Since I live in Arizona, we never have to worry about ANYTHING rusting 👏 Before you mentioned the fuel having burned out I already thought not using so much fuel will definitely fix that issue. The wheel issue doesn’t bother me, I have a fixed place for all my smokers. I already own two of Ok Joe smokers, the Bronco and the Highland. This will be my first gravity fed type smoker. I’m sure I’ll enjoy it despite those minor issues you mentioned. Enjoyed the video!
My 980 being ceramic coated on the manifold and cover is out lasting my masterbuilt in rust department in this humidity. The Oklahoma Joe just makes me think it's gonna rust like a masterbuilt. I guess we'll see how the new masterbuilt turns out. I just want more competition in the gravity space!
The fuel consumption is a deal breaker for me. Also the restriction in the hopper does not fly with me. Thanks for the great review Tommy. I’ll stick with my Masterbuilt.
Masterbuilt 100% for me. Double wall insulation, super tall cook racks, and the ability to turn it into a warming oven at 150 degrees is everything I need and want!
@@fisherofmen9941 I do respect your opinion but it's unfortunate you feel that was as the MB gravity feds produces some of the best food inn BBQ imho... Throw that XT in the mix and forgetaboutit!
@thegalleryBBQ Yeah, I've been monitoring that FB group to see what type of issues folks are experiencing. I'm not going to pay good money for a grill and then have to spend so much more for an upgraded controller. I hope the XT functions better.
@@fisherofmen9941 if you’re near a Costco, their version (Gravity 900; basically the same as the 800) is $650 and comes with a pizza oven. Plus if you ever have any issues (even 5 years down the road), Costco has a lifetime warranty (or rather refund policy), that alone should give you confidence in what you’re buying.
I purchased one of these about a month ago. I was impressed after a few cooks BUT I did run into an issue with the charcoal not burning evenly, meaning we had to stoke the fire a bit and move charcoal around because somehow the heat can be blocked, there’s also the charcoal grate in the ash pan that also needs to be cleared of charcoal. Basically what happened was the Tahoma was losing heat fast and I couldn’t figure out why. When I did stoke and move the grate around the Tahoma increased heat again. Has you experienced this?
Been waiting for this. Thanks Tommy! I just got a good deal on a Camp Chef WW36 so when our crappy British weather clears up I'm excited to get cooking!
I wonder if a guy can take that mechanical flapper on the joe and replace the membrane flap on the 980. If it works im betting buying that flapper part from Oklahoma Joe and maybe a little cutting and/or grilling and a gasket would be a lot cheaper than the $100 mod fix for the 980s slapper problem?
Did anyone use high temp ceramic paint on their OK Joe before the first use? It looks like the factory coating is not that great if it is even a high temp ceramic.
Appreciate the great review. I had high hopes for this grill but I’ll be sticking with my 980 for now. Since swapping the fan and controller with a FireBoard controller and fan it’s made the 980 pretty bullet proof.
Hey Tommy, excellent review more than fair. I see what you see pretty nice grill but unfortunately a couple problems hopefully they address that the next go round and I agree with you it seems to be built much beefier than other Joe’s of the past. The clogging of the shoot and the charcoal consumption. Either one of those would be pretty much be a dealbreaker, but both of them couldn’t do it. I’m running the auto Kamado and I’ve got over 200 cooked on it now and I’ve used less than 40 pounds of lump. I’m forever spoiled🙂 absolutely Can’t wait to see the new master built. I’m really looking forward to that if they could make that 5% better. It would pretty much be a perfect cooker Can’t wait. have a great one as always.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍
Fantastic review Tommy , always truthful and no BS! Definitely think it’s a nice smoker and a lot of good information as always. Can’t wait for the brisket cook! Cheers brother 🍻
Good review brother ... I like your Tahoma, but after three years with my MB 560 I moved up to the 1050 and did all of the lss mods and new grates from 'Joe's Grill Grates' in Phoenix AZ , I'll just stick with it until it dies and probably purchase another MB ... I never use the shelf either, I have plenty of prep tables around the patio and it and my other grills and smokers are garage kept.
Thanks for the excellent, thorough, and honest (as always!) review of the Tahoma, Tommy! I think I’ll stick with my Char-Griller 980 for now. Since I have the FireBoard running the stock fan, it’s solid as a tank now. That being said, I’m interested in seeing what improvements Masterbuilt has implemented in their new grill being released in April. Have you heard anything about Char-Griller releasing any new Gravity-Fed units in the near future?
I bought this msmoker a couple weeks ago and have used it four times. I absolutely hate this smoker. The main reason, as you said, the throat is so narrow it clogs up constantly. I have to go out to it about every 30 min to unclog it. I ve tried going with small lumps, roughly ~2" with no luck. Ive even tried breaking those lump down smaller. This is a crap design and basically make this smoke unusable for me.
Not being able to stop charcoal from burning after it’s shut off seems like a massive design flaw. And exactly how someone supposed to know exactly how much fuel a cook is going to take? I guess the good news is this makes me even happier with my MB800 😊
Thanks Tommy. The math should be pretty easy. What is the burn rate per pound of charcoal by temperature? So, I have the PK for grilling steaks and the 900 for the big items like pork shoulder, pork ribs, brisket and beef ribs. Just gotta figure our how to get it in and out of the garage. Your work is a public good. JT
Thanks for posting this review, Tommy. Though the Masterbuilt Gravity Series seems to be superior to the Tahoma, I'm glad there is another gravity-fed, thermostatically controlled smoker on the market; there should be just as many of those as there are pellet grills. I trust that Oklahoma Joe will eventually work out the flaws of the Tahoma and will introduce an improved model.
Coming from the pitboss pellet grill world, I've been highly interested in the gravity charcoal grills. Seeing masterbuilt and the chargriller were the only options, I was hoping there'd be another competitor out there soon, and here it is! I didn't know masterbuilt was coming out with a new one as well. Not 100% sold on any of them yet, we shall see.
The gravity feds are you best bet if your looking for that off-set wood flavor. This Joe is amazing. Check out my Beef Rib cook out today. Ill have the new masterbuilt soon. Stay tuned.
Did yours have a decent amount of smoke leak between the hopper and the main grill when the fan is running? Just built mine today and not sure if this is normal
You nailed what I wanted to hear. I was worried about the fuel burning after shut down and the bridge in charcoal and temp stall. Looking forward to the review of the new masterbuilt xt build. Keep rocking with my 560 for now.👍
Nice review Tommy I just love how thorough your reviews are it makes it easier for someone to decide on getting one or not can’t wait to see how it hold up after a year or so of use so far my mb 1050 is running strong cheers ❤️👍🍺
Awesome review. I tried a Masterbuilt 1050 and it was a disaster. It reached an ungodly high temp on burn-in, but only showed 125 degrees on the display. It melted the switches also. I returned it for a refund. I'm considering this one, but doing my research.
I saw it... My man the Sarg got that bad boy working on all cylinders. Unfortunately, or fortunately I have a lone star pellet coming to the channel that'll take up most of my time.
@@thegalleryBBQ i just got my LSG pellet grill. It's amazing. You"ll love it. Best grill/smoker I've had, and I've had a bunch. The controller is state of the art.
@@nicholasdemarest4254 while true keep in mind that these gravity feds will eat your smokefire and rec tec for lunch so there’s always give and take. Enjoy
There is a part of me that would like to move on from the Masterbuilt, which I do still love, nothing major only a couple different reasons. But, I do smoke a good amount below 200° and the Masterbuilt having a range of 150° for smoking fish and 700° for searing and pizza is still the reason I'll stick with that. I do wonder why Oklahoma Joe has not addressed this yet.
@@fisherofmen9941 too many air leaks you lost any fuel in the hopper after the cook. And that then did the hopper caused jams and made you think there was no more fuel left, but it got hung up at at the bend