Having lived in KC for many years, I have always wanted a smoker.
I see couple of brands at local Sams Club/Costco.
What should I look for in terms of features?
I saw a propane one with 2 drawers. I want to be able to dehydrate vegetable also if possible with it.
I want a smoker
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I have a coal one, it is a lot of work.
I had an electric one, that was easier. Just feed it chips. I bet a propane would be similar to electric.
I just bought a 30" Masterbuilt electric smoker from Atwoods for 199. Has digital read outs, remote, meat probe thermometer, plenty of shelves, drip pans and water tray. This thing is plenty big. Can do 2-3 slabs a ribs, 2-3 chickens, shelves are removable so you could do a huge turkey. Works great. Been enjoying some great smoked food here lately. I stick with electric, much easier to get going and don't have to worry about filling tanks or have one go bingo on you on a Sunday and you can't refill. Heat is heat.
Friend of mine has the "Smokenator" for a Weber kettle.
Works really well.
Personally I just smoke once or twice a month and use my Weber kettle with the wood and coals pushed to one side and top it off with fresh coals and wood as
needed.
Smokenator
JHZR2
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I saw some electric ones being sold by a "rep" at costco recently. There are some fancy ones out there, but it would be interesting to know from the experienced folks what features they like versus what they dont need.
Im not necessarily a fan of needing to buy some custom made pucks or wood pellets, but perhaps that is the best way to go? We have a ton of fruit orchards not far from us, so there is always plenty of apple, peach and other woods for smoking at our farmer's market.
www.amazingribs.com for advice and great recipes. But leave your credit card with the wife! 
If I am making something such as bbq then I find my weber smokey mountain works pretty well for it. It's easy to use and results are pretty good. If I am making homemade smoked sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon, fish, etc then I will always use my homemade wood fired smoker as it's a completely different process to make such stuff. 
Weber Smokey Mountain. Nickname is Bullet. Uses Charcoal.
I have been smoking on 18 1/2" since 2008 and love it. I can smoke 14+ hours on one load of charcoal. They make sizes 14 1/2", 18 1/2" & 22 1/2".
There is a Virtual Weber Bullet web site with lots of info.....just Google it....
Great hobby..
Originally Posted By: 137_Trenton
If I am making something such as bbq then I find my weber smokey mountain works pretty well for it. It's easy to use and results are pretty good. If I am making homemade smoked sausage, bacon, Canadian bacon, fish, etc then I will always use my homemade wood fired smoker as it's a completely different process to make such stuff.
The Pit Barrel Cooker seems to get rave reviews.
Pit Barrel Cooker
We bought a Smokey Mountain propane smoker about 10 years ago, and honestly, it sucks. My brother got a free Webber Kettle charcoal grill last year and we did a brisket on it and it turned out much better than the propane smoker. I'd go charcoal with wood chips for dedicated smoking. Plain grilling? I love me some propane.
I ve built mine. Looks like a Porta Putty but from wood. Works great. We do about 200 pounds of pork a year.
I like the masterbuilt electric I've used for about 3 years.
If you want to build a drum smoker this kit was designed by a friend of mine and is sold by a company I used to work for.
https://www.bigpoppasmokers.com/store/drum-smoker-kit-parts
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This is what I want:
I've had a Bradley for well over 10 years now. I've been completely satisfied with it, and the results are always outstanding.
I like the Bradley for a few reasons. I can do my smoking in the garage, even in the dead of winter. Since it's electric I don't have to worry about open flame, keeping the smoke going, or temperature control, wind or rain. I can set it and forget it as long as I leave the garage door open. If it's raining outside, I can still use the smoker. I can choose a very light smoke or a heavy smoke by just setting the timer on the smoke generator-the smoke generator and the oven are controlled separately.
Friday I started a pork shoulder at about 8:00PM. I set it for 5 hours of smoke and set the temperature for 200 degrees. When I checked on it at 5:00AM Saturday morning it was still at 200 degrees; all I had to do was add a few more hours of time to it.
I do a lot of smoking, and it's not unusual to have several items smoking at the same time. I can do multiple turkeys at Thanksgiving, 8 or 10 half racks of ribs for a large family gathering, or just a 15 hour brisket.
I can also use it as a very low temperature oven to make jerky without tying up our regular oven.
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