WooHoo!! My Model 55 came today. Was a little worried when I saw the condition of the box - Bottom falling apart, the top was held in place with only 1 strap and it was folded in half, exposing the packing material. As it was delivered to my office and I could not inspect the contents at that time, I put the UPS person on notice that I was suspicious of the condition of the cooker and I wanted her to make a note of the damage to the carton. Fortunately, when I brought it home and opened it up, everything seems to be in good condition.
I won't be able to season it until tomorrow or Saturday. Plan to do a butt this weekend to grease it up a bit. Then on to ribs and brisket.
One question - I have to put considerable pressure on the door to get it to latch. Is this by design to get a tight seal or might there have been some shipping damage causing this? I suspect that it is supposed to be this way but wanted to run it by the experts. Also, the brackets that hold the racks has 2 positions for the key-holes. Does it make any real difference which set is used? It only raises (or lowers) the racks a few inches.
Thanks again for the wonderful contributions to this forum. Time to review some of the tips here and get to smokin'. Yeah, I know, take notes and report back here promptly.
Original Post
Well congrats on your purchase. You will like it and be obsessed. I put the racks up all the way when hanging jerky. You definitely want the door latching tight. Enjoy. 