I cook on a Weber kettle and a WSM, but the new townhouse complex I'm moving into doesn't allow charcoal so I will need to get new grill and smokers. I'm considering two options:
(1) get a pellet grill that can do both direct and indirect cooking
There is a reasonable chance that a pellet grill will also not be allowed since it actively has a fire and could catch nearby structures on fire. While the SI may, possibly, have the wood combust, there is practically no way it's going to escape the fire box and the smoker in any way that could cause a fire. I don't know how hot a pellet grill gets on its exterior due to the smoking process, but the SI stays quite cool to the touch in this regard. (Caveat: if the SI is in direct sunlight then it can get extremely hot on the outside... nothing to do with smoking; it's just a big chunk of stainless steel so it conducts heat from sunlight readily. It's insulated, so it won't impact the smoking process, though.
I don't care about smoke rings but I do care about taste, flavor, and texture. If anyone has experience cooking on SI and either pellet or charcoal smokers, please share your thoughts. I'd like to hear your comparison of the taste, flavor and texture you get out of SI vs pellet/charcoal smokers, and also your experience of using these different fuel types.
I've not owned a smoker other than the SI, so I can't directly compare. I have owned the #2 that your'e considering for a couple years now and absolutely love it. I've smoked briskets, butts, salmon, other fish, nuts, turkey, chicken wings, mac & cheese, garlic, and more in mine. Everything comes out with a great smoke flavor and it really couldn't get any easier. It is said that the skin on Turkey will come out rubbery, but I don't eat the skin so it doesn't matter in the slightest to me.
The #2 has plenty of capacity for a family of five. You can do a full packer brisket, or a couple butts, or a 14 lb turkey, or 4 pounds of nuts, or 6 racks of baby backs, etc. in a single smoke. Even that isn't really to capacity... I've just never had a situation where I needed to try to fill it to capacity.