Char-Broil 15202043 725-Square Inch Digital SmartChef Electric Smoker

I've use this unit three times and it works perfectly.

So when I first bought this, it had lots of bugs. Got it the week it came out. If the power went out, had to start all over. (Including pre-chip burn that over cooked the food). But here's the good news. They keep adding updates, and most of the bugs have been worked out. Internet goes down? Power goes out? (Like the backyard GFCI popped?) Unplug. Replug. Open the app. It asks you if you want to skip the pre-cook burn, continue where you left off. The placement of the plug for the food thermometer sucks, but excluding that, I like how it keeps getting upgraded. (I would have given 4 stars, but I feel char broil deserves some credit for not abandoning the product despite a rough start, and it continues to improve.)

The only reason I gave this a less than perfect score was because the firmware update process took forever. That could be because my rural area has almost no internet capacity at times and it may have caused the process to mess up several times. Once you have the firmware updated it works absolutely perfectly. I have a charcoal smoker that is the size of a car that requires constant attention. This Wi-Fi smoker can be set and you can expect it to complete its task with no intervention needed. Larger cooks might need the contents being cooked to be repositioned at some point for even cooking. Other than that its really set and forget. Anyone buying this model needs to understand that it really does need a good internet connection to set up and you need a smartphone to utilize all of the features. This is more of an item for a computer savvy BBQ geek than the average guy who wants a set and forget smoker. All in all a great smoking tool and I believe that most of the bad reviews are from not understanding the tiny details that make or break being able to use this machine as designed.

OK, after buying this the reviews frightened me a bit. However, I was pleasantly surprised at thw quauilty of the unit. It is built sturdy and should last a long time. The tricky part applies to the technology. If you follow the directs closely everything should be fine. I had my son come over and help me set it up. At least I got a small return on his electical engineering degree I paid for. Anyway the unit does take a little getting use to, but the first time I used it, it workws great. Yes I am a happy camper.

The smoker does exactly what it says and with the right chips the flavor is enhanced that much more to compliment your seasonings