I was hesitant on buying the smoker as many people had told me an electric smoker wouldn't touch the charcoal. Not true. It is so much easier to prepare for smoking and 100% easier to smoke for several hours. There's no attending the smoker to maintain a steady temperature - set it and forget it. I would have given 5 stars but I did have a problem with the digital display at around the 2 year anniversary. Parts of lights went out which made it hard to read. Ordered a new one and all is fine.