It's Electric

I worked with heat and meat again yesterday, if you can allow salmon and chicken to be in the meat category just this once. In my ongoing conflict of 'low and slow' versus 'I don't know', I gave in to my delusion of convenience once more and used an (I'm ashamed) electric smoker. The I don't know part of the equation is probably from some defect in the heating element.
My folks bought me a Char Broil electric smoker last year, after I successfully used theirs for a pork shoulder. I had some trepidation at first, because the words, 'smoke' and 'electric' are not regularly used together in a positive light: shorted-out hair driers, bread on the toaster element, lightning hitting a house... Nevertheless, I would not look a gift grill in the mouth.
My personal setup on the grill in question is a custom route: no water, high heat setting, and wood and lump charcoal next to the element. Again, it may be an element defect, but I found that water seems to take too long to heat up, and the high heat is necessary just to get by.
I am used to having a brick chisel jammed in under the heater control just to keep the circuit on long enough for ideal heat. Yesterday, that tactic failed, and I had to prop up the control with a piece of wood (ironic?) just to keep the thing on. I eventually received a smoked salmon and four barbecue chicken breasts for my effort, but gosh, was it ever work.
I figure I'll get around to ordering a replacement control part, or perhaps I'll use a hair dryer and an oil drum next time.
BBQ / Barbecue / Barbecue Ribs