 20° each way
• Light smoke below 225°F, several owners say
• One- and two-star reviews are 10% of the base, against 3% on both East Oaks

What owners complain aboutDefect reports

The controller, then the smoke. "Purchased in 2023. In three months, the control panel died… My smoker has now died again"; "around the year mark it failed completely. The factory sent me a new power board, which brought back happy times for about two months"; "the control panel failed… with power ’On’"; "No smoke at any temperature below 225 degrees F"; "Mine does not hold the temperature. It varies each way from where I said it at least 20°".

1,113 critical written reviews on 2026-10-03; the ten most recent read (Jul 9 – Sep 29, 2026), 9/10 Verified Purchase: controller, power board or thermostat failure 4, light or no smoke 3, temperature swing 1, cheaper build than an older unit 1, damaged on arrival 1. One- and two-star are 10% of 11,205. · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

✓ Safety: no active recallCPSC recall API checked 2026-10-03: RecallTitle=electric smoker → 4 (Char-Broil 24116, Masterbuilt 13241 and 06173, an unbranded 2006 recall 06074); control RecallTitle=Peloton → 5. RecallTitle=Masterbuilt → 3: 13241 (2013, electric models 20070312 and 20070512, wood chip tray), 06173 (2006, ESQ30B/ESQ30S, chip flare-up) and 17048 (2016, propane). Neither electric recall names MB20071117. Keep the chip tray seated: both electric recalls were chip-tray fires.

The smoker the most owners have lived with: 4.4 stars across 11,205 for the classic 30-inch Digital, MB20071117, sold and shipped by Amazon at about $219. Masterbuilt’s page gives it 710 square inches on four racks and digital controls to 275°F, and its own 800-watt element kit lists this model. Smoked BBQ Source’s Mike Sessler held 275°F with it, adding chips “every hour or so”, and measured “up to a 20°F difference from the top rack to the bottom rack”.

Its status, plainly: masterbuilt.com lists the MB20071117 as out of stock and sells the 30-inch with a window (MB20071322) instead. Amazon still sells it new, it is a best-seller there, and Masterbuilt still sells its element and power board, so we card it with that status on the page, as we did for Napoleon’s “Legacy” grill. We will revisit it when Masterbuilt’s own 30-inch has a buyable Amazon listing.

Not for you if: you want a controller you will not have to replace. Four of the ten most recent critical reviews (July to September 2026) are a failed control panel, power board or thermostat — “Purchased in 2023. In three months, the control panel died… My smoker has now died again” — and three more are light smoke below 225°F. One- and two-star reviews are 10% of the base, against 3% on both East Oaks. The warranty is one year. A representative owner: “Made some awesome smoked walleye. Only had it for a year so far but it’s working well.”

Jerky and fish pick: Smokehouse Big Chief

Smokehouse Big Chief Front Load Electric Smoker

Jerky & fish pick

Your pick if you smoke salmon, jerky, sausage or cheese and want a light box that holds about 165°F with nothing to set — 4.4★ across 1,133 owners, five racks, up to 50 lb — and you will never ask it to cook a brisket, because it cannot.

4.4 · 1,133 owner ratingsAmazon · October 2026

“This is perfect for smoking fish. I love it.”— Daniel Firth, Amazon · Verified owner

Pro review “It produced a ton of good-quality smoke, and we would have loved this smoker for smoked fish or vegetables. But, it didn’t do so well on our smoked brisket test because it has a non-adjustable temperature setting of 165°F.”Hands-on smoker test (brisket at 250°F); the page links this listing— Lindsay D. Mattison, Reviewed (USA Today)

Pros

• 4.4★ across 1,133 on a single listing, every visible review a verified purchase from a US buyer
• Built for the low end: about 165°F with nothing to set, five racks and up to 50 lb — fish, jerky, sausage and cheese
• A two-year warranty with no channel clause, and Smokehouse sells the element, cord and racks as parts
• Light (17.6 lb) and simple; the chip pan comes out without opening the door

Cons

• It cannot cook meat on its own: the element holds about 165°F, and Serious Eats and The Spruce Eats both report it never reached a food-safe cooking temperature
• Thin aluminium: four of the ten latest critical reviews are dents or shipping damage
• The handle gets very hot, Reviewed’s tester warns
• Sold by Hearthshire, a reseller at 78% positive feedback, not by Smokehouse or Amazon
• Smokehouse’s own pages disagree on the element: 450 W on the product page, 400 W on the repair kit

What owners complain aboutCapability limit

Heat, then shipping damage. "doesn’t even get hot enough to get the racks warm"; "Temperature never got near the160+ degrees promised in the manual. After 10 hours, baby back ribs were still raw in the center"; "It holds a lot of fish and it will produce smoke like crazy. The only downfall is it doesn’t get hot enough without being insulated"; and boxes that arrive "completely dented everywhere". One owner’s unit tripped the ground-fault outlet on every plug-in.

92 critical written reviews on 2026-10-03; the ten most recent read (Jul 10, 2024 – May 16, 2026), 9/10 Verified Purchase: not hot enough or meat not cooked 4, dented on arrival 4, tripped a GFCI 1, flimsy 1. One- and two-star are 10% of 1,133. · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

✓ Safety: no active recallCPSC recall API checked 2026-10-03: RecallTitle=electric smoker → 4 (Char-Broil 24116, Masterbuilt 13241 and 06173, an unbranded 2006 recall 06074); control RecallTitle=Peloton → 5. RecallTitle=Smokehouse → 0, RecallTitle=Big Chief → 0; Health Canada "big chief", "smokehouse" → no smoker recall. No Smokehouse recall. It holds about 165°F: finish meat and poultry to a safe internal temperature on another cooker.

A different tool. The Big Chief is an embossed-aluminium box with five racks, a chip pan that slides out without opening the door, and an element that holds about 165°F with nothing to set. That is the temperature for salmon, jerky, sausage and cheese, and for that job it has 4.4 stars across 1,133 — “This is perfect for smoking fish. I love it.” It weighs under 18 pounds and comes with a two-year warranty that has no seller clause.

It sells for about $199, and the seller is the catch: Amazon lists it from Hearthshire, a reseller at 78% positive feedback, not from Smokehouse or Amazon itself. Smokehouse sells it direct too.

Not for you if: you want to cook meat. Three credentialed outlets ran meat in it and all three say it cannot: Reviewed found “a ton of good-quality smoke” but no brisket, Serious Eats that “it never reached a food-safe temperature for cooking meat”. Four of its ten latest critical reviews are heat and four are dents or shipping damage on its thin shell. If you smoke ribs in it, finish them in the oven.

SKIP: Masterbuilt 40 in Digital Electric Smoker with Window and Legs

Masterbuilt 40 in Digital Electric Smoker with Window and Legs (MB20070122)

SKIP

The listing's size menu spans 6 models (30–40 in) — this card is the 40-inch Digital with Window & Legs. Check the size before you add to cart.

Your pick if you want the big Masterbuilt the roundups crowned, would rather have legs and a window than a test, and are relaxed about one owner in five rating it one star — in which case buy a waterproof cover first, because the critical tail is rust and dead controllers.

3.9 · 493 owner ratingsAmazon · October 2026 · global base

“After about 4 years, I replaced the heating element and the digital control unit due to the fact that MasterBuilt’s own cover was not waterproof”— Dave F., Amazon · Verified owner

Pros

• 970 sq in on four racks — the most room on this page — on legs that put the controls at standing height
• A window, a side chip loader and a lockable latch
• Sold and shipped by Amazon, and current on masterbuilt.com

Cons

• 3.9★ across 493, and 19% of owners rate it one star
• Not the 40-inch the roundups tested: Serious Eats, Food & Wine and The Spruce Eats name the MB20072918, and no credentialed outlet has tested this one
• The critical tail is rust and electronics: door hinges that rust through, a control panel that takes in moisture, elements and controllers replaced inside two years
• Owners report it stalling around 240°F against a 275°F setting
• One year of warranty, rust excluded

What owners complain aboutDefect reports

Rust and electronics. "the door hinge rusted and fell off. To fix it, the door needs to replaced which can’t be purchased"; "Top control unit panel failed after a few uses as moisture and heat vented directly from the unit up and into the controls"; "2 years in and already replaced electrical unit on top, now the heating element"; "It runs 20 degrees below set temperature and will not get to the 275 max"; "I can’t get it to rise above ~240 degrees".

119 critical written reviews on 2026-10-03; the ten most recent read (Jun 29 – Sep 21, 2026), 7/10 Verified Purchase: controller or element failure 4, short of temperature 2, rusted door hinge 2, racks falling 1, chip loader handle broke 1, damaged on arrival 1 (themes overlap). One- and two-star are 23% of 493. · critical reviews read October 2026

Check price at Amazon →

✓ Safety: no active recallCPSC recall API checked 2026-10-03: RecallTitle=electric smoker → 4 (Char-Broil 24116, Masterbuilt 13241 and 06173, an unbranded 2006 recall 06074); control RecallTitle=Peloton → 5. RecallTitle=Masterbuilt → 3: 13241 (2013, electric models 20070312 and 20070512, wood chip tray), 06173 (2006, ESQ30B/ESQ30S) and 17048 (2016, propane). None names MB20070122.

Every showdown names a skip, and this one has the most room on the page: 970 square inches on four racks, legs that put the controls at standing height, a window, about $400. It is current at Masterbuilt and sold by Amazon. It is also 3.9 stars across 493, with 19% of owners at one star, and no outlet we could find has tested it — the 40-inch the roundups crown is the plainer MB20072918, and that listing rates no better (3.8★/607).

The critical tail is the 30-inch’s controller problem plus weather: door hinges that “rusted and fell off”, a control panel that took in moisture “after a few uses”, “2 years in and already replaced electrical unit on top, now the heating element”, and units that “will not get to the 275 max”. Even an owner on a second unit, who rates it five stars, replaced the element and the control unit after about four years “due to the fact that MasterBuilt’s own cover was not waterproof”. If you need the space, the case for it is real. The evidence for it is not there yet.

The smokers we read and did not card

• Masterbuilt 40 Digital, MB20072918 — the roundups’ pick, read on its own listing: 3.8★/607, 19% one-star, $349.99. The same one-year warranty as the skip, on a lower rating.
• Char-Broil Analog Electric Smoker (18202077) — a beginner pick at Serious Eats and The Spruce Eats, 4.4★/1,362 on Amazon, but charbroil.com no longer lists it (its old page redirects to the homepage). Char-Broil’s 2024 shock recall (24116) covered its Digital Electric Smokers, not this analog.
• Masterbuilt 30-inch Analog — 4.5★/5,214 on Amazon, but masterbuilt.com lists no analog electric smoker as purchasable.
• Bradley 6-Rack Digital — 4.3★/1,653, but sold on Amazon by a third-party seller rather than Bradley or Amazon, and it burns Bradley’s own bisquettes, a fuel you buy from one maker.
• Royal Gourmet SE2805 — 4.4★ on 167 ratings, too thin a base to rank.
• Pit Boss electric verticals — bases of 17 and 21 ratings on the listings we found.
• Cuisinart COS-330 — no Amazon listing surfaced in a targeted search, so we could not read an owner base for it.

Buying guide: an electric smoker that lasts

• Register it the day it arrives. East Oak’s warranty is one year unless you register within 90 days; Masterbuilt’s is one year either way and needs your receipt.
• Buy from the maker’s own storefront or Amazon itself. East Oak’s warranty covers only its official stores, and Masterbuilt’s voids on an unauthorized dealer.
• Cover it, and keep it out of the rain. The failures in every tail are the element and the controller, and owners blame water for both.
• Plug it straight into an outdoor outlet. No extension cord; Masterbuilt’s listing for the 40 says a smoker slow to heat should be plugged directly into the wall.
• Expect 225 to 275°F, not more. Finish poultry hot on a grill or in the oven for crisp skin.
• Seat the chip tray every time. Both of Masterbuilt’s electric-smoker recalls were chip fires.
• Want a real smoke ring or deep bark? That is a pellet, charcoal or offset job; an electric smoker is the set-and-walk-away option, and its smoke is gentle by design.

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