Turbodad, this smoker is awesome. I have had for about 5 years. I primarily burn hickory and recently scored some nice pecan. But, low and slow is the magic and with a smoker like this, you are tending to it every 45 min to hour. While there is nothing better than doing traditional smoking, I would like the option to plug it and forget it. Hoping I get get some good feedback from folks that have used the traditional and the electric smoker. Appreciate your comments.........