Sorry to disagree but the Gen 1 MES works very well and considering one of the biggest Bradley advocates around here, dumped the Puck eater for an AMNPS and had to add an Auber PID to dial in the temp. No way that beats an MES. There is good and bad with any Chinese Smoker. You want flawless, get a Cook Shack for a Grand Plus...JJ
BTW...The most popular 1st Gen MES40 is model # 20070311 all Stainless Steel w/ Remote.
The model i received Friday from the company that was on sale was the above mentioned unit that is all Stainless Steel sides and comes with a remote. My first smoke was four Salamis and the unit combined with my AMNPS worked great. The temperature stayed within 2 to 5 degrees from 130 degrees up to 170 degrees. The remote worked inside my house but lost signal a few times. The unit came in excellent condition and I hope it continues to perform as well as the first time. If I can figure out how to post the pictures i took I will do it.
mds51
And not worth the Metal it is made of...JJIf it had a left side exhaust and front mounted controller its a gen 2.