The Big Chief Electric Smoker and its related smokers have unmatched durability, ease of use, and, most importantly, flavor. However, the parts on these can wear out like any other smoker. What parts can wear out on the Big Chief Electric Smoker?
The most common replacement parts for the Big Chief Electric Smoker are the heating element, drip tray, high-temperature cord, wood fuel pan, grill grates, and grill locks. Each of these usually lasts for years, but regular use may necessitate a replacement – in that case, Amazon has you covered.
In this article, I cover how long each of these lasts and where you can find replacements.
Note: most links in this article are Amazon.com Affiliate links, see Affiliate Disclosure, thank you.
How Long Parts Last on the Big Chief Electric Smoker
I said before that this smoker has unmatched durability, but what does that really mean? Well, it means that short of the entire smoker base breaking, the individual parts of the smoker are modular – that is, they’re separate. This is a good thing because it means that when a part rusts, wears out, or becomes unserviceable, you can buy a replacement.
As with many things, how well you take care of your smoker and its pieces will significantly affect how long they last. If you regularly clean and take care of your smoker and its pieces, they will last a whole lot longer than if you never cleaned it.
Let’s break down the core components of the Big Chief Electric Smoker and get a closer look at what pieces there are.
The parts include:
- Heating element
- Drip pan
- Electric cord
- Wood fuel pan
- Grill Grates
- Grill locks
What Parts Need To Be Replaced on the Big Chief Smoker?
The Big Chief Electric Smoker is one of the best electric smokers on the market and will last for many years, even with frequent use. However, just like other long-lasting products, parts can wear out and fail over time. Thankfully, there are replacements available for these pieces of the smoker.
Heating Element
Over time, a heating element will lose effectiveness and not produce as much heat as it used to. Heating elements wearing out is a normal part of any electric smoker’s lifespan, although it does usually take several years of regular use before the element wears out and needs to be replaced.
You can purchase a replacement heating element for the Big Chief Electric Smoker here, or you can buy direct from the manufacturer, Smokehouse Products.
The heating elements used in the Big Chief Electric Smoker have changed twice over time, and there are three available – it’s crucial that you choose the same heating element that’s in your model because the three aren’t interchangeable.
Drip Tray
The drip trays used by the Big Chief Electric Smoker can last 10 years or longer depending on how much you use them and how well you take care of them – using foil wraps on your drip tray will go a long way to making sure it lasts as long as possible. However, rust can accumulate on the trays, and you’ll eventually need a new one.
You can find a replacement drip tray for your Big Chief Electric Smoker like the Smokehouse Products Big Chief Replacement Drip Pan on Amazon.com.
High-Temperature Cord
The cord for any electric device can wear out, short out, get cut, or get messed up by any number of conceivable things. The cords used by the Big Electric Smoker and its little brother, the Little Chief Electric Smoker, are specially designed with a high-temperature wire that doesn’t melt under a high-temperature environment – especially the one created by your smoker!
You can buy power cord replacements for your smoker like the Smokehouse Products High-Temperature Replacement Cord on Amazon.com. Don’t skimp on this cord and get a generic one, because a cheaper cord will likely use a shoddier wire that isn’t heat-resistant, and you could risk an electrical fire.
Wood Fuel Pan
Everybody with a smoker knows you need a good wood fuel pan to burn your wood chips in, or else your fish or other foods won’t end up with the proper smoked flavor you’re looking for. These pans can last as little as a year if you’re an avid smoker or up to 10 years with more sparse use.
The handle on the flavor fuel pan is usually the first thing to go, but the pan itself will last until it rusts over or completely burns through. It takes a lot of smoking for that to happen, though, so don’t worry.
You can order Smokehouse Products Chief Wood Pan on Amazon.com as a replacement flavor fuel pan for your Big Chief Electric Smoker.
As a quick aside while we’re talking about wood chips, Smokehouse Products Assorted Flavor Chips on Amazon.com contains 12 bags of chips with 5 different flavors for when you feel like mixing it up. If you need a new flavor pan, it stands to reason you could use some wood chips too, eh?
Grill Grates
What’s there to be said about the grill grates? It’s where you put your food to be smoked. The grill of your Big Chief Electric Smoker can last as long as 10 to 15 years if you regularly clean it. It will eventually rust and possibly even break, though, after a long time and some heavy use.
After each use, scraping and cleaning the grill grates will drastically prolong how long the grill grates last, staving off rusting and keeping it in pristine condition.
You can find replacement grill grates such as the Smokehouse Products Big Chief Replacement Grill Grates for your smoker on Amazon.com. Reviews for the product indicate that the grill is one-size-fits-all, but you will need a different size for the Little Chief Electric Smoker.
Grill Lock
Often overlooked and forgotten about, a grill lock is a long wire that effectively holds the grill grates in your smoker in place. Without grill locks in place, your grill grates could slide out of place, so it is pretty important to maintain and keep track of.
Depending on how much you remove your grill grates and how you handle them, grill locks can last for years. Though to be fair, they are relatively small, thin pieces of metal. It’s not unthinkable you might break or lose them.
Replacement grill locks can be ordered from the manufacturer here, on their website.
Conclusion
Depending on how well you take care of it, your Big Chief Electric Smoker can last many, many years. The parts are readily available on Amazon and from the manufacturer, Smokehouse Products.
Check out our article Smokehouse Products Big Chief Top Load Smoker Review