Moving on from my Masterbuilt Gravity

Hi all,

I had to put down the family masterbuilt this weekend.

I just wanted to give my 7-year review of that grill/smoker and get some feedback on what to move on to now.

First of all, I was gifted the masterbuilt and had not done any research on it.

Over this 7-year period it saw moderate use for both grilling and smoking. I had no way of protecting it from the elements beyond its cover and it was accidentally left uncovered during rain maybe 3 or 4 times over that time.

Pros-

Versatile, it got the job done both grilling and smoking, and it would give a decent sear even though its indirect heat.

Digital display for temp is nice and the fan system does a decent job of keeping the temp steady on most days as long as the sensor is clean.

Cons-

High maintenance. I had to replace numerous door switches and had to rewire the fan. Switches are pretty easy to fix, but if anything happens to that fan, you're not cooking unless you have a backup.

You cannot grill with the top open.

The quality of the build is suspect. Even with routine cleaning, the chamber materials deteriorated beyond repair. Coming to temp and maintaining it in colder weather was an issue. Some of this is likely on me for leaving it exposed on those handful of occasions.

Cleaning the heat manifold is a pain.

Now I'm not sure which way to go. I like the convenience of a single setup for grilling and smoking, but I definitely want a heavier build. I've been looking the smaller Yoder YS480 pellet smoker or the Weber smokerfire.

Does anyone have any experience with these or a recommendation for a better build? The Yoder would be just above my budget.

Thanks for reading.