Welcome, Mel! I have a #1, and love the quality of Q I can produce with it. I generally only cook for me, my wife and son, so the #1 is perfect - 90% of the time. If I want to do, say, a 15 lb turkey, or a whole packer-cut brisket, I can't. If I had to do it over again, I would have gone with the #3, and will probably upgrade in the spring.
My advice is to get the largest unit you can afford. You can always cook less in a #2 or #3, but you can never cook more in a #1.
Welcome to our little party! Whichever way you go, you'll definitely use it more than once a year, once you realize how easy it is to make some really good BBQ!
