I wanted to relate a different point of view, other than the "rah, rah, smoke on." I purchased my MES from Lowe's on June the 14th. Used about 5-6 times. The temp control went up to 300 by itself (unit not heating)so they sent me another temp control, which performed like the first one. I am getting a whole other unit sans shelves and water pan. So far, so good, but this unit was re-engineered two years ago, had a flare-up (fire danger) problem . I looked at a Cookshack, the best you can buy, but x3 $$ of the MES. So monitor it close. Lot of bad feedback about this unit, many have good experiences, many do not. Mostly associated with the wiring. Have got some good feedback form other owners, i.e. it isn't a junk unit, bear with it, etc. Check other blogs besides this one.
I did a meticulous research of electric smokers regarding reliability, performance, etc, for six months. I really wasn't sure I needed one. Just wanted to smoke once in a while.
So, it seems luck is the prevailing factor, not science. Good luck. I do not reccomend this unit.
